Pete Buttigieg has officially announced:
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg officially launched his presidential campaign on Sunday, formally vaulting the Midwestern Democrat who was largely unknown over a month ago into the large — and growing — field of Democrats vying to take on President Donald Trump in 2020.
Buttigieg cast his candidacy as a direct rebuttal to Trump’s campaign — including his slogan “Make America Great Again” — and highlighted his belief that the country needs both a generational change and an entirely different political figure to lead the country past Trump. Buttigieg’s argument is that he, a gay, veteran mayor from the Midwest, is just that kind of different politician.
“My name is Pete Buttigieg. They call me Mayor Pete,” Buttigieg said to cheers. “I am a proud son of South Bend, Indiana. And I am running for President of the United States.”
He said: “I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor. More than a little bold—at age 37—to seek the highest office in the land. … But we live in a moment that compels us each to act.”
It almost seems like no big deal that a gay man has a real chance at one day becoming a major party’s Presidential or VP nominee, but it kind of is a big deal. It was only 25 years ago that my then roommate and best friend, who was closeted, spent so much time and energy making sure the mirage of his heterosexuality remained in place. I mean, I feel like I just blinked it happened so fast, but it really didn’t- it took a long time and a lot of hard work and there are still are swaths of the country who are just as bigoted as they were decades ago. It’s just such a big deal.
WaterGirl
I watched the announcement video live. I find Buttigieg to be inspirational. There ware a lot of people on stage before the main attraction, but the mayor of Austin, TX was really worth listening to if anyone wants to get a sense of who Buttigieg is. And of course listen to Buttigieg’s speech, also.
zhena gogolia
It was a great speech.
satby
John at top
And South Bend is smack in the middle of one of those swaths of bigoted rural areas. I see how transformative it has been for this community to have a gay mayor. Another persecuted minority group goes mainstream. The arc of justice, and all that.
ShadeTail
Personally, I’m pretty displeased with Buttigieg’s pattern of blaming 2016 on Clinton, even though she won by several million votes. He’s been completely ignoring Russia’s interference and the GOP’s own shenanigans to basically say that Clinton brought it on herself. I don’t know if it is naivete, or cynical opportunism, or what, but he’s off to a bad start with me.
RobertDSC-Mac Mini
He does nothing for me. Would vote for him if he’s the nominee, but I don’t care what he has to say until that point.
Mike in DC
Good speech. I have him breaking into my top 5.
1. Harris
2. Warren
3. Gillibrand
4. Castro
5. Pete
6. Booker
7.Wayne Messam*–running on cancelling student loan debt. Yay!
8. Klobuchar
9. Beto
10. Biden
Sanders is not on the list. Will vote for him if he’s the nominee, but seriously hope he isn’t.
satby
@Mike in DC: I confess I would really struggle to vote for Wilmer. If it came down to that, it would be a vote cast on my way to the airport to expatriate.
Mandalay
@ShadeTail:
She got more votes, but she didn’t win anything; she lost to a fucking clown.
But keep telling yourself that she won if it makes you feel better.
joel hanes
it took a long time and a lot of hard work
The strong and slow boring of hard boards.
eemom
You folks relitigating 2016 on these threads seriously need to get lives.
Cheryl Rofer
@eemom: And might even be trolls.
Baud
I wish he were younger and whiter. #Contrarianism
satby
A low info, slightly Republican leaning (historically, not in the Drumpf era) friend watched Pete’s announcement speech and just texted me this:
.
Getting these kinds of voters is how Obama won. This is really a shift.
satby
@Cheryl Rofer: ya think? ?
schrodingers_cat
The gushing coverage and comments here are so embarrassing. Never has a candidate been at the receiving at end of so much gushing on the basis of so little.
NotMax
Meh.
B.B.A.
It shows how far we’ve come, that being gay is no longer a barrier for a privileged white dude.
I’m being both completely sincere and completely sarcastic here.
Cheryl Rofer
@satby: An advantage we front-pagers have is that we can see posters’ email addresses. I feel very strongly about the disinformation campaign that we’re about to see and intend to do everything I can to break it up.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Southbend is too big. Should have bee a town selectman for a town with a population of less than 1000. But not from MA, we are too elite. Preferably where the majority run around wearing those red hats, good people, unlike the elite from the coasts.
Cheryl Rofer
This is a really innovative way to appeal to supporters.
PETE FOR AMERICA
Design Toolkit
This is your home base for downloading the graphic assets you need to support our grassroots campaign.
Design your own campaign signs!
Miss Bianca
@Mike in DC: What, no love for John Hickenlooper?
Miss Bianca
@B.B.A.:
We’ve come a long(ish) way, baby.
Gin & Tonic
@schrodingers_cat: Bingo.
mrmoshpotato
@Mandalay: @ShadeTail: If you want the popular vote to decide who’s President, and your state isn’t on board yet, National Popular Vote.
Many if not all around here would’ve like to have seen a swearing in of President Hillary Clinton. Saying she won the popular vote doesn’t change her not winning the Electoral College.
TS (the original)
Meanwhile, Wilmer is top news at the WaPo – 2016 being repeated by Russia and the media.
Amir Khalid
@eemom:
There is a popular candidate, Pete Buttigieg, relitigating 2016 to no real purpose. It would be a service to the Democratic party if someone advised him to put a sock in it.
HinTN
@Cheryl Rofer:
Good for you!
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
*cough* Brexit *cough*
Baud
@TS (the original): For what?
Gin & Tonic
@Amir Khalid: I wish some people who *weren’t* from halfway around the world would see this clearly.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: I’m not saying it would make elections a cakewalk. There’d still be ratfucking galore to combat.
But no more 62>65 BS.
Baud
@Cheryl Rofer:
I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that.
Emma
@Mandalay: Don’t repeat the bullshit. Without Russian interference and voter suppression she would have won handily. This is why all your liberal talk sounds empty. You ignore reality to push your personal antipathies, and they are always against liberals.
Mary G
I still want a woman – Kamala is my first choice, but Liz is impressing the shit out of me too.
I will happily vote for Mayor Pete if he wins the nomination, though. His youth gives him the energy it will take to start cleaning up the huge mess Twitler has made. He’s miles ahead of Bide and Bernie.
Emma
@schrodingers_cat: Seconded.
Amir Khalid
@NotMax:
Someday it will be possible to draft a law requiring that voters vote wisely, and it will come into force the same day as the law giving everyone a free unicorn.
eemom
@Cheryl Rofer:
Does the e-mail address really tell you anything, though? I mean I doubt the hackers use .ru
Wait a minute….wtf am *I* doing opining about a tech matter??
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: Might want to get ahead of that before your 2020 opponents drop their oppo research.
[email protected]
eemom
wrt the “unfair” attention being lavished on Pete G., folks really need to wake up to the fact that charisma — which is by definition irrational and unfair — is huge in politics, always has been, and always will be. Especially to the vast majority of voters who pay very little attention to the stuff we all obsess over 24/7. I really don’t think there’s anything anybody can do to change that.
mrmoshpotato
@Amir Khalid:
*waits for other shoe*
Haha, well put.
