Republicans have no shortage of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and hate to spread around. We see this come up especially often lately when it comes to pushing anti-trans bills that aim to discriminate against and isolate both youth and adults who seek gender-affirming health care, bathroom access, and the chance to participate in sports. We’re also seeing Republicans attack queer rights with Don’t Say Gay bills and book bans aimed at texts by and about LGBTQ+ people.
And, of course, conservatives have no problem bullying individual people, either. As Daily Kos has covered, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine has been attacked by Republicans in office because she is an openly trans woman in a position of power. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is also a fan favorite of conservatives who want to mock queer people.
But as Buttigieg made clear during his recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he’s more than happy to point out flaws in Republican logic. Sure, conservatives can try to distract their voters and get people mad for no reason, but when it comes to evaluating what Republicans offer for solutions, it’s easy to see there’s a whole lot of nothing. Let’s see how Buttigieg makes this case below.
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“Many congressional Republicans take stances that seem to be more about the problem than about the solution,” Buttigieg noted to Colbert on Monday as the pair discussed the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana’s history of providing care and funding to communities in need. Colbert joked with Buttigieg about the iconic photos of folks holding small checks for massive amounts of money, then smoothly transitioned into asking Buttigieg if he ever felt frustrated that conservatives who vote against his infrastructure bill later pat themselves on the back for getting (necessary) funds for their own districts later on.
“It is striking that people went to the floor of the House or Senate and said, ‘No, this infrastructure funding should not happen,’ and then they can’t wait to be there when that funding is coming to their district,” Buttigieg said, before adding that in his opinion, there’s “nothing better” than seeing a “skeptic” become a “convert.”
Buttigieg went on to say that even outside of politics, the people who live in these communities deserve this money for their quality of life. “People who live in those communities shouldn’t be punished because their senator or their house member said no to this funding,” he continued. “We’re gonna serve everybody equally.”
Colbert said he wasn’t surprised to hear that from Buttigieg, and frankly, neither was I. If only Republicans shared a shred of that sentiment, we might be in a very different place as a nation.
Buttigieg took the high road throughout the interview but wasn’t afraid to point out that Republicans offer more in terms of attacks than substantive solutions.
“Immigration, inflation, I mean of all the things that congressional Republicans have proposed,” Buttigieg pointed out. “Policy-wise, can anybody name the top five things that they’ve suggested to fight inflation? Can anyone name three? How about one?”
It’s a real stretch for Republicans to answer that question with specifics rooted in reality. Relatedly, it’s a great time to read The New York Times on actual experts sifting through the meager plans offered up by Republicans to help the economy in general.
Buttigieg also shared he would have “loved” to see a debate between Democrats and Republicans over different versions of the Inflation Reduction Act, but that ultimately only Democrats had one, and (as we know) it passed.
You can watch this clip from the show below.
The pair also discussed the importance of accepting election results, even if you or your candidate don’t win.
“One of the most important principles in democracy is that when you lose, you accept the outcome,” Buttigieg said, adding that he’s had to do that himself. “Winning is much more fun than losing,” he continued. “I’ve done both.”
He went on to clarify that the reason it’s so important to accept results, whether you win or lose, is because we “expect the same” from citizens when it comes to policy decisions.
“Part of what it means to live in a democracy is that we have this process for getting decisions that all of us have to live by,” he noted. “Those of us who agreed with the decision and those of us who were against it.”
“If we all have to live with the outcome of each of these policy choices,” he continued. “It’s only fair that the people who make them have to live with the outcome of when we choose which one of them is going to be in charge. That’s how the bargain works.”
Somewhere (perhaps on Truth Social?) Trump is likely to be having a meltdown about just this point, but wouldn’t it be amazing if it got through to him and his lackeys?
Today on The Brief, we speak with Way To Win’s co-founder and vice president, Jenifer Fernandez Ancona. Ancona comes in to discuss how grassroots progressive groups are spending money in the hopes of getting as many voters as possible out for the midterm elections. She also talks about which campaign advertisements are effective and which are not. One thing is for sure, though: We are living in historic times, and what that means for these midterms cannot be easily predicted—so Get Out The Vote!
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