Pete Buttigieg 2020 campaign megathread

[Progressive Pessimist]

I like him, he has some things going for him, but he is too low profile and his name alone would probably cause people to make cheap schoolyard jokes about him. He won't be much of a presence in the primary. Also he opens up the floodgates to other (also more significant) mayors like De Blasio, Garcetti, and Landrieu to run. They'll figure "he's running? Why shouldn't I?" This primary field really is going to be the biggest in US history, I wasn't entirely sure that was going to be the case until now!

[Progressive Pessimist]

But Trump is a true Christian because he opposes abortion and hates gays.

At least that's how millions of voters belonging to a certain demographic view things.

Republicans, and/or voters who are partial to them, define themselves by what/who they hate, and that's all that matters. That's enough to get you a membership.

Seeing a gay Christian rail against Trump for this is pretty glorious though. I hope he takes the fight to the religious right in general, on top of everything.

[Progressive Pessimist]

No offense, but we don't need blue or yellow avatars to tell us whether our ticket is "diverse enough" or not.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I've come around to this since Sanders' town hall. More Democrats should take the fight to this propaganda network. I still don't think having them moderate a Democratic primary debate would be as positive though.

[Progressive Pessimist]

This election is definitely going to be ugly regardless of the Democratic candidate, but with the whole anti-gay bigotry angle that Republicans seem destined to take, it's going to be even uglier. I'm hoping that it blows up in their face though.

[Progressive Pessimist]

What is the back story behind the Smollett question Pete "didn't take the bait" on?

Probably because it's such a ridiculous assertion in the first place and he didn't want to give that sort of rhetoric any more attention.

Atlas CRUCIFIED Harris for doing something much minor than this FYI-

Mayor Pete was Atlas's chosen one but he's doing everything they hate. LOL.

But Kamala is a corporate shill and Beto is an empty suit.

All three mentioned in your post are my top three candidates, so I don't really know how I would factor in this characterization.

[Progressive Pessimist]

LOL

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1121137511538069504

Does our beloved mayor endorse this woo-woo lunatic plan that is killing the unconscious through unlawful and un-empirical tested product? This woman is a danger to reason and stability to our nation. Everyone should become a skeptic and just debunked this privileged person career.

I've been flirting with supporting Buttigieg for a little while now, but yeah, this is not the person you want to associate with if you want to appeal to voters who shake their fist at "coastal elitists." On the plus side, if Gwyneth Paltrow is with Buttigieg, she isn't afflicting the other Democratic candidates by her being associated with them. She really should just stay out of politics. I usually don't say that about celebrities, but she has earned her reputation as a snake oil saleswoman, which is not very helpful to any politician.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Trump said he prefers Pete to be his opponent in the general election:

President Trump said Thursday night that he’s “rooting for” Pete Buttigieg when he was asked to give his impressions of some of the top Democratic presidential contenders.

At the end of a 45-minute live interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, the host asked Trump to offer his thoughts on the slate of candidates who want to take him on in 2020.

Trump did not elaborate on why Buttigieg is his favored candidate and didn’t have anything negative to say about the young South Bend, Ind., mayor, other than that he doubted he’d win the crowded primary.

“I hope he would,” Trump said. “I’m rooting for him, but he is not going to make it.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-tells-hannity-hes-rooting-for-pete-buttigieg/2019/04/25/02849e16-67c7-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html

I think I would prefer for Trump to be cocky in a general election than for him to be worried and take his opponent seriously like with Biden.

[Progressive Pessimist]

https://twitter.com/samstein/status/1123013737760329729

But I thought it was the Democrats who are the ones who make up allegations to ruin the lives of successful men!

[Progressive Pessimist]

Vaccines could end up being a sleeper issue, especially if the Measles Epidemic keeps getting worse or if a disease such whooping cough or even polio reappears. Hillary absolutely should have gone after Trump harder on the Anti-Vaxx stuff in 2016.

I doubt it would have mattered. She would have been portrayed as an "elitist, establishment, nanny-stater" and still would have lost. People in this country are stupid, it's why anti-intellectualism has been on the rise and been so rewarding for the party that practices it more. 

[Progressive Pessimist]

Someone needs to compare Trump to Zapp Brannigan and see if he gets that reference.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Mayor Pete, taking the country by storm.