O. Felix Culpa
@eemom: Fair point about charisma, but curious that it seems mostly located at the intersection of “white” and “male,” dontcha think?
ETA: I’ve not seen Julian Castro speak, but I heard his interview on Pod Save America. Extremely well-spoken and has better resume than Mayor Pete. Yet he’s not front and center in the news the way Mayor Pete is. Why?
johnnybuck
@eemom: Exactly! Obama had it, Bill Clinton had it..hell even W had it to a certain extent. Kerry, Gore, Hillary… not so much. Doesn’t make it fair by any means, but there you are. I think Kamala has it too, but the MSM gotta pump the white boys first.
AnotherBruce
Im basing my decision on which candidate would piss off Putin the most. At this point, I think that would be Kamala Harris. The advantage of this way of selection is that it ignores Trump, he is still Putin’s poodle and rolls over to lick Vlad.
James E Powell
@eemom:
Pretty sure the folks here know this. But charisma – especially as defined by the political press/media – is heavily gender coded.
Gin & Tonic
@eemom: Who’s the last woman who had this “charisma” you speak of?
O. Felix Culpa
@James E Powell:
This. Plus race.
Cheryl Rofer
@eemom: Some email addresses are obviously fake.
Miss Bianca
@James E Powell:
Precisely. Which is why it drives me buggier than batshit when people talk about it as a ‘necessary’ component in Presidential politicking.
@O. Felix Culpa:
Ah! But Obama was seen as having ‘It’ – so I dunno what to make of that.
O. Felix Culpa
@Cheryl Rofer: Oh dear, my cover is blown! //
CaseyL
@Gin & Tonic:
In politics? Sara Palin. I despise everything about her, but she had it.
O. Felix Culpa
@Miss Bianca:
My take is male trumps female; white male trumps black/brown male. Shirley Chisholm famously remarked that in politics her gender posed a much greater challenge than her race.
ETA: This is generalization of course, and there may be people who have the “it” factor who can do the heavy lifting necessary to break the pattern, but it’s one hell of a heavy lift.
Kamala.Harris.2020
@eemom:
Absolutely.
We have to keep our eyes on the prize and not relitigate past feuds.
James E Powell
@CaseyL:
Sarah Palin’s appeal was limited to those who are as ignorant and bigoted as she is.
The most charismatic female American politician I can recall was Ann Richards. I said back then and repeat it now: Hillary should have spent a year watching tapes of Ann Richards.
MisterForkbeard
@eemom: Charisma is highly subjective, too – I’ve seen Trump described that way even by intelligent reporters, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him speak and not immediately had a visceral negative reaction that he feels like a lying con artist. Even when he tries to be nice he comes across as a self aggrandizing asshole.
Theres an interesting similar dynamic for the other candidates. I feel really strongly about Harris’ charisma and performances, and I think Buttigieg does well there too. But I see a lot of reporters and media have just sort of decided that Harris is kind of a nonentity but Buttigieg Is Charismatic And So Is Bernie, etc.
Not much we can do about it, but the whole thing is a mix of differing perspective and outright bullshit.
Peppermint Patrick
I am excited by our options for the 2020 race. I am open at the moment to (almost) all of the current crop of candidates, further information pending. Mayor Pete gave a great speech. And ending it with having his husband join him on the stage to raucous applause in a Red State is a historical milestone. Is he qualified to be President, or the best candidate? I don’t know yet. But John Cole’s point – that regardless of his chances, this was an inspirational moment – is being trampled on like California Super Bloom poppies by Instagram-ers by pointless discord in the comments. For now, let’s savor the moment?
WaterGirl
Other than a few people who just can’t seem to let it go, is anyone here enjoying the petty fights between the “gushers” and the “whiners”?
Raven said it best in an earlier thread:
gene108
I don’t understand, why I have chose a favorite candidate 1 1/2 years from the election.
It is really annoying.
Media should give candidates equal coverage. If you are not officially a candidate, you go to,the back of the line.
I don’t know why this seems obvious to me. It’d cut down on a lot of wild speculation on who is and is not running.
WaterGirl
@James E Powell: Does anyone here think that Michelle Obama doesn’t have charisma?
Peale
As for me, I think we’re going to need to “relitigate” 2016 in the primaries whether we want to or not. The candidates are going to be asked the question on why they’ll win this time when Hillary lost, so quit flipping out when they answer it. Sheez.
I do want to know how each of the candidates plans to win. I do think mayor Pete is skewing a bit much towards the “by having better positions, I’ll peel away more moderate Trump voters” for me. “I’ll get all her voters + a few Trump voters in key states” I think is a recipe for losing. “I’m going to register Latino voters in Arizona and African Americans and Naturalized Citizens in Michigan and pay all the Voters in PA who voted in 2008 but haven’t shown up since $50 to Uber themselves to the polls” is more to my liking. “I’ve figured out how to increase Latino turnout rates 10% in Texas and I’m going to do that on NC”-Like that a lot better, too. At this point I don’t care as much about policy or personality.
schrodingers_cat
@O. Felix Culpa: Speaking of charisma or lack thereof. PB has little, he comes across as a dweeby teen in a school uniform trying hard to impress. He is not particularly handsome either or tall. I don’t buy this charisma explanation. The press loves him, because he dumps on Ds and D constituencies. In my opinion Kamala and Beto have charisma and the good looks compared Mr. PB.
Hob
@schrodingers_cat: Maybe I missed a bunch of “gushing” comments on other posts, but looking at this one, it seems like what pissed you off was three comments saying it was a good speech, and one comment agreeing with Cole that it’s kind of a big deal to have an openly gay presidential candidate, no matter who it is (which I don’t think is even a matter of opinion; it’s not a reason to vote for him, but yes it’s a big deal). Also two people saying they’re not interested. I don’t see any gushing after you made your comment, either.
Personally I am not sure if Buttigieg’s candidacy makes sense, but I thought the speech was good. He highlighted climate change and voting rights as being particularly important, said that reactionary politics clearly have an appeal but are dishonest and harmful, described a list of social justice issues as all being aspects of freedom, acknowledged that the current administration is a shitshow but didn’t dwell on it… basically said the things a Democrat in 2019 should say. Nothing super distinctive, but if even the minor candidates are able to rise to that level, that’s a good sign.
West of the Rockies
@schrodingers_cat:
Oh. I don’t know. Palin sure got fluffed to within an inch of the Oval Office.
MomSense
@Mandalay:
Fuck off.
O. Felix Culpa
@WaterGirl: Sorry, I take serious exception to that remark. I work my tuchus off (that is, more than full time without pay) for the Democratic Party and in opposition to Trump’s policies. I have the right to express my dismay at a well-spoken but lesser-qualified white man getting significantly more press coverage than highly qualified women and men of color. I’m not so much anti-Mayor Pete as I am anti-white male savior complex which leads to heavily unbalanced time share in the press and hurts other fantastic Dem candidates. I will not be silent about that gross imbalance.
