Why Pete Buttigieg isn't the 'Liberal Elite' Enemy | TaraElla Report Radio

Welcome to TaraElla Report Radio, the podcast style compliment program to the TaraElla Report, where we revisit and Rethink the fundamental Classical Liberal ideals and values for the 21st century. Our aim is to reboot classical liberalism by looking for new and interesting ideas, and evaluating these ideas through the lens of free speech, individual liberty and equal opportunity. On different days, we will be looking at issues around civilizational values, economic policy, culture, and more.

Today, I'm going to talk about 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. And yes, this is one of those special episodes of the podcast where you can actually see me talking. From what I see, Mayor Pete has become deeply unpopular in some circles, where he is called names like 'Sneaky Pete', or the gay version of Hillary 2016. I am even getting new dislikes on my old Buttigieg videos. From what I understand, there are several reasons for his new-found unpopularity. Firstly, he has received a lot of mainstream media attention, which many fans of Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang find unfair, because these candidates with clearer policy platforms have received almost no attention. Being a fan of both Gabbard and Yang myself, I totally get this sentiment. Secondly, there's a suspicion that he is only getting this attention because he is gay, which feeds into the general rising resentment against identity politics everywhere. A related issue is the amount of funding he has received from pro-gay elites. Thirdly, his very elite background has become very well-known, and this is, understandably, a point of worry for many people who fear that he would become an out-of-touch President should he get elected.

I will now address these issues one-by-one, and I will show you why I don't think we should see Pete Buttigieg as an elitist enemy of the common people. Firstly, if the media is giving attention to Pete Buttigieg but not Andrew Yang or Tulsi Gabbard, it is the media's own choice, and there is no evidence that Buttigieg himself condones this unfair treatment. I mean, if you were in his shoes, you can't afford to boycott mainstream media just because they are unfair to other candidates, right? Some of you may say that this media attention demonstrates that Buttigieg is now the establishment pick, and should hence be opposed by all anti-establishment candidate supporters. But my experience tells me that the establishment, who always like to play it safe, is highly unlikely to pick somebody who is both gay and 37 years old. The other thing is that Buttigieg didn't get much attention until a sudden surge in March, unlike for example Kamala Harris, who received a lot of attention from the day of her announcement. This also supports the idea that he is not the establishment choice. In other words, it is possible that the establishment is using Buttigieg to their own ends, perhaps to influence the relative popularity of other candidates. If this is true, the media attention could be seen as a windfall for Buttigieg, but then this would only be a side-effect of being used to fulfill other plans that don't involve him actually getting the nomination. I think we all need to be smarter with how mainstream media actually tries to manipulate opinion.

Secondly, to his credit, Buttigieg has not played the identity politics card, unlike some of the other 2020 candidates. He has not made a big deal about being gay, and he is also opposed to the whole boycott Chick-Fil-A thing. He even spoke negatively of identity politics in front of an LGBT audience! The fact that others make a big deal about him being gay isn't his fault. The fact that pro-gay elite donors have donated to his campaign also isn't his fault. While I think it is a very bad idea to support Buttigieg simply because he is gay, if some people choose to do that, it is not his fault either. I mean, some people supported Obama simply because he was black, but nobody blames him for that, and nobody should. It is clear to me that Mayor Pete is not actively courting the gay-identity vote, and this is all that matters for me. Another thing is, Buttigieg actually has a much needed moderating influence on the social justice activist crowd, with his comments from the Chick-Fil-A situation to the need to bring people together. This is perhaps the main reason why I sometimes promote Buttigieg, even though I actually like Yang and Gabbard more.

Finally, the elite background thing, you know, going to Harvard, working in a very well-paid job as a young man, and so on, this is a real concern. But then, it's not like most other candidates don't have a similarly posh background. Tulsi Gabbard comes from a political family, which is arguably the biggest head start you can get in politics. Andrew Yang's parents are very well educated. The sad truth is, no average person can become President in this day and age, and it's something we have to just accept, at least for the time being.

That's all for today. I'll be back next time to discuss another big idea. Subscribe if you want to follow our story. The transcripts are available on my website, and my Medium profile. And remember to resist the hive mind and stay individualistic. The world depends on it.