It's a crowded field of Democratic Party candidates, with notables like Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris idling at around 7% and Cory Booker embarrassingly stalled at 3%. So how did Pete Buttigieg break through the pack into 3rd place already? (Only Biden and Sanders outpoll the fast-rising newcomer.)
Amber Phillips (at WaPo) has 5 theories, which I'll summarize, interwoven with my commentary.
1. He's a "novelty," Phillips says, because he "is from the Midwest, he’s a veteran who served in Afghanistan, and he unapologetically talks about his Christian faith in a way that helps voters feel like the Republican Party is not the only one with a claim to talk about faith." Phillips leaves out the 2 most obvious points of novelty: He's openly gay, and he's really really young.
2. "There are aspects of his profile that excite more liberal members of the party." Oh, here's where those other 2 points of novelty are compartmentalized: "he’s 37 and openly gay." I guess the "novelty" under #1 were the things that made him seem like a Republican — midwestern, veteran, Christian. I get it. That's why these are 2 different "theories."
3. "The Democratic Party has been without a clear leader since President Trump won. So why not look to someone outside Washington?" That is: All the other Democratic candidates are Senators. You can really stand out just by not being a Senator. Senators don't come across as leaders.
4. "Buttigieg is a candidate some Democrats could see taking on Trump successfully." But why do they see him that way? He seems to be good at talking. "'He seems pretty unflappable,' Pamela from California said in an email... 'He seems to be the type who can let it slide off and not engage.'" Okay, then, Pamela from California has the impression he's unflappable. But we've never seen Buttigieg perform under anything like the pressure Trump would put on him. We've seen him buoyed up by interviewers who want to believe he can fly. Also under #4 is the fact that "Buttigieg is a white man." Maybe people think a woman can't stand up to Trump — "after Hillary Clinton lost to him."
5. "Voters say he’s got the intangibles... a calm personality, an ease on the biggest stage possible and a direct, eloquent way of speaking that has earned him comparisons to a young Barack Obama."
Let me restate Phillips's 5 theories:
1. Buttigieg seems like a Republican. That feels kind of safe and it just might work.
2. He's openly gay and he's really really young. That's exciting.
3. He's not a Senator. Ugh! All those Senators!
4. You can picture him using his fancy words to flummox Trump.
5. Obama! Dreams of Obama! O! BAAAA! MAAAAAA!
April 17, 2019
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Also: all the other candidates were weighed and found wanting.
Deep State. Rhodes scholar is the red flag. Now where did I put that tin foil hat?
How about 6. Because he is getting press.
I can't think of the last time I saw Harris, Booker or Warren get any coverage, and I am not sure I could pick any of the others out of a lineup. This early on, whoever gets coverage gets poll results.
Some people used to thing Paul Welstone could fly.
Democrats are still not done pre-missing Obama.
Pete is quasi-Obama.
Open Borders, destruction of the Constitution, socialism (by euphemism) and infanticide.
Just your typical ho-hum average midwestern guy alright....
He's not popular.
The Media says he is popular. Like they said The Coffee Party was much bigger than the Tea Party.
He's as popular as any other asshole Socialist.
He’s cute and he’s gay, and many Democrats imagine that him being gay would be a shit sandwich for Republicans. We can see from their last candidate that they enjoy trying to feed us shit sandwiches. I personally don’t think being gay or spending the bulk of your intellectual efforts learning foreign languages are big qualifications for becoming POTUS. The second one is more of a disqualification, the first one is pretty much neutral at this point. Unless the White House was in complete disrepair and Lafayette Square was in need of some gentrification...
Watch for pictures of Pete with a Obamaesque halo in the news media. Attendees at events will start to faint.
Anecdotally, there is a vast disconnect between regular, everyday Democrats and the party's leadership and other candidates. The Democrats I know and interact with regularly dislike Harris, Warren, and Booker (and the other no names like O'Rourke) because they align completely with the failed Democrat leaders and policies. Buttigieg seems comfortable as himself and going his own way, which sometimes is different than the party.
My two cents. Those other things in the article serve only to bring attention to him.
6) Buttigieg is unknown, and he not multi millionaire, so Dems can project their own thoughts and feelings onto Mayor Pete without dissonance.
Buttigieg speaks without using the "The problem is is that ..." formulation so loved by Obama.
He talks about his Christian faith like he's a Pharisee.
The dual strategy of the left is to overthrow all conventional sexual morality while simultaneously accusing every opponent of being a sexual predator.
A very successful tactic it is.
Blogger Birkel said...
"Democrats are still not done pre-missing Obama."
How can I miss you if you won't go away?
Mayor Pete comes across as smart and articulate and likeable.
Of the other Dems running, Harris and Klobuchar are the only ones who don’t come across as kinda stupid. Gillibrand and Beto and Booker come across as airheads. Hickenlooper and Biden come across as old guys who were not even bright when they were younger. Sanders has a broken brain. He says the same shit in the same tone. Like an Angry Rain Man.