WaterGirl
@gene108:
#1 – Love that!
#2 – It will never happen
#3 – DEMOCRATS picking fights between DEMOCRATS based on what DEMOCRAT you prefer for president is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen from our side, and that’s saying a lot.
Do people not see that it’s just this kind of thing that fostered the bad blood between Clinton and Wilmer that is still causing issues 3 years later???????
edit: apologies for the excessive number of question marks.
eemom
But real charisma is NOT defined by the bullshit media narrative. Oh, they think they do, no doubt, like they tell people what to think about everything — but that’s not what I am talking about. I’m just saying that charisma IS a real thing.
Race? Who was more charismatic than MLK, not to mention Obama?
Women…..Bella Abzug? Shirley Chisholm? Sojourner Truth? Evita Peron?
O. Felix Culpa
@eemom: Only one of them won a national election.
MomSense
@Amir Khalid:
Thank you. I’ll vote for him only if he’s the nominee. Otherwise, nope.
WaterGirl
Remember when so many people here were so mad at Beto getting all the attention? Until Buttigieg came along, that is, and now he is apparently the bad guy.
Be mad at the media, people, not the candidates!
eemom
@CaseyL:
I guess. I hate her so much I resisted that conclusion.
schrodingers_cat
@West of the Rockies: Democratic candidate, this cycle. The press always fluffs Rs.
West of the Rockies
@O. Felix Culpa:
I suspect much of it has to do with Pete being a shiny new object. Few heard of him 6 months ago. Castro has been a name for some years.
I like Castro. I like Booker, too. I hope it is Harris or Warren. I hope to hear more from all about protecting the environment, spending more on education and science and meaningful legal reform to address the ubiquitous glass ceiling for women and POC.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Probably not for releasing his taxes, since that didn’t happen.
karen marie
@CaseyL: On what planet? She’s an ignorant, clueless little climber who is too dumb to take advantage of wingnut welfare.
Hob
@schrodingers_cat:
This is getting weirdly personal and I have to say I’m not super comfortable with ranking candidates by how good-looking they are, or with inviting us to mock nerdy kids.
“Tall” at least is objective, and it’s true that there’s some evidence of taller people doing better in national politics. As for “charisma”… as you say, it’s a matter of opinion. I know people who came to like Buttigieg a lot only after they saw him being interviewed on TV, which suggests to me that some people really like his personality. I am neutral on it (so please don’t accuse me of gushing).
Raven
@schrodingers_cat: Admit it, you hate him because he’s served in the military you also hate.
schrodingers_cat
@WaterGirl:I will express my opinions about primary candidates. Whether that pleases you is none of my concern.
WaterGirl
@O. Felix Culpa:
I absolutely agree with that.
I don’t even disagree with that.
But the NAME CALLING here on BJ, because someone prefers a different candidate than you? That I find truly offensive.
Being dismissive to other BJ folks because the media is giving more attention to one candidate over a different candidate? I find that offensive, too.
James E Powell
@Peale:
People don’t flip out when they answer it. They – and that includes me – react angrily when the answer is anything like “Because Hillary failed to reach out to white bigoted males.”
How about an answer the includes references to the fact that Hillary struggled to overcome our culture’s hostility toward women in authority. How about include the NYT’s 20 year smear campaign and the widespread disdain for Hillary in the press/media? Maybe bring up James Comey’s historical disregard of DOJ policy.
One could respond that to this day no one in the press ever really followed up on stories of Trump’s corruption. I could go on, but I’m sure you get the drift. The answer could be and should be designed to direct away from Hillary, who is not running, and toward Trump, who is.
Or maybe just say, if you all in the press/media had focused on Trump’s tax returns as much as you did on Hillary’s emails, the election wouldn’t have even been close. But to this day you all let him slide on that and you never have explained why. Next question.
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I thought tomorrow was his self imposed deadline.
satby
@Amir Khalid: he’s not actually. But the bros on Twitter are working hard to make it seem he is.
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl:
Here? Probably not.
But let her run for office, and I bet we would suddenly start hearing a lot less about her ‘charisma’, and a lot more about how she did this one thing this one time which totally destroys all her progressive street cred, so that’s why, even tho’ OF COURSE we want to vote for a woman, we couldn’t vote for THAT one. Plus, how harmful dynasties are.
Maybe not here, but out there in the wild red yonder, we sure would.
Raven
@schrodingers_cat: And when you are full of shit I’ll be here. You’re full of shit.
eemom
@O. Felix Culpa:
That’s not the point. Of course I’m not denying that sexism is huge in politics too….my only point, again, is that charisma IS a real thing, and it sure as shit cuts across every line that exists, all the way up to good/evil.
Hitler. Mao. Manson.
schrodingers_cat
@Raven: I don’t hate the military or those who served in the military. I just wasn’t willing to give the generals who served in the T administration a pass because they served in the military. I have the greatest respect for veterans who comment here including you. Because I don’t think I could do it.
West of the Rockies
@schrodingers_cat:
Ah, well, other than maybe Beto, no.
I’d like to see Beto and Pete join Congress rather than become president. Their lack of big-stage experience is concerning to me
YMMV.
Baud
@Miss Bianca:
Media: She said she’d go high. But wait until you hear about she did now. Tune in at 11.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Ok but isn’t it also offensive that commenters here who are BIPoC are telling us that they hear him dog whistling and they have been told by white commenters that they are wrong – repeatedly? I think he’s a smart guy but he has to do more listening especially to marginalized and vulnerable people because he is saying things that are very upsetting.
schrodingers_cat
@Raven: Whatever did I do to you?
WaterGirl
@Miss Bianca: Yep.
A lot of people, even Republicans really like Michelle Obama. They connect with her in some way, even though they don’t hold the same political views. They like her; they see her as genuine.
Pete Buttigieg has that with a certain segment of the population, as does Beto.
RAVEN
@schrodingers_cat: @schrodingers_cat: Nuthin, I’m just going with the general sense of the thread!
O. Felix Culpa
@WaterGirl: I haven’t done either of the things you mentioned. It sometimes seems that the tone policing disallows disagreement, which I object to. It’s the primaries. We should be able to state our likes and dislikes and why. That is all.
PJ
@WaterGirl: It’s great that an openly gay guy can run for President without widespread backlash, but I think it is foolish to put much emphasis on him when:
1) He has little political record to run on (and failed at a state-wide run), and what we know of his stint as mayor of a college town is not encouraging (e.g., firing the black police chief who called to task racist police officers beneath him);
2) He is deliberately not making any policy proposals. I know policy is mostly irrelevant to many voters, and certainly to the media, but, along with past performance, it is the main thing that determines how I vote.
Along with lacking substance, he also ticks off the boxes for David Brooks (mid-western white guy who whispers to the Trump supporters at Applebees), which also inclines me to write him off. I get that nationwide office is really his only chance to advance politically, and he would probably be happy with a cabinet position, but it’s no reason to devote attention to him.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: He and I have a day left.
J R in WV
@Cheryl Rofer:
When you see a troll, call them out ASAP. I try, sometimes I miss but I try anyway.
