Tulsi Gabbard is most qualified to be our commander in chief

To The Daily Sun,

In August of 2019 presidential candidate Representative Tulsi Gabbard took a break from the campaign trail to fulfill her two week Army National Guard commitment. Tulsi was deployed to Indonesia to take part in a joint multinational exercise. She did this during a time when other presidential hopefuls were campaigning to get on to the next debate stage in September. One of Tulsi’s main slogans is “Service Above Self," as she truly believes in service to our country.

Tulsi Gabbard has been serving with the Hawaii National Guard for 16 years, reaching the rank of major, and has been deployed twice to the Middle East. During one of those deployments to Iraq in 2005, Tulsi admits to being profoundly impacted by witnessing the cost of war first hand. It is because of this that Tulsi began her fight against the United States’ involvement in counterproductive regime change wars. She reminds listeners at her rallies that the U.S. spends approximately $4 billion per month in Afghanistan, highlighting that those dollars should be being spent on “we the people“ here at home.

Because of this anti-regime-change war stance, Tulsi has become the target from members of both parties, the media, and the military industrial complex. The job of commander in chief is the most important role the president of the United States has. This role should be filled with a person of high moral character who takes principled stances on issues. I'm a Navy veteran and work in public service and know strong leadership when I see it. Tulsi has integrity and courage. Tulsi did what was right when she stepped down as vice chair of the DNC to endorse Bernie Sanders. At the time Tulsi stepped down she was considered "a rising star in the Democratic Party," and it was not politically in her best interest to do so at the time.

I believe that Tulsi Gabbard’s military service, her serving in Congress for six years sitting on Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees, is what makes her the most qualified to serve as commander in chief.

Donnie Harpell

Gilford