New Yorker: Pete Buttigieg Talks Impeachment Health Care and the Political Spectrum

[femmedem]

Last edited Thu Oct 17, 2019, 08:29 AM - Edit history (1)

On impeachment:

"That depends on the conscience of the Senate Republicans. And what that actually means is it depends on whether there is enough of a threat to the power of the Senate Republicans that they would be reunited with their conscience, which, obviously, they’ve taken a holiday from. Which is really important because, in a moral sense and in a constitutional sense, this is about accountability when the President has admitted to an abuse of power.

There’s going to be an investigation. There’s going to be testimony. There’s going to be records. But, for all the things that might emerge then, he confessed on television to the abuse of power. So there’s this central fact that Congress has to weigh in on: whether this is or is not a high crime. For all of that, we also know that this is a political process. And I think what’s going on in the minds of a lot of Senate Republicans is this question of whether they will ever find some way to say what they know deep down, which is that this President is a disaster not only for the country but for their own party. Or whether staying in power requires them to continue riding this tiger until he finally devours them. And so, in a very sad and very real sense, that’s what’s going to play out.

Of course, as a Presidential candidate, you have no real part in that. And so my perspective is to focus on the day after Trump is President. I want to ask you to really picture what it’s going to be like that first day when the sun comes up. I mean, at first, it’s a happy thought, for sure, but then you really think about it. Like, what’s it going to be like? The rubble of our norms and institutions? And our population, our families, maybe, our communities, even more torn apart by politics than we are now, if you think about everything we’ve been through and everything we’re about to go through? And the real question is: Who among the candidates for President can lead us in a world where we’re going to have to solve these big policy problems that didn’t take a break during impeachment, and somehow unify the American people? And, of course, I’m running to be that President, because we need somebody capable of turning the page as well as winning the fight."

On the withdrawal of American forces from the Turkish border with Syria:

"What I know is that it’s a betrayal. And it would be one thing if the President were forced to make an impossible moral choice between one compelling set of interests and the other, and there was no way to honor one without dishonoring the other. Those are the kinds of situations where Presidents earn their paychecks. But this wasn’t that. We were actually holding the line. And the thing that’s so upsetting to think about is that people put their lives on the line in order to help us fight ISIS, and we’re literally leaving them to their deaths..."

Much more---t was hard to choose four paragraphs to excerpt: https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/pete-buttigieg-talks-impeachment-health-care-and-the-political-spectrum

Edited to add: I also loved reading what he has to say about Pence.

[democrank]

1. Recommended

[MBS]

2. Thank you SO much for this.

I'd been looking for a more complete version of his interview.
Thank you thank you thank you!!

[femmedem]

3. You're welcome--and thank you, too.

Thank you for all your informative and uplifting posts. I'm glad I could return the favor.

[LeftTurn3623]

4. He really knows how to explain things

and his views are on point

[Celerity]

5. superb article, highly recco!

The healthcare discussion was very good.

Very hardball questions throughout, almost no softballs.