"I See Mayor Pete" : The Deleted Scenes
I became a huge fan of Pete Buttigieg this past week, but there’s a long way to go.
Let’s not pretend that we are even close to the end. I was all over Western Iowa this weekend and saw not one yard sign or bumper sticker.
Pete will have a hard time, though, perhaps ironically from the Left more than the Right. He’s no Bernie but worse, in a week with no major news, local Liberal light Rekha Basu outlined his lack of progressive ideas for Des Moines readers, and I suspect she didn’t even read the interview where he says he thinks those Chic Fil-A sandwiches are delicious. He will be attached by MAGArs and he will soon be in a race that now includes yet another veteran (Seth Moulton), yet another hard working mayor (Wayne Messam) and worse of all for him, Joe Biden.
As I thought of something to say while I waited in line to shake hands, I decided to share that I had shaken hands with Clinton in 92 and Obama in 08, which I think Pete really liked. I was impressed that he spent a few seconds with everyone as opposed to rushing through the crowd. (I left out that I also shook hands with Dodd in 08 and Pawlenty in 12. Hey, it's not like I’m100% guaranteed).
I used my time waiting for Pete to gauge those Dems around me who showed up early for a good spot. I will share those thought now.
Cory Booker - if Booker isn’t quite considered a front runner now, he certainly should be. “Dynamic”. His name comes up numerous times without prompting. Any discussion at this point on serious contenders must include Booker,
Elizabeth Warren- “Dynamic” is something I hear about Warren, too, but it’s said so matter of fact that it seems dismissive. Still, those conversations aside, she's got buzz on social media and with longtime Dems I talked to so I can’t quite get a feel on how large her support is, but there’s enough chatter, that she has to be considered a front runner.
Kirsten Gillibrand- The Senator from New York had some buzz despite the National media raining on her campaign. It looks like we may have a future star on our hands. “Very impressed” was what I heard from someone who said they “didn’t expect to like her”. The guy with the most colorful shirt had the most colorless personality but I get from him that Kirsten handed out the popularly local Raygun shirts made exclusively to say GilIbrAnd. Keep an eye on her.
Kamala Harris- Given the numbers, I expected Warren/Booker style buzz, but met with mostly silence. I have been told her visit was well attended but the crowd was lukewarm.
Beto O’Rourke- “Said all of the right things, but not impressed” would be how I would sum up the very definite response I got when I asked if anyone had seen Beto. It seems to coincide with what I have seen on social media that his message is quite lightweight.
Marianne Williamson- “I’ve seen her. Who hasn’t?” I am greeted with a laugh when I bring up the longshot who seemingly is having an Iowa House Party every weekend. She continues with how incredible Marianne with while telling me she is not someone she’d consider. “Maybe we should take a break from non-politicians in the White House for awhile?”, I comment helpfully
Julian Castro- I always suspected Castro was going to bust through, but maybe the answer is here. “I signed up to go but the event was canceled (assuming winter weather related).” I have seen some social media activity around Castro but it doesn’t seem to be much worth mentioning.
Bernie Sanders- I was shocked to hear nary a mention of Sanders. 538 just wrote an article on this but they came to the same conclusion I came to last week. Democrats who engage in this stuff have little interest in Sanders. Democrats tend to like fresh faces and Sanders seemingly has seen his day passed (not that he hasn’t been on Fox News making overtures to those on the Right).
Sanders is seen as a favorite since he is polling 20 percent and the remaining four-fifths is split over more than a dozen candidates. If people drop, I suspect Sanders group is very dedicated, but I don’t think his number goes up. As he might be considered the polar opposite of Trump, the support of his fans is almost a mirror image.
The above was based on my personal experience and may or may not reflect actual reality. That said, I probably did more talking than media members onsite, so I am probably not wrong either.
Let’s not pretend that we are even close to the end. I was all over Western Iowa this weekend and saw not one yard sign or bumper sticker.
Pete will have a hard time, though, perhaps ironically from the Left more than the Right. He’s no Bernie but worse, in a week with no major news, local Liberal light Rekha Basu outlined his lack of progressive ideas for Des Moines readers, and I suspect she didn’t even read the interview where he says he thinks those Chic Fil-A sandwiches are delicious. He will be attached by MAGArs and he will soon be in a race that now includes yet another veteran (Seth Moulton), yet another hard working mayor (Wayne Messam) and worse of all for him, Joe Biden.
As I thought of something to say while I waited in line to shake hands, I decided to share that I had shaken hands with Clinton in 92 and Obama in 08, which I think Pete really liked. I was impressed that he spent a few seconds with everyone as opposed to rushing through the crowd. (I left out that I also shook hands with Dodd in 08 and Pawlenty in 12. Hey, it's not like I’m100% guaranteed).
I used my time waiting for Pete to gauge those Dems around me who showed up early for a good spot. I will share those thought now.
Cory Booker - if Booker isn’t quite considered a front runner now, he certainly should be. “Dynamic”. His name comes up numerous times without prompting. Any discussion at this point on serious contenders must include Booker,
Elizabeth Warren- “Dynamic” is something I hear about Warren, too, but it’s said so matter of fact that it seems dismissive. Still, those conversations aside, she's got buzz on social media and with longtime Dems I talked to so I can’t quite get a feel on how large her support is, but there’s enough chatter, that she has to be considered a front runner.
Kirsten Gillibrand- The Senator from New York had some buzz despite the National media raining on her campaign. It looks like we may have a future star on our hands. “Very impressed” was what I heard from someone who said they “didn’t expect to like her”. The guy with the most colorful shirt had the most colorless personality but I get from him that Kirsten handed out the popularly local Raygun shirts made exclusively to say GilIbrAnd. Keep an eye on her.
Kamala Harris- Given the numbers, I expected Warren/Booker style buzz, but met with mostly silence. I have been told her visit was well attended but the crowd was lukewarm.
Beto O’Rourke- “Said all of the right things, but not impressed” would be how I would sum up the very definite response I got when I asked if anyone had seen Beto. It seems to coincide with what I have seen on social media that his message is quite lightweight.
Marianne Williamson- “I’ve seen her. Who hasn’t?” I am greeted with a laugh when I bring up the longshot who seemingly is having an Iowa House Party every weekend. She continues with how incredible Marianne with while telling me she is not someone she’d consider. “Maybe we should take a break from non-politicians in the White House for awhile?”, I comment helpfully
Julian Castro- I always suspected Castro was going to bust through, but maybe the answer is here. “I signed up to go but the event was canceled (assuming winter weather related).” I have seen some social media activity around Castro but it doesn’t seem to be much worth mentioning.
Bernie Sanders- I was shocked to hear nary a mention of Sanders. 538 just wrote an article on this but they came to the same conclusion I came to last week. Democrats who engage in this stuff have little interest in Sanders. Democrats tend to like fresh faces and Sanders seemingly has seen his day passed (not that he hasn’t been on Fox News making overtures to those on the Right).
Sanders is seen as a favorite since he is polling 20 percent and the remaining four-fifths is split over more than a dozen candidates. If people drop, I suspect Sanders group is very dedicated, but I don’t think his number goes up. As he might be considered the polar opposite of Trump, the support of his fans is almost a mirror image.
The above was based on my personal experience and may or may not reflect actual reality. That said, I probably did more talking than media members onsite, so I am probably not wrong either.
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