# Who is Pete Buttigieg? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 12, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032 "2019-03-12T21:59:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/261 "2019-04-19T02:35:19Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > There’s no such thing as “free” healthcare, or tuition either. No, but there’s _free at the point of use,_ which you’d of known if you’d bothered to research Bernies healthcare proposals. Tuition isn’t free, it’s an investment as usually students earn alot more and _pay alot back in the taxes they pay_ over the course of their careers. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/262 "2019-04-19T02:40:25Z")
> [@LennieB](#): > > He will out-Christian the self-righteous hypocrite; out-soldier the bellicose coward; and out-smart the ignorant authoritarian. _like_ > [@zuer-coli](#): > > Denizens of the Dope, > > Re; Mayor Pete > > I live 10-15 miles from South Bend and went to that old leaky Studebaker factory on Sunday, 14-Apr-19. It wasn’t raining quite as hard inside as it was outside, even if it sometimes it seemed like it. > > What a hyped-up crowd, my local paper quoted the South Bend Fire Marshal as saying there were more than 4000 inside and another 1500+ outside. It felt quite cramped, I did use some of my time thinking of just how inadequate the exiting was. > > I got to the temporary entrance gate at about 09:00 EDST. I waited two and a half hours before people were allowed to go in. Once inside, I waited about the same amount of time before Mr. Buttigieg spoke. > > Very unusual experience for me, I found that trying to keep something of a dispassionate point of view to be quite difficult. > > Respectfully yours Zuer-coli …and?? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/263 "2019-04-19T05:35:05Z")
I like him. I do not think he has a chance, but I like him. I like him enough to learn to say his name. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/264 "2019-04-19T09:26:34Z")
Wow. His odds of winning the presidency are already only 10/1 at [Ladbrokes](https://m.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/#!/event_details/224912471) and 6/1 for the Democrat nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/265 "2019-04-19T10:08:54Z")
The more I learn about this guy, the more I like him. I’m starting to believe this underdog may actually surprise everyone and win. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/266 "2019-04-19T14:46:56Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Along with what **Happy Lendervedder** said, there are many Asian Christian voters in the US who also lean left on many issues but are quite stalwart when it comes to being pro-traditional marriage. I know a few. They all voted for Trump and would never vote for a Democrat, gay or straight. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/267 "2019-04-19T15:40:22Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Wow. His odds of winning the presidency are already only 10/1 at [Ladbrokes](https://m.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/#!/event_details/224912471) and 6/1 for the Democrat nomination. I wonder what Trump’s odds were at this point in the race? ---
**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:** [April 19, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/268 "2019-04-19T15:48:22Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I wonder what Trump’s odds were at this point in the race? Not sure, but looking at the HuffPo pollster from 2015-16 the leaders in the polls around now were Rubio, Bush and Walker. Trump was in the bottom 3. [https://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-national-gop-primary](https://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-national-gop-primary) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/269 "2019-04-19T17:14:39Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > As an unexpected bonus, Mayor Pete is also fluent in binary: > [https://politics.theonion.com/pete-buttigieg-stuns-campaign-crowd-by-speaking-to-manu-1834117054](https://politics.theonion.com/pete-buttigieg-stuns-campaign-crowd-by-speaking-to-manu-1834117054) > “Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg stunned a campaign crowd Wednesday by speaking to manufacturing robots in fluent binary.” LOL. Love it! ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/270 "2019-04-19T20:30:08Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Wow. His odds of winning the presidency are already only 10/1 at [Ladbrokes](https://m.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/#!