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Buttigieg Reaps the Whirlwind
As I half-watched last night’s Democratic debate (the other half, contemplating what sin I committed in a previous life), the candidates’ urgency stood out. Instead of meekly hoping not to offend, Amy Klobuchar hit Pete Buttigieg with a flurry of Minnesota-nice rabbit punches. Liz Warren held the Hoosier’s ample ears as Joe Biden mocked his meager experience. Biden continued this attack with a video released Saturday:
It’s funny ’cause it’s true. Online surrogates have increasingly pointed out the Mayor of Pawnee’s flaws, especially his ability to talk for hours without saying a damn thing. Bland pabulum is an asset when consulting for McKinsey or fluffing your LinkedIn bio but it shouldn’t inspire voters outside of an HOA pancake breakfast.
To wit, here’s an aphorism the Buttigieg campaign actually thought compelling enough to share publicly. <run “MCKINSEY_LAB_PROTOCOL-372.exe”>
#CNNTownHall pic.twitter.com/lt4yVD7Krz
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 7, 2020
Reporters and politicos alike were mystified by the nonsense. Perhaps Marianne Williamson thought it a Zen koan. You can get away with this “wanting to envision the hope to unify the dreams of all who hope in the vision of unity” stuff among small-town civic leaders looking for a councilman they can control. It even got Justin Trudeau elected mayor of America’s northern suburb. The leader of the free world needs a bit more clarity.
Pete finished at or near the top in Iowa (we’ll never know for sure) and is surging in the latest New Hampshire polls. If his challengers don’t stop him soon, he could end up as the Democrats’ only hope against the Brooklyn Bolshevik.
Published in Elections
Nice.
Mayor Pete is what happens when Inspirobot decides to run for President.
The Brooklyn Bravado.
Michael Brendon Dougherty has an excellent piece on Creepy Pete in today’s NRO.
Indeed it was.
Here’s what comes to my mind when I think of Biden castigating Buttigieg for lack of experience:
Old Dr. Biden: “You’re an upstart kid fresh out of medical school. Why on earth would anyone trust you with something as important as surgery? I’ve been operating on people for 50 years.”
Young Dr. Buttigieg: “And what has been your success rate? Isn’t it true that not one of your patients has survived your care?”
Old Dr. Biden: “Well, okay. But that’s still experience.”
Agreed. Watching the campaign ad, I was amused by what Joe and Co think are accomplishments and left wondering how much Joe was actually contributing to the “successes” of the Obama era.
I always consider the shape our democracy when ordering a pizza. Or a beer.
Like Obama, the guy has a relaxed, in-control demeanor and is a master of inspiring, meaning-free rhetoric. Plus he’s gay, which is catnip to those prone to self-congratulation in just the way Obama’s race was.
Beware. He’s a rare talent. Best for us if his candidacy gets strangled in the womb in the next couple weeks. But I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
Pretty horrifying metaphor, but I understand “strangled in the womb” is right up his alley.
I really do think the same-sex marriage thing is going to make him a nonviable (there we go again) candidate. A lot of people — I’m one of them — find the thought of a gay President vaguely unsettling.
Not that there’s anything wrong with it.
After watching the Biden video comparing him to Mayor Pete, all that comes to mind is Dumb and Dumber.
Imagine the howls if the GOP made an ad that sniffed about Mayor Pete installing “decorative brick.” NUDGE NUDGE.
Coffee –> keyboard
Here’s my theory, based on a comment in the PIT that the Dem establishment may go all-in on Pete so they can screw over Bernie without losing the Millennial vote.
My thinking is that Establishment Democrats know that it’s going to be nearly impossible to beat the President this November. So with Biden in free-fall, they know they need a replacement or Sanders is going to get the nomination. They will be happy to give the nomination to Pete, knowing that he’ll most likely lose. But in the process they can promote themselves as the “accepting” party, paint the Republicans (and Trump of course) as bigots for daring to run against a gay man, as well as call everyone who votes for Trump an anti-gay bigot. By this, they retain their woke cred and all they’ll do is lose the black vote! But I think they’d make that sacrifice. The Democrats have been pushing black people down the hierarchy of grievance groups as they discover and invent brand new grievance groups, and I think black people are down to #5 or #6 now. (Some in the PIT suggested #9 or #10.)
Ironically — or maybe not — I think if Donald Trump was gay, he’d still get reelected in November, because his personal morality isn’t why people support him.
What is this PIT?
Only the best kept secret of Ricochet!
That’s why I say, underestimate the shallowness of the media-driven electorate at your peril.
They may be. But without their overwhelming vote they are doomed. If we could just get black people to recognize their own interests.
I’ve always thought Pete would have his Herman Cain day in the sun, then get sent home to watch cartoons.
The problem with all the hits on Pete, is that they are by white people for white people. I don’t see anyone bringing up the top items that disqualify him. Starting in March of 2019 the hashtag #neverpete started appearing on Twitter. These are posts by people who are mostly Black and sharing why they would NEVER vote for Mayor Pete. There are two reasons discussed and one not discussed. The two are 1) he fired the police chief who was black and later he failed to take action when a black man died in custody; 2) he ran a program of “blight reduction” that consisted of condemning run down and tearing them down. The effect was remove 1000’s of black families from the city. He is basically a one man klan. The unspoken thing is that religious black families are not keen on voting for a dude married to another dude. These topics might not come up on Iowa and N.H., but they will come up in South Carolina and beyond.
South Bend is a weird college town. There is an odd dichotomy between the Notre Dame people and the other people (who are called “Townies”). Mayor Pete was obviously voted in by the ND folks and not the Townies. His performance in the 2020 campaign is similar. He is the darling of whites and elites and disliked by others.
Mayor Pete concerned me at first on paper. Smart dude. Good debater. Military record.
But he doesn’t have the staying power with a guy like Bloomberg ready to knock him down. Pete will do well in New Hampshire, then come down to earth in South Carolina and Nevada before getting obliterated on Super Tuesday. He has support that Bloomberg wants and he’ll spend vast sums of money to get those votes.
Like it when you truly flex. d(-_-)b
@scottr … Wait a minute… Are you telling me Mayor Pete is gay?!?
My word, I’ve not been to the PIT in months.
It’s like the Hotel California. Once you enter, there’s no escape!
What would make it wrong would be if he forced the whole LGBT agenda down the country’s throat. I firmly believe the left wants to mandate unisex bathrooms and locker rooms.
As for being unsettling, homosexuality doesn’t sit well with blacks. It will be interesting to see how well he does here in South Carolina, especially if he kisses his partner in public, or appears with him at all . . .
Exactly! Maybe when I retire I’ll have time for it.
We have many thousands of medium sized cities all over the country, all of which have mayors. Pete’s only real qualification to be on that stage is that he is gay, and gay-married. His policies are standard vapid happy talk.
Between Pete’s recent rise, van Jones’s statement on the black vote, and early poll testing of Pete that made Biden “front runner” (blacks don’t like gays), I’m thinking Pete is admission that they are losing blacks.
Didn’t Trump already get a record share of black votes for a GOP candidate, in 2016? And it will probably be higher this time.