Buttigieg Should Have Been the Democratic Nomination, Not Biden
Layout by: Joshua Ledford and Elle Bixby
Watching the democratic candidates drop out of the presidential race at the end of February and the beginning of March was akin to watching a successful ending to a game of dominoes. As one candidate dropped out, it seamlessly triggered the suspension of another candidate’s campaign. Tom Steyer was the first tile to fall, then Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bloomberg, and finally, Elizabeth Warren.[1] All of their announcements to drop out of the presidential race occurred within mere days of each other, and their declarations to endorse Joe Biden shortly followed. While many have come to terms with a Biden presidency, there are many reasons why we shouldn’t have been so quick to write off a Buttigieg ticket.
Upon initial glance, Buttigieg’s résumé reads like an aged politician of the old guard. He’s decorated with Harvard and Oxford diplomas—the latter being where he was a Rhodes Scholar—has experience as a naval intelligence officer[2], and is an outspoken follower of the Christian faith.[3] This impressive record conflicts with the fresh-faced 38 year old that appears instead of the 70 year old many may expect. However, upon closer look, he is also a millennial (if elected he would have been the youngest President), speaks seven foreign languages,[4] and is the first openly gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates from a major American political party.[5]
In terms of policies, Buttigieg considered himself to be a progressive and a democratic capitalist. Given his moderate-left status, his stance on issues are rather par for the course. In fact, many of his positions on hot-button topics are almost identical to those of Biden. We could even go so far as to call them “Bidengieg.” For instance, Buttigieg supports abortion rights, and would repeal the Hyde Amendment[6] (which blocks federal funding for abortion services in all but the most extreme circumstances). While Biden’s stance on the topic has fluctuated[7] over the years, he has stated that, “Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, and we must fight any and all attempts to overturn it. As president, I will codify Roe into law and ensure this choice remains between a woman and her doctor.”[8] (Biden supports repealing the Hyde Amendment[9], too). In regards to fighting climate change, Buttigieg planned to spend 1.5 to 2 trillion dollars on climate policies. He also had a proposal that set benchmarks to gradually lower emissions, and had a three part plan to tackle climate change: 1) build a clean economy through the creation of clean energy jobs, 2) improve resilience by investing in disaster relief and prevention, and 3) heighten the United States' role in the international fight against climate change. Buttigieg would have restored the US commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and he supported the Green New Deal, solar panel subsidies, and a carbon tax and dividend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[10] Biden also pledged to re-enter the Paris Climate Agreement, but more vitally his campaign unveiled a plan to spend 1.7 trillion dollars to eliminate U.S. net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.[11]
The third major similarity between the two candidates is the outlook “Bidengieg” has on healthcare, an increasingly critical concern amid the coronavirus pandemic. Buttigieg ran on a platform of “Medicare for All Who Want It”[12] (a public option health insurance) and sees this system as more efficient and more inclusive than the current system. He does not support “Medicare for All” since he doesn’t believe in ending private insurance.[13] In August 2019, Buttigieg released a $300 billion[14] plan to expand mental health care services and fight addiction, which could not be more essential to Americans right now as the national suicide rate continues to climb. While Biden wants to expand the Affordable Care Act, he also doesn’t support single payer health care systems like “Medicare for All,” but rather wants to create a public option for health insurance in order to give Americans more choice without getting rid of private insurance options.[15] If the majority of Democratic primary voters came to accept Biden’s views on these three highly controversial topics, then they likely would have also been content with Buttigieg on the ballot.
Yet despite their similar views, Buttigieg brings experiences and perspectives from a much more recent generation which makes him a lot more relatable to many voters. One of the biggest faux pas to come from Biden’s mouth was in the third presidential debate when he suggested to parents, “make sure you have the record player on at night.”[16] While this may seem like a small blip, it was representative of a larger issue at hand: Biden is out of touch. Potential voters probably sat at home watching the debate on their iPhone 11 wondering if Biden was also going to start advising them to communicate via telegram for more efficiency. At least Buttigieg was in tune with contemporary issues and had the urgency needed to get the job done. Biden’s thoughtless and sometimes outright offensive remarks also lend a point to Buttigieg, who is much less scandal-prone. While Biden was credibly accused of sexual assault, Buttigieg committed no such grave offense, and yet was heavily criticized in debates, and in the media, over far less offensive actions such as the fact that he worked in corporate consulting at McKinsey.