Uncle Cosmo
@CaseyL: Oh bullshit. All she had was the MILF factor: a shit-ton of overthehill white Thuglican males fantasizing about fucking her.
eemom
@Miss Bianca:
Not to beat a dead horse, but again, that’s missing the point. I am not in any way shape or form talking about the moron media narrative.
I’m talking about a natural ability to connect with and move people, which, just like any other talent, some people have and some don’t.
As was pointed out above, Kerry and Gore painfully lacked it. As did Poppy Bush. I wouldn’t say GWB was charismatic either. But fucking zombie Reagan sure was.
J R in WV
@mrmoshpotato:
Wait…!? You and Amir don’t have an issue Unicorn yet??? What’s wrong with this universe!!!
PJ
@West of the Rockies: Beto served in Congress for six years. He could not run for Senate and House at the same time, thus his free time to run now.
West of the Rockies
@Hob:
Well said.
There’s a possible candidate who hasn’t yet announced who may be overweight; I sure hope she would not be dismissed because of that.
I wish we could talk up the candidates we like and not take pot shots at the others. Well, except for a certain hypocritical north-eastern senator who ran in ’16 who the little birdies love.
eemom
@Uncle Cosmo:
There were plenty of women who liked her too.
johnnybuck
@Uncle Cosmo: wrong. People in fucking Georgia LOVED her, I’m talking Republican women, evangelicals, mouth breathers. She might not have been your cup of tea, but there was nothing manufactured about her charisma.
satby
Back to John’s point, it is a historic moment. Only 40 years after Stonewall, a gay candidate for president.
And I feel like noting that homophobia is just another flavor of misogyny and will be just as tough a barrier.
Again: don’t like him? Fine, don’t vote for him. Problem solved. He’s not your enemy, I’m not your enemy, zhena and Watergirl and anyone else who liked a fucking speech aren’t your enemies.
J R in WV
@Cheryl Rofer:
It is a mighty poor troll that can’t make up a real looking fake email address!!!
Amir Khalid
@Peale:
Candidates need to have the situational awareness to sense when they are being baited — in this case, into the endless distraction of a debate over tactics. When they’re debating that, they’re not talking about the needs and expectations of the ordinary American; they’re playing into the horse-race thinking that drives too much of the cmpaign coverage in the US. Better, I think, to focus on what they have to offer as POTUS.
PJ
@satby: 50 years. Which seems to me about right for this kind of societal change. Obama was elected 44 years after passage of the Civil Rights Act.
Major Major Major Major
@WaterGirl: Michelle is not a politician and doesn’t want to be.
Trump has a certain brutish garbage charisma about him common in reality TV stars. Of the currently declared primary candidates, the ones who have charisma IMO are Bernie, Harris, Pete, and Warren to an extent. Of them, I think Warren would make the best president.
I really really want to know the candidates’ foreign policies though. It’s so important and completely unaddressed so far. Instead we’re arguing about how many public options can dance on the head of a filibuster again.
Amir Khalid
@J R in WV:
I’m not eligible for an American unicorn.
Miss Bianca
@eemom: I guess I never saw it in Reagan, and thought the people who swooned about his ability to act all charming and Presidential (pro-tip, people: HE WAS AN ACTOR, SO DUH) were painfully stupid, if not outright delusional. So, maybe I just don’t respond to the ‘It Factor’.
ETA: Altho’ Reagan never came across as anything but a raving phony to me on TV or radio, it is true that I never met the man in person. From all I hear, I might have thought differently if I had.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: I would absolutely love to know the things Buttigieg, or any candidate, has said that are very upsetting and are racist dog whistles.
Maybe I haven’t read all the threads that you have, because the only one where I saw a dog-whistle reference was something where what Buttigieg had supposedly said was being misrepresented and appeared to have been taken completely out of context.
CONTROVERSY
I would say that was clueless, but I don’t see that as a dog whistle. I am pretty confident in that opinion because I have listened to interviews where Buttigieg talks in a positive way about making reparations to black people and where he is clearly distressed by the ways in which the “justice” system is not just and works against people of color.
What I bristle at are the personal attacks and hostility toward people here based on preferences between democratic candidates.
gene108
@WaterGirl:
I think part of the issue is Bernie is running again. If he backed off, it’d be easier to let 2016 go.
Or if he accepted publicly that he was handily defeated by Hillary, and his loss wasn’t just due to conniving superdelegates, we could move on.
But as long as he wants attention, and doesn’t bother to change, he will be a drag.
Bonnie
Mayor Pete is very impressive; however, he will never win because of his name. Just look at the names of past Presidents; all very easy to pronounce. American voters are very superficial.
Cheryl Rofer
@J R in WV: And you’ll notice that that new poster hasn’t continued in this thread.
When I see a provocative comment from a new poster, I check the email. Will call out obvious trolls.
But you all can be suspicious of provocative comments from new posters.
And for goodness’ sake! Be nice to each other!
FlipYrWhig
@PJ: Also I don’t see much evidence that he’s particularly skilled at reaching Republicans.
I think it was Roy Edroso who called him “Nice Young Man.” I’m not getting much charisma from him. I don’t think he’s any more charismatic than Swallwell, who also seems like a well meaning Boy Scout. Beto O’Rourke, *just on the basis of what the media calls charisma*, is WAYY beyond Buttigieg. So if you’re picking a candidate for charisma you wouldn’t pick Buttigieg and if you’re picking one FOR ANY OTHER REASON you wouldn’t pick him either, seems to me. I don’t get it. This is like when Ed Sheeran inexplicably got famous.
PJ
@Major Major Major Major: I also would very much like to know their plans for correcting the damage done by Trump (and Bush before him) regarding national security and trade. I think it will take longer to repair the foreign standing of the US than to fix our immediate domestic problems. But my guess is that all of the candidates’ polling tells them that this is not a big issue for voters, and they are saving it for the general election.
HRA
@Cheryl Rofer: \
Cheryl I have asked twice on here how I could change my email address to my new one to two people in charge and have never received an answer. I seldom comment and let the the old one appear without a problem.
HRA
WaterGirl
@O. Felix Culpa: All I am objecting to is the name calling and the derision toward other people who have a different candidate preference – I completely agree that we should be able to say what we like about candidate X and dislike about candidate Y.
But it’s become quite common for people to take something out of context or misrepresent what a candidate has said in their effort to put down that candidate. I find that offensive. If your candidate can’t win on the merits, without lies or obfuscation about other candidates, then they don’t deserve to win.
This is not a zero sum game. I do not have to make your candidate look bad in order to raise my preferred candidate up.
J R in WV
@schrodingers_cat:
“Because I don’t think I could do it.”
Oh, Schrodinger’s — if the draft board came for you the Chiefs and Sergents in boot camp would teach you exactly how to do it, and you would have that much || choice about it. That’s intended to represent a femtosecond, those two lines.
;-)
jk
@ShadeTail:
The same holds true for Beto as well. Pete and Beto give good speeches and seem like decent guys, but Warren, Klobuchar, Gillibrand, Booker, Harris, and Inslee are clearly better prepared to be President.
