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Pete Buttigieg You are in the Buttigieg 2020 Group. Only members who have selected Pete Buttigieg as their preferred Democratic presidential candidate are permitted to post in this Group.

Celerity

(46,212 posts)
Tue May 14, 2019, 09:19 AM May 2019

The 800 pound gorilla in the room: I am so disappointed with the rampant homophobia of my fellow PoC

I had hoped Pete could start to make inroads but this looks like a death knell for him.

Buttigieg is polling 2nd or 3rd (in one national poll on MSNBC this morning he was only trailing Biden 32% to 28%) amongst white Democratic voters, but he is just getting crushed with PoC, especially amongst black Americans. 3%, 2% even ZERO percent (South Carolina) in multiple polls I have been digging through. There is almost no other explanation other than the correlation between his sexual identity and their lack of almost any support. Not when the spread is this vast on a racial support basis and seeing some of others who are polling above him with PoC.

As a lesbian who is also half West Indian (Westies can be amongst the most virulently LGBTQ-hating of all people of colour) I have seen this in my own life at times (although I am not a typical PoC by any means), and I brushed off (to a point) many Biden people who claimed Pete can never win a Dem nomination because of the incredible power anti-gay African-Americans have in the primary process, but so far, depressingly, it appears they were completely right and I massively overestimated the progress we have made.

Pete Buttigieg polling at 0% among black voters in South Carolina

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/pete-buttigieg-black-voters-south-carolina.html


I do not see how he can overcome this, short of some lightning strike during the first round of debates (and I cannot come up with a good example of that). This apparent toxic outcome also really hurts his chances to be picked as VP, for fear (from the nominee) of alienating the base. I also have to add I am shocked at the level of A-A support for Biden, who has a really, really bad record on issues affecting us PoC (be it a historic opposition to school integration/bussing, from horrific crime bills and drug wars where he was a leader of both, to a series of horrid financial bills that have knee-capped millions of all races/ethnicities, etc etc, over the 35 years before he became Obama's VP). I guess his ties to Obama are strong enough to not only overcome all that, but supercharge his support with A-A's. I am far too critical a thinker to fall for that.

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The 800 pound gorilla in the room: I am so disappointed with the rampant homophobia of my fellow PoC (Original Post) Celerity May 2019 OP
This is such discouraging news. CaliforniaPeggy May 2019 #1
I would not count out Pete yet on AA supporters leftofcool May 2019 #2
I think that they will ultimately respond to his strong moral core. MBS May 2019 #4
oh, the only way I will vote for Joe is in the general, he is far down my list Celerity May 2019 #5
This is very disappointing DavidDvorkin May 2019 #3
I am so not giving up, either in money donations or in effort, just felt need to vent Celerity May 2019 #6
So What We Are Seeing Is That The Oppressed Are Also Mucho Oppressive! DoctorJoJo May 2019 #7
oppression comes in many flavours, forms, and at different power levels, unfortunately Celerity May 2019 #8
I'm a South Bend Native--Still Have Relatives There. Pete Got Near 80% Vote There and ... DoctorJoJo May 2019 #9
I so hope so! Celerity May 2019 #10
So it all comes down to marlakay May 2019 #11
Exactly. CaliforniaPeggy May 2019 #12
I'm afraid you are right. :( patricia92243 May 2019 #13

CaliforniaPeggy

(152,103 posts)
1. This is such discouraging news.
Tue May 14, 2019, 10:22 AM
May 2019

But Mayor Pete is always an optimist, a man who keeps going, keeps trying to get black voters to see who he really is, and what he stands for.

Still, this saddens me.

leftofcool

(19,460 posts)
2. I would not count out Pete yet on AA supporters
Tue May 14, 2019, 10:45 AM
May 2019

The truth about "other candidates" will soon come out and support will level off for them. Pete may not have the support of rank and file AA voters but don't forget there are millions of high school Seniors voting this year and they will flock to him no matter what color they are. It is way too early in the game to pick a winner. Don't let anyone shove Biden down your throat.

MBS

(9,688 posts)
4. I think that they will ultimately respond to his strong moral core.
Tue May 14, 2019, 11:44 AM
May 2019

They just need to know him more.
Whatever the effect of homophobia on voter preferences, Mayor Pete shares with many members of the A-A community:
- a strong Christian faith and, especially, commitment to the social lessons dictated by that faith
- experience dealing with thugs and bullies, and, yes, prejudice (though I imagine that Pete would be the first to emphasize that his experiences were different, and in most ways less difficult, than those of the A-A community
-importance of family
-importance of decency

Still early days, folks. First debate is still 6 weeks away, and first caucus/primary is ~8 months away.

Celerity

(46,212 posts)
5. oh, the only way I will vote for Joe is in the general, he is far down my list
Tue May 14, 2019, 11:49 AM
May 2019

1 Buttigieg
2 Abrams (if she runs)
3 Warren
4 Harris (I know some disagree with me here, but I just get this feeling that she would be outstanding, she has that attitude to run the road, lolol)
5 Inslee (I am 23, global warming is going to fuck my gens (I am borderline Millennial/Gen Z) up!)

my final choice will deffo be one of those 5

6 Beto
7 Booker

big fall off for me

8 Swalwell (has moved up for me, very intelligent)
9 Castro
10 Gillibrand (I am NOT a fan of those who bash her about Franken, they are playing fantasy revisionism, (see my numerous posts on this gas-lighting), plus she is only Senator to vote against every single Trump nominee, and she has the lowest Trump score in the Senate)
11 Bullock
12 Bennet
13 Biden

no one below has any chance

14 Klobuchar (as a running mate, the female Tim Kaine, would be a bad, bad choice for VP for Joe, as would Ryan, they will cause a large LW haemorrhage, and maybe even hurt with A-A, those two options are the fetish of the 'Biden and Biden alone can win and the only way to win is to get the Midwest lunch-buckets back' crowd)
15 Moulton
16 Ryan
17 Tulsi (only this high because of her foreign policy, I am a big non-interventionist unless truly necessary)
18 Sanders (his supporters were delusional that he could simply reclaim his 41% from 2016, gain 10% more and grab the nom, just delusional, he needs to drop out after Super Tuesday, I will be surprised if he wins more than 1 primary, and he will do tremendosu damage running all the way to the convention)
19 Hickenlooper (pro fracking and a red-baiter, but still would take him over all those below)
20 Messam

and the nevers (unless they win the nom, and that is so not happening)

21 De Blasio (if he runs, he is a shit mayor per my sister and brother, both who have lived in NYC under him in the past)
22 Delaney (too centre-right)
23 Yang (UBI is a scam to cut the welfare state)
24 Williamson (don't do spiritual woo)
25 Gravel (bottom because he would be 98 at the end of 2 terms, plus he was an asshole about Pete)

Celerity

(46,212 posts)
8. oppression comes in many flavours, forms, and at different power levels, unfortunately
Tue May 14, 2019, 12:12 PM
May 2019

I really do not have a holistic answer on how to deal with homophobia in the A-A community (and other non-American communities of colour), other than to try and live my life as an example of enlightenment and pluralistic empowerment. I do, of course, have hope it is on a positive trajectory of change, it just seems glacial in pace at times. Lack of support for Pete is also hardly the be-all and end-all of the systemic issues there, I am hardly that myopic in vision.

 

DoctorJoJo

(1,134 posts)
9. I'm a South Bend Native--Still Have Relatives There. Pete Got Near 80% Vote There and ...
Tue May 14, 2019, 02:03 PM
May 2019

... with a large AA populace. So maybe it is not hopeless with more exposure.

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