As a thoroughly white person it never occurred to me if Mayor Pete connected with the Black vote. I like him but do not see him as a strong contender for president.
Just another couple of musings I had about the Clintons as opposed to Pete Buttigieg:
The Clintons in general seemed to be so comfortable around Black people that certain people considered them "race traitors." It was seen as unthinkable for someone like Bill Clinton to open an office in Harlem, which was pre-gentrification very solidly Black.
And another thing that escaped notice (I think deliberately)...Hillary Clinton's early history included being a decoy to catch out racists doing housing discrimination work.
I was wondering about why he polled at zero, so thanks for addressing this. My takeaway from what you explained is that it explains a lot about why I like Buttigieg so much. He is not cool. He is the antithesis of cool in today's culture. As a fellow not-cool person my entire life and also as someone who spends most of her life in her head and not out meeting people and even learning what is cool, I am drawn to Buttigieg's pragmatic, clear-headed, and uncool way of looking at things. He makes things happen, and I am eternally grateful to any politician who can do this.
As far as his being progressive versus moderate, I think it doesn't matter because Buttigieg champions the working class. His work as Transportation Secretary shows that he knows how to get things done and looks out for the little guy while doing so.
He definitely should not try to embrace popular culture or Black culture because it would be entirely fake. He's no Bill Clinton. But he also is someone strongly pointed in the direction of social justice, so even while being himself he would help everyone who may disdain him. He may never become president in my lifetime, but I wouldn't give up on him. Afterall, who would have predicted in 2000 that foot-in-mouth Biden would one day become president?
Maybe Pete is guarded because he's had to hide who he was for a long time. Unfortunately, that comes back to bite him now. When he talks, I see intelligence and wit, but not a lot of heart. I guess he's not what you'd call a hugger. A holder of babies.
I don't know if he's going into minority neighborhoods & underserved areas, Queens. He's going on Fox as you said, but I don't think it's garnered more support for him. He could do what AOC/Bernie did, holding rallies, but that's not his style. That's not to say he doesn't care, but he doesn't know how to show it, and politics is all about theater.
I wonder if having demoted the Black police chief in South Bend, makes him think he won't be accepted by the Black community, and so he doesn't even try? But with all the anti-DEI crap out there, he really needs to connect with ethnic communities. He's lacking in that dept.
Still, I will vote Democrat no matter what – it's imperative to set aside my few doubts and see the bigger picture, or else we will have Trump 3.0 and 4.0 and 5.0...
I would vote for Mayor Pete in a heartbeat, but he is not the person for the job right now. To steal a line from "The Godfather", Democrats need a war consigliere, and Pete is Tom Hagen while we need someone much more confrontational to fight the proto-fascists.
One lesson we should have all learned from the Biden presidency is that Republicans will never back off. They will only seek compromise when their backs are completely against the wall. Until then, and even after they capitulate, they will try to rise again and must be constantly confronted and defeated mercilessly.
Yeah that is a shame Secretary Pete did not do a lot of outreach to Black people. That is actually similar to Bernie Sanders.
It is also a shame since he is a great communicator. But of course also Democrats no longer prioritize policy...it is about how well you "dunk" now and look like you are fighting." I do hope he continues going on Faux News Entertainment and elsewhere in the right wing media human centipede, of course. If he can even get booked on their podcasts.
I think it will honestly not matter if he lacks Black support; a lot of the party really is allergic to listening to Black people anyway. We'll get the bulk of consequences for whatever goes wrong. Of course this calculus changes if people get it in gear and vote in an impeachment+removal-sized Democratic majority, for even a *semblance* of a check on the horrors.
So, Black voters are as shallow as white voters is what you’re saying? Confronting the fascists on Fox is less important than schmoozing with like-minded broadcasters? Pete is very smart and incredibly articulate, one of the few Americans who can speak in whole sentences and paragraphs. It’s a shame his bravery and intelligence aren’t deciding factors among voters of any color or gender.
Yeah, it's a no for Pete from me. I'm not Black but the smarminess and the McKinsey job, and the whole bipartisan, reach across the aisle bullshit is all too much. I don't like Gavin either. Who is going to step up for progressives? Bernie cannot run again, just no. Walz is good, he seemed to be doing great up until the DNC decided to muzzle him. AOC? I'd vote for her, but can she win? Will this country ever vote for a woman? The bench is not very deep here.
I am still pissed at the DNC muzzling Walz, and Harris too, for that matter. Cost us the election, and maybe the country. tr*mp seems hell-bent upon destroying the country.
I like Newsom's fight, but prefer AOC, but I too wonder if the country would ever vote for a woman. Actually, we did - in 2016, but it was the popular vote, not the electoral vote. Sigh.
Buttigieg is the pluperfect brilliant technocrat: he was educated at Harvard and Oxford and served a stint at McKinsey. Just the kind of ambitious bureaucratic entrepreneur who would do a solid job as Transportation Secretary. No wonder he's the golden boy of Ezra Klein style "moderate" Democrats. He's slick and articulate, but hardly a progressive. IMHO, the Dems can do better in 2028, and I hope they will....
I feel a little sorry for Pete, probably because my tastes are as white as his.
How should he overcome this or would he just not be a good candidate who’d support the Black community?
I agree that his Fox appearances probably didn’t move the needle one iota toward the Dems and was probably a waste of time.
Chelsea should run…where does she live now?
