Embarrassment for Hillary Clinton as DNC Vice-Chair Tulsi Gabbard resigns and endorses SANDERS

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard , former DNC Vice Chair – We need a commander-in-chief 'who exercises good judgment'

"I think it's most important for us, as we look at our choices, as to who our next commander-in-chief will be, is to recognize the necessity to have a commander in chief who has foresight, who exercises good judgment.''
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Sec Hilary Clinton democratic front runner
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard,  quit her today at the Democratic National Committee so she could throw her support behind Sen. Bernie Sanders. 

Gabbard, a Iraq War veteran, went on Meet the Press to make the surprising announcement, which gives Sanders some of his momentum back after being trounced by Hillary Clinton yesterday in South Carolina.

Photo: NBC

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard went on Meet the Press today to announced that she was resigning from the Democratic National Committee and endorsing Bernie Sanders 

Photo: CQ-Roll Call

Photo: Getty images

Tulsi Gabbard (left) suggested that Bernie Sanders (right) would be the type of leader who would look at the consequences of sending Americans into war 

She rolled out the endorsement by talking about her experience serving in the Iraq War. 'As a veteran and as a soldier, I've seen first hand the true cost of war,' Gabbard said. 'I see my friends, who now, a decade after we've come home are still struggling to get out of a black hole.' 

Gabbard described Sanders as the type of leader who would look at the consequences 'so we don't continue to find ourselves in these failures that have resulted in chaos in the Middle East and so much loss of life.' 

Sanders has used the Iraq War as one of the differentiating factors between himself and Hillary Clinton. 

As members of Congress in 2002, both Democratic hopefuls had the opportunity to give an up or down vote on President George W. Bush's plan to invade Iraq. Sanders, then a House member, said no, while Clinton voted to give Bush the authority.

Gabbard, one of just two female veterans serving in Congress, throwing her support behind Sanders helps legitimize Sanders claim that Clinton's years of foreign policy experience are undermined by her bad call on Iraq. 

'The most important foreign policy issue in the modern history of this country was the war in Iraq. I was right on that issue. Hillary Clinton was wrong,' Sanders said in advance of the New Hampshire primary, his best performance against the Democratic front runner. 

Gabbard, whose position at the DNC prevented her from supporting a particular candidate in the primary, had hinted for months that she might be on team Sanders.

Photo: CQ-Roll Call

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Gabbard, pictured left, is one of just two female veterans serving in Congress, throwing her support behind Sanders helps legitimize Sanders claim that Clinton's years of foreign policy experience are undermined by her bad call on Iraq. Clinton is pictured right 

Photo: Reuters

Tulsi Gabbard is one of only two female veterans serving in Congress and said today that she wanted a commander-in-chief 'who exercises good judgment'. She is pictured above after being awarded a Frontier Award during a ceremony at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2013

The insider also suggested there was no bad blood between Gabbard and the DNC though, in October, Gabbard made headlines after she was disinvited from the first Democratic debate, which took place in Las Vegas, after she appeared on television and publicly called for more debates to be added to the schedule.

The Sanders campaign had grumbled about the Democrats only holding six debates, many of which were scheduled on weekends, suggesting that the party didn't want Sanders getting too much screen time because they feared another protracted primary, which derailed Clinton's candidacy the first time around.

'It's very dangerous when we have people in positions of leadership who use their power to try to quiet those who disagree with them,' Gabbard said to the New York Times at the time.  

"When I signed up to be vice chair of the D.N.C., no one told me I would be relinquishing my freedom of speech and checking it at the door."

'When I first came to Washington, one of the things that I was disappointed about was there’s a lot of immaturity and petty gamesmanship that goes on, and it kind of reminds me of how high school teenagers act,' she also told the Times. 

The DNC said Gabbard wasn't technically dis-invited, but that DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz had suggested that the congresswoman might be a 'distraction' because of her comments. 

Today the DNC attempted to sing Gabbard praises as the resignation was announced.  

'As one of the first female combat veterans to serve in Congress and the first American Samoan and Hindu member of Congress, Congresswoman Gabbard is a role model who embodies the American ideal that anyone can dream big and make a difference,' Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. 

Photo: Reuters

Gabbard addresses the crowd as the keynote speaker during Veterans Day ceremonies at Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 11, 2013

'She is also a colleague in Congress and a friend,' the chairwoman continued.'And I look forward to continuing to work alongside her when our Party unites behind whoever emerges as our nominee,' Wasserman Schultz added.  

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