It's a strange thing to watch people who you know well fall for media hype. I noticed that again this morning when I was told by a friend about the town hall on Fox News last night for Pete Buttigieg. I doubt many people watched, but my friend did and he is now very impressed with Mayor Pete as he is known. He told me a few reasons why.
1. First he told me that the audience looked like it was filled with mostly supporters of Buttigieg. Then he told me that at the end of the hour, many in the audience gave him a standing ovation and that "impressed" the host Chris Wallace. Why is it impressive that Buttigieg supporters gave him a standing ovation? Wouldn't it have been more surprising if they didn't? Also, that same audience applauded wildly when Buttigieg said that he supported abortion up until the moment of birth. It takes a special group of Americans who think abortion two days before the due date is something to applaud.
2. My friend also told me that he had heard that Buttigieg was re-elected for his second term as mayor with 80% of the vote. This showed that the people really liked Pete, or so my friend told me. I asked my friend if he knew how many people in South Bend, IN are Democrats and how many are Republicans? He didn't. When I told him that St. Joseph's county in which South Bend is located was one of only 4 counties in Indiana that chose Hillary over Trump, my friend was unfazed. When I told him that South Bend is the most Democrat section of St. Joseph's county, he still claimed to be unfazed. I asked my friend if he had any idea how many votes Buttigieg got in this big victory, has guessed at something like 80,000. When I told him that the actual number is more like 8,000, he was surprised. He told me that there were 120,000 people in South Bend, so \80% of the vote for mayor should be a much higher number. I told him that not only was South Bend very Demcrat, but few people voted in unimportant local elections.
3. My friend told me that Buttigieg had taken a leave of absence from his position as mayor to go to Afghanistan and that it was very impressive. I told him that Mayor Pete was in the Naval reserve and that he was called up to go to Afghanistan and had no choice in the matter. My friend told me that surely Buttigieg had a choice. I then had to explain to him what it meant to serve in the reserves. One has to be ready to go whenever one is called up. If Buttigieg hadn't gone, he could have been prosecuted for desertion.
4. My friend then told me that Buttigieg wanted to raise income taxes, impose a wealth tax and impose transaction taxes on people who buy or sell securities. When I asked my friend if he like those ideas, he said that he did not. I asked if there were any policy positions that came from Mayor Pete that he liked, and my friend couldn't think of one.
5. That led to my final question: why do you like Buttigieg? That took us back to the standing ovation, the big win for mayor (with the tiny vote) and his going to Afghanistan. Oh, and Chris Wallace said that there's substance to Mayor Pete's record. Also, Mayor Pete is well-spoken according to my friend. Of course, if you don't like what he says, why is it good that he says it well?
Just like Kamala Harris and Beto O'Rourke before him, Buttigieg is getting the media build up now. It's a sad thing that seemingly intelligent people like my friend fall for this stuff.
If you're interested in the presidential race, I suggest that you pick issues that are key for you. Learn what each candidate says about them. Use that to make your choice. Whoever wins in 2020 will be president for four years. It will affect the lives of millions of people. Don't get sucked in to make your choice based upon hype in the media.
1. First he told me that the audience looked like it was filled with mostly supporters of Buttigieg. Then he told me that at the end of the hour, many in the audience gave him a standing ovation and that "impressed" the host Chris Wallace. Why is it impressive that Buttigieg supporters gave him a standing ovation? Wouldn't it have been more surprising if they didn't? Also, that same audience applauded wildly when Buttigieg said that he supported abortion up until the moment of birth. It takes a special group of Americans who think abortion two days before the due date is something to applaud.
2. My friend also told me that he had heard that Buttigieg was re-elected for his second term as mayor with 80% of the vote. This showed that the people really liked Pete, or so my friend told me. I asked my friend if he knew how many people in South Bend, IN are Democrats and how many are Republicans? He didn't. When I told him that St. Joseph's county in which South Bend is located was one of only 4 counties in Indiana that chose Hillary over Trump, my friend was unfazed. When I told him that South Bend is the most Democrat section of St. Joseph's county, he still claimed to be unfazed. I asked my friend if he had any idea how many votes Buttigieg got in this big victory, has guessed at something like 80,000. When I told him that the actual number is more like 8,000, he was surprised. He told me that there were 120,000 people in South Bend, so \80% of the vote for mayor should be a much higher number. I told him that not only was South Bend very Demcrat, but few people voted in unimportant local elections.
3. My friend told me that Buttigieg had taken a leave of absence from his position as mayor to go to Afghanistan and that it was very impressive. I told him that Mayor Pete was in the Naval reserve and that he was called up to go to Afghanistan and had no choice in the matter. My friend told me that surely Buttigieg had a choice. I then had to explain to him what it meant to serve in the reserves. One has to be ready to go whenever one is called up. If Buttigieg hadn't gone, he could have been prosecuted for desertion.
4. My friend then told me that Buttigieg wanted to raise income taxes, impose a wealth tax and impose transaction taxes on people who buy or sell securities. When I asked my friend if he like those ideas, he said that he did not. I asked if there were any policy positions that came from Mayor Pete that he liked, and my friend couldn't think of one.
5. That led to my final question: why do you like Buttigieg? That took us back to the standing ovation, the big win for mayor (with the tiny vote) and his going to Afghanistan. Oh, and Chris Wallace said that there's substance to Mayor Pete's record. Also, Mayor Pete is well-spoken according to my friend. Of course, if you don't like what he says, why is it good that he says it well?
Just like Kamala Harris and Beto O'Rourke before him, Buttigieg is getting the media build up now. It's a sad thing that seemingly intelligent people like my friend fall for this stuff.
If you're interested in the presidential race, I suggest that you pick issues that are key for you. Learn what each candidate says about them. Use that to make your choice. Whoever wins in 2020 will be president for four years. It will affect the lives of millions of people. Don't get sucked in to make your choice based upon hype in the media.
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