# 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:** 19
**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 30, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/361 "2019-04-30T17:48:23Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > And a reminder that polling now, a year in advance of any primaries, means very little. I will be honestly shocked if Buttigieg is polling anywhere near the top 3 months from now. He seems like an articulate decent young man but there’s no way he is going to keep up on that alone. I can’t imagine him being able to build up a real national campaign organization compared to other names in the field. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/362 "2019-04-30T18:17:32Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Oh my God, can you all stop the stupid slap fight about bravos? If bobot wants to bravo Lamoral for getting out of bed before noon, that’s no skin off anyone’s nose. It’s not like there’s a finite supply of bravos and we have to worry about them running out. Well, now that Trump has levied tariffs on Chinese-made bravos to pay for the wall, I wouldn’t be so sure about their availability. [fingers crossed someone takes the bait on one of those hijacks…] ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/363 "2019-04-30T18:32:30Z")
You’re on **Ravenman**! Just change the word “steel” to “bravos” and you have my stand on the issue! > [@](#): > > **Mr. Mayor, President Trump has consistently labelled China as our biggest geopolitical foe, particularly on trade. And you represent a town, South Bend, Indiana, which has suffered major deindustrialization. That was probably your chief mission, to figure out what to do about that. How do you feel about the President’s use of tariffs? Surely that’s hit South Bend.** > > It has, and it’s not been terribly helpful, because we have, in the South Bend metro area, more companies that use and purchase steel than we have companies that make it. And various businesses were anxiously watching the rules come out to figure out whether their particular product did or didn’t qualify for the different tariffs that are being created. Even our conservative and normally Trump Alliance member of Congress for this district broke with the President on the subject of tariffs, because it was not good for our economy. It also speaks, though, to the broader issue, which is that, you know, most of what accounts for the changes that have happened to our part of the industrial Midwest is technological. Some of it has to do with trade, but, look, it’s just easier to blame another country, or to blame immigrants, than it is to confront some of the faceless but profound changes that have come our way—to do with, for example, technology and automation. But that’s simply smoke and mirrors compared to—if it becomes an excuse to not face the deeper and tougher issue. > > I’ll tell you something else about China. You know, I do believe that China is emerging as a competitor, not just a competitor but, in many ways, an adversary. And, you know, the Chinese model is also being held up globally as an alternative power model, and I very much believe in our model versus theirs. But I will say this. You know, there’s an assembly line that was part of AM General, which makes Hummers, where they got a contract deal for three years on what used to be an old commercial line to manufacture Mercedes R-class vehicles. Now, this is an S.U.V. that is only sold in Asian markets. And so what you had was American autoworkers—union autoworkers, by the way—making German cars going to Chinese customers. And when that contract ran its course, the line was sold to another company, which is Chinese-owned. It’s a startup based in Silicon Valley, and they make electric vehicles, again, employing, by the hundreds, American union autoworkers. > **[Pete Buttigieg on How He Plans to Win the Democratic Nomination and Defeat...](https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/pete-buttigieg-plans-win-democratic-presidential-nomination-defeat-trump)** > > The surging Presidential hopeful explains a career that has included Navy service, two terms as a small-city mayor, and coming out as gay. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/364 "2019-04-30T18:37:59Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Bad news for Pete: Do you use Jacob Wohl for much of your information? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/365 "2019-04-30T18:39:36Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > …Remember, Jacob Wohl is the fucknugget that had a presser claiming to reveal damaging sexual allegations against Mueller. And he and whacked-out Laura Loomer have been banging, so they’re both sticking it to the crazy. I’m baffled Wohl and his pal Bruckman (isn’t he the guy with the unzipped fly?) haven’t managed to land in jail or at least been slapped with a civil suit yet. How far do they have to go with their bullshit before they cross a legal line? Also, I want to give **Larry Borgia** a hearty BRAVO! for ending that hijack. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/366 "2019-04-30T18:41:22Z")