Whoever thought he would be running third or fourth?

Could Biden pick Pete for VP, or would women be outraged because they expect a woman for VP if the Presidential nominee is a man?

I think Biden will almost certainly pick a woman. And even if he does want to pick a man, I don't think Buttigieg will be very high on his list. Maybe he could end up being a Cabinet Secretary if Biden succeeds.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Pete Buttchug is possibly the second most boring democrat candidate this election and him forcing  gentrifying of his city obviously shows he does not have the best interests for minority groups. Can the democrats of this forum actually be smart and support someone way better, come on there is like 20 people running and almost every single one other than Beto is more interesting.

It is surprising that he has caught on so much, I don't really find him particularly charismatic and like you said he is pretty boring.

That’s part of his appeal. People like the fact that he speaks calmly and softly on the campaign trail. He’s like the perfect foil to Trump.

Mark my words he is Ben Carson 2.0

In terms of being a flavor of the month candidate, maybe. But Buttigieg is nowhere near as boring or incompetent as Carson is.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Buttigieg is polling 0% with AAs in the new CNN poll. Stick a fork in him.

Yeah, I like the guy, but this is an untenable position in a Democratic primary or even in the general election.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I think he would be a great vp (I would actually argue the best option) but a terrible top of the ticket

No. He’s definitely a top

That's terrible...but I still laughed.

[Progressive Pessimist]

https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1161353495775272960

JESUS LADY.

I kind of think it's worse for Buttigieg to not remember RFK's fate.

[Progressive Pessimist]

He won't be the nominee. So, no.

If he was though, I definitely would. I never overestimate the American voting populace under any circumstance.

[Progressive Pessimist]

It's hard to put much stock into this metric as Buttigieg has consistently polled the worst in early (and admittedly irrelevant) general election head-to-head polls against Trump.

[Progressive Pessimist]

There are legitimate arguments why Buttigieg should not be the Democratic nominee in 2020, but "lol he lost as an unknown down-ballot candidate in a solidly-Republican state in a Republican wave year" is not one of them.

Agreed, nobody is going to care that he lost a race for state Treasurer. Most Americans probably don't even know what a Treasurer does. Do they protect us from pirates?

[Progressive Pessimist]

I wonder who would be a good running mate for Pete? His two biggest flaws are inexperience and lack of minority support. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head that would address these issues

Tammy Duckworth.  Her qualities:

1. from flyover country
2. veteran
3. foreign policy knowledge
4. woman
5. minority
6. US Senator
7. fierce debater

Also much of that almost makes her criticism proof. I can just see Trump saying something offensive about her and it backfiring on him...until it gets forgotten about.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Buttigieg is done, sorry Tender Bredesen

I smell a meme! This why we all love you, Olawakandi, as much as we are frustrated by you.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Was calling a basketball hoop a "ring" what cost Ted Cruz the election?

If true, he screwed us all. If he managed to win the primary and get nominated I am fairly confident that Clinton would have beat him, "scandals" and all.

[Progressive Pessimist]

He’s already claiming victory. Will this give him a boost or backfire on him if he ends up losing? Is the process too tainted for anyone to get any momentum out of this?

It's still likely that he comes in second though at least. That still defies expectations when considering the "Sanders surge."

As for the momentum Iowa offered this year, I always felt that it the state's caucus is overrated as a bellwether and in importance, but much more so this year just with how busy this week is in political news. Even if we did get the results last night, the winner's victory lap would have been short-lived as Trump's State of the Union speech and acquittal took over the news in the next two days.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Democratic Establishment:   BLACK VOTERS ARE 'THE BASE' OF OUR PARTY - HOW DARE YOU BERNIE BROS

Democratic Voters: proceeds to kill establishment candidate, inadvertently elevate Buttigieg
Democratic Establishment:

That's why it's not a conspiracy. A binary race between Buttigieg and Sanders in the primary would cause Sanders to win, probably significantly, especially in the South. The DNC would be stupid to prop him up by illegitimate means. The Iowa Democratic Party are the ones who really f***ed up here.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I present to you The Pete Buttigieg Platitude Generator!

http://www.mayopete.io/

I don't even dislike the guy, but I had some fun with this.