Another point of criticism for Buttigieg was his inability to connect with Black voters. Despite his attempts to reach out, he still only polled at between two to four percent with the demographic.[17] This well-known dilemma had even garnered Buttigieg the nickname “Mayo Pete”[18] which was made to poke fun at his lack of appeal to non-white voters. This is understandable given his less than perfect track record with the Black community.[19] Last fall, a white south bend police officer shot a 54 year old Black man. When questioned about the lack of diversity in South Bend’s police force, Buttigieg responded inadequately saying, “Because I couldn’t get it done.”[20] This incident served to highlight that Buttigieg didn’t represent Black interests, or understand their plight enough to make real change in their community. Without a doubt, Buttigieg has much to make up for in his handling of racial issues, but a young, progressive candidate who acknowledges his own privilege,[21] yet still knows what it is like to have experienced discrimination, is a much better bet to take on improving race relations in our country than a 77 year old responsible for the systemic racism we have today. Politicians need to be held accountable for their past actions, and it would have been a much better use of airtime to talk about Biden’s historical involvement against integrated busing, and his contributions to the 1994 crime law[22]—policies which have had lasting, detrimental impacts on Black and Brown communities.
Lastly, Buttigieg was able to rise above the purity tests that his colleagues often raised in an attempt to divide and conquer. He came under fire multiple times on the debate stage for accepting donations from corporate figures, but was able to keep cool under pressure. The most well-documented incident of this was during the January Democratic primary debate where Elizabeth Warren attacked Buttigieg for hosting a fundraiser in a “wine cave,”[23] characterizing the event as grotesquely opulent. Buttigieg retorted with a quick-witted remark about his lack of wealth in comparison to the other five candidates on the stage, and how he wouldn’t turn down money that would contribute to defeating Donald Trump. He later pointed out the hypocrisy of her punches by saying, “[if] doing traditional fundraisers disqualifies you from running for president, I guess neither one of us would be here.”[24] He has repeatedly taken issue with the “purity tests” that Warren loved to run, and in order to point out her hypocrisy, stated “that is the issue with purity tests that you cannot yourself pass”[25] (this was in reference to the big fundraisers Warren hosted towards her senate campaign, and how she used that money to fund her presidential campaign, making it hypocritical of her to delude her supporters into thinking she was somehow more moral than any other politician). Warren’s constant attempts to try and make Buttigieg look bad simply distracted from the debate, and made the Democratic party look ununified, unrealistic, and unprofessional.
Buttigieg was clearly a superior candidate to Biden all around. He was the energizing force Americans across the political spectrum wanted, and needed, to reignite their faith in the Democratic process. While they may have had similar policy ideas, don’t mistake them for being the same candidate. Instead of simply upholding the status quo, Buttigieg would have actually enacted the change he promised. Rather than just telling voters what they want to hear, Buttigieg would’ve had the motivation to enact change as he will have to live through the effects and consequences of his policies. His ideas weren’t given the time or gravity that they deserved. As a new, young face he was dismissed by his older peers. As a progressive moderate, he was dismissed by the far left. However, nobody can dismiss the fact that Buttigieg’s ability to go from an unknown, unpronounceable name to the winner of the Iowa caucus marks an undeniable fact: Buttigieg can win.[26] Maybe next time America will give him a chance.
“Timeline of the 2020 United States Presidential Election,” October 15, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election.
“Pete Buttigieg.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 14, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Buttigieg.
Morris, Alex. “The Generous Gospel of Mayor Pete.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, November 20, 2019. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/mayor-pete-buttigieg-faith-christianity-primary-election-913808/.
“Pete Buttigieg Speaks 8 Languages. He Used His Spanish Tonight.” CNN. Cable News Network, June 28, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/democratic-debate-june-27-2019/h_e6ee3ea000f2c2f29b8612437b32ecab.
Rodriguez, Barbara. “Pete Buttigieg Made History in the Iowa Caucuses Whatever the Final Results Show.” Des Moines Register. Des Moines Register, February 5, 2020. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2020/02/05/pete-buttigieg-first-openly-gay-candidate-earn-presidential-primary-delegates-nomination/4667796002/.
“Political Positions of Pete Buttigieg.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, August 23, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Pete_Buttigieg.
