Pete Buttigieg

No Thanks, Michael Bloomberg! We Do Not Need Another Aging Billionaire Muddying Up The Democratic Presidential Competition!

Ronald 12 Comments

The rumors have been around for months, but no thanks, Michael Bloomberg!

We do not need another aging billionaire muddying up the Democratic Presidential competition.

Bloomberg would have great trouble winning the White House, with his controversial record as New York City Mayor, and antisemitism would rear its ugly head, and the nation is not about to elect a New York City former Mayor, as most of the nation hates New York City, for no good reasons, but reality that hatred does exist.

The possibility of a brokered and divided Democratic National Convention is alarming, and would only help Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

It is time for narrowing of candidates, not broadening of the candidate pool.

If a moderate in place of Joe Biden is desired, it should not be Bloomberg, but more likely Mayor Pete Buttigieg, or Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Right now, a moderate ticket of Pete and Amy seems more likely, with their Midwest background, to have the opportunity to win the White House, certainly better than aging candidates reaching their 80s in a first term.

There will be plenty of time to evaluate Bloomberg over time, but first thoughts are, as stated above, no thanks!

The Democratic Presidential Race Thins As Tim Ryan And Beto O’Rourke Withdraw From Race

Ronald 5 Comments

The Democratic Presidential race is thinning as Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan and former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke have withdrawn from the competition in the past week.

Both were considered moderates, and some thought O’Rourke had a real chance to move ahead, but both candidacies floundered without much public support in polls and in fund raising.

Both Ryan and O’Rourke were the rare white men running for the nomination, with the only serious such candidates left being Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg.

There is also Michael Bennet, Steve Bullock, and Tom Steyer, but the most competitive white men are Biden, Sanders, and Buttigieg.

The odds of a woman or a minority person being the nominee seems more possible, which is fine, but if that happens, it will mean the Democratic Party has not nominated a white man for President since 2004.

A Sense That Pete Buttigieg Is On The Rise As A Moderate Alternative To Joe Biden

Ronald 20 Comments

The big winner of the Ohio Presidential debate this past week seems to many to be Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, who is seen as on the rise as a moderate alternative to Joe Biden.

Mayor Pete has been successful in raising large amounts of money in the third quarter, and his debate performance demonstrated his intelligence, his knowledge, and his perception of what Americans want, similar in his understanding of what Americans were looking for as when they voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

He is not promoting “pie in the sky”, massive changes in four years, as Bernie Sanders, and even Elizabeth Warren are doing, knowing full well that the nation is not going to elect a Democratic Congress large enough in majority to do the kinds of path breaking changes that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson were able to bring about in 1935-1936 and 1965-1966, respectively.

As Pete has said, we first need to recover from the chaos and anarchy of Donald Trump, and to expect the nation to go to the far left, and support a required end of all private health insurance, is simply not reality.

This blogger takes the view that Americans should have a choice of keeping the health care coverage they have, or move toward government control through Medicare, but not force it on everyone over a four year period, and always allow private health insurance as an alternative, left up to the decisions of individual Americans and their families.

A long range goal is extend Medicare in stages, first to those between 50-65, then those in their 40s, then those in their 30s, and continuing on, but again with private insurance allowed if preferred.

And in foreign affairs, Mayor Pete would offer a revival of American respect and responsibility, veering away from the disastrous and reckless diplomacy of Donald Trump, and would restore American rationality and respect among our allies, and recognition that he would not be pushed around by authoritarians as has been occurring with Donald Trump.

A young, dynamic President is needed, and Mayor Pete fills the bill, following in the Democratic Party tradition of John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. A new generation of leadership is required.

The Two Democrats Who Might Replace Joe Biden, And Both Are From The Midwest Battleground

Ronald 11 Comments

Further thought and analysis on the Ohio Presidential debate of Tuesday makes this blogger and scholar believe that two Midwesterners–South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar—come out as the stars of the debate.

Both were very strong in promoting a moderate center left vision of the Democratic Party, which gives the party a better chance of success against Donald Trump.

Being from Indiana and Minnesota respectively gives either or both a better opportunity to contest the states lost by Hillary Clinton in 2016 by small margins.

