"The very online left is very annoyed with Mayor Pete"

[Otto Lidenbrock]

Interesting article in my opinion. The author and the website are vehemently anti-Trump so there is no agenda to the source. It's looking at it from a different perspective.

In just the last few weeks, Buttigieg—a mild-mannered Midwesterner who has been tucking in his shirt since grade school—has sparked blinding, irrational hatred from the online left. It’s a strange new disrespect from the identity politics set, given that Buttigieg is mounting a historic candidacy as the first credible gay presidential candidate in American history.

Of course, if you aren’t a frequenter of progressive Twitter—or if you are an Iowa caucusgoer who has vaulted Pete to the top of the polls—you might not even realize this is all happening. So I’d like to take you on a penny tour through some of the more maniacal Buttigieg “problems” that have “surfaced” as we enter this holiday season of fellowship.

On Wednesday, David Klion, a contributor to the Nation, retweeted a thread which accused Pete of keeping a “token black woman” by his side recently and featured several pictures of her. “This is the 9th sighting since I noticed…Mayor Pete is an exploitative twerp.”

The woman in question, Nina Smith, is a veteran of multiple Democratic campaigns and Pete’s traveling press secretary. She joined the campaign in May. It’s unclear exactly why Klion and the Twitter user “@net-enforcer” feel entitled to demean Smith as a token. You might say they are erasing her agency in an attempt to enforce their own views of identity. Who could say?

Meanwhile, Teen Vogue, which has unironically become a Democratic Socialist magazine that appeals to Red Rose Twitter, published an article about “Petey Bourgeoius” premised on the fact that he “almost too perfectly represents a danger Karl Marx raises” because his aw shucks appeal is masking his fealty to the ruling class.

Mediaite, meanwhile, published a dispatch from the Pete campaign bus that is so psychotic you need to read it yourself, but it can best be described as a stream of consciousness ranting from an unwell street corner preacher who is screaming ludicrous questions while the candidate responds to them calmly. Mediaite framed the article as “Pete Buttigieg Does Not Want You To Read This Interview.”People did read it, and they laughed.

The Root published an article that was widely praised on the left titled “Pete Buttigieg is a Lying MF” which was premised on an 8-year-old “surfaced” clip in which Pete makes a common argument about how sometimes people in lower income, minority neighborhoods don’t have role models they know personally who testify to the value of education. Offering a different perspective as someone who grew up in one of those communities to shed some light on blind spots that Mayor Pete had would be one thing and something Pete clearly welcomes as evidenced by his return call to the author. Using it as the launching point for calling him a “lying motherfucker” in a disdain soaked essay is just a wee bit out there.

There has been an absolutely bizarre series of articles about how Buttigieg isn’t “gay enough,” most notably this one from the New Republic that referred to him repeatedly as “Mary Pete” and projected onto him a desire to hook up with an older man in a bus station. It was so bad that TNR retracted it and deleted it from their site. Politico published a confounding article premised on a few lesbian Democratic activists who weren’t supporting Pete. It is unclear why there should be an expectation that Pete would earn the vote of every living lesbian—or gay man, for that matter. The very fact that Buttigieg isn’t running an identity-based campaign for gays is part of his appeal.

Prominent online Democrats have said that Pete’s success, coming in spite of low polling with black voters, is a sign of white supremacy. This is a real thing.

A Vice headline accused him of supporting a literal India style caste system. Adam Jentleson, a noted Twitter antagonist to Mayor Pete and former advisor to Harry Reid—who was, just so we’re clear, not exactly the wokest horse in the barn—shared an accusation that Buttigieg has “high hopes of reinforcing systemic racism.”

Back in my days of doing rapid response for Republicans, that would have been a pretty serious charge. And that’s especially the case when a Democratic strategist is accusing fellow Democrats of supporting “systemic racism”—a claim like that is liable to end up in a Trump campaign Facebook ad aimed at depressing the black vote should Buttigieg wind up on the eventual Democratic ticket.

Some teens on TikTok—the hot new social site owned and controlled by the Chinese government which absolutely does not have any incentive to meddle in U.S. elections—have taken to calling him “Mayo Pete” and the progressive press has lapped it up, spilling substantial digital ink on this brilliant pun and brutally mocking the earnest Pete volunteers who sparked the meme by daring to show some off keyboard enthusiasm for politics through a cheesy dance number.

https://thebulwark.com/the-problematic-pete-wars/

[demmiblue]

1. I am fine more than with conservatives/Never Trumpers when they are discussing Trump...

I don't care about their opinions regarding our party.

Tim Miller:

Early career

After graduating from George Washington University in 2004, Miller's political career began as a travel aide on Bill Lee's (R) gubernatorial campaign in Delaware that same year. He held this position for less than a year before moving on to become a field director for Jerry Kilgore's (R) 2005 Virginia gubernatorial campaign.[3][4] Miller then became the political director on Bill Dix's (R) 2006 U.S. House campaign (R). During 2006, he also briefly served as communications director for Jeff Lamberti's (R) congressional campaign in Iowa.[3][4] In describing his early career, Miller called himself a "campaign gypsy."[5]

Miller remained in the state to serve as the Iowa communications director for John McCain's (R) 2008 presidential bid. Miller resigned his position in July 2007, but he did not comment further on his reasons for leaving the campaign.[6] Miller's resignation came a day after a number of top aides left the campaign, including campaign manager Terry Nelson, chief strategist John Weaver, and strategist Danny Diaz.[7]

...