Klobuchar and Harris are unlikeable. They have Daddy Issues. These are not people you want on the news everyday for four years. Harris isn’t boring like Klobuchar but she has a Hillary vibe that is off putting.
Mayor Pete would be a great opponent for Trump. I think voters sense that. The others aren’t interesting.
Obama! Dreams of Obama! O! BAAAA! MAAAAAA!
The key components here are BAAAA! and MAAAAAA!
Infantile utterances from infantile minds.
Democracy Dies in Darkness!
"tcrosse said...
Some people used to thing Paul Welstone could fly."
LOL
Buttigieg is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy, light-skinned and with no gay dialect, unless he wants to have one -- once Joe Biden's dream, and now his nightmare.
He's also understood that Democrats want a fantasy-figure as president, some John F. Kennedy or Josiah Bartlett. If you can provide the fantasy, they will support you -- at least for a while.
Pete's problem is that he can't help showing off how smart he thinks he is. Fellow Rhodes Scholar Cory Booker has the same problem (and the additional handicap of not really being very smart).
He got popular because of press adulation, much like the fake Mexican O'Rourke.
Ann is right. Obama is the model. But Obama was the black Kennedy. The WSJ did a photo analysis and showed how Michelle O dressed like Jackie O when she was in the WH.
Beto looks like a Kennedy. But he's young and hyper.
Harris is the female Obama. But not that smart. She has the Kennedy sex thing down cold.
I'm just not seeing Mayor Pete's husband in the mold of Michelle O or Jackie O. Big problem. People look at that stuff.
Much of the focus on Mayor Pete is the unhappiness with Bernie and the disappointment, so far, with Harris. But it is a long race and Harris is holding back for the stretch run.
And I forgot all about Biden. Total loser. A cipher.
6. Biden, Sanders, O'Rourke, Harris, Warren
It's more like a go-cart race than NASCAR.
Kamala Harris has a plan to take down Pete Buttigieg in the first debate.
She will demand that he say publicly whether he ever has talked with anybody from the Kasowitz Benson Torres law firm.
Buttfinger is wrong about the reasons for opposition to gay marriage. It's familiarity with marriage, not opposition to gays.
Homo, white, unknown, mouths platitudes,
Speaking of which:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/04/blasey-ford-makes-times-100-most-influential-list.php
jwl said...
6) Buttigieg is unknown, and he not multi millionaire, so Dems can project their own thoughts and feelings onto Mayor Pete without dissonance.
To some of us, his popularity is no mystery.
If you remember back to the Romney and McCain elections, Republicans went thru this.
The key factor in a rise in the polls? Unknown.
Mayor Pete is unknown. So, right now people can project all their desires onto him. It's his turn to rise to the top. In a month or two, it'll be someone else.
Get used to these stories of a new person rising to or near the top.
I remember them well.
6. The embodiment of our collective victimhood.
If I recall correctly, this was the Star Trek episode where Kirk used the Prime Directive to fry the logic circuits of the virtual villain named Landru.
Buttigieg is being pushed for a purpose.
His purpose is to contrast with Pence.
He is going to have problems with black voters because of his actions as mayor. He will only be useful on a ticket with a black person on top “normalizing” the ticket.
I don't think it's all that mysterious, Buttigieg is the same type of nerdy, wonkish looking guy that liberals are always excited about early in the campaign cycle. He's this year's Paul Tsongas or Bill Bradley.
Pete is the answer to the Cheeto.
1. He is really and truly a person of faith. The Cheeto panders to the evangelicals, but really has no faith or religion.
2. He is well educated and not afraid to use big words. The Cheeto's family bought his way into Penn. From the way he speaks, he didn't go to class,spent his time looking for chicks and goofing off.
3.Pete seems authentic. The Cheeto hasn't had one day of authenticity in his entire life.
Attack where you must, you all know I'm right.
Truth be told, The Cheeto has made me gag for at least the past 35 years.
Vicki from Pasadena
"Voters say he’s got the intangibles... a calm personality, an ease on the biggest stage possible and a direct, eloquent way of speaking that has earned him comparisons to a young Barack Obama."
So basically he can lie about everything being hunky-dory, even though God knows what is really going on. I can see that being a plus for a WaPo reporter and her ilk.
Presidential elections have devolved into high school popularity contests. A mayor of a small city is now qualified to run a national government, because? Would it be too much to ask to examine his record of successes in South Bend. (Since it is not so good I think the media won't touch that aspect with a ten foot pole.) But he is cute and well spoken. That should be enough I think.
Buttigieg gives good Intellectualism Theater. A lot of Democrats are suckers for that, and have been since long before Al Gore was drawing bagels on napkins. Gives them something to hang their West Wing fantasies on.
My theory about how most Democrat primary voters choose candidates is that basically they choose a candidate based not so much on what they say, but how they make them feel. As long as a candidate claims to support certain ideas and positions, that's enough.
