brephophagist wrote:Clyde wrote:Serious question, no sarcasm intended: what is his platform? Why are people excited about him? I can't find a lot.+1 on that.+1.Also tiring that the media is going nuts that he's so smart, meanwhile Elizabeth Warren who is also smart and has a solid platform and publishes policies, is not seen as such.

He's running as one. Registered as one. Mayor of one of the most conservative pockets in the Midwest, so there will be concessions. I've gleaned that as well, Warmowski--seems to be incredibly consistent in his platform. Gonna donate to his campaign next week.

eliya wrote:brephophagist wrote:Clyde wrote:Serious question, no sarcasm intended: what is his platform? Why are people excited about him? I can't find a lot.+1 on that.+1.Also tiring that the media is going nuts that he's so smart, meanwhile Elizabeth Warren who is also smart and has a solid platform and publishes policies, is not seen as such.According to Current Affairs he s kind of a bullshitter and hasn t decided yet:VICE: I listened to you talk today. On the one hand, you definitely speak very progressively. But you don t have a lot of super-specific policy ideas.BUTTIGIEG: Part of where the left and the center-left have gone wrong is that we ve been so policy-led that we haven t been as philosophical. We like to think of ourselves as the intellectual ones. But the truth is that the right has done a better job, in my lifetime, of connecting up its philosophy and its values to its politics. Right now I think we need to articulate the values, lay out our philosophical commitments and then develop policies off of that. And I m working very hard not to put the cart before the horse.VICE: Is there time for that? They want the list. They want to know exactly what you re going to do.BUTTIGIEG: I think it can actually be a little bit dishonest to think you have it all figured out on day 1. I think anybody in this race is going to be a lot more specific or policy-oriented than the current president. But I don t think we ought to have that all locked in on day 1.

So what is the message? His website doesnt say anything.

Back in small times, Mayor Pete was right about Bernie:Above all, I commend Bernie Sanders for giving me an answer to those who say American young people see politics as a cesspool of corruption, beyond redemption. I have heard that no sensible young person today would want to give his or her life to public service. I can personally assure you this is untrue.Buttigieg's governed from the same spot on the ideological spectrum that he's running on now, which is way more than can be said for Harris, Booker and Texas Bob. I don't think he's a shitball centrist effectively pouring gasoline onto the right-wing inferno with lame triangulation. Are we absolutely sure he's a Democrat? -r

Beto and Biden's campaigns will crash and burn due to their own incompetence. I don't see Buttedge's ending that way. I still can't get past him referring to labor activists peacefully protesting for living wages for Harvard's janitors and cafeteria workers as "social justice warriors". Great, another succdem, concocted in a lab by neoliberal elites. Also, Zuckerkorn wasn't at Harvard yet in 2001.

Sorry, away from my computer for the weekend. I like that he's a military dude fully in support of pulling out completely from Afghanistan, and by extension won't engage in hawk behavior. He's talked about this gun turn in system (or something like that) for automatic weapons/illegal firearms. No way he can go full Anti-2nd Amendment (Indiana, or should I say, THE USA), but it's a small gesture. As any rational-thinking person should, single-payer is something he's discussed, and don't quote me, but I think he wants that kinda mid-system as an interlocutor. Like a process working UP to single-payer. That makes sense to me. A dramatic gear-shift could backfire. I honestly wish he was more open on income inequality, the opiod epidemic, and I haven't heard him say anything at all about Palestine/Israel. He's got some juice. I like him.Elizabeth Warren seems to have had a course correction from that dumb gaff last year (stupid publicity stunt, it set her back in my mind). I think they'd make a great team.

I have a real personal connection to the whole from-a-dying-industrial-town-of-roughly-100,000-people-in-the-upper-midwest-that-also-has-a-major-university thing, but so far I don't know what he stands for. Withholding my vote until I can see any substance.