Presidential election, 2012

Jon Huntsman presidential campaign

He returned to campaign work in June 2011, signing on as press secretary for Jon Huntsman's (R) 2012 presidential campaign. In February 2011, he joined a PAC supporting Huntsman, Horizon PAC; he became the campaign spokesperson after Huntsman announced his candidacy in June 2011.[13] He described his role in the campaign as press secretary: "As a press secretary, you have to be quick on your feet. ... It is important to have the discipline to stay on message, not take the bait from reporters who want to focus on other topics, and clearly communicate a message. If you are hesitant in figuring out how to respond to reporters, you are losing valuable time."[5]

Republican National Committee

From Huntsman's campaign, Miller went on to serve as the deputy communications director at the Republican National Committee (RNC). According to National Journal, Miller was hired to "play a major role in messaging and planning."[14] During his time with the RNC, he worked as liaison with Romney for President on regional communications and rapid response.[4][3] After Romney lost the election to President Barack Obama (D), Miller was part of a team, called the Growth and Opportunity Project, that diagnosed the campaign for potential areas of change for future campaign. In a 2016 interview, Miller explained that the project was an attempt to broaden the party's base of support:[15]

“ We've got major issues, and here's the thing. You know, one of the hot takes right now is that, you know, the Republican establishment, of which I guess I'm part, having worked for a Bush and the RNC at this point, you know, didn't see what was happening with the base and we misread our own party. We saw what was--we knew what was happening. We were just trying to hold the party together and offer the American people an agenda that did not repulse everyone who is not white.[16] ”

America Rising

In March 2013, he co-founded the super PAC America Rising, a "GOP opposition-research group that relentlessly spattered Democratic Senate candidates" during the 2014 election cycle, according to Politico.[17] The Wall Street Journal described the group's founding and development in 2015: "After the 2012 campaign revealed the GOP to be lagging behind the Democratic Party on opposition research, Mr. Miller helped build America Rising into an $8 million, brand-name outfit that worked closely with Republican Party committees and other conservative groups."[18]

...

Jeb Bush presidential campaign, 2016

After exploring the possibility of a presidential run for several months, Bush officially announced his candidacy on June 15, 2015, at Miami Dade College. He largely focused on economic issues and said he would "take Washington – the static capital of this dynamic country – out of the business of causing problems." Bush, who served as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007, is the son of former President George H.W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush. He is the first brother of a president to run for the office since the Kennedy family, Robert in 1968 and Ted in 1980.[19]

At the time of Miller's hire, Politico noted, "Miller is an aggressive, younger operative who can be expected to inject a pugilistic style into Bush’s high command. [...] Miller, a former Republican National Committee deputy communications director, is one of the party’s most active operatives on Twitter, and is among the most digitally fluent and social-media savvy."[17]

Bush ended his run for the White House after faring poorly in the Iowa Caucuses as well as primary elections in New Hampshire and South Carolina.[20] At a gathering of supporters in the Palmetto State on February 20, 2016, he said:
“ The people of Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina have spoken, and I really respect their decision, so tonight I am suspending my campaign.[20][16] ”

https://ballotpedia.org/Tim_Miller_(Washington,_D.C.)

[LanternWaste]

2. Is it the "riding their mule to work" demographic?

[kcr]

3. The Bulwark is a right wing website, by a Republican

So, his opinions on the left are irrelevant, even if he doesn't like Trump.

[Otto Lidenbrock]

7. if highlighting the erasure of black woman is the left then that's not the left i know

that's a valued member of pete's campaign. his press secretary, the woman in charge of an entire operation yet so called "left wing progressives" reduce her to a "token". that's not progressive. that is racist. they are reducing her to a hired actor.

[kcr]

8. Oh, please. Do tell about a GOP that cares about black women.

Then we can talk about using right-wingers as a source.

[lunasun]

4. So a conservative doesn't like the left or identity politics? Boohoo no rec

“As I’ve written, I am not the type of conservative who has a knee-jerk hostility towards the idea of identity politics. I fully endorse and embrace the life-affirming parts of identity politics which ensure that people are seen and recognized, promote diversity and inclusivity, and make sure that those who have been silenced in the past have a platform.

The problem is that too often identity politics moves from providing a platform to the marginalized to denying platforms to others or attacking them for not conforming to some predetermined mold.

And this last bit is what we see with Mayor Pete. Rather than celebrating the unique and historic—and frankly shocking—elements of his success and the myriad policy ways in which they are aligned, identity politics is warping some progressives’ views to the point that they can only see the ways his candidacy isn’t representing the groups they would like, exactly as they would like them.

Image of Tim Miller
Tim Miller

Tim Miller is a contributor to The Bulwark and a communications consultant. He previously served as senior advisor to the anti-Trump Our Principles PAC, communications director for Jeb Bush, and spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
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[TidalWave46]

5. I've never understood the mindset of being a gay Republican.

Being gay is a part of your being. A part of your existence. It isn't a slight policy difference. The party Miller supports, as a whole, despise a part of him as a person.

[left-of-center2012]

6. Excellent post. Thank you.

I suspect your thread will be attacked by those who fear Mayor Pete because he cuts into the support for their candidate.


"OH MY GAWD! He wore black socks with a dark blue suit. He must be defeated!"

[rzemanfl]

9. Bookmarking. n/t