Of course they have to at least support things like:
1) Promising to address the Obamacare mess with some kind of massive expansion of government involvment in healthcare, something like Medicare for all.
2) Dealing with the percieved crisis of global warming with heavy handed government "solutions".
3) Support for some kind of student loan forgiveness or relief. It doesn't have to be specific, in fact the more vague it is the better.
4) And talk about wealth inequality, how it's a huge problem, and how you intend to pay for points 1 - 3 by greatly raising taxes on the mean old big corporations and the villainous ultra wealthy. And, of course, support for a "living wage" (Perhaps $20 an hour? That's a moving target).
That's it. Everything after that is just about feelings.
The Marketing Department is delighted at how well its new Mayor Pete™ product has been received by its target demographic. With continued promotional support in the media, be can expect continued success going forward.
There’s something psychotic about gay men as the beatified leaders of America.
Gay men started the AIDS epidemic in SF and NYC in the 60s and 70s. The stereotype of gay men is demonstrably true. 37 million dead from the epidemic gay men inflicted on us.
This shit about gay men as our moral betters is the damnedest lie of my lifetime.
Of course, the second damnedest lie is that straight men are responsible for the AIDS epidemic. How the left squared that circle is beyond me.
Althouse is emblematic of this psychosis. She never mentions AIDS when she discusses gay men. She can’t really. What would she say?
I started out, fresh out of college in the early 70s, believing Althouse’s bullshit about the saintliness of gay men. Personal experience changed me. I doubt this Butt Whatever guy is that clean. He’s probably going to die by age 50 of gay male bowel syndrome.
He sounds intellectual, never mind the lack of accomplishments. JFK was much the same.
Only Biden and Sanders outpoll the fast-rising newcomer.
My quick search showed that "only" Biden, Sanders, O'Rourke, Harris and Warren were fooling more people then the "fast-rising newcomer" (that MSM talk is so cool!).
"Obama! Dreams of Obama! O! BAAAA! MAAAAAA!"
A God. We need a God, or at least a quasi-Godlike figure, to MAGA! Nothing less will suffice.
Mayor Pete is as religious as Elmer Gantry.
He comes off a bit like Pat Robertson.
Religion is Mayor Pete’s schtick. Interesting tactic in a Dem primary. Some Dems are religious and will be reassured by the unctuous Mayor Pete display of religiosity.
In a debate, Trump will call him on it. Ask him why he doesn’t criticize Islam since that religion not only doesn’t accept gay marriage it wants to cut off the heads of gays.
Trump will say that he’s the one who protects gays by keeping out of the country those that want to kill them. Mike Pence didn’t kill 49 gays in Orlando. That was a radical Islamist and Mayor Pete is too much of a coward to stop them.
Some pundit (Karl Rove?) said that when the spotlight hits you, you either shine or start sweating. The novelty factor gained him all that media attention, but he's handled it well. Some of his statements are flaky, but you'd never know it if you saw him deliver them on tv. He sounds reasonable, modest and personable......I think he's in the same lane as O'Rourke. O'Rourke is starting to melt under the spotlight, but Buttigieg, thus far, has shown more poise...... I'd like to think that he'll soon fade, but we've had two Presidents in a row elected on the basis of their novelty factor.
An unstated sixth reason is that, unlike Sanders, he is actually a member of the Democratic party (as, of course, are the other candidates). It can't be brought it up in print, but you can be sure it's discussed among the Dem faithful.
Can we assume that it is of some importance to a good number of Democrat voters in a primary?
I'm sure he would be an improvement over James Buchanan, America's first gay President.
Poor Vicki gets a chance to talk positively about a Democratic candidate and instead launches an entirely predictable attack against Trump. TDS is a terrible disease.
- the first McKinsey president: I'm sure rustbelt is excited with this possibility
- would be interesting to hear more about his service in Afghanistan: he was Navy intelligence lieutenant, serving 7 months in the region. Was he selecting targets for drone hits? Would be very honorable. Also, possible ties to deep state
- promised free college for all. Besides being the most stupid idea ever, he didn't specify who will get into which college. Also, clear rent seeking for his academic family
- seems to not know who he is - BA here, BA there, consultant job, military job, mayor, politician, ...?
Buttigieg uses his religion to bash Christians who don't agree with his doctrine. I wouldn't not vote for him solely based on that.
Nice work Althouse, distilled well.
It’s the Democratic Socialist Party these days. Bernie and AOC are the leaders. In 2024 it will just be the Socialist Party.
All well and good, but he's a white male, and the left Can't Even white males.
Buttplug has a dead girl / live boy problem.
His followers will chase him down that rabbit hole and pretzel themselves trying to explain that its just about sex.
Pre-order your popcorn from Fen's Emporium today! First ten callers get a 3D Archery Silhouette of your favorite LLR.
