The Witness Chronicles, 11/28/24

Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg Can Be The Bridge We Need

He may be the most articulate man in America

And what the Democrats desperately need, a leader who can cross lines. Last night I watched a longer interview with the guy and came away thinking he reminded me of Bill Clinton in his ability to talk plainly about issues and who bridges the wide gap between ideologies.

He is gay. He is an Ivy Leaguer. He is a veteran who served in Afghanistan. And he is a midwesterner. He is a parent. And he has extensive experience in politics, all the way from small city mayor to Cabinet Secretary. But most important, the guy can talk in a way about issues that makes people shake their heads and say yes.

I know, he’s gay. So what? Honestly most Americans, admit it or not, know or are related to a gay person and could give a shit once they realize they’re ok. No, they are not coming for your kids. Gays find that as repulsive as all of us do.

So, let that go. What the far right and Trumpists fear most is the truth spoken plainly and with authority, and Buttigieg can easily do that because it’s the normal way he communicates. The guy can talk clearly, something severely lacking in the world today. If the Democrats and reasonable people can’t find a way to talk to everyone, we are screwed.

The Democratic Party needs to rebuild, now.

There is a lot of discussion about rebuilding going on but there is not any clear vision of what the Democratic Party should do. But it’s clear that a major housecleaning is needed because the messaging is stale and old school. That wasn’t really clear until Election Day.

Yes, hindsight is 20/20. It’s why a lot of us are finding it hard to even pay attention to the post election news. I know I am. And that is a good part of the reason there has not been substantive discussions about the future. The present is in our face and that future looks impossibly far off.

My position has been wait and see and watch how the Trump policies and choices go over with the American public, a public that is, frankly, sick of politics and on the left, sick of old white guy politics. But what got us here, in part, was young white guy politics, something that barely existed before Trump.

My regular readers know I’m a keen observer of climate-related news and advances. During this rapid fire nomination process for Trump’s Cabinet and advisors, the subject has been notably absent despite the weather across the country in turmoil from west coast to east.

Unfortunately having this issue be essentially sidelined for years, the reality on the ground and in the atmosphere should be front and center. Which brings me back to Pete Buttigieg. As Transportation Secretary, climate disruptions are a serious topic affecting travel in drastic ways. Transportation is more than plane, trains, and automobiles, it’s the supply chain that intimately affects the economy.

I mention this because I firmly believe it will eventually be an issue that cannot be ignored and we are going to need articulate leaders who have a deep understanding of how deeply it affects everything.

That may seem like wishful thinking but after Helene, Milton, and the fires across the country we finally heard homeowners saying they are not rebuilding and plan to move. That is a relatively new phenomenon driven by the abandonment of vulnerable regions by insurers.

Will issues like climate ever stoke outrage like other issues? Hard to tell, especially when we have an entire party in denial and actively working to bury any discussion as long as they hold power.

I bring this up because it is an issue with college educated young voters, a demographic that made a serious dent in this election, both positive and negative. A Democrat like Pete Buttigieg could help reach that demographic.

I’m grasping at straws like a lot of us, but that’s a part of the autopsy we are engaged in, if we can stand it. I barely can and I’m a news junkie. But the conversation I watched with Buttigieg was a ray of light in the darkness, something we desperately need right now.

And it should be mentioned that Buttigieg is basically the only Democrat willing to go on Fox News, meaning much of the country who only gets their news there have some familiarity with him. That’s a good sign of being able to heal the divisions used so effectively by Trump to get us where we are right now.

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