# January 23 2019: the remarkable rise of Pete Buttigieg **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 23, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861 "2020-01-23T19:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/21 "2020-02-09T03:47:48Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > People with no government experience at all don’t usually become President. Secular loudmouth womanizers from New York City don’t usually carry the Bible Belt. Things are possible now that weren’t possible before, for better or worse. Bill Clinton admitted smoking marijuana but didn’t inhale. Obama admitted he did inhale. Bush/Cheney were the first all DUI team running for the party of law and order. The sample size is just amazingly small. I’m sure there would have been threads about Carter being too inexperienced had the SDMB been around back then. And, they may have had a point. While Carter did serve a single term as governor of Georgia, southern governors are notoriously weak. Most of their time is spent with ribbon cutting and take a picture (not a selfie in 1976) with the high school football champs. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/22 "2020-02-09T05:15:08Z")
Of the three who had been mayors, A.Johnson and C.Coolidge had run small cities - and succeeded to the White House after assassinations. Only G.Cleveland (of Buffalo NY, a major city then) was elected into the presidency. > [@Lamoral](#): > > People with no government experience at all don’t usually become President. Secular loudmouth womanizers from New York City don’t usually carry the Bible Belt. Things are possible now that weren’t possible before, for better or worse. The electoral system wasn’t so broken and rigged before. Russian campaign tampering wasn’t so intensive before. Fewer legislators were foreign assets before. Yes, much has changed. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/23 "2020-02-09T05:27:00Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > People with no government experience at all don’t usually become President. Secular loudmouth womanizers from New York City don’t usually carry the Bible Belt. Things are possible now that weren’t possible before, for better or worse. The voters of the republican party and the voters of the democratic party are not the same people though. We aren’t comfortable with the same things they are comfortable with (rape\*, treason, pedophilia, incompetence, dementia, etc). \*we did somewhat overlook this issue with the clintons though. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/24 "2020-02-09T05:34:09Z")
Ah yes, rape, treason, pedophilia, dementia, only being a mayor and not a Senator or Vice President - all _definitely_ comparable attributes of a presidential candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/25 "2020-02-09T05:52:56Z")
Buttigieg and Bernie supporters shouting each other verbally in New Hampshire: “Buttigieg won” vs “Bernie won” (about Iowa) > **[Sanders, Buttigieg backers turn up the volume, trading barbs at New Hampshire...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/sanders-buttigieg-backers-turn-up-the-volume-trading-barbs-at-new-hampshire-dinner-040944763.html)** > > The New Hampshire primary race heated up Saturday as backers of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg tried to shout one another down at a state Democratic dinner. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/26 "2020-02-09T11:39:23Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Of the three who had been mayors, A.Johnson and C.Coolidge had run small cities - and succeeded to the White House after assassinations. Only G.Cleveland (of Buffalo NY, a major city then) was elected into the presidency. Weren’t they, respectively, Governor of Tennessee, and Governor of Massachusetts, and Governor of New York? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/27 "2020-02-09T11:52:20Z")
I think he does like H. Clinton and moves to a place he has a better shot at winning for the house or senate. He could win a safe Dem seat in Indiana but probably not Gov. or Senate. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/28 "2020-02-09T15:33:09Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I think he does like H. Clinton and moves to a place he has a better shot at winning for the house or senate. He could win a safe Dem seat in Indiana but probably not Gov. or Senate. If he doesn’t win the nomination and the Dems don’t win the presidency, I predict that Chasten takes a teaching job in a blue state and they move. He’s already finished his two terms and they’re so young it wouldn’t be blatant carpetbagging. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/29 "2020-02-09T17:41:32Z")
this is a rather interesting story about what he did before politics … [https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/opinion-how-mckinsey-destroyed-the-middle-class/ar-BBZBcE2?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=SK2DDHP](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/opinion-how-mckinsey-destroyed-the-middle-class/ar-BBZBcE2?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=SK2DDHP) If he uses the connections that the story makes it sound like he has even if he doesn’t win anything now he will lin the future ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/30 "2020-02-09T23:06:54Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > If he doesn’t win the nomination and the Dems don’t win the presidency, I predict that Chasten takes a teaching job in a blue state and they move. He’s already finished his two terms and they’re so young it wouldn’t be blatant carpetbagging. Oh, it would totally be blatant carpetbagging, but hey, it worked for Hillary. I think if he finds a landing spot with lots of white moderates and no Dem incumbent he could pull it off. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/31 "2020-02-10T14:09:59Z")
> [@Pete Buttigieg](#): > > “The time has come for my party to get a lot more comfortable owning this issue [deficit/debt]… It’s not fashionable in progressive circles to talk too much about the debt.” [Source](https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1226565174007648257). Dear Mayor Pete: Jimmy Carter shrunk the deficit. (Before Buttigieg was born.) Reagan blew up the deficit to pass tax cuts. (Ditto.) Bush the Elder raised taxes, and all but got drummed out of the party because of it. (When Buttigieg was in elementary school.) Clinton not only shrunk the deficit, he _balanced the freakin’ budget for four years straight._ (This happened when Buttigieg was in high school. He should at least have some dim memory of this.) Dubya cut taxes on the rich and blew up the deficit again. (While Buttigieg was at Harvard.) Obama, despite having to deal with the worst recession since the Great Depression, reduced the deficit on his watch. (While Buttigieg was mayor.) Trump cut taxes almost entirely on rich people, and blew up the deficit again. (Ditto.) Over and over and over again, Dems don’t spend money on stuff that would actually make people’s lives better, because they’re cleaning up after the elephants. There’s a motherfucking _ **reason** _ why it’s not ‘fashionable’ for progressives to talk about deficits. It’s because the Dems have been the more fiscally responsible party for _forty freakin’ years_, and all it gets us is handcuffing ourselves from doing other things that might actually benefit people, and losing elections. If Mayor Pete wants to take us through yet one more cycle of this absurdity, he can go fuck himself. With good old Midwestern heartland farm implements. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/32 "2020-02-10T14:14:28Z")
