I didn't start with this New Yorker profile of Gabbard, but once I read it I wished I had, so I'll link to it right at the start. It gives the clearest picture I could find of Gabbard's childhood and her Hindu spirituality. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe …
I'll predict that when we start hearing about Gabbard, though, what we'll hear about most is her tepid support for LGBTQ issues and her anti-gay activist past.
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The worst is way back in Gabbard's past. Gabbard's father, Mike Gabbard, ran for congress unsuccessfully in 2004. During that campaign, Tulsi once wrote to a journalist: “It’s clear to me that you’re acting as a conduit for … homosexual extremist supporters of Ed Case.”
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To understand the context of this ugly remark, you have to understand a bit about Tulsi's religion & upbringing. The New Yorker profile gave the clearest picture of that, but I'll try to summarize. (Source of "homosexual extremist" quote: https://www.civilbeat.org/2015/03/krishna-cult-rumors-still-dog-tulsi-gabbard/ …)
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Gabbard was homeschooled, and she grew up in a close knit religious group, an offshoot of the Hare Krishnas led by a yoga teacher/guru named Chris Butler.
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Butler's teachings included vegetarianism, environmentalism, peacefulness/aloha, and rabidly anti-gay sentiments. The group entered politics in the 90s and early aughts, making common cause with the anti-gay, anti-abortion right. One of their candidates was Gabbard's pa.
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Tulsi Gabbard currently supports same-sex marriage and abortion rights. The character of her support, however, is a trickier question.
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In the New Yorker profile, Tulsi's quoted as saying, in the summer of 2017: "Just because that’s not my life style, I don’t think that government should make sure that everybody else’s life styles match my own."
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But the author notes that in a later conversation Tulsi also said that “gay marriage should be celebrated.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Here's a second link to that excellent profile: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/06/what-does-tulsi-gabbard-believe …)
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Gabbard toes the line adequately on LGBTQ rights. She seems to support transgender people who serve in the military. https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-statement-president-trump-s-decision-ban-transgender … Her heart may not be with LGBTQ rights- but neither was Hillary Clinton's- or Barack Obama's.
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To summarize: Tulsi Gabbard has been called a progressive but it might be more accurate to think of her as an eclectic. Her most principled beliefs revolve around environmentalism and support for veterans. Her weakest are LGBTQ rights, and she's a question mark on labor.
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End of conversation
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