I disagree 100%. Russian interference clearly played a role in Trump’s victory, but I’m fed up with many Democrats going bonkers over any criticism of Hillary. She ran a weak campaign and made many dumb unforced errors. She clearly deserves some degree of blame for her loss in 2016.
debbie
@Gin & Tonic:
I seem to recall people saying this very same thing when Obama first began.
Cheryl Rofer
@HRA: I don’t know how to change emails. You probably could sign in again with a new nym and the new email. Or you might wait for the site rebuild, which maybe will have a way to change emails.
WaterGirl
@Major Major Major Major: I agree that Michelle has no interest in being a politician or running for elected office. I was merely giving an example of a woman who has charisma in response to a suggestion that charisma is a male trait.
J R in WV
@Amir Khalid:
Wait !! whut!???!
I thot unicorns were European…?
WaterGirl
@Bonnie: That Barack Hussein Obama guy could never win, either.
Baud
@jk:
No one who attacks her is interested in giving her only some degree of blame.
Progressives spent a decade complaining about media coverage of the Dean Scream. She deserves at least as much consideration.
HRA
@Cheryl Rofer:
Thank you, Cheryl. I will wait for the rebuild. Wow it saved my name and information.
satby
@PJ: I was thinking it was about 45-50 years after civil rights for Obama’s election.
If you haven’t watched the speech you should, it’s a full throated embrace of progressive Democratic values. I can’t imagine any of it would be objectionable to any of us here. So the disdain for this candidate is based on what and who he is, or because he’s getting too much positive press. None of which is in his control.
TS (the original)
@Peale: Surely they can simply explain the damage that trump has done to the country inside and out – that is why they will win
Amir Khalid
@HRA:
For about half an hour. And then … poof!
WaterGirl
@HRA: I am not quite sure what you are wanting to do.
Do you want to keep your nym and change the email address that is attached to it? And the system won’t let you because there is already a different email address attached to HRA?
J R in WV
@HRA:
Just comment with the new email addr. You will go into moderation, and if the thread is still active, someone will see that comment and approve it, especially if you mention the new email address in your comment. You could even comment with the new email and then comment with the old one that there is a comment waiting for moderation.
Just Do IT and you will get approved again, just like the first time you commented.
debbie
@MisterForkbeard:
Trump spoke at my brother’s graduation in 1988. He was a total asshole, even then.
Amir Khalid
@J R in WV:
Unicorns are indeed all European, but I was told I had to be an American citizen to receive a US Government Issue unicorn.
Bailey
@johnnybuck:
If either Mayor Pete or Beto gets the nomination it will be because they are closest to having the Obama “It” factor. If Warren or Harris get the nomination, it’s because the country suddenly values knowledge, experience, and competence in women.
At this point, I don’t really care about anyone else in the race. Except Jay Inslee can keep on talking about climate change and the environment.
JPL
Pelosi is on Sixty minutes..
Major Major Major Major
@WaterGirl: fair!
I also forgot Beto was even running, which tells you how well I can detect his charisma…
debbie
Stop yer fighting. Pelosi’s on 60 Minutes.
James E Powell
Game of Thrones prep began shortly after the end of the Blazers/Thunder.
Jay
@Amir Khalid:
Are you eligible for an Austrailian Cassowary?
Amir Khalid
@Major Major Major Major:
I sometimes get the sense that Pete Buttigieg and Beto O’Rourke have so far been running as feel-good candidates, promoting an appealing personality in lieu of a comprehensive set of policy ideas or a compelling resume. Does anyone have thoughts on this?
HRA
@WaterGirl:
I did try changing it here manually and it did not allow me to do it. The email address you see is old and not current.
Old is in I was on BJ even before General Stuck. :)
Amir Khalid
@Jay:
If I am eligible for that, I hope I never find out.
balinger
Pete Buttigieg has officially announced:
BUDDHA BUDDHA BUDDHA BUDDHA!!
Steve in the ATL
@debbie: Jesus. Was he graduating from trump university?
PJ
@Amir Khalid: Neither one sees a pathway to advance in politics in their state given current voting trends. (Beto saw he had a chance against Cruz, whom no one, even his strongest supporters, likes, and still came up short.) So it makes sense for them to take a swing at President (I mean, everyone else is, so why not them?) I think they both think they can do a good job at it, and are good public speakers. I don’t know about Beto, but Buttigieg is deliberately not putting forth any policy proposals, most likely because he doesn’t want to get boxed in by them. In any event, not running on policy means that they don’t have policies to defend and can appeal to more people in the short run. Also, the media doesn’t give a shit about policy, so it will not be held against them, and allows the media to focus on their feel good stories.
In some ways, it is true “identity politics” – “Do you identify with me and what you think I stand for? Do you LIKE me?” Thus all the media issues about female candidates being “unlikable.” Beto and Buttigieg are hoping that, for now, being likable is enough. That turns me off, but it may be an effective strategy.
Dan B
@WaterGirl: Thanks for your comments about Pete. As a white gay guy who came out, and suffered, before Stonewall and had friends who were subjected to shock therapy, the level of disdain some commenters feel for Pete feels personal. Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of LGBT people are amazed he has a chance of being nominated. His mere presence in the debates will drive the religious right crazy. Well, they are crazy but he puts a spotlight on them. He also seems to want the people who voted for Obama twice, and Trump once, to feel welcome in the Democratic fold again. The next time an LGBT candidate runs for high office they won’t be the shiny new thing for the media. I lean towards Kamala and wish she got more coverage but there is time. I wish the jackals who know more about her would relate some background. I’ve got good info on Warren and Castro but Harris’ politics seem a but opaque, at least not talked about enough.
jk
@Amir Khalid:
I’ve felt this way all along. Sadly, our dumb media does not give a damn about policy proposals or substance. They treat the presidential campaign as a reality tv show, so they’re more interested in candidates who are telegenic or have compelling biographies.
Ohio Mom
@PJ: You just said everything I was going to.
debbie
@Steve in the ATL:
Google says Trump U. didn’t start until 2004, so no.
Steve in the ATL
@Dan B: well said. And I’m also a Kamala fan.
Ohio Mom
@HRA: Why don’t you try being HRA2 or something similar? We humans would recognize the continuity but maybe the algorithm wouldn’t? Worth a try.
Kay
I didn’t watch the whole speech but I loved “we can turn the channel” about Trump. He didn’t say Trump, but, obviously.
I feel like that will drive Trump crazy :)
I think he was mad Democrats barely mentioned him in the midterms.
Peale
@Amir Khalid: IDK. I just finished watching “Great Man Academy”, a Thai TV series that involved a unicorn appearing a few times to grant wishes. I know, I know, Thailand is not Malaysia, but it I think the biome is similar. I think if given the choice, you should opt for the unicorns that would be most comfortable in a subtropical climate and used to foraging on local plants. Plus the whole wish granting thing of that species is a plus. Ours are practically worthless and can only be calmed by spilling the blood of the purest of virgins…which is a nice thought and all, but it makes upkeep,a drag.
