Pete Buttigieg Isn't Going Anywhere

[babylonsister]

Pete Buttigieg Isn’t Going Anywhere
This year, the Millennial mayor became a household name. Now how does he translate that into votes?
Edward-Isaac Dovere
5:00 AM ET

snip//

When I asked Buttigieg which is more ridiculous, the idea of a black freshman senator winning the presidency in 2008, or the idea of the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, getting elected now, he said, “I would like to argue that neither is ridiculous.” Buttigieg’s response carried a characteristic edge to it: “He had more national exposure sooner than I did. But then I have the benefit of executive experience. So I guess we’re just different.”

We’ve reached an odd moment in an odd Democratic-primary race. With less than 100 days until the Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden is struggling to hang on to his lead in the polls and is short on cash. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is making some people nervous that she’ll be Hillary Clinton and George McGovern rolled into one, and that nominating her means throwing the election to Donald Trump. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is recovering from a heart attack, and some observers believe that he has reached his ceiling of support. And while many voters keep saying they haven’t made up their minds yet, 14 other candidates are trying to convince voters and themselves there’s still a way to pull it off.

And then there’s Buttigieg. Several top Democratic officials who are not backing any candidate, as well as some operatives who are, have told me in the past two weeks that there’s a spot for him, but that the nominee can’t be him. They say the same things: He’s too young, too inexperienced, and unable to draw support from African American voters. They worry about the question that keeps coming up in focus groups and that reporters are beginning to ask: whether he’s struggling to win people over because he’s gay.

In Rock Hill, South Carolina, last weekend, I asked people at a Buttigieg town hall whether they thought he was ready to do the job. “Have you ever listened to him speak? He’s got brains, he’s got class, he’s got poise,” Chuck McKinney, a retired carpenter who’d driven in from Lake Lure, North Carolina, told me.

This is the point in the 2008 race when Barack Obama began an ascent that never stopped. He broke out at the Iowa Democratic Party dinner in November 2007. (This year’s dinner is scheduled for tonight.) That night, Obama talked about “a defining moment in our history” and having “lost faith that our leaders can and will do anything about it,” so “the same old Washington textbook campaigns just won’t do.”

more...

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/11/pete-buttigieg-2020-next-phase/601237/

[empedocles]

1. A friend just said to me about an hour ago that AK is at 4%, and that is

comparable to where Obama was a year before the '08 election.

Who knows?

[True Blue American]

2. The more I see

And hear the more I appreciate Pete. Class, brilliance all the way.

[StevieM]

8. Your friend is completely and totally mistaken.

Barack Obama was well above 4 percent a year before the 2008 election. He entered the race at about 20 percent in the polls, second to Hillary who was at about 35 percent.

He was understood from the very beginning to be such a strong challenger that she moved up her announcement date by months.

[RLG]

3. Even though there are similarities, there are a lot of differences.

For one, Obama ran for statewide office and won.

Buttigieg ran for statewide office and lost.

But, he's the "next best thing", so I have to grin and bear it.

[Celerity]

5. Pete was 28, Indiana is a ruby red state and he did better than the other Dem candidates that year

Illinois is a fairly Blue state, although Obama hardly won just because of that. He was extraordinary at most all levels.

[RLG]

9. And yet, he never ran for statewide office again.

You know the GOP is going to use this against him.

[Celerity]

11. the Rethugs can fuck off, they ran a POW criminal con grifter reality telly show orange git

draft-dodger who had zero elected political experience.

[RLG]

12. And yet in 2004, Americans voted for a draft dodger over a Vietnam veteran.

[Celerity]

18. non sequitur

On two levels. Bush had more elected experience than Trump, and his (Buh's) 'draft-dodging' is not germane to the debate over elected office experience. It is chalk and cheese.

[blm]

26. The important factor in that race was that Bush WH was

at its most powerful going into that race at the very time when the DNC infrastructure in crucial states was at its weakest. Terry Mac was very DC-centric as the head of the DNC.

[babylonsister]

15. Yay, perfect! nt

[madaboutharry]

4. Sometimes I think of an America with a President Pete Buttigieg.

Waking up every morning without wondering what crazy tweets will be talked about on Morning Joe, waking up without wondering which group of Americans will be the target of the day for the Bully who lives in the White House, Having a First Couple that actually lives together and loves each other, Having a Foreign Policy that actually benefits the global community, Having a President that respects our allies, Having a President who is intelligent, thoughtful, and mentally stable! This is not a complete list.

I feel the same if there was a President Klobuchar.

Mayor Buttigieg and Senator Klobuchar are my two candidates right now.

[Celerity]

10. IF ( a huge if, I admit) Pete won the nomination, he probably would pick Abrams, Patrick, Harris,

Booker, or Cedric Richmond as VP to help with A-A turnout.

[RLG]

13. It'll take more than an African American running mate to get the AA vote.

[Celerity]

14. if Pete won the nomination, he already would have gotten a decent share of the A-A vote

[Skya Rhen]

31. He's been at 1% with AAs for months and he can't win without them, and they won't "fall in line" if

he wins Iowa, either. AAs will decide who wins the Democratic nomination.