I think jwl has the right measure. Buttigieg is mostly a blank slate that anyone can project their own beliefs onto. It is also related to number 5: Obama. People still believe things about Obama that just aren't true. Finally, Buttigieg has the advantage over Beto in not having recently lost an important race.
But I don't see Buttigieg as a general election threat. His view of Christianity doesn't sound familiar yet he is preachy about it. I don't see him attracting straight minorities. And I don't think his military experience will overcome the other negatives. Then there is his family history of Marxism. With that much baggage, I might cross over and vote for him in the primary, since a primary vote for Trump will be irrelevant.
spending the bulk of your intellectual efforts learning foreign languages are big qualifications for becoming POTUS
Oh but that is his attraction. It's the Democrat theme that they are smarter than all those deplorables.
Blogger Paul Zrimsek said...
Buttigieg gives good Intellectualism Theater. A lot of Democrats are suckers for that, and have been since long before Al Gore was drawing bagels on napkins. Gives them something to hang their West Wing fantasies on.
Yes, that was the Bill Clinton with a PhD and no Hillary. That TV series is a key to Democrats' fantasy life. Bill Safire, no conservative, wrote a novel about a president with a PhD in Economics.
Buttigieg is a moron. Five seconds of listening to him rail about voter suppression and abolishing the Electoral College is enough to know he may well be attractive to the emotive, substance free segment of the electorate but that's it. Any candidate who campaigns in part on abolishing the Electoral College has no real grounding to reality. It takes a really strong case of crazy to think that thirty eight states are going to voluntarily disenfranchise themselves. The Democrats could do better by recruiting in nuthouses for candidates. It would be unlikely they could find in the nuthouses candidates crazier than the ones running.
Why might he be appealing to primary voters in Iowa?
1) Young
2) Personable
3) Not extreme in manner, calm
4) Preference for a local mayor outsider over a national politician. Outsider Appeal.
5) Throw in the surprises, like the Norwegian. Makes primary voters look at him twice.
It's early. I doubt the polls are significant with with N values less then 500 in a crowded field with most people not paying any attention.
Possibly missing from the list of things causing Mayor Pete's popularity is his starting a feud with VP Pence. A view of Pence as a "religious nut" seems to have been stoked by reporting on him. It's surprising how widely this view of Pence is shared among CNN viewers and many Boston Globe readers. It is reasonable to conclude that many New York Times readers have had a similar view stoked (or had it already)
Democrats like to vote for their fantasy. Obama was a fantasy (first black president). Clinton was trying to be one (first female president). Buttigieg is a fantasy of theirs.
It helps when your fantasy does not have a known track record so that each voter can imagine their most desired qualities onto the fantasy candidate. Senators have votes they have to defend, mayors do not.
6. He's unlikely to fondle women and girls in a Bidenlike fashion.
6) Since the racial healing worked out so well under Obama, now it's time for some sexual (orientation) healing.
Probably an extension of #1 but:
He has no track record and thus can be presented to each constituency as perfect for them even when those perfections are contradictory. It worked with Obama!
To me, he looks like Alfred E. Newman. Once you see it you can't unsee it.
It's all about who Dems want to imagine being their boyfriend and taking care of them. They're enamored with the "nice guy" Pete for now, but they'll get bored of him after a while.
Like Obama, he is CIA born and bred for the job of tricking Americans. His credentials are just military intelligence covers.But the good news is that the more he talks the more his blarney sounds.empty.Socialism is at best a grade B trick that no one but intellectuals fall for anymore.
Being a gay man is no big deal now. Sorry.
His gay is Obama’s black to confused Democrats who believe foolishly that minority status, other than the emerging minority known as “white heterosexual male,” coupled with glibness qualifies one to be President. That’s pretty much it.
Professing to be a cafeteria Christian will appeal to the pro-abortion, infanticide-tolerant, LBGT-embracing denominations. It will not bring support from practicing Catholics, Evangelicals or other committed Christians.
For those who ponder with fondness the stagnant economy, impotent foreign policy, racial division and corruption of the Obama years, it is enough that he is not a Republican. For NeverTrumpers like Chuck, anyone will do.
Break through into 3rd place? 1st place is the nomination. 2nd place is a set of steak knives. 3rd place is you’re fired.
Why do I sense that Beto O'Rourke is about to discover that he's always been a girl from Iowa, trapped in the body of a boy from Texas?
"He is going to have problems with black voters because of his actions as mayor. He will only be useful on a ticket with a black person on top “normalizing” the ticket."
Aaaand he's also a gay White man named Buttigieg. Talk about suppressing the Black vote...
I doubt Bg will come within shouting distance of the Donk nomination, but if he does the Donks are going to be sacrificing a lot of votes among certain demographics.
The Dems are Baskin-Robbins. Mayor Pete is the flavor-of-the-month. Let's see what May brings. Also, Obama nostalgia may not be as potent a force as they seem to think, especially in the General.
Also the pick of Buttigeig explains the sudden flood of branding Trump as homophobic. Calling him racist is not the word of the month anymore. Trump and Pence are Christians so they must secretly be homophobic.