So if Joe Biden slips, which seems very possible, both offer an equivalent vision of what Biden stands for, rather than the more leftist Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders.

There are still three and a half months to the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, so despite early indications that Biden, Warren, and Sanders have a dominant position, there is still time for alternatives, and the most likely, clearly, are Buttigieg and Klobuchar.

Impressions Of The Fourth Democratic Presidential Debate In Ohio–Eight Of The Twelve Should Continue

Ronald 20 Comments

The Democratic Presidential debate last night showed strong performances right from the beginning by Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar on the subject of health care, challenging Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders on their promotion of Medicare For All.

Joe Biden held his own, which is significant, and Julian Castro and Kamala Harris improved their position. Bernie Sanders looked in good health, and Cory Booker made some good points regarding the need to focus on the record of Donald Trump, more than criticism of some candidates by others.

Totally unimpressive were Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, and Andrew Yang, and they should drop out of the race, as there are simply too many candidates.

Beto O’Rourke harmed his candidacy by his consistent stand on gun regulation including confiscation of weapons, not a winnable tactic.

In realistic terms, there should be eight Democrats left in the race—Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.

Ohio Debate On Tuesday Will Start Winnowing The Field Of Democratic Candidates For President

Ronald 45 Comments

The Columbus, Ohio debate among 12 Democratic Presidential candidates will likely start the winnowing of the field, which is much too large.

As things stand now, Senator Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg seem like the candidates that are gaining.

Warren is taking support away from Bernie Sanders, who is recovering from a heart attack, and will be watched closely on Tuesday for signs of weariness. Sanders knows Warren is a problem for him, and has pointed out that she is a believer in capitalism, and is not a Socialist, which actually helps Warren’s image.

Mayor Pete is likely the major moderate Democratic alternative to Joe Biden, who has to deal with the issue of his son, Hunter Biden, and Ukranian connections, although it seems clear there is no corruption involved, at least as far as we know at this point. Also, Joe Biden is coming across, sadly, as not quite up to par mentally at times, a very worrisome situation for him. Meanwhile, Mayor Pete continues to make a great impression, including in the CNN gay-lesbian-transgender debate this past Thursday, and has gained a lot of financial support.

Whether Kamala Harris can recuperate from a decline in support is debatable. Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro have also failed to take off in recent months, and have made some errors that harm them.

While Cory Booker gained enough financial backing to stay in the race, it still seems unlikely that he is going to be a serious candidate for the Presidential nomination.

Andrew Yang has had unexpected good fortune, but still it seems a real long shot that he can get anywhere gaining enough support to move forward.

Amy Klobuchar so far has not made much of a dent, and Tulsi Gabbard and Tom Steyer, in their first debate, do not seem likely to make any real move toward serious contention.

So Tuesday’s debate will likely narrow the field as we move closer to the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary four months from now.

CNN Makes Major Contribution To Addressing The Issue Of Gay, Lesbian, And Transgender Rights, Essential For Social Justice

Ronald 29 Comments

CNN made a major contribution last night to addressing the issue of gay, lesbian and transgender rights, essential for social justice.

Nine Presidential candidates had a half hour each to answer questions and make clear their views on this crucial topic.

Cory Booker, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Julian Castro, and Tom Steyer participated between 730 pm and midnight.

Bernie Sanders did not participate due to his recent heart attack, and Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang claimed scheduling issues made it impossible for them to be present.

Particularly impressive, in the mind of this blogger and author, was Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay Presidential candidate, who has made a good impression on many people on many different issues, and has been successful in raising millions of dollars in the third quarter of 2019, and is fourth in most polls.

But all of the candidates are open minded and tolerant, a stark difference from the evangelical right wing Christian view advocated by Vice President Mike Pence, and promoted by Donald Trump, despite his total lack of religiosity his entire life. Trump has ended the policy of tolerance of gays in the military, and has shown no willingness to have an open mind on gay rights, including judicial appointments of nominees clearly anti gay, using religion as an excuse for discrimination.

Pete Buttigieg A Fascinating Presidential Candidate In So Many Ways

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South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg would be the youngest President in history if he won the Presidential election in 2020, and he would be succeeding a President twice his age.