/event_details/224912471) and 6/1 for the Democrat nomination. \*Democratic ---
**Author:** ![zuer-coli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ba9def/32.png) [@zuer-coli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuer-coli)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/271 "2019-04-19T20:50:34Z")
Denizens of the Dope, Greetings and Salutations. I regret, this post will be somewhat lengthy, and beg to doubt that I will have responded satisfactorily to all the folks who had questions about my post. In regard waiting, I didn’t know if I would be early or not. As a personal reference point; when President Trump had a rally at one of the local School Corporation’s Auditoriums, 8000+ seating capacity, there were folks camped out as close to the entrance as Security would allow on the night before. My recollection is that the place filled up and folks were watching from some sort of big screen display outside. As it turned out I was plenty early, but it was nice to have gotten to the temporary entrance gate because there was a small marque tent and I mostly stayed out of the rain. My opinion of Mayor Pete didn’t change much, no solid policy plans, oh plenty of flights of eloquence. On the other hand, I don’t recall much, if anything, of substance out of Candidate Trump either. Certainly it would have been easy to have heard what you wanted to hear. As for myself, well not to belabor the point, but I’m a strange person, extremely introverted, nearly always I feel that I’m on the outside, not fitting in anywhere with any degree of comfort. I now understand myself to be somewhere on the spectrum of mental illness, mostly functional but none the less; mentally ill. I also believe I have been somewhere along the spectrum of mental illness since early childhood. So, what I heard was a message of inclusion, that above all the other attractive aspects of Pete Buttigieg, attracts me the most, clearly it’s a primary emotional response versus a rational one. Sometimes, It takes me some time to process things, and most of the time, it’s helpful to read others reactions. For me at least, these serve as something/somewhat of a sanity check, if I profit thereby is another matter entirely. I should also mention that I was once a Building official, building occupancies and exiting/means of egress have been a big part of my occupational concerns for many years. [In my city a private group was raising founds to renovate a local theater, the group was holding a fund raiser in the partially finished building. The then Mayor was heavily involved, I had the, I don’t know what to call it, to go in and talk to one of the organizers about their lack of a “Certificate of Occupancy”. That person then directed me to speak to the Mayor, who was present. I didn’t end up issuing a “Notice: Do Not Occupy”.] However, I can say with some degree of authority that the space the Buttigieg campaign used had entirely more occupants that day, than the exiting/means of egress was designed to accumadate. That sort of thing is always a matter of concern to a Building Official/ex Building Official even if the buildings is not in nis/xis\* jursdiction. Last, and I do not know this for a fact and cannot provide a source; the intention had been to make the announcement of Mayor Buttigieg’s Presidential candidacy in front of the Saint Joseph Co./South Bend City Building, I also heard, again no real source, that it was quite a scramble to find an alternate venue. Respectfully yours, Zuer-coli - neutral personal pronouns. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/272 "2019-04-20T05:09:16Z")
Thanks for the followup, **z-c**! ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/273 "2019-04-20T14:36:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I expect that there are a very large number of people who are uncomfortable with homosexuality and would really prefer a straight candidate, but for whom it’s sufficiently far down on their list of priorities that they’d vote for a gay man anyway. That may be true. I hope so. I know that many Americans are fine with the idea of a gay POTUS. They don’t have anything against homosexuality. But what’s going to happen the first time his husband joins him onstage after a big primary success, and they exchange a long kiss onstage? Like straight pols do with their wives. It’s sad, but I think it might go to show that a lot of mainstream Dems aren’t as cool with it as they think they are. I’m imagining a lot of “ I’m OK with gay people but I don’t want to see that” attitude. It could be a Howard Dean moment. Too bad. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > The reincarnation of Mr. Rudd Duda. > > 😃 Oh, I laughed and laughed. Truly an old school moment, thanks for the memories. It was Ruda Duda though, IIRC. > [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I’m not sure US politics are mature enough to have a candidate whose name includes the word “butt”, especially one who is homosexual. I’m not making a joke. A debate between Pete and Trump would be embarrassing for humanity. > > As Chronos says, he’s probably angling for a cabinet/governor/senator route to what will hopefully lead to his presidency. I fully expect Trump to fake a stumble and call him something that sounds like Pete Buttfucker. On purpose. And his base will totally eat it up. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Orange Junior tried to own Pete and got owned. > [Donald Trump Jr.'s Attempted Twitter Takedown Of Pete Buttigieg Goes Spectacularly Awry | HuffPost Latest News](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jr-pete-buttigieg-reaction_n_5cb6c51ae4b098b9a2dc20d2) I’m sorry, I’m tired of this. No, he didn’t get “owned” and I’m tired of my fellow libs portraying every semi-successful Twitter comeback as some sort of victory. I mean it’s fun to vent, but it’s not like the Traitor Tot is going to respond by changing teams or anything, ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/274 "2019-04-22T18:47:49Z")