Booty Judge is the media's flavor of the month.
By Labor Day he will be completely forgotten.
Blogger victoria said...
1. He is really and truly a person of faith. The Cheeto panders to the evangelicals, but really has no faith or religion.
I suspect that most people of faith, including but not limited to, evangelicals, don't care all that much about the president's faith.
What they DO care about is that the president respects theirs. And even more than respects their faith, protects it.
President Trump does both.
John Henry
Blogger John henry said...
President Trump does both.
Or is at least perceived as doing both.
John Henry
He's going nowhere as a presidental candidate. No-where.
Michael: "The Dems are Baskin-Robbins. Mayor Pete is the flavor-of-the-month. Let's see what May brings."
The establishment dems are maneuvering between 2 primary camps: The residual Dead-Ender Hillary Camp (which is still quite large in numbers and requires continual funding (hence the hilariously forced and inept Hillary/Bill Tour)) that will Never Say Die and the quite "quiet" Obama Camp that continues to make moves behind the scenes to position Michelle as the Chosen One.
Before this is over, the Clintonite holdovers will have to be taken down and Hillary given the final heave-ho well before the dem primaries are over, a primary season that cannot, by design, have any 1 dem candidate emerge as the clear 50%+1 leader and thereby setting the stage for Michelle to waltz in at the last minute to pick up the mantle as the dem candidate against Trump.
Michelle cannot withstand scrutiny for very long so having her "appear" suddenly in mid/late summer with only a few months to sprint to the finish should allow for a total embargo by the MSM of any negative material on Michelle prior to the general election in Nov.
That's the plan.
You heard it here first....unless you heard it somewhere else first. In which case you heard it here after....assuming you were listening.
Didn't Booty Judge criticize Mike Pence's faith?
That's not very Christian of him.
He will soon be seen as just another intolerant leftist.
Wait until DDB asks a question of Mayor Pete. The last Rhodes Scholar (Booker) was no match for the man from Creighton University. Me!
gahrie: "Poor Vicki gets a chance to talk positively about a Democratic candidate and instead launches an entirely predictable attack against Trump. TDS is a terrible disease."
In victoria from Pasadena's defense, there is nothing positive to speak about in terms of the dems, so she is simply going where she has to for Team Dem/Left/LLR-left.
"What they DO care about is that the president respects theirs. And even more than respects their faith, protects it."
Bingo. No evangelical is falling for any lukewarm social gospel jive. Naive in many ways, they're totally hip to this particular shuck.
Unlike the other dem candidates, he is surpassingly intelligent, as demonstrated by his extraordinary language abilities. This will permit the left to persist in the Trump-is-dumb theory, and they have little else at this point.
No other dem candidate demonstrates greater intelligence than Trump, beyond the usual college-educated speaking style.
From Breitbart:
In essence, Buttigieg is basically the “Morning Joe” candidate adored by highly-educated white liberals who have perfected the art of speaking for hours and “sounding smart” without saying anything of substance while making everyone who is taking part in the conversation feel “intelligent” at dinner parties and self-perpetuating conferences.
This is the top skill that is taught at America’s top colleges, graduate schools, and consulting companies populated by Americans from homogenous zip codes who went to similar high schools. And it is arguably the most important trait for getting the lazy and often dimwitted chattering class to take a candidate seriously.
At the risk of seeming like a neanderthal, ain't this mayor Pete guy a fag?
With a fag name?
Really think that's gonna fly?
Buttigieg is a candidate some Democrats could see taking on Trump successfully.
He's losing a debate with Pence that Pence isn't even participating in. How's he going to win a debate with Trump?
Victoria wrote: “1. He is really and truly a person of faith. The Cheeto panders to the evangelicals, but really has no faith or religion.”
What faith is that, Victoria? Evangelicals have no interest in electing a pope. We also don’t worship at the alter of moral relativism.
The problem with you lefties is you can’t shake the notion of “bitter clingers.” In truth, Democrats have become the bitter clingers. They ceiling to abortion and now infanticide, open borders, racial division, firearm suppression, unemployment, confiscatory taxation, political corruption, grifting, media bias, pacifistic foreign policy (unless drones become “necessary”), anti-Semitism, “Resistance”, censorship and, oh yes socialism, or at least “free” stuff. I’m sure I missed something, but that’s the idea.
the
I like that he's not really a culture warrior. At the very least he eschews that part of the Democratic playbook. Of course the mask will probably slip and he'll start prefacing too many sentences with "as a gay man ..."
Comparisons to the mighty O?
I just can't see school kids tackling
"Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg! Hmm. Hmm. Hmmm."
Butt hey..this would be quite the way to usher in the first male 1st lady.
Vicki @ 10:23; I tend to agree with your characterization of Mr. Trump. However, one cannot say he hasn't been effective- both in business and politics! Mayor Pete looks like a guy you'd like to have as a neighbor. I'm not sure that translates to national leadership.
