September 18, 2025

"Buttigieg 'would have been an ideal partner—if I were a straight white man,' Harris writes in a passage of her soon-to-be-released book...'"

"'But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk. And I think Pete also knew that—to our mutual sadness.'"

From "The Running Mate Kamala Harris Didn’t Dare Choose/'I love Pete,' she writes in her new book. But picking a gay man would have been too risky" (The Atlantic)(gift link).

What kind of leadership potential is this? She made the wrong decision, admits to not daring, and all because she presumes that we, the people, are prejudiced.

To take her at her word, she declined to pick the running mate she thought was the best because she thought we Americans were being asked "a lot" to accept her. But it was hard to accept her when she'd been pushed forward because of her identity and not because she was the best. Then she decides that we louts wouldn't accept a gay man even though he was the best.

What were she and Pete mutually sad about? How simultaneously hostile to minorities and eager to promote minorities we terrible Americans are?

94 comments:

Achilles said...

Racist, sexist, bigoted.

Pick the best person for the job.

Of course she was only the nominee because she was a woman and black.

The democrat party is just fucked up on a fundamental level.

Freeman Hunt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Disparity of Cult said...

Huh? She (or somebody) picked Tim Walz .

Original Mike said...

""'But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman,…"

I am SO tired of being called a racist, sexist, bigot.

Enigma said...

The main problem was the black-or-brown and possibly intoxicated woman who made world salad in every public speech. Her choice of Elmer Fudd for VP was wrong. Anyone who voted for Kamala would have voted for Buttplug as VP too.

rhhardin said...

fudge packer moment.

RideSpaceMountain said...

"What kind of leadership potential is this?"

The kind of potential that got America's first homosexual (and black) president elected. If it matters, he kept it secret too.

narciso said...

time to bring in graham chapman, 'this is too silly'

narciso said...

the fellow who wasted tens of millions of dollars, that was geared to airport maintenance,

Disparity of Cult said...

The possible Doug/Chasten confusions.

Steve said...

And it is still Everybody's Fault Except Mine!

You have no charisma, Ms.Harris. Obama had lots of it, Clinton probably had the most in my lifetime, and love him or hate him Trump has it too.

Earnest Prole said...

The same Pete Buttigieg who boasts 0.0 percent support of African Americans? Choosing him as her Democratic running mate would have been political malpractice of the highest order.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Maybe we can get Biden to dish on her, increasing his speaking engagement opportunities. Then have Pete elaborate on how Kamala would have been an icky running mate. And get old jazzhands dumber fudd to weigh in on just how much manlier he can be than chestfeed Pete. Let’s talk it out guys!

RideSpaceMountain said...

"...and all because she presumes that we, the people, are prejudiced."

In essence, she is suggesting that we, the people, "did not position her for success". (hat tip Ace)

Big Mike said...

I am SO tired of being called a racist, sexist, bigot.

@Original Mike (1:24), that’s two of us. Check that! It’s actually tens of millions of us.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

That is so hilarious, given that within conservative circles Buttigieg is believed to be a fake gay, who’s using the label because he believes it will help his political ambitions. Oh my goodness. Of course she believes he was the best she could have picked. They are both like two peas in a pod. The phony black and the phony gay.

Quaestor said...

I suspected Harris’s soon-to-be-released book was just another ghostwritten screed, but I was wrong. No one able to earn a living by writing could possibly be connected with that shit.

Rocco said...

"Buttigieg 'would have been an ideal partner—if I were a straight white man,' Harris writes…

Interesting choice of words.

mccullough said...

Kamala wouldn’t Pick the Jew because the Left would have burned down cities. Again. Picking Pete would have been fine.

Drago said...

So much sadness at the heart of the Campaign of Joy.

Rocco said...

What were she and Pete mutually sad about? How simultaneously hostile to minorities and eager to promote minorities we terrible Americans are?

Hmmm. What subset of Americans has a lot of hostility to black women dating, let alone marrying, outside of “their kind”? What subset has the highest rates of disliking gays? What subset did Mayor Pete recently poll at 0% with? Most importantly for the political considerations, what subset has for the past several decades voted 90% Democrat?

wendybar said...

She would have been a great president....... of a clown school.

Prof. M. Drout said...

