Enlight21

Author: | Category: Democrats | Date: 11-29-2019

2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, the eloquent 37 year old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has taken the wealthy white liberal class by storm.  In fact, he is so popular among the latter that he outraised all other candidates for the 2nd quarter 2019, taking in a whopping $24 million.  

However, there are storms on the horizon.  Some pundits aver that the reason  his recent poll numbers have stalled in the mid-single digits (around 5%) is that people have doubts about his ability to handle race problems and crime/policing issues.  His deficiencies in this area were on full display when South Bend police shot a black man in June (2019) which gave rise to protests.  To his credit, he left the campaign trail and went back to South Bend to face the heat.

But this incident has led to a closer look at Mayor Pete’s governing history in South Bend.  During his first term (2012 to 2016) South Bend crime rates were relatively stable, but from the start of his second term, crime rates increased sharply.  Some say the increase was due to a different method of calculating crime statistics.  
Regardless, Mayor Pete has other problematic incidents on his record—such as a number of what some see as questionable personnel moves, including the demotion of the city’s first black police chief, Darryl Boykins, during his first months as mayor.  

Apparently, these problems have been enough to sow distrust and doubt among votes, especially black voters (in a recent Fox News Poll, he received less than 1 % among black primary voters).

Despite these recent revelations and problems, no one should count him out, especially in the long run.  He’s smart, articulate, has integrity, knows how to appeal to big donors, and his left-of-center moderate views provide him with enough lasting appeal that if he persists, he may just find himself in the White House if not in 2021, then later.  Unlike virtually all the other candidates, he has time, lots of time—maybe even 40 years as he will be just around Joe Biden’s and Bernie’s age in 4 decades.  He can use the time too—as it looks like he has a lot to learn. (more)

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