Does Mitt Romney want to put Tulsi Gabbard to death?
On March 13, 2022, the Utah Senator Mitt Romney accused former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of treason.
He tweeted, “Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives.”
Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) March 13, 2022
Romney made these comments after Russian state TV posted Gabbard’s remarks during an appearance she made on Tucker Carlson Tonight last week. In her appearance on Carlson’s show, Gabbard declared she was “deeply concerned” about the allegations of bioweapons being found in Ukraine. Russian media used these comments to portray the US as an agent of destabilization that is using Ukraine as a forward base for the development of biological weapons that could potentially be used against Russia.
Gabbard doubled down after her Fox News appearance, when she posted a video to Twitter on March 13. The former Hawaii congresswoman asserted that there were over 25 “US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens.”
Clint Ehrlich, a foreign policy analyst who has made numerous appearances on Tucker Carlson Tonight, shortly responded to Romney’s remark.
Mitt Romney just accused Army Lt. Colonel @TulsiGabbard of treason.
Treason is a capital crime in America.
Mitt, do you believe Tulsi should be put to death? https://t.co/qGoQ9ta2LH
— Clint Ehrlich (@ClintEhrlich) March 14, 2022
In his tweet, he asked:
“Mitt Romney just accused Army Lt. Colonel @TulsiGabbard of treason.
Treason is a capital crime in America.
Mitt, do you believe Tulsi should be put to death?”
Romney did not respond, but his original comment shows the lengths establishment neoconservatives will go to denounce their opposition.
Gabbard, herself, responded to Romney and called for his resignation after dropping a tweet thread on the matter.
.@MittRomney, you have called me a ‘treasonous liar’ for stating the fact that “there are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world” and therefore must be secured in order to prevent new pandemics. Bizarrely, …
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) March 14, 2022
Gabbard has been one of the leading voices for non-interventionism within the political Left. Despite the Left largely becoming less hostile to the military-industrial complex in recent times, Gabbard remains a strong figure for pro-restraint foreign policy views. In many respects she will fit in nicely with realignment Republicans who are more skeptical of foreign policy interventionism and the Democratic Party’s bizarre shift to wokism. In addition, Gabbard has manifested sensible views on immigration in the past.
Altogether, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has been a mask off moment for most of the Republican Party. The fact is that most of the GOP is still stuck on neoconservative tropes. The outbreak of this war has consolidated the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party in some ways.
Populists will have to fight back and make sure that neocons are stripped of power in the GOP. As long as neocons are present, they will continue to put the country at risk of getting entangled in an unnecessary war.