What makes Buttigieg off-putting isn't that he's gay, it's that he's a McKinsey Striver Goblin*. The one she ended up with, Walz, gives the impression of being a high school gym teacher who gets too handsy with the wrestling team: MUCH more off-putting.
*I didn't come up with this term, I just wish I did.

Kevin said...

So much for her belief in “diversity is our strength.”

mezzrow said...

The American people are a constant disappointment.
Better to assume the worst and just smile. Forward!

Leland said...

It is like the opposite of Sally Fields Oscar acceptance speech, “You hate me. You really really hate me.”

campy said...

"I am SO tired of being called a racist, sexist, bigot."

I feel a bit disappointed on those (rare) days when I'm not called a racist, sexist, bigot.

JaimeRoberto said...

I don't get it. She thought America wouldn't accept a gay man and she still chose Walz?

Derwil said...

Good to see you Narcisco and Beasts. Can either of you guys give me the new JOM2 address

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

BTW, when I say conservative circles, I'm talking about the Trump White House... it's not a secret, there are gays there. So, if they believe Buttigieg is a fake gay, they might know what they are talking about, enough for a well known, if not the best known conservative podcaster (not gay btw) to say it out loud in his podcast.
I don't want more people misunderstanding what I'm trying to say. Thanks for your attention in this matter.

narciso said...

its being updated, also sad news miss marple passed this week

Drago said...

JaimeRoberto: "I don't get it. She thought America wouldn't accept a gay man and she still chose Walz?"

LOL

So true.

RCOCEAN II said...

This has so many levels of craziness its hard to unpack. So, Harris as a black women married to Jew wanted to have a Gay man as her VP. Pete Butt-a-gig.

How was Pete qualified for the VP? I mean other than being a Gay married man. Was he a famous experienced Politician? No. Did he come from an important swing state? No. Was he an economic or Foreign policy genius? No.

Can anyone explain the great things Buttagig did as a Cabinet member? I doubt it.

But is this statement related to 2028? Maybe. Why not get Buttagig as an ally. Why not hope Gays will flock to the Harris banner?

narciso said...

he was harvard and mckinsey, (which probably hold the record for stupid projects,) the iowa primary may have been stolen in 2020, by biden, so he was given Transportation as a consolation prize,

Dave Begley said...

The funny part is that Pete is running for President and this will hurt his chances.

I don't care that Pete is gay, but Black voters do. He polls at zero with Blacks. Zero. Did Harris mention that?

Pete's whole profile is that's he's glib and gay. If anyone looks at his record at Transportation, it is failure. He couldn't even build his nationwide EV network.

Derwil said...

That is indeed sad news. Such a wonderful lady and so smart. She was the first of us to believe Trump could win the presidency and see his potential. Should I assume the old link will eventually take me to the new one once it gets updated?

RideSpaceMountain said...

"How was Pete qualified for the VP?"

Statushood points. Otherwise, the same way Harris was.

Not at all.

RCOCEAN II said...

Given that the massive demographic in the USA is Christian white women and men. Why wouldn't harris want to balance the ticket?

Why should White Christian men feel good about a ticket that includes them in order to pander to blacks, jews, and gays? It would make sense if Pete Buttagig had been some powerhouse, a political giant. But he was the exact opposite.

Big Mike said...

JaimeRoberto said...

I don't get it. She thought America wouldn't accept a gay man and she still chose Walz?


There’s a difference between gay and weird.

RCOCEAN II said...

I'm sure Christian America is ready for a Gay POTUS or VP. I'm not sure if they're ready for someone who considers himself the "Wife" in a homosexual marriage and has adopted 2 kids.

Dont we all want our POTUS to be a pitcher and not a catcher.?

RCOCEAN II said...

THe Democrats really need to reach out to sane people. Their leadership seems to have an excess of weirdos and oddballs of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

hawkeyedjb said...

Let's stack the accomplishments of Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg on top of each other, and grieve over what could have been.

n.n said...

She's transphobic. And he's albinophobic and misogynistic. They are a DEIst couple par excellence.

Peachy said...

Buttigeg would have been a much better choice. Sane at least .Time Walz is a creepy as you can get.

Pete is weak - but nothing to do with his homosexuality.

n.n said...

At least she knows the difference between the sexes, the relation between sex and gender, and the transgender spectrum (e.g. homosexual). Progress.

