Until it became obvious that there is something a little unsettling about Robert Francis O’Rourke and, more importantly for Democrats, that his floundering campaign is an empty and rudderless vessel, the failed senatorial candidate from Texas was the left’s latest wunderkind. Enter “Mayor Pete,” the youngest Democratic presidential candidate and the first openly gay man to run for president.
Though he stole the spotlight from O’Rourke, Pete Buttigieg also has nothing to offer, in terms of policy, that sets him apart from the crowd. He hopes to remain relevant, then, by pandering to the progressive wing. Indeed, if he were not openly gay, the mayor of South Bend, IN, would not register a blip on the electoral radar.
A Division and Grievance Platform
Like many Democrat politicians, Buttigieg accuses President Donald Trump – as well as all other Republicans – of divisiveness, while himself campaigning on a platform of division and grievance. He is, perhaps, even more insufferable than the other 2020 contenders in his moralizing and virtue-signaling.
During a recent interview on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, the mayor spoke about his desire to erase the Founding Fathers' names from public life. Their ownership of slaves, Buttigieg says, disqualifies their memories from being honored. This is a classic example of the deep-rooted racism of Democrats: Buttigieg has practically no chance of commanding the black vote and so he virtue-signals over racism, believing that black people – who, he clearly thinks, are easily fooled – will support him for doing so.
Worse than Buttigieg’s pomposity and condescending manner, though, is the fact that he is fighting the rest of the Democratic field to see who can pour the most scorn on American history and traditional values. At his May 20 town hall appearance on Fox News, the upstart candidate explained his opposition to the Electoral College system. "States don't vote, people vote," Buttigieg said. "If we're going to call ourselves a democracy, the U.S. should move to a popular vote system.”
States do vote, though, and so do the people of the 50 states. That is the beauty of the Electoral College; the people of a state make their choice at the ballot box and then the state’s electors award the Electoral College vote. The United States is a Republic, not a democracy, but Buttigieg seeks to diminish the states themselves in order to melt them all into one entity, over which the federal government rules supreme.
When all is said and done, though, Buttigieg is light on specific policy explanations and heavy on platitudes that focus on identity politics and demonizing the president and Republican Party. He brings nothing to the table that will set him apart from the other 20-plus Democrats fighting for their party’s nomination. Only his youth and sexual orientation will keep him in the race and, probably, keep him in it long after half of the candidates have melted away.
If, in some bizarre turn of events, Buttigieg were to find himself accepting the Democratic nomination, how would he fare against Trump in a general election? He has already alienated Christians – not by his being gay, but by his obvious contempt for Christians. He appears to believe that whiteness is a disease and he has no black following. Other than those Americans who so despise Trump that they will vote for whoever challenges him in 2020, Buttigieg has no base whatsoever.
Does Mayor Pete have the personality, the popularity, and the fundraising sustainability to be on the stage when only three or four Democrat contenders remain, though? Unless he can produce a detailed plan for the nation so outstanding that it captivates the imagination of primary voters, the answer is no.
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