1) It's way too early to know who is going to be the nominee. It not clear who is running yet. Is Biden in? Is Terry What's his name in? Unclear.
2) Normal people aren't paying attention yet. I don't mean normal general election voters. I mean the average primary voter. If you're paying attention you're a statistical outlier and your preference is not predictive. Do you know who all the primary candidates are? Do you have opinions on each? Congrats, You're a weirdo!
3) It's possible he's on a polling trajectory like Gary Hart. It's also possible Biden or someone else. I doubt Sanders will get enough primary voters in the South to win the nomination.
4) Oprah is not running. Michelle is not running. Why aren't they running? Because they are happy with their lives. They don't want to be President. Running for President or getting the job would ruin their lives. As crazy as it may seem to you, some people don't want the job & there's no amount of $$ you could pay them to take it.
Shouting Thomas said...
This shit about gay men as our moral betters is the damnedest lie of my lifetime.
I agree.
"Is Terry What's his name in? "
Terry McAwful?
America is not going to elect a degenerate to be President. Althouse might worship the pervert homosexuals but the rest of the nation does not.
They might as well run that Anti-Semitic Muslim cunt.
I think gay money is pushing him to be a perceived leader.
And virtue signaling support in the msm.
The media is having a collective Orgasm over Mayor Pete. They must be really struggling between going with the first woman president or the first gay president narrative.
I don't see the blue collar, working class folks, or religious African-Americans or Hispanics, jumping on the wagon for this.
"I started out, fresh out of college in the early 70s, believing Althouse’s bullshit about the saintliness of gay men."
Don't attribute your fantasies to me. That's just another fantasy of yours.
#5 is a huge turnoff for me. I don't believe it, anyway.
Okay Vickie, I’ll bite.
1. His criticism of others’ faith erases whatever goodwill Christians were willing to give him. He elides the part about “all fall short” in Gods eyes by praising himself and casting stones at Pence, just about the most un-Christian thing one can do in public. No sale.
2. I don’t care.
3. Authenticity is hard to fake but he fooled you. Good for Pete. I’m not buying the boasting because his city (he is a mayor) is in shambles with a higher murder rate than Chicago. And only 100,000 residents.
6) Dem voters are misogynistic racists.
If these were republicans, that's the answer that would be given by the writer.
There are many others but Rahm Emmanuel always seemed like that type of guy that went home at the end of the day, sat in his leather chair and jerked off to his box set of The West Wing until he fell asleep.
Victoria,
Pete is the answer to the Cheeto.
1. He is really and truly a person of faith. The Cheeto panders to the evangelicals, but really has no faith or religion
LOL. You are like Mayor Pete - a credentialed moron.
A person who belongs to the Infanticide Party is NOT a person of religious Faith unless you count Satanism as a Religion. Jesus would never countenance the evil that the modern Democratic Party has become.
Transgender is trending? With diversitists, yes. Otherwise, mental divergence or transition is not a desirable feature, and on its own is a low information attribute. Heterosexuality, monogamy, fidelity are more attractive characteristics. Men and women like natural born duck dynasties, self-moderation, personal responsibility, and tempered outlooks.
I cannot stand the phrase "Openly Gay" at all. I always want to ask: What does that mean, exactly? What does the adverb bring to it? (It's also used to describe Madison's newest mayor -- why?)
This isn't 1970 any more, people.
Shouting Thomas,
Re AIDS, we All need to be careful and scared.
It's going to break out into the heterosexual community any day now.
And for me to rant about "AIDS" in Africa would be off topic. So I won't.
John Henry
Things that must happen to get a Democrat elected over Trump in 2020:
1) Convince blacks to show up in record numbers, a la Obama, while supporting the Democratic; and
2) Convince suburbanites not to support Trump in the midst of a terrific economy for job growth and wage growth; and
3) Convince union members not to support Trump after increasing manufacturing jobs in key states; and
4) Win large majorities (2 to 1 would likely do) of so-called Latin voters; and
5) Promise not to upset the apple cart of growth and prosperity.
I'd love to read the Democratic insiders' memos detailing how each of the current candidates (declared or not) get those things to align.
I don't see Mayor Pete accomplishing any of those, btw.
And socialist policies upset #5 before any of the other issues are addressed.
Infanticide Party is NOT a person of religious Faith
Some kind of faith. Some kind of religion (i.e. moral philosophy or behavioral protocol) or rather ethics. However, summary judgments and cruel and unusual punishment are extremely liberal. Infanticide, once a human life is deemed a "person". And during the first trimester -- and less (from development of a coherent nervous system) -- of life it is Pro-Choice (e.g. selective-child, one-child), and cannibalized-child if she is planned and profitable. The wicked solution. Pro-ethics. Anti-science. PC. In Stork They Trust.
When and by whose choice does a human life acquire and retain the right to life? Ironically, this seems to have a "living" answer.