Baud
@Kay:
Why would Dems mention PB in the midterms?
Peale
@Baud: Trump. We didn’t mention Trump.
Major Major Major Major
@Baud: I think “him” was Trump in that sentence.
Baud
@Peale:
Gotcha.
Dan B
@Steve in the ATL: Thanks. I’m surprised by the number of people who believe that there are federal laws that protect LGBT people. They also believe the same about rights for women. We get into the weeds about policy when most people are clueless about the basics.
BTW Buttigieg’s campaign received $1 million in 4 hours after his announcement. Would love to see the same for Kamala and Liz in tomorrow’s reports.
Kay
@Baud:
Hah! I picture them all against Trump. That’s how I watch their speeches.
I wonder if that would be effective- treating Trump as a boring reality tv show that went on too long. Trump cannot exist without constant attention.
Luciamia
TOM is showing Gone with the Wind tonight. Counter programming against Game of Thrones? Your choice of epic.
Baud
@Kay:
They’ll have the learn how to campaign outside of the media.
Kay
This is pure speculation and will earn me the wrath of the Bernistas, but I think Bernie started a bullshit fight with CAP to take attention off this launch. Which is amusing.
Jay
@Baud:
Not PB, Insane Clown POSus.
All of the Democratic campaings in the mid-terms, campaigned on the issues.
Insane Clown POSus and the media wanted the Democratic campainges to be about Insane Clown POSus, 24/7.
Kay
@Baud:
I liked the speech. I think the “next era” overlay is effective and appealing.
cmorenc
@Amir Khalid:
Oh, come on…the odds of such a law coming into force aren’t as low as such an impossible creature as a unicorn. I’d say the more realistic odds are of the day a law comes into force giving everyone a free pony. In fact, we’d already have such a law if the political gods hadn’t royally screwed up and given us a horse’s ass instead.
Baud
@Kay:
I have to admit, I haven’t seen the speech.
Ruckus
@PJ:
40 – 50 yrs gets you through a lot of adult lives. I think this has a lot to do with the ability to change viewpoints.
Kay
@Baud:
I didn’t watch all of it. But that’s a good, broad theme for a campaign and would be a nice contrast to Trump, who is a throwback to the 1980’s. I just wanted to see what the main theme was going to be.
germy
Jim, Foolish Literalist
hmmm……
Baud
@Kay: He’s very talented. I can’t believe he’s not even going to try to come up with a policy agenda, however.
germy
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Under 70.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: There’s that government issued unicorn again.
mrmoshpotato
@J R in WV: @Amir Khalid: I had one but it didn’t fart rainbows, so it wasn’t good enough.
Seriously though, this never-ending campaign cycle BS is fucking tiring. Primaries are still a damn year away. I wish no one was allowed to announce until we were 6 months before the first primary. Give the public a break FFS.
Baud
Equal time.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: I can see they’re still upset about the Mythbusters firing a cannon at Dublin.
B.B.A.
@Baud: All the candidates have the same policy agenda: it’ll be crumpled up and thrown out by McConnell, who will chide us for being so “partisan” and the media will dutifully report “gridlock – both sides do it!”
mrmoshpotato
Tongue twister time!
Phils beat the Florida fish in fourteen.
Suzanne
@O. Felix Culpa:
IMO, because Castro is milquetoast and dull to listen to. I remember thinking that back at his “breakout” speech at the convention……snore.
The majority of voters vote for the person who they can bear to see and hear from every day. I am sympathetic to this approach, as I have had to think about Donald Trump multiple times each day for the past three years, and it has nearly broken me. That is the primary qualification.
If that person turns out to be Mayor Pete, well…..we could do a hell of a lot worse.
Baud
@B.B.A.: Maybe, but we voters still care about what the candidates think about what they want to try to accomplish during their term.
prob50
@Amir Khalid:
Will we be given a choice as to the gender of our free unicorn? I think I want a girl one ‘cuz they’d prolly be purdier than a guy one.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@B.B.A.: And then Turtle will learn about the Trump effect when the next Dem president signs and executive order and ignores all the GOP protests.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: As Lennon said: “A pretty face may last a year or two, but pretty soon they’ll want to see what you can do.”
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA: It’s the one good thing about a long primary.
Dan B
I seem to recall hearing that Obama met Buttigieg once for an hour and later said that Harris and the guy from South Bend whose name he couldn’t remember were the most promieing new leaders in the party. And David Axelrod has met with Pete several times. I wonder if he’s also meeting with Kamala’s campaign. Pete has the shiny new media storyline: gay, christian, veteran, midwestern rust belt, young. But Axelrod should know how to get some stories about Kamala onto front pages. Warren seems adept at getting headlines.
Steve in the ATL
@Baud: I recently bought a pair of shoes at the outlet mall in Dublin after a wardrobe malfunction. I’m still Team Kamala, however.
Steve in the ATL
@Dan B:
Concur. Lots of people assume that they are covered under EEO laws like most others. Some of us, however, are labor and employment lawyers and know better.
lamh36
@WaterGirl: Pet peeve, folks who claim they “have no preference for” or “haven’t settled on”…a candidate…but their entire commentary is mostly gushing about ONE candidate…and they lecture other folks about having a prefererence…and wanting to defend that preference.
Those folks have a preference, but just too chickenshit to admit it or defend it instead they call the other folks “whiners” and “gushers”.
Now of course there are the usual trolls, but I’d say a good number of folks, esp here are not “gushers” or “whiners”, but instead they have a preference and they respectfully advocate for that preference. THAT I have no problem with.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: True, I guess that’s one positive to the long campaign; gives the candidates time to flesh out their positions.
Dan B
@Steve in the ATL: One other thing I’m hoping Pete’s campaign will do is point out the sheer number of sham “religious freedom” laws that are moving through red states. They’re aimed at LGBT marriage, civil rights, and right to choose + access to birth control. They’re well covered in the LGBT media but not noticed in the MSM. I believe many of them are being promoted by David Barton, a christian dominionist. They outline how to sneak the legislation in without arousing suspicion.
Bobby Thomson
@O. Felix Culpa: this, this, this.
Castro is a polyglot, ran the seventh largest city in the United States, was a Cabinet secretary, gives consistently good interviews, doesn’t reinforce Republican talking points, doesn’t try to leap to the front by shivving (very popular) former standard bearers, and has put in years of faithful service to the country and the party. There’s a reason he isn’t getting the attention Buttigeig is, and it doesn’t reflect well on people.
Bobby Thomson
@lamh36:
They want to have their cake and eat it too by dissing other candidates without the mud getting on their preferred candidate.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I hesitate to ask but if anyone can point me to live stream comments on the Game of Thrones, I’d appreciate it .
ETA: I see it. Thanks.
lamh36
@Dan B:
Actually many have posted about Harris who are from Cali…but you’d have to read through the comment sections to find them. Not for nothing, but seems like most of the solo topic 2020 front page posts have been on Beto, Bernie, Pete, Warren…Which makes since, since majority of the FP are Easterners (correct me if I’m wrong FP…anyone on the West coast?)