RideSpaceMountain said...

"THe Democrats really need to reach out to sane people."

They already do that in every city in America when they harass you for change, scream obscenities at trash cans, and threaten to knife you for being a no good CIA gang-stalking potato salad.

FullMoon said...

"RCOCEAN II said...
THe Democrats really need to reach out to sane people."

Don't encourage them.

Political Junkie said...

IMO - Picking Pete, the gay men, would have been much more beneficial to Harris than Walz. Now that I think about it, I think she would have won. Would have brought out many more voters (in net), than would have been lost.
"Gays rule all" these days.

Dagwood said...

Is she talking about him being an ideal partner politically or sexually?

Iman said...

Why, it’s as if competency and actual, documented accomplishments never enter into the decision making process.

Sheesh.

Eva Marie said...

Harris is narrating her own book. Do you think she giggles every once in a while the way she does when she talks? If so, that would be a great instrument of torture but probably illegal under the Geneva Convention.

Beasts of England said...

I don’t have it Derwil - sorry!

Maynard said...

Kamala is trying to make sure that she is never nominated for another state or national office again. She will get a sinecure in the next Democrat administration.

Larry J said...

Buttigieg would've been an appropriate pick for Harris's VP. He was only picked to be Transportation Secretary because Biden was hung up on nominating "historic" cabinet people. Buttigieg was gay. He was also manifestly incompetent at the job. The running joke was Buttigieg was so bad, people actually knew the name of the Transportation Secretary. Just as the people of East Palestine, Ohio how incompetent he was. That totally qualified him to be a VP for Harris. She was only picked to be VP because she was the "historic" choice of being a woman of black/Indian ancestry. She was also historically incompetent at every job she was given as VP.

Maynard said...

When I was doing business consulting back in to 90's, MBA-type guys like Pete were commonly called "empty suits".

Peachy said...

That Kamala comes off like a moron --at every turn - even when she is speaking to her own supporters... crazy.
This is the democratic party.

I fully expect the D's to elevate the most insane mayor in the nation - the mayor of Chicago, to be their party's nominee in 2028.

Disparity of Cult said...

Maybe not Brandon, but J.B. still thinks he's a contender.

n.n said...

It's not because she has mixed heritage. It's not because he's transgender. It is Diversity, Equivocation, and Incompetence (DEI ) is the liberal triangle. Also, their progressive religion (e.g. wicked solution, redistributive change, conflation of logical domains, etc).

wsw said...

Lost in identity.

Lance said...

the running mate she thought was the best

But she only thought he was "best" because he had a particular social identity. Choosing Buttigieg would have been performative, and only performative.

And then of course choosing Tim Walz was just as performative. She thought she was choosing a man's man that knew how to hunt and fish and chew tobacco and grow a testosterone-fueled beard.

Mason G said...

In essence, she is suggesting that we, the people, "did not position her for success".

What do mean by positioned? Like "on her knees"?

Enigma said...

@Dave Begley: "The funny part is that Pete is running for President and this will hurt his chances."

Every Democrat alive today hates everyone, everything, and their own existence. Anarchists and nihilists to the last. Abort it. Sterilize it. Transform it. Shoot it. Burn it. Stop doing it.

The doom and gloom propaganda worked only too well on the true believers.

Leland said...

She was never going to win without Shapiro, but her party’s courting of the pro-Palestine vote meant she couldn’t do that either. Buttigieg didn’t want the VP ticket, because that would have made sure he couldn’t run in 2028. As it is, he hasn’t been as exposed for who he is as Walz or Kaine (at least he hopes).

gadfly said...

Pete Buttigieg, Tim Walz and Josh Shapiro are all honest politicians but they could have ever helped overcome the big lies sold to crazy Americans panting over Demented Don.

We now have governmetal violation of law every day by idiots convinced that Donald Trump is smarter than the average bear. Illegal money flows as in the case trading advanced AI chips to UAE in exchange for $2 billion paid to Trump's crypto company. UAE will sell the chips to China.

Powerless MAGA serfs are simply counting on keeping their jobs under our autocratic government that will continue to show us why 2026 will be far worse than Orwell's "1984".

Martin said...

She would never have won with Shapiro. You can't have a VP so obviously more talented than the Presidential candidate as that would have been. It would just have show everyone that there was no excuse for her to be the candidate.

bagoh20 said...

