Recently democratic Candidate Pete Buttigieg has been taking harsh criticism from the progressive side
of the democratic party. A never Pete hashtag has emerged in many online leftist spheres, similar to the
never Trump hashtag used by Republicans that were equally vehemently against Trump. Popular
sentiment of those who criticise Buttigieg are that he is too moderate and won’t implement the systemic
change that many are calling for, like limits on money in politics and medicare for all. However Pete
Buttigieg has already unveiled plans to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and an alternate
healthcare plan called Medicare For All Who Want it. Some critics even believe he is a trojan horse or
actively gives credibility to Republican talking points against more progressive candidates like Bernie
Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.
of the democratic party. A never Pete hashtag has emerged in many online leftist spheres, similar to the
never Trump hashtag used by Republicans that were equally vehemently against Trump. Popular
sentiment of those who criticise Buttigieg are that he is too moderate and won’t implement the systemic
change that many are calling for, like limits on money in politics and medicare for all. However Pete
Buttigieg has already unveiled plans to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and an alternate
healthcare plan called Medicare For All Who Want it. Some critics even believe he is a trojan horse or
actively gives credibility to Republican talking points against more progressive candidates like Bernie
Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.
Although Buttigieg is the youngest candidate running, he has a very small portion of the young vote with
2%-8% of the vote of people under 35 years of age. Voters of this age are mainly concerned with climate
change and believe that Buttigieg is not taking nearly enough action. Too many the fact that his low level
of support among people of color also makes him unappealing.
With this new wave of backlash against Buttigieg and the radicalization of the republican party under
Donald Trump the place for moderate candidates seems to be disappearing.
Donald Trump the place for moderate candidates seems to be disappearing.
- Do you believe that the concerns levied against Buttigieg are legitimate?
- Do you think that Pete would win moderate republican vote if he won democratic primaries?
- Why do you think Buttigieg has trouble obtaining the votes of people of color and young people?
2. I believe that Buttigieg has a strong chance of stealing portions of the moderate republican vote,especially in light of Donald Trump being impeached by the house yesterday. While most of Trump's base will not budge, I would not be surprised if a small amount of conservatives change their vote in light off all the allegations our current president is facing. Buttigieg really should play up his involvement in the military to appeal to the moderate conservatives that might be leaning towards the other side of the fence in the coming election. However, I think the biggest obstacle in Pete's way is winning the primary let alone the presidency.
ReplyDelete1. I do think he is a more moderate candidate, but it is better for implementing change when a candidate is moderate because both political parties will be able to find common ground on his policies. It takes compromise to create change, and if he were far left, change would not be able to occur because his ideas would be too extreme for people to support. In this day and age, we need a moderate candidate as politics are becoming more and more polarized.
ReplyDeleteI think the youth and people of color in this generation want change, which is not a bad thing, but I think it will be hard to achieve during this very polarized time in politics. I think we need candidates like Buttigieg to be able to find common ground between the two parties. I think a lot of young people and people of color want change and they believe that by being the majority and voting for presidential candidates that are very extreme will get them the change they want. They do not realize that extreme candidates will not be able to implement policy because they will have a divided government. Instead, nothing will get done because the president and Congress are on extremely different pages, and cannot come to a consensus.
ReplyDelete3. Buttigieg has trouble obtaining the votes of people of color and young people because he is a more moderate candidate. His policies lean more moderate than progressive and people of color and young voters want to see more progressive change in this country. I think Buttigieg is a good candidate to help resolve party polarization, and these voters have to realize that it will be very hard to create change with a divided government.
ReplyDelete3. Buttigieg likely has trouble gaining the support of young people and people of color because his policy goals are more moderate than progressive. With increasing party polarization and more liberal views among younger people and people of color, they are seeking an incredibly progressive candidate to offset conservative policy goals. As a result, they do not like moderate candidates like Buttigieg. Additionally, due to party polarization and selective exposure, it seems like many young people and people of color primarily see progressives' views on Buttigieg in the media. Consequently, they do not have a well-rounded perspective on Buttigieg and are not even aware of some his more progressive policies (such as his Douglass plan to help solve systemic racism and his plan to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050).
ReplyDelete3. Buttigieg has trouble getting the vote of young people and people of color because he appears much more moderate compared to other democratic candidates, even though some of his policies are quite progressive. He has a much higher appeal for moderates and even some really moderate republicans, but does not attract voters who want a lot of change, which tend to be younger voters and African Americans. Also many of those voters struggle to relate to him.
ReplyDelete3. In the recent Democratic primaries, there is a focus on candidate-centered campaigns as voters are distinguishing the policies between the various Democratic candidates. Buttigieg has failed to garner the support of youth and people of color because he has done a poor job addressing talking points that these groups are passionate towards. Since Buttigieg has not mentioned how he intends to address climate change, he is unsuccessful when it comes to appealing to the youth and people of color.
ReplyDeleteI do think Buttigieg would win the moderate republican vote if he were to win the democratic primaries because he already has a strong hold in the midwest and his home state of Indiana. I also believe he could win the moderate republican vote because his health care plan appeals to their ideologies because it is an optional plan. The Buttigieg health care plan is offered to people only if they want it, and this kind of optionality is the perfect middle between democratic policy needs and ideologies as well as moderate republicans.
ReplyDeleteI do think Buttigieg would win the moderate republican vote if he were to win the democratic primaries because he already has a strong hold in the midwest and his home state of Indiana. I also believe he could win the moderate republican vote because his health care plan appeals to their ideologies because it is an optional plan. The Buttigieg health care plan is offered to people only if they want it, and this kind of optionality is the perfect middle between democratic policy needs and ideologies as well as moderate republicans.
ReplyDelete