A few weeks ago, I wrote about how conservatives should be wary of welcoming Tulsi Gabbard into their ranks. Her record, while in some respects to the right of many Democrats, still suffices to give conservatives pause:
For starters, Gabbard supports legal abortion through the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. While she is certainly to the right of most Democrats, she is considerably left of where most Republicans are on this issue. Gabbard also supports the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes, a position most traditional conservatives would find offensive. On Second Amendment issues, she has an F rating from the NRA and a zero percent rating from the Hawaii Rifle Association. In 2019, she voted in favor of the Equality Act and has even voiced support for decriminalizing prostitution.
She may have changed her tune lately. But this suggests “she is an incredibly cynical and disingenuous political figure” who “could easily turn back the other way if the political winds shift,” as I argued earlier.
Now, you can add her penchant for picking losers to the list of reasons to be wary of her. Ten of the 13 Republican candidates Tulsi endorsed lost in the midterm elections. Of the three candidates she supported who won their races, only J. D. Vance qualifies as a “nationalist-populist.”
Between her past ideas, the likely opportunism of her recent shifts, and her lousy endorsement record in these midterms, Tulsi Gabbard offers little of interest to conservatives.