If the first, last, and primary thing you notice and judge people by is their skin color or sexual preference, and it trumps all else, then you might be a Democrat.

bagoh20 said...

That she got anywhere near the Presidency is an embarrassment to us all and should cause Democrats to pretend she fell off the earth, but they are not sharp as a tack.

doctrev said...

If Kamala Harris believes that gays and blacks are that poisonous to a presidential ticket, how does she explain Obama? Keep this vapid slattern talking, her every word makes it clear why President Trump utterly crushed her.

Prof. M. Drout said...

Maynard said...
When I was doing business consulting back in to 90's, MBA-type guys like Pete were commonly called "empty suits".

A Striver Goblin is different than an empty suit. Striver Goblins go through life as if the boss they want to suck up to is surreptitiously watching their every move. They're constantly doing a little performance about how smart and hard-working they are, how much they admire anyone who can advance their careers. Instead of the glazed appearance of the Empty Suit, the Striver Goblin's beady eyes are always darting around, frantically seeking opportunities to network and suck up.
They gravitate to McKinsey because one of the Striver Goblin's favorite activities is telling management exactly what management has paid them to tell them, but with even more slides and spreadsheets than management asked for. They practically orgasm when someone asks for "a little more data on that..." and on of the 40 slides they have made and stashed away at the end of the deck can be triumphantly unveiled.

Prof. M. Drout said...

I hit "publish" before I had typed the key point: Striver Goblins are terrible leaders because they have zero real knowledge or sense of history and make all their decisions based on what everyone else is doing.

bagoh20 said...

What are Harris or Buttigieg or Walz good at? What's the core competency of any of them?
I just see three people who were bad at their jobs. Harris is a blithering idiot. What do you supporters think of her inability to speak like a person on the right side of the bell curve. Did you just ignore all those embarrassing performances. How does your mind do that?

Yancey Ward said...

That bit from the book is just hilarious. So, Tim Walz was the improvement over Buttuvwxyz. This like choosing whether you eat turd raw or cooked.

Yancey Ward said...

This is going to be a long, long 3-11 years for Gadfly.

Mason G said...

"What do you supporters think of her inability to speak like a person on the right side of the bell curve."

The overriding concern of the left is what follows a candidate's name on the ballot. If it's (D), that candidate is golden in their eyes.

gilbar said...

Martin said...
She would never have won with Shapiro. You can't have a VP so obviously more talented than the Presidential candidate as that would have been.

Actually, it would have worked great!
Think of the sympathy he would have gotten after her tragic death

Achilles said...

Martin said...

She would never have won with Shapiro. You can't have a VP so obviously more talented than the Presidential candidate as that would have been. It would just have show everyone that there was no excuse for her to be the candidate.

It wasn't competency that was the issue.

It was the Jew part.

The Vault Dweller said...

"Steve said...
You have no charisma, Ms.Harris."

The culture of the left makes them unable to openly and honestly discuss their candidates faults. Especially if they check any one of the oppression boxes. Kamala Harris came off as a fake, plastic, wino, ditz. Hillary Clinton came off as a fake, manipulative, though cunning, evil woman. But everyone on the left is too scared of being canceled they can't bring it up.

Not Illinois Resident said...

Well of course Kamala would rather have picked Pete, rather than the effeminate boy scout boring Midwestern governor. Walz is a middle-brow circus clown. Pete is superstar Ed Sullivan-level buffoon. Kamala is example of Peter Principle in real life; like Biden, she too wanted a running mate with lower yet approval ratings, lower yet credibility, lower yet likeability factor. Such bravado, to think a Kamala-Pete ticket would've defeated Trump. Malibu Barbie and Alfred E Neuman, what a golden ticket for epic comic entertainment potential.

Rocco said...

campy said...
"I feel a bit disappointed on those (rare) days when I'm not called a racist, sexist, bigot."

On those days, I don't feel seen.

Jaq said...

Could have gone with Dennis Kucinich, but peaceniks are unacceptable to the Democratic Party these days.

Levi Starks said...

What would you recommend as the best dressing for that word salad?

AMDG said...

Bootyplug’s tenure at the DOT shows that he is as incompetent as she is.

Mason G said...

