Tulsi Gabbard announces she is joining the GOP: 'The Democrat Party has no home for people like us'



Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard helped torpedo Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in 2020.

Keen to do so once again but also to spare America from losing further blood and treasure abroad as a consequence of the interventionism favored by the vice president and her new buddy Liz Cheney, the former congresswoman endorsed President Donald Trump in August, stressing that unlike Harris, he would "do the work and walk us back from the brink of war."

At a rally Tuesday in Greensboro, North Carolina, the former Democrat went a step farther, announcing that she was joining the Republican Party.

"To those of you here and those watching at home who are independent people like myself, who love our country and are committed to the Constitution and to freedom, the Democrat Party has no home for people like us," said Gabbard. "But we do have a home in the Republican Party."

"It is because of my love for our country and specifically because of the leadership that President Trump has brought to transform the Republican Party and bring it back to the party of the people and the party of peace that I'm proud to stand here with you today, President Trump, and announce that I'm joining the Republican Party," added the former Hawaii congresswoman, to the sound of thunderous applause.

'A vote for President Trump is a vote for peace.'

Earlier in her remarks, Gabbard noted that she spent over 20 years as a Democrat but found that the party had morphed into something unrecognizable.

Gabbard noted that like her party, Harris is "anti-freedom, she is pro-censorship, she is pro-open\-borders, and she is pro-war."

The former congresswoman is particularly sensitive to Harris' disregard for American freedoms, having learned over the summer from several federal Air Marshal whistleblowers that the Biden-Harris administration was apparently surveilling her via a program designed to identify and monitor potential terrorists.

Gabbard's alleged enrollment in the Transportation Security Administration's Quiet Skies program was all the more offensive because she enlisted in the military in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, countering extremism across three war zones.

The congresswoman previously told Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck, "The only assumption that I can make is that they're coming after me because of my speaking the truth and revealing who they really are."

While continued abuses under a possible Harris administration are clearly a concern for Gabbard, she underscored that the choice between Trump and the vice president was ultimately a choice between peace and war.

"President Trump has pledged to stop wars, not start them," Gabbard told the crowd Tuesday in Greensboro. "And this is why, in the eyes of the Kamala Harris, Dick Cheney Democrat Party, they will do everything possible to try to destroy him."

Noting that Election Day was just two weeks away, Gabbard impressed upon the crowd that "a vote for President Trump is a vote for secure borders and safe communities, and a vote for President Trump is a vote for peace here in America and around the world."

The pro-peace message at the Trump rally was at odds with the message advanced at Harris' phony town hall Monday in Royal Oak, Michigan, where the vice president and Liz Cheney criticized Trump's plan to end the war in Ukraine.

Cheney said, "I think that if you look at where the Republican Party is today, there's been a really dangerous embrace of isolationism."

Harris signaled her agreement, stating, "Isolationism, which is exactly what Donald Trump is pushing — pull out of NATO, abandon our friends — isolationism is not insulation. It is not insulation. It will not insulate us from harm in terms of our national security."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Prominent New York Democrat joins the GOP after recognizing that the 'Democratic Party turns its back on its friends, like Israel'



After spending a lifetime as a Democrat, former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind has officially joined the Republican Party, citing the radicalism and anti-Semitism growing ever worse worse in his former party.

Hikind, the 73-year-old founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, was first elected to the NYS Assembly in 1982 and went on to serve as majority whip. He won his last election in 2014 against Republican Nachman Caller in a landslide.

In a video posted to his Twitter page this week featuring Hikind and his wife, Shani Hikind, the lawmaker of 36 years noted that not only was he a lifelong Democrat, but his parents and family had been as well.

"But that's over. That's finished," Hikind announced Thursday. "I have decided to register as a Republican."

Hikind made his announcement within days of nine House Democrats voting against a resolution expressing America's support for Israel; the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus having to apologize after calling Israel "a racist state"; and numerous Democrats refusing to attend Israeli President Isaac Herzog's speech to Congress.

On July 16, he appeared ready to jump ship, tweeting, "The Democratic party is dead. The radical Progressives are in full control. Its time to jump Ship. @POTUS you are responsible."

"Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has become so radicalized, so radical, run by the radicals, that people who are moderates or conservative Democrats are not welcomed in the Democratic Party," said Hikind. "And I've had enough."

The Orthodox Jewish activist underscored that the Democratic Party "turns its back on its friends, like Israel," noting that this has been further evidenced by the Biden administration's policies.

WIBC reported that Hikind previously endorsed former President Donald Trump in 2020 on account of his work supporting Jews and Israel.

For instance, Trump signed a proclamation in 2017, ordering the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Shani Hikind noted in the video that she was "totally convinced that this is the right move for you, for me, for my friends, all of us who feel that the Democratic Party no longer represents our interests, what we stand for, our values. ... This is not a party that represents our values, what we believe, how we feel about America, its history."

