ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Democratic candidate for president Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, in a widely watched Twitter-posted YouTube video, condemned the “rich, powerful” gang of elites who surround Hillary Clinton and demand Democrats either “toe the line” or stay silent.

That’s good. But it’s not exactly an “enemy of my enemy is a friend” moment; Gabbard, after all, has some far-left and outlandish views. She’s a progressive who has some serious flip-flops on policy in her background that shouldn’t be overlooked simply because she’s taking on Hillary, and hard.

Still: We can enjoy the anti-Clinton moment for a moment, yes?

Here’s what Gabbard wrote, on Twitter: “Hillary & her gang of rich, powerful elite are going after me to send a msg to YOU: ‘Shut up, toe the line, or be destroyed.’ But we, the people, will NOT be silenced. Join me in taking our Democratic Party back & leading a govt of, by & for the people!”

In the accompanying video, Gabbard said that she had been warned in 2016 that her endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders — who went against Clinton for the party’s nomination for president — would “be the end” of her political career.

“They said, ‘Clinton will never forget,’ ” Gabbard said.

And since, Gabbard said — Clinton and “her powerful friends” have been busily “falsely portray[ing] me as a traitor.”

She went on: “But here is the truth. They will not intimidate us. They will not silence us. … I’m running for president to take the Democratic Party and our country back from the corrupt elite.”

Gabbard’s video and tweet came after Clinton spread the idea, via an interview with podcaster David Plouffe, that Russians were “grooming” a U.S. female presidential hopeful “to be the third-party candidate” — an obvious reference to Gabbard.

Gabbard responded to that sting with a tweet that read, “Thank you Hillary Clinton. You, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for s long, have finally come out from behind the curtain.”

Ouch to Hillary.

Yay to Hillary haters.

But hold the phone on Gabbard as a hero to the people.

Gabbard’s platforms include “responsible, common sense gun safety reform” — liberal code for curbs on the Second Amendment; “Medicare for All” — liberal code for universal health care, as a natural-born right; and the Barack Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. She’s also done a 180 on her previously stated opposition to abortion and on her LGBTQ views. In the early 2000s, Gabbard supported traditional marriage; since, she’s apologized to the LGBTQ community,

“In my past, I said and believed things that were wrong and worse, hurtful to people in the LGBTQ community,” Gabbard said in 2019, in a video. “My views have changed. … [and I now have] a strong and ongoing commitment to fighting for LGBTQ rights.”

Flip. Flop.

Gabbard has got some serious military chops. Gabbard is possessed of some seriously bold fighting words against one of America’s most corrupt politicians. But let’s remember: Gabbard is still a far-left Democrat.

Gabbard for president is like Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president, is like Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, is like Mayor Pete Buttigieg for president, is like Sen. Kamala Harris for president. They’re all progressives masked as Democrats. They’re all cut from the same socialist-styled cloth that makes them unsuited to lead the democratic-republic of America. The anti-Hillary Gabbard included.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter, @ckchumley.

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