> **[Pete Buttigieg was falsely accused of sexual assault in a stunt concocted by...](https://www.businessinsider.com/pete-buttigieg-falsely-accused-of-sexual-assault-jacob-wohl-stunt-2019-4)** > > The alleged plot quickly fell apart. (I refrained from using any of the “left leaning” media for this information, although many of them have published this news.) ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/367 "2019-04-30T18:48:42Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Do you use Jacob Wohl for much of your information? Pretending this is a serious question for a moment: no. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/368 "2019-04-30T18:52:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Y’know, I’m not really surprised that people would lie about things like this. What I am surprised by is that they’d be so stunningly incompetent at it. Like, I mean, at least enlist the cooperation of the guy who’s supposedly going to be making the claims, before you start doing things under his name. I think he’s a stupid bullshitter, who has committed the cardinal sin of bullshit: he’s believed his own bullshit. That is, they really do believe that all the sexual assault claims levied against Republicans in the last few years are themselves made up, deliberate smears by Democratic Operatives to destroy these Fine Upstanding Men. And they believe that creating such a fake is just as easy as getting someone to say “He touched me!”, and like magic, everyone will believe it, and the person will be destroyed. But what they’ve actually done is prove how easy it is for a stupid hoax to come crashing down in literally hours, when even the most rudimentary fact checking shows that it’s all bullshit. Too bad they’re too stupid to realize that, though. So expect more of the same from these clowns. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/369 "2019-04-30T19:11:59Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Also, I want to give **Larry Borgia** a hearty BRAVO! for ending that hijack. You going to give him a laurel, too? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/370 "2019-04-30T23:41:04Z")
Ok, since we’re still bravoing. “Kelly said he was under the impression he would spend a few days helping research Buttigieg’s background and trying to find dirt that might trip him up. But after he arrived, Kelly said, Wohl showed him the Medium post under Kelly’s name and claimed it was just a draft. Kelly said he was unsure whether he wanted to move forward before he went to bed.At 4:30 a.m., he said that he sent Wohl a message on the encrypted messaging app Signal saying that he was incredibly uncomfortable and not on board with the plan. But by the time he got out of bed at 11 a.m., Kelly said, the post had been published and was spreading across the internet with the help of…” Ditka. > **[2019: Michigan student says Trump backers recruited him for false rape...](https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-false-pete-buttigieg-smear-hunter-kelly-jacob-wohl-20190430-story.html)** > > A Michigan college student says Trump backers recruited him to falsely claim he was raped by Pete Buttigieg, then published the smear without his permission. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/371 "2019-05-01T01:12:55Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Ok, since we’re still bravoing. > “Kelly said he was under the impression he would spend a few days helping research Buttigieg’s background and trying to find dirt that might trip him up. But after he arrived, Kelly said, Wohl showed him the Medium post under Kelly’s name and claimed it was just a draft. Kelly said he was unsure whether he wanted to move forward before he went to bed.At 4:30 a.m., he said that he sent Wohl a message on the encrypted messaging app Signal saying that he was incredibly uncomfortable and not on board with the plan. But by the time he got out of bed at 11 a.m., Kelly said, the post had been published and was spreading across the internet with the help of…” > Ditka. > > [https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-false-pete-buttigieg-smear-hunter-kelly-jacob-wohl-20190430-story.html](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-false-pete-buttigieg-smear-hunter-kelly-jacob-wohl-20190430-story.html) Gotta love it: > [@](#): > > Wohl denied Kelly’s accusation, saying the student had reached out to him. Burkman said on Twitter he believes Kelly’s initial account of the assault was “accurate and true.” “Believe the victim! Until he starts naming me!” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/372 "2019-05-01T03:34:36Z")
Mayor Pete, anti-vaxxer? > **[We Asked All Of The 2020 Presidential Candidates Their Thoughts On Vaccines....](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/claudiakoerner/2020-presidential-candidates-vaccines-measles-health)** > > It's the worst year for measles since the disease was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. "In particular, Buttigieg believes exemptions are appropriate for people who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons. Personal belief and religious exemptions should only be allowed in states that aren’t facing a public health crisis and where herd immunity rates of vaccination are maintained. “These exemptions include medical exemptions in all cases (as in cases where it is unsafe for the individual to get vaccinated), and personal/religious exemptions if states can maintain local herd immunity and there is no public health crisis,” the spokesperson said." ---