Mayor Pete, as he is called by most, is a highly intellectual man, who can speak seven languages, while Donald Trump is poor even in speaking and writing English.

Mayor Pete is a gay man, who hid his sexuality until a few years ago, as he wished to pursue a life with someone, and realized he had to “come out”, and he is now married to Chasten Glezman, who has taken his last name, and is seven and a half years younger at age 30, and has been a middle school drama teacher.

Mayor Pete is an Afghanistan War veteran, a Naval Reserve Officer, and an intelligence officer from 2009-2017, reaching the rank of Lieutenant, and who also graduated from Harvard Magna Cum Laude, and went to Oxford University in the United Kingdom on a Rhodes Scholarship. He was also valedictorian of his high school class in South Bend, Indiana. He also won the JFK Profiles in Courage award and met Caroline Kennedy and other family members at the JFK Presidential Library in 2000, having written his essay on Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who now, ironically, is one of his opponents for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

In his two terms as Mayor of South Bend, Buttigieg won 74 and 80 percent of the vote, and was first mayor at age 29. He also gained notice as a contender to head the Democratic National Committee in 2017.

Buttigieg is also a regular church goer at a local Episcopal Church in South Bend, and more “religious” than most recent Presidents in his public display of attendance, probably the most since Jimmy Carter.

Buttigieg is also interesting in that he is left handed, a common trait among many recent Presidents, including Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, while only James A. Garfield and Herbert Hoover among earlier Presidents, was left handed.

He also would be the first President to be an only child, while four earlier Presidents had half siblings–Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

In so many ways, Mayor Pete is far superior to Donald Trump, and it would be an inspiration if he could win the Presidency in 2020.

The Likely Long Term Result Of The Third Democratic Presidential Debate: Probably Seven Of The Ten Are Still Viable

Ronald 3 Comments

Upon further reflection about the Houston Democratic Presidential debate last Thursday, it would seem that three candidates have lost the likelihood of having a real chance to be the nominee of the party in 2020.

Those would be:

Andrew Yang, who offered ten families $1,000 a month for the next year as part of his promotion of $1,000 a month for all adults over the age of 18, which drew some attention when he said it, but is seen as a death knell for his candidacy, even though Republican President Richard Nixon suggested a similar plan of $500 a month nearly fifty years ago.

Julian Castro, who by, seemingly, bringing up ageism as an issue about Joe Biden, made many enemies, and it is likely to derail his campaign, and probably kills any chance of him being the Vice Presidential nominee.

Beto O’Rourke, who by calling for mandatory buyback of AR 15s and AK 47s gave great propaganda to gun enthusiasts and the National Rifle Association, who will use what he said against Democrats to scare gun owners to vote Republican, not an insubstantial number. While one can understand O’Rourke’s sincere emotions after the El Paso and Odessa-Midland shootings in August, it is a guaranteed defeat for any Democrat to follow through as O’Rourke has, not because it is wrong, but because it is not winnable in a national election, despite all of the mass murders that have occurred in recent years.

Additionally, since the ageism issue has been brought up, it could be that the two oldest potential nominees–Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden–who would reach 80 early in the next term, might find that their candidacies might worry and concern voters, especially at a time when Donald Trump is showing signs of mental decline, even though he is four and five years younger than Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, respectively.

So more attention will likely be paid to other candidates—Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, and Kamala Harris.

With 141 days to the Iowa Caucuses, it is far from certain what will happen in the battle for the Democratic nomination for President.

The Third Democratic Presidential Debate In Houston: First Impressions

Ronald 13 Comments

Early impressions are as follows:

Julian Castro, Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke, and Elizabeth Warren come across as the best.

Expect that Castro, Buttigieg, Booker, and O’Rourke will rise in polls, and Warren will continue to gain on Joe Biden.

Biden is not doing as well as one would expect, and neither is Bernie Sanders.

Kamala Harris has likely not gained by this debate, and the same for Andrew Yang.

Amy Klobuchar might gain, but is not shining as much as this blogger thought she would.

Overall, the ABC debate is much better than the two earlier debates sponsored by MSNBC and CNN.

The candidates are avoiding attacking each other, and clearly, any one of the group would be far better than Donald Trump!