Buttigieg to Democrats: Don't get bogged down zinging Trump

[left-of-center2012]

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg says President Donald Trump is “kind of like a Chinese finger trap — you know, the harder you pull, the more you get stuck” and warns that Democrats shouldn’t get bogged down in trying to “knock him flat with some zinger.”

“We’ve got to acknowledge — without giving an inch on the racism or xenophobia that played a role in that campaign — we’ve got to also pay attention to the things that make people susceptible to that message and make sure we’re addressing them,” said the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Asked whether Trump leaned on racial animus to win the White House, Buttigieg called the president out for playing “white guy identity politics.”
“By far the political movement that is most based on identity politics is Trumpism. It’s based on white guy identity politics. It uses race to divide the working and middle class,” he told the AP.

He’s acknowledged he needs to address the lack of racial diversity among supporters at his events. In the AP interview, Buttigieg said he plans to make sure that “our organization and our substance reflect our commitment to diversity.” He said he’ll do that by hiring a diverse staff and by addressing a range of policies that affect minorities, including but not limited to criminal justice reform, education, homeownership and entrepreneurship.

During the Des Moines rally, an audience member asked what he should tell his friends who say America isn’t ready for a gay president. Buttigieg replied, “Tell your friends I said ‘hi.’”

https://apnews.com/cbadc3cbc75548378ce22b5f4e24db04

[Blue_Tires]

1. I missed the memo that said we can't promote Dem policy AND crush Trump at the same time?

[patricia92243]

6. Bogged down was the keyword. You can do both,

[Politicub]

7. It's just his advice.

I think he’s wise beyond his years and fantastic at messaging. His comments cause me to take pause and reflect on how I want to spend my time.

The more I’ve cut wall-to-wall coverage of Trump from my media consumption habits, the happier I have been. The flip side of that coin is I’m spending less time commenting about Trump. I can stay on top of current events. Trump craves attention. I like withholding mine. Fuck him and the gop.

But like anything, you can take or leave someone’s suggestion.

[dsc]

8. the problem is you can't control what the press covers

and if you slam Trump and put out a policy on the same day then the press is more likely to cover the first than the second.

[SMC22307]

9. You've certainly missed something...

the point. Whoooooosh!

[Blue_Tires]

10. Lay it out for me, then...

If you would be so kind...?

[SMC22307]

12. Nowhere did Buttigieg say we can't promote Dem policy and go after Drumpf.

Voters want to know what Democrats will do for them -- getting "bogged down" in attempting to zing him is not a winning strategy. It might make people feel good, but there needs to be more. Think about it, the guy has "survived" pink portabello and Yeti pubes. "Basket of deplorables" was a zinger and it backfired spectacularly (even though they *are* deplorable). Serious voters want substance, not bullshit Twitter wars.

[Blue_Tires]

13. And did Buttigieg say which candidates were getting "bogged down" trying to zing him?

Because I sure as hell can't think of any...

First of all, any voter who got more offended over "deplorables" than they did over Donnie's racism and unfitness for office isn't the type of voter worth talking to in the first place because that person is too ignorant to breathe.

Secondly, I hate to be the one to mention it but the number of "serious" voters out there make up a vastly smaller percentage of the electorate than you think... Because if they were out there in any significant number, we wouldn't have been stuck with Trump in the first place... Politics in this country have been dumbed down to elementary school level, and we are getting the dystopian alternate-reality shitstorm we deserve.

[SMC22307]

20. Read the article like the rest of us.

"Basket of deplorables" backfired because many Republican and swing voters gleefully embraced it. They riffed on it Les Miserables-style, throwing it back in Hillary's face. She later wrote in her book how the phrase may have contributed to her loss. Good ol' Robby admitted it could have alienated voters. It was a truly stupid campaign *zinger* that helped give us Donald Fucking Trump.

2016 was close just like other recent presidential elections. Many Americans vote party lines, even if it's a pig like Donald Trump who has the "R" behind his name. He seized on the deplorables line, pitting Hillary against "hard-working Americans. Goodbye PA, MI and WI! That's what killed us, losing those electoral votes. What are your plans to get them back?

[Blue_Tires]

22. One goddamn throwaway line didn't cost HRC the election

be serious now..

Yes, the GOP cleverly reversed it to something that sort of helped them, but I've never seen the first person even try to say that one line made them switch votes.


Now you wanna ask me how to win back PA-MI-WI? You're a bit bold, aren't you? But I'll play along:

The first REAL issue is something MUST be done about gerrymandering, vote suppression of minorities and the math of the Electoral College which gives too much proportionate power to expanses of mostly-empty GOP-dominated states... But nobody has the stomach anymore to dive into messy, sticky political messes with no quick-fix solution so we'll skip it...

The second real issue is to STOP fucking accepting the right-wing framing that the white folks in Middle America are somehow more "authentic" or "Hard-Working" or "Patriotic" Americans than the rest of us and somehow ONLY white folks are what we think of when we say "Working-class" because it's a dog whistle that offends me as a Black American to no end... Nevermind the fact that "the economy" was nowhere near the issue you think it was, but I'll get to that later.

The third issue is to GOTV, always... We show up to vote; we win -- It's just that simple. The #1 trouble with modern liberalism is we think we're entitled to a perfect presidential candidate who aligns 100% with our personal politics and in rejecting candidates who are only 70-80 percent in-line with out personal politics we might as well be putting a gun to our heads and pulling the trigger. The #2 trouble with modern liberalism is we think all we have to do is come out en masse for the presidential race every four years and our job is done while completely ignoring all the state/local races. (PROTIP: The party controlling the statehouse is the one who determines the boundaries of congressional districts, people!)