**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:** [May 1, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/373 "2019-05-01T03:50:17Z")
How do you get anti-vaxer from that? There really are medical reasons why some people can’t get vaccinated. That’s part of the reason why it’s so important for everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/374 "2019-05-01T04:00:52Z")
The “personal/religious exemptions blah blah herd immunity” is a sop to the anti-vaxxers. Fuck that. ---
**Author:** ![RickG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rickg/32/5174_2.png) [@RickG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickG)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/375 "2019-05-01T04:13:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Mayor Pete, anti-vaxxer? > > [Here's What The 2020 Presidential Candidates Think About Vaccines](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/claudiakoerner/2020-presidential-candidates-vaccines-measles-health) > > "In particular, Buttigieg believes exemptions are appropriate for people who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons. Personal belief and religious exemptions should only be allowed in states that aren’t facing a public health crisis and where herd immunity rates of vaccination are maintained. > > “These exemptions include medical exemptions in all cases (as in cases where it is unsafe for the individual to get vaccinated), and personal/religious exemptions if states can maintain local herd immunity and there is no public health crisis,” the spokesperson said." That’s not an anti-vaxxer position. It’s not my preferred policy–I liked Booker’s answer better–but it’s reasonably nuanced. He’s doing two things here, I think, with respect to non-medical exemptions (he’s 100% correct on the medical ones). First, he’s putting the responsibility squarely on individual states, which should make people suspicious of the Federal government feel at ease. Second, he’s setting a reasonably high bar for those states: keep your herd immunity, or make the vaccinations mandatory. Maybe with the actual Bully Pulpit, he’d be more forceful in pushing mandatory vaccination, but he’s just a low-probability candidate now. This seems like a generally pro-vaccine middle ground that could get him some votes without really losing any. That said, my answer would’ve been: “Not vaccinating your (not immune-compromised) kids is basically equivalent to driving them around without seat belts, in a school zone, after a couple of drinks, and you should be arrested for child-endangerment.” That’s why I’ll never be a politician. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/376 "2019-05-01T04:20:33Z")
I care about one thing only. ONE thing only. Can the candidate defeat Donald Trump in the election? I believe Pete can do it. I also believe Biden can do it. Anyone else, I am doubtful of. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/377 "2019-05-01T18:42:02Z")
The article **JohnT** quoted appears to have been updated that Pete only supports medical exemptions: > [@](#): > > After this article was published, the campaign added in a “clarifying statement” early Wednesday that Buttigieg only supported medical exemptions to vaccinations. > > “Pete believes vaccines are safe and effective and are necessary to maintaining public health,” the spokesperson said. “There is no evidence that vaccines are unsafe, and he believes children should be immunized to protect their health. He is aware that in most states the law provides for some kinds of exemptions. He believes only medical exemptions should be allowed.” Which is good, since “maintaining levels of herd immunity” doesn’t seem particularly measurable/scientific to me. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/378 "2019-05-01T18:56:56Z")
Thanks for the update, **muldoonthief**. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/379 "2019-05-01T19:04:24Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > I care about one thing only. ONE thing only. Can the candidate defeat Donald Trump in the election? > > I believe Pete can do it. I also believe Biden can do it. Anyone else, I am doubtful of. I agree that this is the crucial criterion (as long as someone is not too far “off the reservation” in terms of policy). But I don’t agree at all that those two are the only ones, or even the best ones to do it. (Just for starters: why would we experiment now, of all moments, with a nominee who is either younger or older than anyone before, ever?) I believe that almost any Democratic nominee would be a favorite against Trump, but there’s a huge difference between having a 40% chance of losing and a 10% chance. ---
**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:** [May 1, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032/380 "2019-05-01T19:24:07Z")
Obama was the youngest ever, and that worked. I really do not believe age is the issue that SO many other people seem to perceive it, either with being “too old” or “too young.” People appreciate youthful energy and they appreciate elder wisdom, and I think they appreciate them both equally. What matters is if the candidate can sell them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-pete-buttigieg/831032.md?page=20)