Some years before Ms. Gabbard, starting in the 1990s and never looking back after Sept. 11, 2001, I moved from the left to the right.
That has made me sensitive to—and sometimes subject to—criticisms that you find online that changers are not “for real.” Why weren’t you conservative 20 years ago? (In my case, 40 years ago.)
Reminding those folks that Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and Donald Trump made similar journeys seems to have no effect, nor does the obvious truth that if people were not allowed or encouraged to change their views, what would be the point of a constitutional republic or any form of democratic government?
Most people know the outlines of Ms. Gabbard’s story—well filled out in the book—from her appearances on cable television: how she was elected to the Hawaii Legislature at 21 but left after 9/11 to serve three military deployments in the Middle East and Africa to return to be a congresswoman from Hawaii from 2013 to 2021 and was even vice chair of the Democratic National Committee before quitting the Democratic Party, apparently for good, in 2022.
The full title of her book makes her current views explicit: “For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind.”
The work abounds with powerful denunciations—she does not mince words—of today’s Democratic Party from the prevarications and betrayals of the Biden White House and its supporters in the press to the far reaches of “woke” and the concomitant attacks on the police that she first discovered in her native Hawaii and then saw metastasizing across the country.
For example, she has this to say regarding the current administration in the wake of the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 (the book is up to date):
“Unfortunately, President Biden and Democrat leaders refuse to recognize the threat. Afraid of being labeled Islamophobes, they have become captive to Islamist ideologues and jihadi apologists. Instead of focusing on defeating Islamist jihadists like al-Qaeda, President Biden has instead pursued his hypocritical mission of spreading democracy and defeating ‘dictators,’ ‘autocrats’ and ‘communism’—even as the Biden administration undermines our own democracy and rule of law here at home.”
She continued, regarding the border:
“The Biden–Harris policies lay out the welcome mat, allowing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of military-aged males from all over the world to illegally stream into our country, increasing the risk and likelihood of a catastrophic attack occurring on our soil.”
Needless to say, she has little good to say of the horrifying weaponization of the law being conducted against former President Donald Trump in New York and elsewhere.
Missing from her book, however, is much about joining the Republican Party. You get the impression that the GOP as presently constituted does not appeal for reasons with which many can identify—the sometimes extreme disconnect between the wishes of the rank-and-file (largely MAGA) and the actions of their leadership (only MAGA when it helps them). This was very much evident in the past few days, when the House voted for $95 billion in foreign aid, nothing for border security, as the national debt hurtled toward infinity.
She is clearly more on the side of the rank-and-file than of the leadership. The book is filled with references to the founders, whom she seems to respect more than contemporary politicians. She also reminded us of the Hawaiian “aloha” that she defines as more than just “hello,” but a hello with love that she says guides her activities.
Normally, I have little interest in politicians’ books that seem no more than campaign adjuncts (apologies to Churchill and Moynihan). Too many by real writers, living and dead, sit on my shelves unread for lack of time.
But I’m glad I made the exception with Ms. Gabbard’s book. It’s oddly reassuring that there are at least a few people in our political lives whose sincerity outweighs expediency.
We shall see how this plays out as she moves, as I think inevitable, back into the political arena. Will she live up to the fine words of her book?
Her name has appeared on vice-presidential shortlists to run with President Trump. Some are appalled that someone who was vice chair of the Democratic National Committee as recently as 2022 could be considered. Those people ought to have a look at her book and see if they change their minds.