Whatever the case, if you want to know about Kamala Harris, no offense, but Google is def your friend, don’t expect to find much here
westyny
@James E Powell: and don’t forget Matt phuckin’ Lauer, and all that he fronted.
boatboy_srq
@Cheryl Rofer: Subtle.
boatboy_srq
@schrodingers_cat: IIRC The SFChron at one time said something similar about Harvey Milk.
Matt McIrvin
@satby:
And, I’m figuring, about 20 years from Obama’s election to civil rights being entirely eliminated.
J R in WV
@Amir Khalid:
But, but… I thought George Soros was in charge of the unicorn issue?!?!! Guess not…
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Dan B: David Barton is a national threat to freedom that far too many people are unaware of. Dominionists are an underestimated danger that has flown under the radar for entirely too long. Some might say they’ve succeeded with USAF.
Just One More Canuck
@Jay: he doesn’t live in Floriduh
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
Yeah, I’m wondering why I’m being called a “gusher” for saying it was a great speech. I listened to the whole thing. It was excellent. Why can’t I say that? Is that “gushing”?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: From listening to the kid(Air Force for 6 1/2 years), that’s mainly the Academy grads and everyone else thinks they’re jerks anyway.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Nice crowd for Mayor Pete (photo)
And impressively diverse (photo)
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Darkrose
On one hand, I think it’s great that a gay man is running for president and being treated as a serious candidate.
One the other hand, as a bisexual black woman married to a white lesbian, I keep looking at him and thinking that I’m just not sure he has my back. The only thing that makes him different from any other middle-class, educated Christian white man is his sexuality. I imagine that many people look at him and are surprised he’s gay, because he checks all of the other boxes for “normal” and isn’t at all flamboyant or overly butch. I’m not sure he gets why queer folks of color might not want the police marching at Pride, or what it’s like to not be able to pass for straight, or why young gay, lesbian, trans, or non-binary folks flee places like South Bend and don’t have nice quiet Midwestern lives because we don’t feel safe in large sections of this country.
And on the third hand, I kinda feel like the only reason anyone is paying attention to him is because he’s gay. If he were a straight white guy with his resume, everyone would be asking “Seriously? You’re the mayor of a town of 100,000 people and you’re running for president as your first try at national office?” If you want to talk being excited about firsts, I almost cried when I heard that a black lesbian won the race for mayor of Chicago in a landslide. Elizabeth Warren has a long career as a law professor, and is in her second term as a US senator. Kamala Harris was the SF DA and CA AG–and regardless of your opinion of her performance, those are high-profile, high-impact positions–and is a US senator. And yeah, Obama hadn’t been in the Senate but a minute before he ran, but he still got elected to statewide office and served in Congress. Between the lack of experience and the lack of any policy statements, I’m just not that impressed.
lamh36
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: I have no interest in a candidate that Nicole Wallace likes.
She also like Sarah Palin…she and Steve Schmidt can KMBA…forever cause of that.
I don’t trust then as for as i can throw them.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Her’e’s another image that tugs at your heart strings (photo)
WaterGirl
@Baud: Of course he is going to flesh out his policy agenda with more details.
You are likely to hear him talk about Medicare for all, and he makes it clear that his personal inclination is that we should go with “Medicare for All who want it” as the way to get there, but that he is open to the various ways to get there. What’s most important is that we get health care for everyone, one way or another.
Same with the politicalization of the Supreme Court. HIs personal inclination is that it would be best to have 15 SC justices, with 5 being appointed by DEMS and 5 being appointed by RETHUGS, and 5 more being selected unanimously from the other 10. But again, to him it’s most important that we depoliticize the supreme court than the method we use to get there.
If you listen to any of the one-hour interviews you will get a good feel for the candidate and the essence of the man, what his character is like and what he believes in. He is very progressive, and if anyone tells you Buttigieg is not talking about what his positions are, then they are either misinformed or haven’t taken the time to learn about him for themselves.
Commonwealth Club (1 hour)
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/video/mayor-pete-buttigieg-democratic-presidential-candidate-0
CNN Town Hall (48 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1994&v=LKTlVH2EKIg
C-SPAN Meeting with Iowa Voters (1 hour + shaking hands with voters afterwards)
https://www.c-span.org/video/?457645-1/south-bend-mayor-pete-buttigieg-meets-iowa-voters
Author Interview: Shortest Way Home (1 hour)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nldx3r7h3Cg
dww44
@Gin & Tonic: Dolly Parton? Ah, maybe that’s the secret for us women, to learn to laugh at ourselves more. Certainly to be more comfortable showing it.
Major Major Major Major
@Baud:
I can’t imagine he’s said that.
At this moment, his biggest assets are his narrative and personality, and he is rightly capitalizing on that. I’m sure that in the near future he will have a well-articulated, very boring policy agenda that’s indistinguishable from Cory Booker’s or a half-dozen other candidates’.
dww44
@lamh36: Re Steve Schmidt I’d be more inclined to agree with you than not. But from what I’ve seen and heard from Nicole Wallace, I’m inclined to trust her. She might not opt for the most progressive outcomes, but she’s definitely more than an anti-Trumper. And of all those former Repubs, the one I most respect these days is David Jolly, the former Congress person from Florida.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
Precisely my point, which is that those who tout this compact idea (of dubious constitutionality from the get-go) as a panacea are not being entirely honest, particularly as it does not replace the electoral college. Can easily see a case similar to the following:
Candidate X gets the popular vote
Candidate Y, however, gets 60% of the popular vote in state Z, a compact state.
How do the voters in said state Z react when the electors whom their votes empowered have been rendered moot by the terms of the compact, the upshot being that those voters’ votes have been, for all intents and purposes, nullified?
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Yeah, that was a head shaker for me, too. Different realities, I guess.
WaterGirl
@satby: You mentioned earlier that only 8k had watched the announcement speech.
It’s now up to 80,000 views on YouTube. It’s not a million, but it’s not nothing. :-)
Miss Bianca
@Major Major Major Major: I guess I’m still struggling with this whole “charisma” notion, that somehow the reason that people are all whee’d up over Pete B and not, say, Booker, who has the same credentials, similar experience – hell, *more* experience – is the former’s “charisma”.
What is “charisma”, anyway? The ability to speak eloquently? The ability to “connect” to people, whatever that means? I don’t know. I mean, I can speak eloquently – hell, when I tap the collective wisdom that I’ve gleaned from BJ, among other sources, I’ve had people say, “wow! You should run for office!” and I burst out laughing. The one time I tried, I lost! So much for *that* being the thing that moves people to vote for you!
I distrust “charisma” as a prerequisite for “electability” – in fact, I resent like hell the idea that people apparently expect and demand THE FEEEEEELS before they can be bothered to commit to vote – if the common wisdom is that that what it takes…at that point I throw up my hands and say, “Whatever. Y’all decide on whoever gives you that tingle up your leg, if that’s what it takes to get you to FUCKING VOTE, and I’ll be over here hoping like hell that good old Tingles has the solid policy chops I want in a candidate – or if not, has the good sense to fake it till s/he/they can get the right people back into the right offices.”
geg6
@Major Major Major Major:
Read an interview with him (Olivia Nuzzi in NYMag) where he said he wasn’t going to go with policy, at least not right now. The interview did not impress me, personally.
satby
@Darkrose:
If you’re inclined, contact this group and get their opinion. They’ve worked with the mayor on several issues. I’m sure there’s other LGTB groups in SB, but I happen to be familiar with this one.
geg6
@Miss Bianca:
I find that Corey Booker has about 10,000 times the charisma as Mayor Pete. Easily.
satby
@Miss Bianca: Not charisma. I think it’s just that Mayor Pete is the newest media chew toy coupled with the fact that there’s a concerted effort by the Wilmerites to take him down as a threat. Booker, Warren, Harris are already national figures and a lot more polished. Buttigieg comes across as a decent, thoughtful, genuine guy; even the odious Megan McCain was a bit impressed with him on the View and she’s opposed to pretty much everything about the guy. We need that on our side in the coming election. Even if he isn’t the nominee, he’ll make a hell of a surrogate for whomever is. Eyes on the prize.
WaterGirl
@geg6: Is this what you were referring to from the NYMag article by Olivia Nuzzi where you said he said he wasn’t going to go with policy, at least not right now?
Because that was the candidate’s husband, Chasten, not Buttigieg himself.
Major Major Major Major
@geg6: right, he said that at this moment, going with narrative and style is his best tactical move. He is quite possibly correct, and also a politician. ETA This doesn’t bother me much assuming he cuts it out before the debates.
JR
@Darkrose: The resume is a non-starter for me. It really comes down to that. State or federal experience please. I know people bagged on Obama for this same thing but he had both.
Omnes Omnibus
FWIW if the WI primary were held today, I would probably vote for Harris. As far as charisma goes, the only people I am seeing with it right now are Harris and O’Rourke (which also might be a pretty good pairing). Buttigieg seems like a good guy and is damned smart, but otherwise it don’t see him as a contender. So anyway, to get to my actual point – Jesus Christ, stop being assholes. Thank you.
jk
Kudos to AOC for not joining the Biden bandwagon
https://www.yahoo.com/news/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-skullduggery-2020-024318540.html
O. Felix Culpa
@Dan B: Dead thread, but as a member of the LGBT community I’m thrilled at the breakthrough and acceptance that Mayor Pete’s candidacy represents. As a woman, I’m also seeing the repeat of the primacy of the white male and the strong possibility of incredibly capable women having to take a back seat yet again. That’s not to blame Mayor Pete, but it is a real dynamic that I find infuriating.
O. Felix Culpa
@satby:
Agree 100%
Bonnie
@WaterGirl: There is an exception to every rule; but, it isn’t going to happen in 2020.
Omnes Omnibus
@Bonnie:
Well, not with that attitude, it won’t.
Major Major Major Major
@Omnes Omnibus: if Murkowski could win as a write-in candidate, surely it’s not that important.
Omnes Omnibus
@Major Major Major Major: But can anyone actually spell Buttigieg?
Bonnie
@Omnes Omnibus: Sorry, Mr. Omibus, that you think I have an attitude. But, I believe the odds are against the rule being broken so soon. I am 73. I remember still so vividly at 18 learning that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I was 20 when Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. I have seen a lot of elections, fought cancer, and lost my beloved 17 and half year old cat a few weeks ago. As for the primary candidates, I hate that I even have to think about the 2020 election in March of 2019. I think there are many good ones including Buttigieg; but, all this stuff now is just too stressful. For now, I am cheering on our state’s Governor, Jay Inslee, even though he doesn’t have even the chance the Mayor Pete may have. But, I may drop dead tomorrow, so in the end it doesn’t matter. The one belief I have, though, is that I want some young whippersnapper to win the nomination because it is time for a new generation to take over the running of this country.
eemom
@Bonnie:
Words of wisdom, a real rarity these days. ❤️
Very sorry about your kitty.
Omnes Omnibus
@Bonnie: I was making a joke.
Ruckus
@debbie:
I’m not sure that Donald was a total asshole as an infant, but he sure has been since he was old enough to drive. And it hasn’t been all that much of a secret the entire time. It’s just that he was/is so penny ante and so was his dad that no one really gave a shit about him, unless he got in front of you somehow, IOW on TV or the news. And there wasn’t as much a way to be such a public asshole 30 or 40 years ago. I knew from reading things like WSJ and Forbes. He wasn’t a big name but he proved then that asshole was and is his middle name.
NotoriousJRT
@West of the Rockies: Sarah Palin: mean-spirited naughty librarian of the grievance section. She put the trash in white.
MomSense
@eemom:
Yeah because it makes so much sense to base our strategy for this election off of flawed analysis of the last one. Keep fucking that rural, white, economically anxious chicken.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Later in that same article he is asked why he doesn’t have a policy section on his website and he says that he is very detailed about policies but he wants to talk about values first and that people don’t get your values from policy minutiae. I’ve seen other comments where he says he is a policy wonk but he’s starting with values.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Yes, I do think he has been dog whistling, and divisive and dismissive. You keep posting those longer quotes to give context but there is the broader context of his record in South Bend and I think POC are paying close attention and are rightfully concerned.
Black women are the most informed, savviest, reliable, and pragmatic voters in the Democratic Party. Their lives and the lives of their loved ones are always on the line. When they critique a candidate I pay attention. If Pete is smart, and we all know he is, he will listen to them and learn from them. I don’t understand why people have such low expectations for his ability to become a better candidate. The onus should be on him to change not for black people to ignore what is problematic about his statements and record.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@MomSense:
Thank you for that. We should listen to the people who need to hear the dog whistles. That’s been my point all along. We cannot dismiss their observations or tell them they don’t understand – it’s offensive. And doesn’t need to happen.
Doesn’t mean we’re bashing a candidate; so let’s not get all wound up. Good speech, I thought.
NotoriousJRT
@WaterGirl:
I did not take the point that charisma is a male trait. I took it as sexism prevents women from being credited for having it,
NotoriousJRT
@dww44: I do NOT trust Nicole Wallace. She is happy to cash in on her “Never Trumpism” when she, in fact, planted the biggest, fattest seeds that brought us Trump. She is pleasant and outraged but never atones. F#ck her.
PaulB
@Cheryl Rofer:
Not quite. What you can see is what people *say* their email address is. I know from personal experience that you do not validate those addresses and thus have no idea whether the address that someone is reporting is accurate or not.
WaterGirl
@MomSense:
That’s what I keep asking about and never seem to get an answer to. What is is about his record in South Bend that POC are paying close attention to and are rightly concerned about?
You are right, I do look at the larger context, and as far as I can tell with the police chief being fired, the whole situation was a clusterfuck and there weren’t any good options. But if I am missing something there, or anywhere, that POC are concerned about or where they think are dog whistles, I would really like to have details about those things.