[Celerity]

32. Depends on the state we are talking about, and he was, mid June,

up to 6, 7% with black SOUTH CAROLINA voters (and climbing), then that tragic shouting took place im South Bend.

I rule nothing out. If (no longer necessarily speaking of only Pete) Biden does poorly in IA, NH and NV, his A-A base in SC will be severely compromised.

[customerserviceguy]

24. Would it?

Had Hillary Clinton not picked the most boring white man in VA to be her running mate, we might not be talking about Donald Trump right now.

[pangaia]

27. Lol

[babylonsister]

17. Andrew Gillum should be right up there, too. nt

[Celerity]

19. a simple 20-second vetting via Google search makes that seem a bit unlikely IMHO

https://eu.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/fbi/2019/04/24/andrew-gillum-ethics-hearing-delayed-until-11-a-m/3538733002/

https://eu.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/01/25/florida-ethics-commission-finds-probable-cause-andrew-gillum-case/2679971002/

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2019/04/01/fbi-agent-may-testify-in-ethics-case-against-gillum-943043

https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/2019/04/24/andrew-gillum-agrees-to-pay-5000-ethics-fine/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/2019/01/30/less-than-reasonable-judgment-ethics-panel-rebukes-andrew-gillum/

[babylonsister]

21. I think a lot of that was just noise and smears when

he was running in FL, where he is beloved.

Warren likes him

https://www.thedailybeast.com/elizabeth-warren-has-been-talking-to-andrew-gillum-sparking-vice-president-buzz
Warren’s Been Talking to Gillum, Sparking VP Buzz
“If you’re trying to win Florida, I would be courting Andrew and that’s what’s happening,” a source familiar with the conversations said.

[Celerity]

23. unfortunately he did admit guilt when he settled, and it was an FBI sting operation that nailed him

https://eu.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/fbi/2019/04/24/andrew-gillum-ethics-hearing-delayed-until-11-a-m/3538733002/


Warren is renowned for being an anti-corruption crusader

so Gillum would seem a strange pick overall as that will instantly became 'narrative number 1' about him, regardless of how unfair it may be (it is, afterall, the HYPER-hypocritical and HYPER-ruthless Rump and his Rethug henchman we are taking about)

[Quackers]

6. I'll keep sticking with Pete.

I remember when people thought it was laughable that Trump was even running. Now we can’t get rid of the pos.

Politics ain’t what they used to be. Pete has a good chance still.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. It's a very good, very fair article that tells about his background in politics.

Among other things.

For sure, Pete Buttigieg has something. I can't put my finger on it, but when we talk to him, he listens. And when he talks, we listen.

He knows how to listen and how to answer. I have not ever seen him dodge a question. That is remarkable.

He is important, and yes, he's not going anywhere.

[customerserviceguy]

25. His highest and best skill

is as a communicator.

[pangaia]

28. He has self-awareness, a self-consciousness like none of the others.

He is still inside. Quiet..

[FreeState]

16. Article like this make me mad

It talks about him being gay and then sets up all these reasons why he can't be elected because of his gayness. One thing they always miss is gay people vote. Why are they left out of the equation? Black people, religious etc.. talk about those groups but never talk about Petes own community.

Also, personally I feel these articles are homophobic - they are based on and promoting using homophobia in our elections, weather that's reality or not these articles do not help diminish the homophobia in our society, it encourages making excuses based on homophobia.

[babylonsister]

20. There isn't much at all in this article about

Pete being gay. I think the writer is very even-handed.

[FreeState]

22. From the bold in your OP

And then there’s Buttigieg. Several top Democratic officials who are not backing any candidate, as well as some operatives who are, have told me in the past two weeks that there’s a spot for him, but that the nominee can’t be him. They say the same things: He’s too young, too inexperienced, and unable to draw support from African American voters. They worry about the question that keeps coming up in focus groups and that reporters are beginning to ask: whether he’s struggling to win people over because he’s gay.

This is what I am reacting to. It's been a constant refrain in many many articles over the last 10 months. And almost every single time they ignore the gay population in their assessment. It would be like saying Obama could not be elected in 2008 because he is black and writing articles about it and never interviewing a black person or referencing the black community.

[babylonsister]

30. But he is gay. The writer would be remiss if he didn't

mention it, though the way that paragraph is phrased, imo, it's more of a slam on the critics than on Pete.

As for getting feedback from gay people, point taken.

[maximusveritas]

33. Because LGBT are less than 5% of the population

Most are in blue cities/states. They aren't all liberal as a larger percentage of LGBT vote Republican than black people.
The article is just pointing out the reality that homophobia exists. Pretending it doesn't won't make it go away.

[Joinfortmill]

29. Buttigieg could be the sleeper

He has the same unflappable cool and impressive smarts of Obama. And people like him. He could get the nomination and I think he could beat Trump, that is if Trump isn't impeached. Maybe we should be asking who could beat Pence or Romney