Is Mayor Pete a "progressive" or a "moderate" Democrat?

[milestogo]

I am confused by the way he is being classified by the media.

[Corgigal]

1. He's an

Adorable Democrat.

The rest is noise.

[musicblind]

38. He is so fine. n/t

[guillaumeb]

2. Moderately progressive. eom

[jcmaine72]

23. Hehe....I like that answer.

And it's true. I like Mayor Pete. Obviously I'm a Bernie supporter, but I have absolutely no doubt that Mr. Buttigieg would make a superb President.

[elleng]

26. Like me!!!

[Laelth]

3. I had the same question about Barack Obama in 2008.

I have no clue where Buttigieg should be "placed" on the political spectrum, and I support the guy.

It does appear that he's trying to run in the "left-center lane" (if you will). I think Pete allows people to project their own political values onto him (as did Obama). He still sounds calm and reasonable, no matter what the topic, and he's got to be better than the Great Pumpkin.



-Laelth

[unitedwethrive]

19. Good point, I remember thinking the same thing.

In fact, through most of Obama's presidency I wished he enacted more liberal policies, but then realized that he just pushed as far as he thought prudent given the congress he had to deal with and the mood of the country. This is one of the reasons he was such a good president.

People don't seem to understand that a big part of leadership is the intelligence to be able to read the tea leaves, and the ability to maintain an even temperament while working with all sides. This is why the character of our candidate is so important.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. What are his policies? Labels are stupid.

All of the candidates are liberals, and all will support the party's platform. Don't make the argument about labels.

[OilemFirchen]

5. I really don't care.

Do you?

[Dem2]

16. I'm sick of tags too

We have a fascist taking over our government and we're nitpicking over terminology.

[gollygee]

21. Agreed

The question is, what chance does he have at beating Trump? I'm thinking his inexperience severely hurts him. But I am not looking for my perfect candidate this time. My perfect candidate won't win, and purity is killing our party.

[krissey]

6. Most all Democrats are progressive. The far left tries to adopt the word, but reality is most

all Democrats are progressive.

Progressivism is a political philosophy in support of social reform. It is based on the idea of progress in which advancements in science, technology, economic development and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition.

[whathehell]

29. We need to start definiing our terms:. Define ""far left"

If we don't define our terms, no one really knows what we're talking about.

[TwilightZone]

7. On The Issues says he's a moderate liberal.

That's probably about right. Not very liberal but also not a moderate/centrist.



https://www.ontheissues.org/Pete_Buttigieg.htm

[Politicub]

8. If elected, he will be the most progressive since FDR

[whathehell]

40. Really? How?..In what way?

We have to back up our assertions, here. Politicub.

[bitterross]

9. Yes

Like any politician, he is often what you see in him. Rather than be something definite, they are all a bit ephemeral.

[phleshdef]

10. Ideological labels are fluid in this country.

At this point, the Republican party is so far to the right that the center is what use to be "center left" and "far left" use to be what could at one time be called "center left".

Having said that I'd call Pete a center left progressive and probably a bit of a deliberative incrementalist... a lot like Obama though not quite as smooth about it (he could get there though). My main concern is that he isn't quite ready for that office yet.

[RandySF]

11. Does he need a label besides 'Democrat'?

[LonePirate]

12. He used to be a progressive but he took some corporate cash and is now a centrist.

[krissey]

15. lol, taking cash from employees of corporation does not kick him out of the progressive crowd.

[LonePirate]

18. Correct! Changing his views from progressive ones to centrist ones is what makes him a centrist now.

It's the timing of the corporate money which makes you wonder about things.

[CowboyProgressive]

13. I think he's be happy to say he's left on Warren and Sanders on most the important issues

So that would make him a moderate?

[JudyM]

31. He's the farthest right of the remaining candidates.

See the link https://www.ontheissues.org/Pete_Buttigieg.htm

[mvd]

35. Hi Judy

Can you explain what you mean? That link has positions that are generally good. Sometimes left of centrist. It is the sudden changes that worry me.

[JudyM]

36. Simplest way is to look at the grid diagram (someone else posted it above)

If you click on each candidate’s name you’ll see, for example, that Sanders is the farthest left (most progressive/liberal) while the others fall somewhere between him and Buttigieg, some more populist, some more libertarian.

This doesn’t tell the whole story, but taking into account the candidates’ responses, this was the outcome.

[mvd]

37. Ok thanks

That explains it.

[AngelicaHora]

14. He is closer to Warren on the "progressive" scale than to Biden

https://www.vox.com/2020/2/4/21121636/pete-buttigieg-beat-trump-win-2020-election-primaries

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. Right leaning moderate if you go by this.

https://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2020

[TwilightZone]

22. Political Compass doesn't apply very well to American politics.

It also has some serious issues.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Political_Compass#Criticism

[kacekwl]

20. How bout just a member of the Democratic Party.

Leave all the other labels behind.

[BootinUp]

24. This is subjective of course, but I think of him as

a pragmatic progressive. He's a big idea guy that has put a lot of thought into his policies and how to present them.

[showblue22]

25. Anyone not Bernie is a centrist or moderate.

Bernie is the only progressive running. Also, If you do not have the stamp of approval from Justice Democrats, you're not a progressive. They are the AUTHENTIC ones, only they can authenticate a progressive. Ideology doesn't matter... Joe Rogan can be a progressive if JD's say so.

[calguy]

27. Is he actually a Democrat?

That's the question I'm still trying to answer.

[33taw]

28. I am sick of labels for all of the candidates.

[David__77]

30. It seems to me that he is on the left of the Democratic Party.

Whatever that might mean.

[JudyM]

33. He farther right than any of the candidates

According to this https://www.ontheissues.org/Pete_Buttigieg.htm

[democrattotheend]

32. I think he's somewhere in between

His support for "Medicare for all who want" seems like a good compromise position, and he's expressed some support for M4A in the past. I think he's somewhere between Bernie/Warren and the more moderate candidates.

[patricia92243]

34. What does he say he is?

[BootinUp]

39. Pretty sure ive heard him

use the word progressive when talking about his policies. But Pete is not an ideologue.