From CNN: Pete Buttigieg is having a moment
“Pete Buttigieg can tell that things have changed.
Buoyed by positive reviews for the South Bend mayor's performance at an hour-long CNN town hall earlier this month and a steady stream of well received appearances on TV, Buttigieg's 2020 presidential exploratory committee has felt a sustained surge of momentum over the past two weeks. The once little-known mayor is getting recognized across the country, while his committee has mapped out plans to double in size in the coming weeks as a steady stream of new donations flood to the 37-year-old Democrat.
The momentum was apparent throughout Buttigieg's 24-hour swing through South Carolina, his first since launching his exploratory committee in January. In Greenville, Columbia and Rock Hill, Buttigieg spoke to packed rooms of voters, some of whom told the candidate that they had only learned about him a few weeks ago.
Kate Franch, the chair of the Greenville County Democratic Party, told CNN that the excitement around his visit outpaced others they have hosted for 2020 Democrats.
"When people heard he was coming, that is when a lot of people started reaching out (to attend today's event) ... There is a lot of excitement around him”."
Read more: www.cnn.com/…
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From NBC News: Don't sleep on 'Mayor Pete' Buttigieg
“The South Bend mayor is having a moment with Democrats, from the blue-checkmark salons of Twitter to the house parties of the early-voting states.
Pete Buttigieg just might be the anti-Trump.
Unlike President Donald Trump, the South Bend, Ind., mayor, who is still technically in the "exploratory" phase of a 2020 presidential campaign, is young, progressive and gay.
While Trump obtained deferments to avoid Vietnam, Buttigieg signed up for military service when his generation went to war in Afghanistan. He comes from a small Midwestern city rather than the Big Apple. And perhaps most important to primary voters and some Republicans, his politics are informed by a deep grasp of history, philosophy and ethics that are at odds with Trump's rejection of expertise.
That helps explain why, for a growing group of Democrats — from the elite salons of New York, Washington and blue-checkmark Twitter to the small-dollar cash mines of the 50 states — Buttigieg is fast becoming the diamond in a presidential primary rough full of better-known and better-funded rivals.”
Read more: www.nbcnews.com/…
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From PBS: What does Pete Buttigieg believe? Where the candidate stands on 7 issues
“Known as “Mayor Pete,” Pete Buttigieg is the two-term mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He’s a Harvard graduate, part-time pianist, “smart sewer” advocate..
Buttigieg is also a Rhodes Scholar and member of the Navy Reserves. In 2013, two years into his first term as mayor, he was deployed to Afghanistan for seven months.
Former President Barack Obama once called Buttigieg — who won the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award for an essay about Bernie Sanders — the future of the Democratic Party.
Climate change:
Buttigieg considers climate change a national security threat and a “longterm” problem.. He supports every U.S. house becoming “net zero” consumer of energy, and is in favor of the government subsidizing solar panels. Buttigieg was one of 407 U.S. mayors who signed a pact to adhere to the Paris climate accord after President Donald Trump pulled out of the international agreement 2017. He also supports the “Green New Deal” proposals on climate and energy being floated by progressive House Democrats.
Economy/trade:
He is a strong supporter of labor and union groups, and says Democrats must work harder to advocate for working people and help them achieve economic stability.
Guns:
As the mayor of South Bend, Buttigieg is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group that advocates for gun control legislation at the state and federal level. He also supports universal background checks, and opposed allowing guns in schools and so-called “Stand Your Ground” self-defense gun laws.
Foreign policy:
..his experience serving as a Navy intelligence officer in Afghanistan helped shaped his views on American policy in the Middle East. ..he has criticized Trump for conducting foreign policy by tweet. Buttigieg supports pulling troops out of Afghanistan, but has criticized Trump’s plans to withdraw from Syria. He has also said Iran poses the greatest threat to Israel in the Middle East.
Health care:
Buttigieg says he’s “all for” a single-payer health care system. But he has said he wouldn’t immediately jump to single-payer from the current system. Instead, Buttigieg would first implement an all-payer rate setting — a system that would not eliminate private insurance companies.
Immigration:
Buttigieg supports.. DACA, and would like to see Congress pass a law creating a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. He also opposes the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policies..
He also vehemently opposes sending American troops to the southern border, calling the move “a waste of their time.” The South Bend mayor says American foreign policy dictates troops should only be deployed if all other modes of diplomacy fail, and the U.S. should return to that policy.
Social issues:
Buttigieg favors passing the Federal Equality Act, an amendment to existing civil rights legislation that would give federal non-discrimination protections to LBGTQ people. He opposes the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. He also supports gender reassignment surgery for transgender people in prison.”
Read more: www.pbs.org/…
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Rounding out this Roundup, a pronunciation guide for his last name:
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Lastly, and just because..
Mayor Pete Buttigieg performing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra!