I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Like, I cannot fucking stand Tulsi, but the revisionist history comparing her to some random DNC chair you've never heard of is insane.
She was the first woman combat veteran to run for President and was initially seen/presented herself as a progressive, anti-war, populist candidate. She got the most online engagement of any candidate in the debates she participated in. She was even presenting herself as anti-cop by going after Kamala Harris' record as a prosecutor (which, truth be told, is probably the most commendable thing she ever did).
Obviously her carefully crafted image turned out to be bullshit. She's nothing more than a political opportunist, and she's a weird cult member who is likely some level of Russian asset, but she had a fair amount of momentum in the very beginning before the greater Democrat apparatus quickly turned against her after Hillary Clinton started shitting on her, and even then a bunch of prominent Democrats were defending her all over mainstream news. She was also getting glazed up a bunch by Joe Rogan which only helped her popularity.