Supporters of Pete Buttigieg like him, in part, because they think other people are going to like him. To use an ungenerous phrase, they see him as a kind of Cletus-whisperer who can express Democratic values in ways that invite independents and even questioning Republicans into the Democratic fold. The $25 million he raised last quarter, of which $113,000 came from Washingtonians according to the Seattle Times, speaks to the success of this appeal.
But how does he do it? Language. (And a very strong fundraising team.) Rather than invent new buzzwords, as George Lakoff and Elisabeth Wehling suggested in their Little Blue Book, he just steals the words back from Republicans and uses them to drive his message.
Tuesday night at the Showbox, in front of a crowd of over 1,000 people who paid to be there, and a few hours before a $1,000-a-head fundraiser, Buttigieg did just that.
He argued for reclaiming words such as “freedom” and “patriotism,” saying that American freedom is “freedom to.” Freedom to choose abortion, and freedom to choose who you want to marry. He then pointed at his husband, Chasten, who was looking on from the wings. The crowd went nuts.
Buttigieg also said conservatives don’t get to own the Bible or Christianity, and he ran through a couple scriptures for the audience.
That segment didn’t draw much noise from the crowd, at least not compared to his defense of the four Congresswoman who recently endured a string of racist Tweets from the President, his call to stand up for people of any religion or of no religion (a rare nod to atheists from a presidential candidate), and his shout-out to all the introverts in the house: “Introverts of the world, unite!”
During a Q&A moderated by King County Democrat chair Shasti Conrad, Booty Judge Judy answered questions about protecting abortion, the climate, and trans and nonbinary people.
Buttigieg said he’d “appoint justices and judges who get it” and nix Trump’s gag rule to preserve protections guaranteed under Roe v. Wade. On climate change, he’d increase research and development funds for organizations working on renewable energy and energy storage, plus enact carbon tax legislation that returned revenues to the taxpayer. Getting back to his language-reclamation plan, he also reiterated his “Pittsburgh Summit” idea, wherein a bunch of U.S. states and cities gather together and come up with a plan to fight climate change.
When he talked about the importance of representation as a way to fight discrimination, Buttigieg came close to pledging he’d include a trans or nonbinary person in his administration.
And if he couldn’t be a politician? “If I were more creative I’d be a novelist…Maybe a stay-at-home dad,” he said.
In a press scrum afterward, the Stranger followed up on health care. In the primary debate Buttigieg criticized Medicare for All, saying, “Everybody who says ‘Medicare for All,’…has a responsibility to explain how you’re actually supposed to get from here to there.” Newly introduced legislation from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Seattle Rep. Pramila Jayapal explains exactly what Buttigieg says he’s looking for, providing timeline requirements and an implementation plan.
Instead, Buttigieg advocates for a “Medicare for All Who Want It” idea, which sounds like a standard public option. He believes that policy will achieve universal coverage “in a way that invites Americans to realize for themselves why this public proposal will serve them better than corporate options” and that “dares the corporate world to come up with a better answer one last time.” He added that he doesn’t expect corporations to come up with a better solution, but he expects a public option to be “a glide path toward universal health care.”
Another reporter asked Buttigieg how he planned to handle the racial divide in the country, given his lack of success back home. He said we needed to “tear down the systemic racist structure” that makes those issues difficult to deal with, and touted his Douglass Plan, which offers up several reforms to the criminal justice, health care, education, and election systems.
But That’s Enough From Me. Here’s What the People Said.
The Stranger talked to several people in the crowd and asked them all the same questions: What do you like about Pete? Would you vote for him if the election were tomorrow? And who did you like in 2016, Bernie or Hillary?
Craig likes what Buttigieg says and he likes his “approach.” He admitted to not being “a politically savvy person,” but said the other Democratic candidates were too “obscure” for him at this point. He was initially for Bernie but then switched to Hillary after the nomination.