Afraid my mild interest in this character took a hit when I learned that he named Ulysses as his favorite book. Either he actually likes the book - which makes him a seriously goofy fuck, or he misguidedly thinks that thinks it a useful strategy to present himself as the type of egghead that could possibly enjoy that tome! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/275 "2019-04-22T20:01:41Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Afraid my mild interest in this character took a hit when I learned that he named Ulysses as his favorite book. > > Either he actually likes the book - which makes him a seriously goofy fuck, or he misguidedly thinks that thinks it a useful strategy to present himself as the type of egghead that could possibly enjoy that tome! 😃 I like Ulysses. Also, his father taught the book, so I’m sure he got a lot of exposure to it, and could follow the story despite the stream of consciousness and language games. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2019, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/276 "2019-04-22T23:18:52Z")
The kind of people who would be turned off by him liking Joyce are largely the same folks who would think he was talking about Homer’s work. Or who would ignore the “what’s your favorite book?” question entirely. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2019, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/277 "2019-04-23T07:46:34Z")
I thought he was talking about the Cream song. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2019, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/278 "2019-04-23T07:50:14Z")
Seriously, though, he’s, like, serious. I think 6:1 is a bit generous, but his polling and fundraising numbers clearly show that he’s a stronger candidate than several Senators and Governors. He could be in this for the long haul. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/279 "2019-04-23T12:02:33Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > [Never mind policy, what kind of socks do I like? By Pete Buttigieg](http://nymag.com/strategist/article/mayor-pete-buttigieg-favorite-things.html?utm_source=nym&utm_medium=f1&utm_campaign=feed-part) You seem to be implying that Pete deliberately avoided discussing his policies in an article whose purpose was entirely “A List of Things I Like”. People seem to like those articles. No one is suggesting they are anything other than fluff pieces. > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > That may be true. I hope so. I know that many Americans are fine with the idea of a gay POTUS. They don’t have anything against homosexuality. But what’s going to happen the first time his husband joins him onstage after a big primary success, and they exchange a long kiss onstage? Like straight pols do with their wives. It’s sad, but I think it might go to show that a lot of mainstream Dems aren’t as cool with it as they think they are. I’m imagining a lot of “ I’m OK with gay people but I don’t want to see that” attitude. It could be a Howard Dean moment. Too bad. Ireland seem to be managing just fine with an openly gay Taoiseach with a partner and has not descended into either rioting or widespread carnal degeneracy (or at least no more than before). Varadkar seems to be reasonably popular still. I will admit to some irritation at some of my Democratic friends who are convinced that the Dems must put forward a white male candidate (usually Bernie or Beto) and that nominating Pete or one of the female or other minority candidates would only be for the purpose of “making a statement”. The possibility that Pete or one of those other candidates might actually be the best candidate on their own merits never seems to occur to some of these people, who really ought to know better. > [@](#): > > I’m sorry, I’m tired of this. No, he didn’t get “owned” and I’m tired of my fellow libs portraying every semi-successful Twitter comeback as some sort of victory. I mean it’s fun to vent, but it’s not like the Traitor Tot is going to respond by changing teams or anything, I agree with this - the “Person X destroyed Person Y” thing is annoying. No one is “destroyed” by someone disagreeing with them or mocking them on the internet. At best, an argument is thoroughly rebutted. > [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Seriously, though, he’s, like, serious. I think 6:1 is a bit generous, but his polling and fundraising numbers clearly show that he’s a stronger candidate than several Senators and Governors. He could be in this for the long haul. If he does well in the debates I think he’s going to be a contender. Even if he doesn’t end up a frontrunner - and I’m not ruling out the possibility that he could - he could be a possible VP choice. Still, early days. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/280 "2019-04-23T12:20:47Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > If he does well in the debates I think he’s going to be a contender. Even if he doesn’t end up a frontrunner - and I’m not ruling out the possibility that he could - he could be a possible VP choice. Picture him standing next to Bernie Sanders. Okay, now picture a DeLorean. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032.md?page=15)