No Thanks, I'll pass...https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/pete-buttigiegs-father-was-a-marxist-professor-who-lauded-the-communist-manifesto?fbclid=IwAR1CeBqBU9RwMtzyuhx7z1Khz_CmrREXqGG7cyYOzMHj9_RiGeEVbbdpGv0
Things that must happen to get a Democrat elected over Trump in 2020
Well stated.
Identifying a person as gay is supposed to signal their virtue. Unless you are the new Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Then being gay is memory holed. No virture in being gay and Republican.
That's why I distrust the sincerity of any person that insists on attaching these labels.
Paul Zrimsek nails it- it is "the West Wing fantasy".
Buttuvwxyz will rise to about 15% in the next month or so, then slowly sink back (a commenter above made the same basic point about rising star candidates being a common thing in an election cycle).
This cycle will be a bit different, though, in my opinion. The Democrats have scheduled some ridiculously early debates for this coming Summer, so I actually think the field will be greatly narrowed by this Fall- if you don't get over 15% by that point, you won't be able raise any money going into the actual campaign/primary season. The field might well be down to just 5 or 6 candidates by the end of December. To pick those five, I look to see who has the most stable funding base, and here I see Sanders, Biden, Harris, O'Rourke, and possibly Buttuvwxyz. Of those, I think Harris and Sanders will have the edge on staying funded through next Spring. Right now, things are well aligned for Harris- she is basically the only female candidate against what looks to be field of 4 white guys.
And just to enforce the point- Gillibrand, Klobuchar, Warren, Hickenlooper, Inslee, and probably Booker (and etal) are just not serious candidates- they will never get above 10% in the polling- ever- they are just irrelevancies. So the field really isn't as big as it appears.
“I started out, fresh out of college in the early 70s, believing Althouse’s bullshit about the saintliness of gay men."
Don't attribute your fantasies to me. That's just another fantasy of yours.
This guy sounds like he had some bad experiences with gay men. He sounds traumatized.
Pete Buttigieg is a lot like Obama:
1. He is a certified genuine minority, but without the off-putting stereotype which can put-off voters. For instance, Obama acted cool and had an easy sophistication about him. He was black but without the angry crazed look of a Jesse Jackson. Buttigieg is a genuine minority too, being openly gay and married to a man. But he isn't flamboyant or effeminate. So they are both "safe" minorities in that they are undoubtedly minorities but don't act in a way that seems foreign or scary.
2. They are vague on what they want to do, but progressives that look a little will find nothing but a fellow progressive deep down inside.
3. The difference between them is that Buttigieg has an actual resume and doesn't just seem smart, he really is smart. This is not to say that Buttigieg has enough or the kind of experience he should have to assume the presidency, it's that unlike Obama, he has some substance and has some accomplishments.
The American public is not going to vote for a guy named Buttigieg for President.
Or Hickenlooper, for that matter.
You can picture him using his fancy words to flummox Trump.
Sure, that's going to connect him with white working class people. Let him tweet out big words that Trump can tweet back at him in comedic jest.
This is the problem with the Dem candidates: the things which excite their base turn off large sections of the electorate.
They can have a candidate they're excited about, or someone other people are excited about, but not both. The political division is becoming so complete there's very little overlap anymore.
Let's all wish Vicki from Pasadena a Happy 12th Birthday!
He is a certified genuine minority
Where are the forms to fill out for that?
Just think of all the people who came so close but ultimately fell short.
They've really got to look up to someone like that.
The difference between them is that Buttigieg has an actual resume and doesn't just seem smart, he really is smart.
This message brought to you by the people who told you for 10 years just how smart Obama was and how racist you were if you couldn't see it.
Mayor Buttplug is just the flavor of the month.
That flavor is feces.
Titus must be ecstatic.
The article should have said, why i, the article did not report facts, at best it was analysis, was it even that! When you argue with a news article, it is not news article.
He's also a lightweight redistributionist. No deep thinking here: just "Hey, kids--free stuff!" Plays well with the Dumbest Generation. As the saying goes, "Everyone loves Santa Claus."
Well Mike, At least I'm not fooled by the Cheeto's "authenticity". I can smell a phony a mile away and I've thought the Cheeto was a phony 35 years ago, and nothing he has done has changed my mind. I think his "success" in business is fueled by his dad, his screwing of his friends and competitors, and some "luck". Thank god for luck.
No TDS here,just call them as they really are.
Vicki
Did we have phony 3.1% GDP growth last year?
Did we get phony 3.4% wage growth for the middle class?
Did we get 600,000 phony manufacturing jobs these last two years?
Did we see a phony net loss of federal government jobs?
Imagine my surprise!
"Victoria" hates Trump--but I'll betcha she loves her some State! Maybe if Trump killed more people she'd like "Cheeto" better.
If Mayor Pete decides to back out of the president's race and still has $5 million in the bank, can he use it to run for governor?
"that unlike Obama, he has some substance and has some accomplishments."
