As me dear departed mother once said to me, "Timing is 90% of life." Gabbard came out on this ahead of the mid-terms and if the elections play out as expected she's going to be followed by more than a few others.Gabbard should not be written off too soon. She is only 41 and given that the USA nationally, is substantially a gerontocracy on both sides of politics, there is plenty of time for her to re-emerge in some sort of role in either National or local politics. In any political system there is always a conservative wing sometimes 'establishment,' sometimes populist, occasionally democratic. There will be room for her, but maybe not for 10 to 15 years. Some of you guys need to take a longer view than just the middle of next week.
Gabbard is not a conservative, she's more in line with the classical liberal, which today is defined by the democrats in power as "radical."
Where her future lies is hard to tell. It always is when it comes to individuals, but I do suspect that her move is going to make a difference in the trajectory of the party she left.