Well, the Republican candidate is mentioned in the Bible, so they have that going for them.
The guy served an active tour of duty in Afghanistan. I guarantee you soldiers are better at mean roasting than any politician - and certainly better at being on the receiving end of a roast than, say, Donald Trump.
Besides, he seems like he’s already turning what could be surface attacks against him to his own advantage - he makes fun of his being the “first episcopalian gay millenial mayor candidate”. He opens with that, then segues into why that’s a good thing.
Plus homosexuality is more and more normalized (except among MAGAheads who would never ever vote for a democrat ever) and any time Republican candidates try to rag on him for that they’ll look like stupid bigots - which is not a problem for their base (but again, their base will vote R come hell or high water), but might steer the center the other way, much like Trump’s antics might play well in Hicksville, Tennessee but not so much anywhere else.
I think they’d be more successful ragging on his age and (relative) inexperience - but then again, if they go that way Democrats will be quick to counter that Trump had no experience in public office whatsoever (and doesn’t seem like he has gained any yet) and that he’s smart as all getout. Which, again MAGAheads would jeer at, but the center probably doesn’t ? Maybe ?
I think you are getting ahead of things - first he has to win the primaries, and thereby counter whatever other Democrats say about him. OK, other Democrats would never dare say anything about his homosexuality - what does he say about accusations of inexperience coming from Elizabeth Warren?
Regards,
Shodan
Inexperience is popular. Not only Trump but also Cortez and then there are Macron in France,Zelenskiy in Ukraine, Caputova in Slovakia, and even Farage (Brexit) in the UK. They’re not weighed down by political baggage. They speak more freely.
His preliminary fundraising totals for the 1st quarter are over 7 million dollars. That’s not too bad, let’s see what the rest of the campaigns report.
I’ve been actively engaged in politics since age 18, this is the first time I’ve donated to a candidate this early in the primary season.
Gee [he says, crossing his arms, an expectant expression on his face] what would you imagine they would say about his homosexuality, if they dared? :dubious:
Dictations,
CaptMurdock
What is this “Buttegieg isn’t gay enough” meme all about?
I think it was when J. K. Rowling tweeted that Buttegieg had an “intense sexual relationship” with Dumbledore while refusing to put it in the movies or books. 
Has Mr. Buttigieg revealed anything about his role in the ONI? Is he bound to be as disastrous for Afghanistan as Bush, Obama, and Trump?
It’s basically a complaint from some activists (and probably ratfuckers from other campaigns) that he hasn’t been outspoken enough on LGBT issues. Similar to how Obama was criticised for not being black enough.
Is anyone bothered by how he’s been sort of reinforcing right wing frames? Just in the past few days, he amplified the myth that Vietnam veterans were treated like dogshit when they came home; and he complimented Trump voters for their perspicacity in supposedly picking the only candidate who was offering ideas to help improve their lives. :smack:
He is saying what he feels he needs to say to get votes, and his instincts are probably correct.
Who is Pete Buttegieg? With every day that passes and everything I continue to see from him, my answer is basically “the fucking man.” I like the guy more than anyone else in the field at the moment.
Hmm sounds familiar.
Maybe in a general election. Hard to see how that stuff resonates with Democratic primary voters, unless it’s in an extremely “meta” way.
He is saying things they agree with. If he takes their side on some old wound (is there an obsession with blaming liberals for the treatment of vets?), he can create a channel of communication. We’ll have to wait and see how good of a heartstring harpist he is.
Regardless of whether or not Vietnam veterans were actually, in substantial numbers, treated poorly when they returned to the country - something I simply cannot comment on definitively because I’m 32 years old - EVERY Vietnam veteran that I know including bleeding-heart liberals buys into this narrative and has mentioned it at some point when the topic of their service came up. I’ve heard that some of them were treated badly by left-wing students and anti-war protestors, and some were treated badly by conservative veterans of previous wars who thought the Vietnam generation were lacking in some way. But enough of them FEEL that Vietnam veterans were, in the main, treated poorly, for it to be a “thing.”
Older voters are really, really important. Pete is very young for a politician. But by being a veteran, he shares a connection with that older generation that very few A-list politicians have. He is trying to build a bridge here, as stated above. Because he is smart.
I believe he is the smartest by far of any of the candidates running. Maybe not in a political sense - though I think he is on that path - but just in the sense of being SMART, full stop. Out of all of the people in this election, I expect that Pete is going to have the smallest number of stupid mistakes. He may make one or two. But I think his number will be the lowest. He is very savvy.
David Brooks on why Mayor Pete is connecting with people
Is this something we should actually care about, or another nothingburger to waste bandwidth over?
It’s hard to directly account for the “Bu-” part when comparing to English surnames. Otherwise, though, Buttigieg’s surname seems somewhat analogous to English surnames like Fowler or Cox.
Perhaps the most fun thing about this campaign season is reading Nathan Robinson as he plays the far-left curmudgeon and rails against everyone (except Bernie) for not being progressive enough. He’s already smacked Beto around twice and knocked Kamala Harris once. Here’s his take on Buttigieg: All About Pete ❧ Current Affairs .
There’s lots of stuff there, but two points stand out that don’t get mentioned much. First his work for McKinsey & Company, a corporate consulting firm that’s everything progressives love to hate. Second, the fact that South Bend has a large and obvious gap between its very poor black community and everyone else. This would be true for almost any city, of course, but would loom as a potential problem if he became a serious contender in the race.