Ruderman, a former Washington State Representative for the 45th Legislative District, said she likes that Buttigieg “speaks to him,” pointing to Craig, “because he’s politically interested but not a political professional, and he’s a white guy.”
“I really like that Pete’s answers go more than soundbite-deep,” Ruderman added. “He doesn’t get trapped, he doesn’t get angry, he doesn’t get stupid. He’s just phenomenally thoughtful without coming across as arrogant.” She was a Bernie fan, but not this time.
“I think he’s the candidate that people can come together over,” Brynne said. “He’s not trying to be extremist in this election…He brings a perspective that’s more relatable to a lot of people.”
If the election were tomorrow, Brynne would vote for Pete, but when it comes down to it, she’ll vote for the Democrat. Though she was only 15, initially she was a Bernie person, but “during the election” she was all for Hillary.
Laprade likes Buttigieg because he’s “really calm and collected when he speaks.”
“He’s just not aggressive in any way, and that’s something we should have for the next election,” Laprade added. His second choice is Kamala Harris, and he was more of a Hillary person in 2016.
Buttigieg won over Alfieri-Crispin back in March, just before he announced his official run. “He doesn’t put up with any of the garbage, and he keeps on message. He knows what’s important, and he cuts out all the rest of the cruft,” he said.
Does the fact that Pete is the second gay person ever to run for President have anything to do with his support? “Because it brings tears to my eyes every single day? Yes. Absolutely. Every single day I’m overwhelmed by the possibility,” Alfieri-Crispin said.
“As a gay man that’s really important,” he added. “But, to widen the circle, as an American, I really believe he is the one out of this wonderful abundance of good people…who can actually speak across the divide. He’s of the people who voted for Trump. He doesn’t insult them, and he gives them a place to come to, and that’s really important.” Alfieri-Crispin says he was “totally on board with Hillary” in 2016 and, for that matter, in 2008.
“What do the only brown people in the room think about this?” Douglas asked when I approached him and Abando for comment. “We want to see what Pete’s all about, if he’s got the sauce.”
Douglas said he was on the “Pete curve.” At first he didn’t know about him, then he fell in love, then he learned some more, and now “he’s never going to be my candidate.” He’s still interested in Buttigieg longterm, however. “I want to see what he does in his state. I agree with a lot of his policies, but he’s still a white dude. We need less dude and less white in politics generally, but I got his back overall,” he said. Otherwise, Douglas likes Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. He was a Hillary person in 2016 because he felt like he had to “fall in line” early for fear of a Trump win.
Abando said Mayor Pete wasn’t her “favorite person” for President, but as a progressive organizer she believes he has a strong future in politics. She was there to see if she could get inspired. The ability to inspire others keeps grassroots organizers at the doors longer, “and that kind of action is what’s going to win this,” she said. In 2016 she liked Hillary, though she “agreed with the radical restructuring Bernie was advocating for.”
Stafford said he showed up to compare Pete’s live show with his performance on the debate stage at CNN. “I like that he’s really progressive, but the way he speaks brings a lot of people in. Whether they agree with him or not, I feel like he could bridge a lot of the divides we have,” he said. If the election were tomorrow, he’s voting for Pete. He was a Hillary person in 2016.
Janet thinks Buttigieg has an interesting life story and “an interesting mix of being authentic and charismatic.” She added that she likes how he “doesn’t get distracted when people ask him questions about lightning rod issues.” She was a Hillary person in 2016.
Tiffany had been following Mayor Pete since he ran for Democratic National Committee chair, and she was impressed with his interview. “As a product manager, I like the way he thinks about things, and how he focuses on understanding that people don’t just vote purely on policy, but that they think about how people communicate and how people feel,” she said. “I think he’s one of the most talented politicians since Barack Obama. He has what it takes to take it all the way, and I think it’s just a matter of people getting to know him.” Right now she’s 100% in for Pete, and she liked Hillary in 2016.