Other than getting elected Mayor of a small city, getting downtown renovated while letting the rest of it go to hell in a handbasket, what are these accomplishments you speak of? Asking for a relative.
Mayor Buttplug is just the flavor of the month.
I switched my nickname to Booty Judge.
It is closer to the correct pronunciation and it fits. At that age, I was always judging booties. In my case it was women's booties, but to each his own.
Heck, at 66 I am still judging women's booties, but I have learned to be extremely discreet.
More Cuckservative titillation by the thought of a homo.
Policies matter but all Howard has in poorly considered name calling.
That's sad.
"This message brought to you by the people who told you for 10 years just how smart Obama was and how racist you were if you couldn't see it."
I never thought Obama was particularly bright. I don't think he is stupid either--he is book-smart but lacking in intellectual curiosity and imagination.
Admission to Harvard is an accomplishment and when you are not a minority, there is no question about earning it. Same with being a Rhodes Scholar.
Becoming a Navy officer is an accomplishment, though I would have expected him to be a Lt. Commander by now. Serving in-theater is an accomplishment.
Being fluent in umpteen languages is an accomplishment, though there has got to be a fair bit of aptitude at work.
Being mayor of a mid size town is an accomplishment.
Like I said, they are not enough to be president but they certainly dwarf anything Obama had done before being elected president.
Come on, Howard, tell us what "Cuckservative" means. We'd like a good laugh.
To me, AllenS, use of the term "cuckservative" or "cuck" is like the use of the term "trickle-down economics." It's the equivalent of wearing a beanie with "No real thinking going on in here."
Kamala seemed to be the one anointed to bear the nomination, but she's on the crazy side. Pete's not got her "desirable" intersectional traits, but seems to be mostly sane. I'm curious about his platforms, but don't have high hopes they will be substantive (IE not just the same ole platitudes)
"So how did Pete Buttigieg break through the pack into 3rd place already?"
Because his name was in the news due to the timing of the announcement and favorable coverage by the media, most of whom would chew a leg before criticizing a gay candidate.
Also, in the Monmouth poll cited 32 respondents said they leaned toward Mayor Pete.
In the St. Anselm poll 35 respondents said the same.
That's it, 32 and 35. It's a veritable tsunami of support. But it will grow as the favorable coverage spreads, until his competitors have their say.
Howard said...
More Cuckservative titillation by the thought of a homo.
Howard likes to ring the doorbell and run.
Blogger victoria said...
I think his "success" in business is fueled by his dad, his screwing of his friends and competitors, and some "luck". Thank god for luck.
And yet nobody ever comes forward with names of these people that he supposedly screwed.
Crooked Hilary tried, in the debate, but the best she could do was some architect, on some clubhouse, somewhere, sometime, that Trump disputed the payment.
Do you pay contractors for work not done to spec, Vicki? I don't. Nor do my clients pay me until I make the job right.
If he really had a reputation for screwing people, nobody would do business with him and he would have accomplished nothing in the past 35 years.
Anyone in business knows the expression "Life is too short to deal with assholes." There are plenty of good folks out there and there is little need.
Asshole in the sense of not keeping their end of an agreed bargain.
John Henry
Back when I was selling machinery, there was a Fortune 500 company with more than 20 plants on the island. They bought a lot of machinery from me over the years.
Their payment terms were usually 2%10Net30 which means that if they paid within 10 days of invoice, they got to take a 2% discount but they paid the invoice total before 30 days.
Although this was the stated terms on the purchase order, the corporate policy was to pay at 45 days AND take the 2% discount.
Everyone that did business with them knew it. We bumped our quotes (in my case 15%) to make up for it. People in the company knew what was going on and knew I was screwing them on my prices but told me that it was only fair.
Sometimes yuo can work around the assholery.
John Henry
tcrosse: the old flaming sack of shit prank... you got me. I haven't aged a day since I grageeated the sixth grade
Blogger AllenS said...
Come on, Howard, tell us what "Cuckservative" means. We'd like a good laugh.
A Trump cultist whom is a conservative Donald has made his personal cuckold repeatedly.
Howard said...
A Trump cultist whom is a conservative Donald has made his personal cuckold repeatedly.
"A Trump cultist whom is a conservative Donald"
WHAT?
"Donald has made his personal cuckold repeatedly"
Double WTF?
SWPL. How well is Buttigieg going to do in drawing in AA voters, who tend to hold more conservative views on homosexuality than most other Democrats? The AAs didn't come out in droves for Hillary! like they did for Obama, and a SWPL candidate like Buttigieg probably won't draw them out, either. Kamala is really the Dems only hope of drawing out the POCs.
tcrosse said...
I was able to remind Howard of a flaming sack of shit. I suppose I'm flattered.
4/17/19, 6:57 PM
Unnecessary, I'm sure he owns a mirror.
"A Trump cultist whom is a conservative Donald has made his personal cuckold repeatedly."
Well, now that that's been clarified . . .
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