And (same link, scroll down): > [@](#): > > Pete Buttigieg gets a question about how he’d deal with Mitch McConnell and a Republican Senate. > > His Plan A: Flip the Senate > > His Plan B: Work w/ GOP in good faith and if that fails use Air Force One to travel the country and call them out Re Plan A: remember everything Obama was able to get through the Senate with a 59-41 majority? Flipping the Senate is a necessary condition, but it’s far from sufficient. I give this plan an Incomplete. Re Plan B: LOLOLOL. Man, I’d like to be in the alternate universe where this had a snowball’s chance of working. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/33 "2020-02-10T14:39:21Z")
Well, I know it’s missing “ask the senate to please change their rules and kill the filibuster” but there really isn’t a great answer to that question. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/34 "2020-02-10T14:51:11Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Well, I know it’s missing “ask the senate to please change their rules and kill the filibuster” but there really isn’t a great answer to that question. Might as well say you’ll send the flying monkeys after them. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/35 "2020-02-10T15:24:12Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > [Source](https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1226565174007648257). > > Dear Mayor Pete: > > Jimmy Carter shrunk the deficit. (Before Buttigieg was born.) > Reagan blew up the deficit to pass tax cuts. (Ditto.) > Bush the Elder raised taxes, and all but got drummed out of the party because of it. (When Buttigieg was in elementary school.) > Clinton not only shrunk the deficit, he _balanced the freakin’ budget for four years straight._ (This happened when Buttigieg was in high school. He should at least have some dim memory of this.) > Dubya cut taxes on the rich and blew up the deficit again. (While Buttigieg was at Harvard.) > Obama, despite having to deal with the worst recession since the Great Depression, reduced the deficit on his watch. (While Buttigieg was mayor.) > Trump cut taxes almost entirely on rich people, and blew up the deficit again. (Ditto.) > > Over and over and over again, Dems don’t spend money on stuff that would actually make people’s lives better, because they’re cleaning up after the elephants. > > There’s a motherfucking _ **reason** _ why it’s not ‘fashionable’ for progressives to talk about deficits. It’s because the Dems have been the more fiscally responsible party for _forty freakin’ years_, and all it gets us is handcuffing ourselves from doing other things that might actually benefit people, and losing elections. > > If Mayor Pete wants to take us through yet one more cycle of this absurdity, he can go fuck himself. With good old Midwestern heartland farm implements. Yup, exactly. Sounds like he was playing into the right wing narrative that the GOP cuts the deficit and democrats increase it, which is the opposite of reality. Democrats are willing to raise taxes, which is necessary to cutting the deficit. The deficit was down to 2% of GDP near the end of Obama’s second term. Now with Trump’s tax cuts and spending programs on the military its up to 5%. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/36 "2020-02-10T15:47:05Z")
Talking after that rally, he specifically says that the Dems have shrunk the deficit and Repubs have grown it. I think a more charitable interpretation is that he is talking optics. O’Donnell response with a little more than a one line tweet quote: > **[Lawrence O'Donnell Slams Pete Buttigieg for Criticizing Dems on Deficit](https://www.mediaite.com/tv/lawrence-odonnell-hammers-buttigieg-claim-on-deficit-he-literally-doesnt-know-what-hes-talking-about/amp/?__twitter_impression=true)** > > MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell absolutely torched South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg for saying that Democrats are unconcerned with the national debt. In a scathing, show-ending monologue on The Last Word Thursday night, O'Donnell blasted Buttigieg... ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/37 "2020-02-10T16:56:17Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Oh, it would totally be blatant carpetbagging, but hey, it worked for Hillary. I think if he finds a landing spot with lots of white moderates and no Dem incumbent he could pull it off. He may be successful in a purple state against a beleaguered GOP Senator. Something like how Colorado is this year. Or Pennsylvania in 2022 against Pat Toomey? ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/38 "2020-02-10T17:12:18Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > He may be successful in a purple state against a beleaguered GOP Senator. Something like how Colorado is this year. Or Pennsylvania in 2022 against Pat Toomey? I’d want to see him show some more appeal to minority voters before I’d be comfortable with him running in those States. Maybe Iowa, it’s only a couple States over and they seem to like him there. I don’t think he’d have a great chance of winning a Statewide race in Illinois, but there are certainly a bunch of Congressional districts Downstate he’d be a good fit for. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/39 "2020-02-10T17:14:11Z")
I don’t think he beats Joni Ernst though. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861/40 "2020-02-17T21:40:58Z")
A very long, but excellent, article on Buttigieg written by one of his college professors. > **[Reading Buttigieg | Commonweal Magazine](https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/reading-buttigieg)** > > I have known Buttigieg since I taught him at Harvard. One question animated him: how could Americans unite politically when their culture was increasingly polarized? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/january-23-2019-the-remarkable-rise-of-pete-buttigieg/846861.md?page=3)