Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: Stop illegal war for regime change in Syria, Arm Kurds to fight ISIS

[Cheese Sandwich]

[demwing]

1. Interesting side note

Tulsi Gabbard is a Hare Krishna

[KamaAina]

5. Her dad Mike is actually in a splinter sect of Hare Krishna

an extremely homophobic one. Honolulu Weekly did the rundown on this some time back.

Mike, a Hawai'i state senator, is such a piece of work that when he switched from repuke to DINO some years back, the Dems actually had to caucus to see if they wanted him!

[demwing]

10. I thought her dad was a Catholic Priest, no?

Though I have read that he's a real "piece of work" (I love that term)!

[KamaAina]

17. He never made it to the priesthood

http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/August-2004/Who-is-Mike-Gabbard/

Understandably, the public has lumped Gabbard into America's growing number of conservative politicians. His social views do veer accordingly to the right. But is he Christian right?

Gabbard himself says he is Catholic. He attends Catholic services regularly at a church in his district. He talks about growing up Catholic and how, at age 14, he entered a seminary, intending to become a priest. He changed his mind, he says, because "I wasn't as spiritually mature as I thought I was."

Those who've worked with Gabbard assume he is Catholic. "We play golf together, and he talks about his Catholic beliefs and God a lot, more than he talks about the issue of same-sex marriage," says fellow council member Okino, who is Catholic. "I've attended mass with him, and he takes communion."

But Gabbard had strong ties to an obscure Hare Krishna splinter group that, in the late 1970s, fielded several political candidates. The splinter group was founded by a Hawai'i homegrown guru named Chris Butler. Butler was a disciple of A.C. Bahkitevedanta Swami Prabhupad, who founded the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). ISKCON is the high-visibility sect whose orange robes, shaved heads, public begging and chanting are what most people think of when they hear the term Hare Krishna.

[Jack Rabbit]

2. I like to listen to an honest person with good common sense speak on matters of public policy

I can really trust Tulsi Gabbard.

[Cheese Sandwich]

3. Yeah I don't really know all her policies but she's been a real voice of sanity on this Syria war

[Truprogressive85]

4. Rising Star

A Democrat who doesn't want to topple governments and want to arm the right people to fight Deash

[KamaAina]

6. Slight problem with arming the Kurds

our NATO ally Turkey, which has a large Kurdish population in its southeast, would object -- hopefully not as strenuously as they did to a Russian warplane straying into their airspace!

[uhnope]

7. RW anti-Obama dem

go pound sand

[Cheese Sandwich]

8. Bullshit. She is doing Obama a favor by being a voice for peace and reason.

The right wingers are the ones dragging the President deeper into war and away from the negotiation process.

[uhnope]

9. RW anti-Obama dem from RW GOP family that grew up in a homophobic Scientology-like cult

and has filled her staff with the cult members.

Not BS.

[Cheese Sandwich]

11. You are intolerant of minority religions. Yes that "cult" is a branch of Hinduism.

There are a billion Hindus and your attempt to smear by religion should be noted and remembered by everyone here.

[uhnope]

12. lol. you defending Scientology now?

or just the Chris Butler (oh sorry, I mean Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa) cult?

[Cheese Sandwich]

13. I'm defending this member of Congress from your religious bigiotry and intolerance.

There is nothing more homophobic about that "cult" than there is about any mainline religion like Roman Catholicism.

She doesn't have any political record of homophobia.

Your attacks are vile. You are truly revealing something about yourself today uhnope.

[uhnope]

14. there's nothing homophobic about the homophobic Chris Butler cult? Do your homework

you don't seem to know what you're talking about. Rather than try to attack me personally, do your homework and then you can reply

[Cheese Sandwich]

15. Your attempt to smear Tulsi Gabbard with homophobia is sickening

The same homophobic issue could be said against members of many major religions like Roman Catholicism or Islam.

There is nothing in her politics that is homophobic. You should be ashamed of yourself. We're not holding people responsible for everything done by someone in their religion. Do you hold Catholic members of Congress responsible for the words of Catholic Bishops?

This woman has served her country. She is a combat veteran. As she is a woman and an ethnic and religious minority she would have faced major challenges and obstacles to get where she has.

She is speaking out with courage and clarity on this issue of the Syrian war.

It is beyond obvious to anyone on this board that your only interest is to smear her personally because you don't like what she is saying about the war.

This is the type of challenges faced by religious minorities in America, and DU is clearly no exception.

[uhnope]

16. stop playing the religion/bigot card & try reading what I wrote

Everything I said is accurate, and I never called her homophobic (she's apparently "evolved" on the issue.)

What is true is that, though she is a Democrat, she is getting attention by attacking Pres. Obama and her background and campaign staff are inextricably tied to a RW anti-gay political cult in Hawaii. You know that's true, right?

It's total BS for you to try to make this about religious rights & accuse me of bigotry because I'm exposing a cult in Hawaii that is deeply connected to this politician, who just happens to be attacking Obama.

Sure she has now moderated her positions. That's good, but I find the whole thing fishy as a plate of poke.

[Cheese Sandwich]

20. These are some of the dumbest bullshit lies and trumped up smears I've seen in a while

Her dad was a republican and was religiously against gays and against premarital sex? So her dad was a one of those religious republicans? Who gives a shit. You said she "filled her staff with cult members". I read your link and you lied. It doesn't say that at all.

And what the hell does any of this have to do with the war Syria?

The war Syria? What about that?

[uhnope]

21. you can't read then. Or you're the one who's lying. nt

[RufusTFirefly]

18. Hawks gotta crow...

... even if it means smearing someone for the offenses of her father.

Also, as you may recall, Tulsi Gabbard spoke out against DWS's pathetically limited debate schedule and was allegedly disinvited from the first debate even though she's a vice chairman. That sort of stuff angers people of a certain ilk.

[uhnope]

19. & apologists gotta apologize

[RufusTFirefly]

22. I believe the issue was the illegal war for regime change in Syria

Perhaps you overlooked that.

I doubt it.

Which is probably why you felt the need to change the subject.

[uhnope]

23. "invasion"?

Now the US is in an "invasion" of Syria? Really?

[RufusTFirefly]

24. I mistyped and immediately corrected it

You're proving my point, distractivist.

[uhnope]

25. are you going to cite Consortium News next?

[pangaia]

26. Maybe try a mint julep.