U.S. House candidate Tulsi Gabbard weighed in on Republican "obstructionism," the influx of outside funding to Hawaii races, the future of the U.S. military in Af­ghani­stan and other topics during a two-hour appearance on the MSNBC program "Up w/ Chris Hayes" on Sunday.

Gabbard, part of a panel in New York, assured viewers that a new wave of legislators is looking forward to "bringing back the statesmanship" that has eroded in recent years due to bipartisan skirmishing.

She said that mobilizing voters will be critical in contests like the battle between Mazie Hirono and Linda Lingle for outgoing U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka’s seat.

"Turnout is going to be key," Gabbard said. "There’s going to be a substantial amount of money nationally that’s gong to be dumped into this race."

Gabbard’s appearance on the show followed a well-received speech at the Demo­cratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

A former state representative and Hono­lulu City Council member, Gabbard wasn’t shy about addressing national and international issues on the show.

Regarding the convention, Gabbard said, "One thing I saw that I’d hoped (President Barack Obama) would talk about in his speech (was) the lack of true Wall Street reform and how that has really been one of the major causes of our high unemployment rates and the downed economy. There really hasn’t been action taken or people held accountable for that."