DownIsTheNewUp
Well-Known Member
So I'm gonna take a post from Reddit and kind of mesh it into a hybrid that also contains some of my thoughts on Pete Buttigieg. And then I may do a post on Harris... who as I've already said IS somebody I would vote for but is also somebody I (as a Californian) find hard to trust. With any of my posts I am merely trying to have an honest conversation and I encourage anyone to give me their rebuttal.
Anyways....
"The problem with Buttigieg is that the co-opts policies from the progressive movement, but then talks his way around them instead of actually telling voters where he stands. He essentially says, "this is a good idea, but so is this..." The entire "issues" portion of his website used to be a string of videos of him talking in platitudes. Now it's just a bunch of vague goals with occasional policy.
As someone who is a Warren/Harris/Sanders supporter, I just find it incredibly frustrating how Buttigieg seems to signal that he is a "progressive" but has shown very little evidence that he actually supports progressive legislation beyond finding them "interesting" and then going on carefully worded tangents about why his version of those interesting things is better.
For instance when he is asked about healthcare, he says he "wants to work towards it" but then quickly says that his version of healthcare would be Medicare "for all who want it." Which basically means that he wants a public option, and as president he would not advocate for the bill introduced by Bernie Sanders and cosponsored by Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.
Buttigieg does the same thing for Green New Deal, where instead of telling the electorate what he actually supports, he says "I think it's the right beginning", but then fails to elaborate. On his website, it says he will "decarbonize" transportation but doesn't give concrete details.
He also sprinkles his language with Think Tank talking points. See his answer on student debt last night- he said "we shouldn't pay for rich people to be going to school". Which is a favorite line of Third Way. The problem with that is A) billionaire's kids go to private school Pete. So that's just an excuse designed to dissuade the public. Not mention that the rich would be footing much of the bill in Warren and Bernie's plans. So they should probably be able to utilize them B) More importantly, social programs have to be blanket in nature. Otherwise, they are liable to become an us vs. them proposition and are easily undermined. FDR talked about this extensively. Even Obama understood it as he approach healthcare reform.
And while his policy is vague in a lot of places, it's pretty clear that he doesn't support extending the social safety net. Which is fine, that's what this process is about (staking out different positions). But he is clearly carved out a space to the center and needs to stop being mentioned in the same breath as Warren and Harris as a progressive. Take childcare for instance. Someone like Elizabeth Warren wants to introduce a federal program that would guarantee free child care for anyone under 200 percent of the poverty line.
Whereas Buttigieg thinks that tax credits are the only thing we need to fix that problem. (It's almost a running joke at this point how many moderate Democrats think all of our issues can be solved with tax credits). Other examples include his stance on healthcare, climate change and affordable college (all of which I've already touched upon).
I just think too many people in the media are presenting him as this great new voice in politics, but his politics scream run-of-the-mill moderate Democrat. It's even more frustrating because I feel like with Buttigieg this is all part of the plan. Which is to say, to co-opt as much of the progressive platform as possible and subvert it to more moderate norms."
Anyways....
"The problem with Buttigieg is that the co-opts policies from the progressive movement, but then talks his way around them instead of actually telling voters where he stands. He essentially says, "this is a good idea, but so is this..." The entire "issues" portion of his website used to be a string of videos of him talking in platitudes. Now it's just a bunch of vague goals with occasional policy.
As someone who is a Warren/Harris/Sanders supporter, I just find it incredibly frustrating how Buttigieg seems to signal that he is a "progressive" but has shown very little evidence that he actually supports progressive legislation beyond finding them "interesting" and then going on carefully worded tangents about why his version of those interesting things is better.
For instance when he is asked about healthcare, he says he "wants to work towards it" but then quickly says that his version of healthcare would be Medicare "for all who want it." Which basically means that he wants a public option, and as president he would not advocate for the bill introduced by Bernie Sanders and cosponsored by Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.
Buttigieg does the same thing for Green New Deal, where instead of telling the electorate what he actually supports, he says "I think it's the right beginning", but then fails to elaborate. On his website, it says he will "decarbonize" transportation but doesn't give concrete details.
He also sprinkles his language with Think Tank talking points. See his answer on student debt last night- he said "we shouldn't pay for rich people to be going to school". Which is a favorite line of Third Way. The problem with that is A) billionaire's kids go to private school Pete. So that's just an excuse designed to dissuade the public. Not mention that the rich would be footing much of the bill in Warren and Bernie's plans. So they should probably be able to utilize them B) More importantly, social programs have to be blanket in nature. Otherwise, they are liable to become an us vs. them proposition and are easily undermined. FDR talked about this extensively. Even Obama understood it as he approach healthcare reform.
And while his policy is vague in a lot of places, it's pretty clear that he doesn't support extending the social safety net. Which is fine, that's what this process is about (staking out different positions). But he is clearly carved out a space to the center and needs to stop being mentioned in the same breath as Warren and Harris as a progressive. Take childcare for instance. Someone like Elizabeth Warren wants to introduce a federal program that would guarantee free child care for anyone under 200 percent of the poverty line.
Whereas Buttigieg thinks that tax credits are the only thing we need to fix that problem. (It's almost a running joke at this point how many moderate Democrats think all of our issues can be solved with tax credits). Other examples include his stance on healthcare, climate change and affordable college (all of which I've already touched upon).
I just think too many people in the media are presenting him as this great new voice in politics, but his politics scream run-of-the-mill moderate Democrat. It's even more frustrating because I feel like with Buttigieg this is all part of the plan. Which is to say, to co-opt as much of the progressive platform as possible and subvert it to more moderate norms."
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