"I am SO tired of being called a racist, sexist, bigot."

On the plus side, it saves a lot of time when close-minded idiots are willing to so eagerly self-identify.

Skeptical Voter said...

Other than preparing the best word salads in history, just what were her qualifications? I'll admit that Pete Buttigieg was probably a better candidate than Walz. But my dog Spot was probably a better candidate than Walz, so that's a low bar to cross. The Democrats will wander around dazed for a while as they try to recover from the Biden years. They will of course eventually do it--but it's going to be a while.

JAORE said...

Mr. Walz was on the nose with the observation that he is "a bit of a knucklehead". Assuming "bit" covers a LOT of territory.
I still know people in the USDOT. They tell me Mayor Pete took his maternity leave in those early, transition months without naming a temporary leader in DOT.
As you can imagine this was a great team building strategy.

Biff said...

I have a colleague who is one of those liberals who is very "progressive" politically, and she used to be an elected official with a voting record to prove it. Nonetheless, she lives a life that superficially appears rather conservative.

Coincidentally, she attended a public talk by Buttigieg a day or two ago. She was a Bernie supporter on 2020 and wanted Buttigieg to run in 2024. She has attended several Buttigieg events and and has met him in small gatherings.

I was surprised when she told me that she left this latest event early, saying that "the problem with him is that he sounds really great at first, but then you realize he says a lot of polished, smart-sounding words that don't actually mean anything. A waste of time."

I have another friend, a moderate liberal (some do exist) who is a senior professional at the Department of Transportation. This person works in a technical area that most people would agree is not particularly political. Having engaged with Buttigieg on multiple occasions, this individual says that "Buttigieg is neither stupid nor actively destructive like some of the previous political appointees we've seen, but he really is a non-entity. He showed up now and then to show that he was Secretary of Transportation, but he had nothing to offer except nice-sounding words."

It's funny that my two friends, both Democrats, have such similar impressions of the man.

Mason G said...

" The Democrats will wander around dazed for a while as they try to recover from the Biden years."

And just think- if they hadn't gone with their "Get Out The Cheat" voter drive in 2020, Trump would be gone now and would most likely not have pursued the type of policies he's currently working on.

William said...

Many people think of South Bend as the Paris of northern Indiana. Most of the that is due to Mayor Pete's governance. But that's not a part on what Mamdani is going to do for NYC. Many think that by the time he gets done, NYC will have a GDP equal to or even surpassing that of South Bend. I'd like to see a Mamdani/Buttigieg ticket in 2028. There's some kind of absurd prejudice that Muslims are hostile to gays. A Mamdani/Buttigieg ticket would put those rumors to rest. The trouble with Marxism is that it was never tried with Sharia law. That's the boost that will put it over the top. If Democrats are true to their core beliefs they will put a Mamdani/Buttigieg ticket forward.

narciso said...

if he was a white man, a mere mckinsey exec he probably would not have made mayor of south bend,

walter said...

Well..doing that is one way to elevate her relative competency.
But I won't be satisfied till we have a Trans Furry at the helm.

Gospace said...

RCOCEAN II said...
...
Can anyone explain the great things Buttagig did as a Cabinet member? I doubt it.


Actually, that's a really easy question. For the first time since there was a Secretary of Transportation, the American people knew who the Secretary of Transportation was.

Aside from that, I got nuthin'.

Kakistocracy said...

If there had been a genuine open primary in 2024 for the presidential nomination, I think there's a decent chance a consensus candidate would have emerged. One of the virtues of the long election cycle is that it helps to test out alternatives. In 2024, the majority of voters in the US wanted a choice other than Biden or Trump. Harris helped to fill that need for a brief period. However, the real problem is that she lacked the political skill and vision to thread the needle and deliver on her opportunity. She was also being advised by a bunch of Democratic consultants whose vision of politics hasn't changed in close to 20 years. The country has changed in significant ways since the 1990s and early 2000s. However, the consulting class has gotten rich and comfortable, at a time when many Americans are feeling the exact opposite. There is a mile-wide disconnect between the people doing political strategy and a critical mass of voters.

Rick67 said...

If she thinks Buttigieg being gay was the problem she is spectacularly clueless.

OldManRick said...

Today's news. Diversity hire didn't want an all diversity hire ticket.

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