As a thoroughly white person it never occurred to me if Mayor Pete connected with the Black vote. I like him but do not see him as a strong contender for president.
Just another couple of musings I had about the Clintons as opposed to Pete Buttigieg:
The Clintons in general seemed to be so comfortable around Black people that certain people considered them "race traitors." It was seen as unthinkable for someone like Bill Clinton to open an office in Harlem, which was pre-gentrification very solidly Black.
And another thing that escaped notice (I think deliberately)...Hillary Clinton's early history included being a decoy to catch out racists doing housing discrimination work.
I was wondering about why he polled at zero, so thanks for addressing this. My takeaway from what you explained is that it explains a lot about why I like Buttigieg so much. He is not cool. He is the antithesis of cool in today's culture. As a fellow not-cool person my entire life and also as someone who spends most of her life in her head and not out meeting people and even learning what is cool, I am drawn to Buttigieg's pragmatic, clear-headed, and uncool way of looking at things. He makes things happen, and I am eternally grateful to any politician who can do this.
As far as his being progressive versus moderate, I think it doesn't matter because Buttigieg champions the working class. His work as Transportation Secretary shows that he knows how to get things done and looks out for the little guy while doing so.
He definitely should not try to embrace popular culture or Black culture because it would be entirely fake. He's no Bill Clinton. But he also is someone strongly pointed in the direction of social justice, so even while being himself he would help everyone who may disdain him. He may never become president in my lifetime, but I wouldn't give up on him. Afterall, who would have predicted in 2000 that foot-in-mouth Biden would one day become president?
Maybe Pete is guarded because he's had to hide who he was for a long time. Unfortunately, that comes back to bite him now. When he talks, I see intelligence and wit, but not a lot of heart. I guess he's not what you'd call a hugger. A holder of babies.
I don't know if he's going into minority neighborhoods & underserved areas, Queens. He's going on Fox as you said, but I don't think it's garnered more support for him. He could do what AOC/Bernie did, holding rallies, but that's not his style. That's not to say he doesn't care, but he doesn't know how to show it, and politics is all about theater.
I wonder if having demoted the Black police chief in South Bend, makes him think he won't be accepted by the Black community, and so he doesn't even try? But with all the anti-DEI crap out there, he really needs to connect with ethnic communities. He's lacking in that dept.
Still, I will vote Democrat no matter what – it's imperative to set aside my few doubts and see the bigger picture, or else we will have Trump 3.0 and 4.0 and 5.0...
I would vote for Mayor Pete in a heartbeat, but he is not the person for the job right now. To steal a line from "The Godfather", Democrats need a war consigliere, and Pete is Tom Hagen while we need someone much more confrontational to fight the proto-fascists.
One lesson we should have all learned from the Biden presidency is that Republicans will never back off. They will only seek compromise when their backs are completely against the wall. Until then, and even after they capitulate, they will try to rise again and must be constantly confronted and defeated mercilessly.
OT: 𝗡𝗢 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦. 𝗡𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦. 𝗡𝗢 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦.
𝗡𝗼 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗰𝘁 𝟭𝟴
"𝘕𝘰 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥: 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘕𝘰 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/no-kings-october-18
Yeah that is a shame Secretary Pete did not do a lot of outreach to Black people. That is actually similar to Bernie Sanders.
It is also a shame since he is a great communicator. But of course also Democrats no longer prioritize policy...it is about how well you "dunk" now and look like you are fighting." I do hope he continues going on Faux News Entertainment and elsewhere in the right wing media human centipede, of course. If he can even get booked on their podcasts.
I think it will honestly not matter if he lacks Black support; a lot of the party really is allergic to listening to Black people anyway. We'll get the bulk of consequences for whatever goes wrong. Of course this calculus changes if people get it in gear and vote in an impeachment+removal-sized Democratic majority, for even a *semblance* of a check on the horrors.
The Fox Fake News Russian Propaganda catch n kill Machine for Crooked Trump and his USELESS MAGATS needs to be exposed for what it is...
So, Black voters are as shallow as white voters is what you’re saying? Confronting the fascists on Fox is less important than schmoozing with like-minded broadcasters? Pete is very smart and incredibly articulate, one of the few Americans who can speak in whole sentences and paragraphs. It’s a shame his bravery and intelligence aren’t deciding factors among voters of any color or gender.
Yeah, it's a no for Pete from me. I'm not Black but the smarminess and the McKinsey job, and the whole bipartisan, reach across the aisle bullshit is all too much. I don't like Gavin either. Who is going to step up for progressives? Bernie cannot run again, just no. Walz is good, he seemed to be doing great up until the DNC decided to muzzle him. AOC? I'd vote for her, but can she win? Will this country ever vote for a woman? The bench is not very deep here.
I am still pissed at the DNC muzzling Walz, and Harris too, for that matter. Cost us the election, and maybe the country. tr*mp seems hell-bent upon destroying the country.
I like Newsom's fight, but prefer AOC, but I too wonder if the country would ever vote for a woman. Actually, we did - in 2016, but it was the popular vote, not the electoral vote. Sigh.
Buttigieg is the pluperfect brilliant technocrat: he was educated at Harvard and Oxford and served a stint at McKinsey. Just the kind of ambitious bureaucratic entrepreneur who would do a solid job as Transportation Secretary. No wonder he's the golden boy of Ezra Klein style "moderate" Democrats. He's slick and articulate, but hardly a progressive. IMHO, the Dems can do better in 2028, and I hope they will....