The fourth issue I don't have an answer for... I know we can't call the rural yokels or rust belt nutbars who get all their political news from AM radio and Stormfront/Infowars/Qanon "stupid", "ignorant", "racist", etc. because their little feelings hurt easily and they get so offended they'll go shoot up a black church or a mosque just to prove a point and it'll be ALL our fault... But the truth of the matter is Trump told them what they wanted to hear and what they wanted to believe, which was it was the uppity black folks, Mexicans and the Muslims who were to blame for all their troubles, and once he made Mexico fund the wall, deported the Muslims and tossed all those BlackLivesMatter agitators in jail, the steel mill that relocated to India 10 years ago would magically move back to the old hometown... He told them it was the white Christian male who was the TRUE aggrieved underclass, and they lapped it up. The billionaire who has lived in Manhattan all his life told them it was the coastal elites in the big cities and Wall Street who made America not so great anymore and they lapped it up. Despite never doing a honest day's labor in his life and taking his daily shit on a literal golden toilet, he told them he was a "Man of the people" and "Looking out for the FORGOTTEN (i.e., white) AMERICAN" and they lapped it up. Despite not having been to a church service in decades he told them he was a Godfearing Christian and they lapped it up. Despite being a rapist, an adulterer a borderline pederast and a crook who used campaign fund to finance an abortion for a woman who wasn't his wife, he told them he was a moral person and they lapped it up.... Maybe a smart guy like you can tackle this issue?

[Celerity]

23. non sequitur

She later wrote in her book how the phrase may have contributed

the poster did not say

[Blue_Tires]

24. The other poster seemed pretty convinced of it...

[mr_lebowski]

26. I don't disagree with much if anything here, but how exactly does the math of the EC

give disproportionate power to the average voter in the Red states?

If I understand things correctly, the elector count your state gets is based on what proportion of the total US population resides within your borders?

I.E. (using imaginary numbers) if you have 10% of the US population, your state has 10% of the total # of electors, and thus everyone's vote for POTUS counts roughly the same?

Is that not how it works?

[marylandblue]

25. Did he say he was talking about any particular candidates?

[theophilus]

11. We can. All of those pursuing the nomination should

fight Trump but also tar the Republicans that are doing so much badness. We, imo, should be more about educating the voters to the evils of the Republican Party than to the evils of Trump. He could vanish tomorrow and another evil Rep would take his place. With such a wide field of candidates we can get the word out throughout the entire country of what the Republicans are doing to damage our country and our world. That knowledge needs to be as widely broadcast as is humanly possible. The Democrat who becomes the nominee will benefit as will we all.

[elleng]

2. "Tell your friends I said 'hi.'"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. An excellent point. It doesn't mean Dems can't criticize Trump, but if the primary issue

is how terrible Trump is, people won't understand that the Dem candidates have ideas that could make their lives better. Trump's awfulness is already baked in. And for a lot of his supporters, that's not a bug, it's a feature; they like it that he's awful. So OK, talk about the children in cages and the attempts to take away health care, but put the emphasis on what we can do better.

[JaneQPublic]

5. True. Plus...

...those Dem officeholders who respond each and every time Trump hurls an insult are in danger of letting him push their buttons to get a response. To let him yank their chain... frame the debate. Pick your cliche.

As in most situations, it's better to choose you battles and not let the carnival barker constantly use Dems to create a diversion from more important issues.

[dlk]

4. Democrats Need to Do Both. It's Not an Either/Or Proposition

[Tipperary]

14. Totally agree. Rump loves to get people down at his level.

He is good at that crap and he faces no repercussions no matter what he says. It does not work that way for others, so it is best to stay out of his mud hole.

[ecstatic]

16. Regarding the racial diversity at his events...

It's a question of electability: Can he win the GE? The more the answer to that question appears to be yes, the more support he'll get from every corner. Generally speaking, we have to like your message, your demeanor, and we have to think you can win.

[mobeau69]

27. Many well known black leaders initially were behind Hillary in the misguided belief that a black

couldn't win the general election. John Lewis is one such example.

[mcar]

17. Who is doing that?

I fear Mayor Pete is falling into the trap of repeating RW and media talking points. I know of no candidate who is doing that.

[mcar]

19. Yes

[left-of-center2012]

21. "Mayor Pete is falling into the trap of repeating RW and media talking points"

That is so far from what he is really speaking about
as to be laughable.

[mobeau69]

28. Detractors are frantically looking for any leverage against Pete, real or perceived, they can find.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

29. +1. N/t

[Blue_true]

30. I normally respect your opinion. But in this case, I think that you should reread

and rethink about what he said. We are not going to take down Trumpism with zingers and slogans. But we can win by laying out clearheaded policy proposals and articulating them clearly and in such a way that on the fence voters feel that they will be missing out by not voting for our candidate.

I like that Mayor Pete looks across his crowds and see the diversity problem. I await to see how successfully he addresses that problem.

[mcar]

31. I respect you too, Blue_true

Perhaps I am knee jerking, but no candidate, nor any sane Democrat expects to take Dotard out with zingers or slogans.

Several candidates, Warren, Harris, Castro, to name 3, are laying out clear policies and ideas. While the MSM whinges that Democrats can't win by only being anti-Trump. Same way they falsely claimed that HRC never talked policy, only bashed Dotard.

It's still a sore point for me.

That said, I've got nothing against the good Mayor and think we have a great crop of candidates. I just wish the media would cover them all in relatively equal and honest ways.

[Blue_true]

32. I agree. We have a field of excellent people running.

Either one of them would be worlds better than the shit tossing baboon.

[mcar]

34. Good description of said baboon

[jcgoldie]

33. "the things that make people susceptible to that message"

...you mean like they are racists? I don't agree with any of this by Buttigieg. Call Trump what he is... you aren't getting the people that that message appeals to.