The subtle misogyny of the Pete Buttigieg swoon
The young mayor of a small midwestern city is favored to win the Democratic nomination for President? Really?
Bill Kristol declared the Democratic race for President as between Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. At a Des Moines town hall, his campaign planned for 50 people to show up; 1600 did. According to a CNBC analysis, Buttitieg has become a top recipient of bundled contributions from Democratic campaign donors. It looks like this guy is for real.
According to the Las Vegas oddsmakers, the favorites to win the Democratic nomination for President are, in this order, Sanders, Harris, Buttitieg, Biden, O’Rourke and Yang. Note that only one of these candidates is a woman, Kamala Harris.
To me, this is unbelievable considering the amazingly impressive group of female candidates participating in this race. Consider the fact that you have four women who represent major states in the U.S. Senate running, only one of whom is considered viable, according to the oddsmakers.
Elizabeth Warren is a former professor of Harvard Law School who is widely acknowledged as an expert on wealth inequality. She has aggressively focused on policy, and she perfectly represents the views of most Democratic activists. We say we want candidates who focus on the issues, but yet she does not appear among the top six candidates.
Kirsten Gillibrand represents Hillary Clinton’s old seat in the U.S. Senate. She is a former member of Congress who represented a Republican district, and she has an impressive legal resume. But yet she does not appear among the top six candidates.
Amy Klobuchar is a Senator from Minnesota who, prior to her election, was named Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer magazine. Neither she nor Tulsi Gabbard, a Congresswoman from Hawaii who was among the few establishment figures to support Bernie Sanders in 2016, are viewed as viable candidates.
Contrast this impressive list with those who are favored. You have Bernie Sanders, a 77-year old Socialist from Vermont who isn’t even a Democrat. You have Joe Biden, who has repeatedly lost in multiple prior Presidential races, and whose campaign this year has been a fiasco before…