“Where Joe Biden Stands on the Biggest 2020 Issues.” POLITICO. https://www.politico.com/2020-election/candidates-views-on-the-issues/joe-biden/.
Biden, Joe. “Roe v. Wade Is the Law of the Land, and We Must Fight Any and All Attempts to Overturn It. As President, I Will Codify Roe into Law and Ensure This Choice Remains between a Woman and Her Doctor. Https://T.co/KaJbYWcYhL.” Twitter. Twitter, October 5, 2019. https://twitter.com/joebiden/status/1180506681459040256?lang=en.
“Political Positions of Joe Biden.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 14, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Joe_Biden.
“Political Positions of Pete Buttigieg.” Wikipedia.
“Political Positions of Pete Buttigieg.”
Simon, Scott, and Heidi Glenn. “'Just The Right Policy': Pete Buttigieg On His 'Medicare For All Who Want It' Plan.” NPR. NPR, November 8, 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/08/774716877/just-the-right-policy-pete-buttigieg-on-his-medicare-for-all-who-want-it-plan.
Sullivan, Peter. “Buttigieg: I 'Never Believed' in 'Medicare for All' That Ends Private Insurance.” TheHill. The Hill, October 25, 2019. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/467478-buttigieg-i-never-believed-in-medicare-for-all-that-ends-private-insurance.
“Political Positions of Pete Buttigieg.”
“Where Joe Biden Stands on the Biggest 2020 Issues.” POLITICO.
Greenfield, Jeff, Jeremy B. White, Sam Sutton and Carly Sitrin, and Bill Mahoney and Josh Gerstein. “The Ticking Time Bomb in Biden's 'Record Player' Answer.” POLITICO Magazine, September 13, 2019. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/13/joe-biden-record-player-debate-228105.
Mystal, Elie. “They Rocked New Hampshire-but Pete and Amy Still Can't Win Over Black Voters.” The Nation, February 12, 2020. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/buttigieg-klobuchar-privilege/.
Larsen, Emily. “Buttigieg Learns about 'Mayo Pete' Memes and Shares Condiment Opinions.” Washington Examiner, January 16, 2020. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/buttigieg-learns-about-mayo-pete-memes-and-shares-condiment-opinions.
Higgins, Tucker. “Pete Buttigieg Met with Black Lives Matter after a Police Shooting. It Didn't Go Well.” CNBC. CNBC, September 19, 2019. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/18/pete-buttigieg-met-with-black-lives-matter-after-eric-logan-shooting.html.
Scott, Eugene. “Analysis | Pete Buttigieg's Struggles and Stumbles with Black Voters, Explained.” The Washington Post. WP Company, December 18, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/18/pete-buttigiegs-biggest-campaign-struggle-earning-support-black-voters/.
Capehart, Jonathan. “Opinion | What Pete Buttigieg Really Said about Being Gay, Prejudice and Blacks.” The Washington Post. WP Company, December 3, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/03/what-mayor-pete-really-said-about-being-gay-prejudice-blacks/.
Lopez, German. “The Controversial 1994 Crime Law That Joe Biden Helped Write, Explained.” Vox. Vox, June 20, 2019. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/20/18677998/joe-biden-1994-crime-bill-law-mass-incarceration.
Zhang, Jenny G. “A Napa Valley Wine Cave Was the Hot-Button Issue of the Democratic Debate.” Eater. Eater, December 20, 2019. https://www.eater.com/2019/12/20/21031491/wine-cave-democratic-debate-elizabeth-warren-pete-buttigieg.
Janes, Chelsea. “Pete Buttigieg Takes Aim at Democratic 'Purity Tests'.” The Washington Post. WP Company, December 13, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-takes-aim-at-democratic-purity-tests/2019/12/13/2ae8d2d6-1db7-11ea-8d58-5ac3600967a1_story.html.
Durkee, Alison. “Buttigieg and Warren Clash Over Wine Caves, ‘Purity Tests.’” Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair, December 19, 2019. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/12/buttigieg-warren-debate-wine-cave-purity-test.
Scott, Dylan. “With All the Votes Counted, Pete Buttigieg Won the Iowa Caucuses - but Bernie Sanders Is Challenging.” Vox. Vox, February 10, 2020. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/2/9/21125703/iowa-caucuses-2020-final-results-pete-buttigieg-wins.