Mayor Pete's Wild Ride

Sun turnin' 'round with graceful motion
We're setting off with soft explosion
Bound for a star with fiery oceans
It's so very lonely, you're a hundred light years from home

~~ "2000 Light Years From Home" by The Rolling Stones

Pete's Rules of the Road

Not quite a year ago, I waited in line on a cold, rainy April day. A bunch of us were waiting together and despite the weather, the mood was happy and excited. An occasional person came by to pass out stickers and buttons. When the doors finally opened and we got into the venue, it wasn't much warmer, but at least we were out of the wind and rain. 

We were in a large space in one of the old Studebaker buildings. Part of the building had been renovated but not this area. Rusty beams traversed the high ceiling and water ran down some of the walls. As the song says, "We're packed pretty tight in here tonight," so it wasn't freezing cold. But it was damp and chilly and we had a while to wait. 

A large American flag was draped on one of the side walls. A stage and podium surrounded by risers stood and waited for occupants. The backdrop of the stage was a large banner stating "Pete 2020." We were there to see our two-term Mayor make a big announcement and it was no big secret what it was: our Mayor Pete was running for President. We waited through a few speakers and then it was time to hear from Pete. 

Even though we knew what was coming, when he said the words it made me cry: 

"My name is Pete Buttigieg. They call me Mayor Pete. I'm a proud son of South Bend. And I am running for President of the United States." 

In the subsequent months, I watched as people got to know the person I'd come to love and respect as my Mayor. His intelligence, his eloquence, his empathy, his pragmatism, his ability to throw shade when it needed to be thrown. Town halls, debates, media appearances every time you turned around (thanks to Lis Smith, his brilliant Communications Director), a whirlwind of events as he tried to talk to as many people as possible. In that entire time, I never saw him get rattled or flustered or lose control. As a Navy intelligence officer, I think it can definitely be said that he has an even keel. 

We saw him win—by the narrowest of margins, but a win nonetheless—Iowa and place a close second in New Hampshire. Then came Nevada and South Carolina, states where he didn't do as well. 

Last night, Mayor Pete's Wild Ride came to an end right where it started, here in South Bend. He and his campaign looked at the math and concluded that it just didn't add up to stay in. So right before Super Tuesday, he ended his campaign. If I had to speculate, I would guess that it was a combination of three things. 

1. He saw the fractured field and for the good of the party, he dropped out in order for his supporters to coalesce around one of the other moderate candidates. 

2. There were some dealings made between either another campaign or the DNC. 

3. His campaign was running out of money. Pete and Chasten are middle-class Midwesterners and far from millionaires, let alone billionaires. No self-funding there. 

So we are at the end of this run. However, this is actually the start of a new chapter for our Mayor Pete. As one website put it, "This is what a rising star looks like." I don't know what is in store for him in the future, but I know that he and Chasten had better put on their shades because I do know that it's a bright one. As the song above says, "Bound for a star with fiery oceans." 

While I'm sad, and I was practically in mourning last night, I know this isn't the end for Pete. He's got a lot left to do for this country and I know he will serve his country well. He will answer the call when it is made. 

Please allow me a moment of reflection. The graphic up at the top is Pete's "Rules of the Road." That's what his campaign workers and supporters signed up for. Pete's current campaign might be over, but those Rules are going to stay with me. We simply must remember the main goal for this 2020 election: make this current "president" a one-termer. Do not get lost in the weeds. It is possible to stay passionate without trashing other candidates. I struggle with that at times, but I try my best not to say it publicly! We can do this. We need to do this. Think of American livers everywhere. Please save our livers! 

I hope I get to see Pete downtown once in a while this summer. I hope I get to thank him. I'm a proud daughter of South Bend, and Pete...you made us all proud. 

Let's talk about Pete, baby

Baby, can you dig your man?
He's a righteous man

~~ Larry Underwood in The Stand

There's a lot going on in our little corner of the universe, and I'll talk about that eventually. But right now, I want to talk (again) about Mayor Pete Buttigieg. 

I've written about him before (here and here), but it's been a while. The last time I wrote about him was when he had formed an exploratory committee about running for president. My goodness, things have certainly changed since then! 

I have always felt that as soon as people started hearing him speak and hearing what he had to say, they would like him. That is exactly what has happened. He has a calming presence that is so needed to counter the current occupant of the White House, and I think that is resonating with people. It is no surprise to me that the people in Iowa are really starting to dig our man. I have always considered myself a "pragmatic progressive," or you could also go with "progressive pragmatist." It's a midwestern thing. We see the ideal goals but we know that people are resistant to seismic changes, and sometimes the best way to get shit done is to nudge people along rather than push them off the cliff. 

We saw it with the Affordable Care Act. Would a public option have been ideal? Yes. But we couldn't get it done. Ten years later, the ACA is still the law, and premiums are starting to go down. Most importantly, people have finally come to the realization that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. And want to keep the ACA, despite the continued efforts of the Republicans to gut the law or negate it entirely. Good luck with that! A public option (Medicare For All Who Want It) is exactly what Pete is proposing and it seems to be a reasonable way to get us to Medicare For All. 

Anyway, I am a product of my midwestern upbringing, and so is Mayor Pete. That's why he appealed to me from the beginning, and I believe that is why he is appealing to so many across the country. It's not just the pragmatic part, either. There is a positivity to him that is also needed to counteract against the extreme negativity of the current resident. I feel it in my bones that people need that and need to feel a sense of optimism and inclusion rather than being scared to death of the entire world, including anyone who is a little different from them. 

And how refreshing is it to hear someone who can put together a logical, intelligent sentence? I never realized how much I craved lucidity until I had to hear Individual-1 speak. Good grief, is it too much to ask to have the leader of the free world NOT sound like a moron? We need to raise that bar again.

So here we are, about 100 days out from the Iowa caucus. I was pretty thrilled several months ago when Pete polled at 11% in an Iowa poll. Now it is looking very possible that he could actually—dare I say it?—WIN IOWA. This is astounding, exciting, and almost overwhelming. I am just so thrilled that others are hearing his message and are feeling the same inspiration that it has been my pleasure to feel for the past eight years. 

I don't know what will happen. But I am definitely feeling a sense of hope and change that I haven't felt for a while. Like for about 11 years.