For several years now, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has openly spoken out against Democratic leadership, first in 2015 when she was the Vice Chair of the DNC and made waves after calling for more debates between the Democratic party candidates for president because she (correctly) believed the system put in place by then-Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was being rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton before the people even had a chance to cast their votes.

She left the DNC in protest in 2016.

Three years later, Gabbard threw her hat into the ring and ran for the party’s presidential nomination herself, along the way criticizing the “powerful elitists” within the party who she continued to believe were squelching debate in favor of their preferred candidates. Though she didn’t win the nomination, Gabbard again caused a stir within party ranks when she effectively torpedoed then-Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential run by scorching her over her record as California’s top prosecutor during a July 2019 debate.

Between that, and Gabbard’s growing concerns over their obsession with “wokeness” and also what she felt were the party’s increasing “warmonger” tendencies, it was only a matter of time before she decided to leave the party.

In a video posted on Tuesday morning, she did just that, and encouraged other “independent-minded Democrats” to join her (transcribed from video):

“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that’s under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers who are driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti-white racism, who actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms that are enshrined in our Constitution, who are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, who demonize the police but protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, who believe in open borders, who weaponize the national security state to go after their political opponents, and above all, who are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war.

Now, I believe in a government that’s of the people, by the people, and for the people. Unfortunately, today’s Democratic Party does not. Instead, it stands for a government that is of, by, and for the powerful elite. I’m calling on my fellow common sense independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic party. If you can no longer stomach the direction that the so-called woke Democratic party idealogues are taking our country, then I invite you to join me.”

Watch:

I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue & stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms, are… pic.twitter.com/oAuTnxZldf

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) October 11, 2022

She expanded on her thoughts about the direction of the Democratic party and why she’s leaving it in the inaugural episode of her podcast, which can be watched/listened to below:

As a Republican myself, I’ve long said that my mission in life as far as politics go was not necessarily to try and win people over to my party but to get them away from the Democratic party because it is bad news and at this point cannot be reformed in any meaningful way. The direction they are now on would turn this country into something it should never be if their goals were seen to fruition. So good for Tulsi Gabbard for refusing to be a part of it any longer.

Hopefully, some of those independent-thinking Democrats she tried to appeal to will join her.

Flashback: Tulsi Gabbard Shares Interesting Theory on Why White House Sent Kamala on Overseas Tour