— (@)

Former Assemblyman Hikind — who appeared to be hinting at a possible political campaign — is one among a number of prominent Democrat lawmakers who have abandoned their party, finding it unrecognizable.

TheBlaze reported last week that Georgia state Rep. Mesha Mainor announced she was switching parties and becoming a Republican.

Mainor said, "I represent a blue district in the city of Atlanta so this wasn't a political decision for me. It was a MORAL one. I will NEVER apologize for being a black woman with a mind of my own."

She has since been barraged by vicious, racially charged vitriol and hate-filled messages.

In April, a West Virginia lawmaker jumped ship. On his way out, Delegate Elliot Pritt told the state House Democratic Caucus in a letter, "It has become more and more obvious that there is very little room in the party for traditional values or differences regarding political opinion."

Louisiana state Reps. Jeremy LaCombe and Francis Thompson also switched parties earlier this year, as did North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham, who helped ensure that Republicans were able to pass legislation saving kids from sex-change mutilations.

Last summer, PBS raised the alarm, noting well over 1 million voters across 43 states had switched to the Republican party in 2022.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Another Louisiana Democrat abandons the party; North Carolina state rep formalizes her switch to GOP



The Democratic establishment may be resolved to maintain its leftward course, but not all members are willing to sacrifice conscience for party and wayfare onward uncritically.

Louisiana state Rep. Jeremy LaCombe is the latest to jump ship, becoming the second Democrat in the state legislature to do so this year.

LaCombe's departure from the Democratic Party coincided with a potentially more impactful defection in North Carolina, where state Rep. Tricia Cotham formalized her party registration from Democrat to Republican, providing GOP legislators with veto-proof control over Gov. Roy Cooper (D).

It's not me, it's you

LaCombe, a former prosecutor with an A+ rating from the Louisiana Sheriff's Association, assumed office in 2019, having taken 62.5% of the vote. His term ends on Jan. 8, 2024.

The Democratic lawmaker indicated Monday that he would be switching his party affiliation to Republican, reported the Advocate.

The GOP already enjoys a supermajority in the house, such that it can override Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards' prospective vetoes and pass tax measures.

The switch comes just before the Republican-dominated legislature convenes in Baton Rouge for its regular legislative session, during which it is expected to tackle culture war issues and designate what to spend additional tax dollars on.

House Democratic Caucus Chair Sam Jenkins appeared to take this second abandonment in as many months in stride, saying, "We look forward to working with Rep. LaCombe during this legislative session to increase wages, lower costs, improve our schools and pass insurance reform that benefit Louisiana families and small businesses."

With LaCombe's switch, Democrats now will only have 32 members in the 105-member House, where there are two independents and 71 Republicans.
LaCombe is not the first Democrat to abandon the party in recent weeks.

TheBlaze reported last month that after serving 48 years as a Democrat, Louisiana state Rep. Francis Thompson switched parties to Republican, citing the need to stay true to his Christian faith.

"The push the past several years by Democratic leadership on both the national and state level to support certain issues does not align with those values and principles that are a part of my Christian life," Thompson said.

While LaCombe has not similarly indicated what prompted his move, his voting record indicates some socially conservative sensibilities.

In 2022, he voted in support of both the "Fairness in Women's Sports" bill (SB 44), prohibiting male students from participating on women's teams, and SB 388, which bans the sale or use of mail-order chemical abortion drugs.

Owing to his lack of support for other conservative initiatives, the Louisiana Family Forum nevertheless rated LaCombe "unfavorable" in its family advocacy rankings.

Veto-proofing North Carolina

North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham's party switch has already proved advantageous, ensuring Republicans will be able to pass legislation protecting children from confusion-affirming genital mutilations and medical interventions, restricting high school athletes to play on sports teams consistent with their biological sex, and protecting medical practitioners from participating in services that violate their consciences.

Cotham joined the Republican Party on April 5, noting the Democratic Party "has become unrecognizable" and wants to "villainize anyone who has free thoughts."

"Tricia Cotham has been someone who is reasonable, who is moderate and we've been able to work with in this session," said House Rules chairman Destin Hall (R). "Her principles and her views have not changed. What has changed is the Democratic Party in North Carolina."

Cotham, whose term ends on Jan. 1, 2025, formalized the switch this week, providing Republicans with a veto-proof supermajority, reported the Associated Press. Republicans now control 72 out of a total 120 seats in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Like LaCombe, Cotham's voting record has been checkered when it comes to matters of concern to social conservatives.

Axios reported that Cotham testified on the House floor about her experience having an abortion and suggested that a proposed extended wait period would create harmful barriers to abortion access. She also joined Democrats in sponsoring legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade.

One-way street

Ballotpedia tallied the number of state legislators who at some point in their careers switched party affiliation. Since 1994, there were reportedly 169 state legislators who crossed the aisle, including 48 state senators and 121 state representatives.

Whereas only 23 Republican state lawmakers have defected to the Democratic Party, 80 Democrats have gone onto become Republicans. The remainder went onto become independents, Greens, or Libertarians.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!