Mayor Pete Buttigieg Outlines Why He Would Be The Best Choice For President

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg is running for the Democratic nomination for President. He was in Oskaloosa on August 15, 2019 visiting with voters.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Pete Buttigieg is currently the mayor of South Bend, Indiana and he’s hopeful he can move from city hall to the White House after November 2020.

Buttigieg is polling middle of the Democratic pack with a 5.2 poll average, while Biden leads the field with a 30.5 poll average according to Real Clear Politics.

Buttigieg jogged onto the stage at Smokey Row Coffee in downtown Oskaloosa. The famed coffee house was filled to capacity as many Democrats came to see what they consider to be a rising star in the making for their party.

“I thank you for taking time enough to care about where our country is headed at a moment, so pivotal, that I think even now, we may not be aware of just how much is on the line. This is not just about making sure that we get a better president, and Lord knows we need a better president,” said Buttigieg in his opening comments.

“This is not speaking to the conditions that have been holding our country back for as long as I’ve been alive,” Buttigieg continued. “Because I think some of those issues that we’ve been living with, accepting the unacceptable for far too long, are actually part of how we got the President we’re living with right now. You don’t even get a guy like this anywhere near the Oval Office, not even within cheating distance unless there’s some things that are already going wrong in this country.”

“I believe that if we really want to live free and productive lives, we got to be able to make enough, earn enough to live on with any job. Even an entry-level job, at the very least, if you’re working full time and you’re good at it, you should not be living in poverty. It’s one of the reasons why I believe a very important American freedom is the freedom to organize for a good day’s pay for a good day’s work.”

“I’m concerned about the backslide on basic freedoms in our most intimate areas of life,” Buttigieg said. “Like making sure that women’s reproductive freedom is not being dictated by male politicians.

“I believe that you ought to be free to choose your own spouse without a county clerk doing it for you, based on their version of their religion.”

If you “really want to be free in our time, we got to help one another, lift up our lives, lift up our communities. Build the kinds of lives that we seek to live in the American dream. That means making sure everybody has access to education, which is why I will appoint a secretary of education, who actually believes in public education for everyone.”

“The Values that bring us together as Americans need to be seen in a new light in the 21st century. Especially when it comes to what it takes to keep this country safe. There’s a lot more to national security than just hugging the American flag, we’ve got to whonor what the American flag actually stands for. One of the things the American flag stands for is the idea that if our elected leaders do wrong, we are free to criticize them without ever finding that we’re being questioned in our loyalty to the republic for which it stands, let alone being told to go back from where we came from,” Buttigieg continued.

“In the 21st century, keeping America safe means being ahead of threats that didn’t exist before. Cybersecurity threats. Election interference from abroad. We’re not going to be able to deal with those 21st-century threats by relying on a 17th-century security solution, like putting up a wall. It’s going to take more of than that.

“To confront domestic terrorists, especially white nationalist violence that is spreading across the land. And we have to make sure that we never allow the second amendment to be twisted into an obstacle against common-sense gun safety, like background checks.”

“If you really mean business about security, we got to face up to the fact that climate disruption is one of the biggest security challenges in our time and act accordingly.”

“These values should bring us together, not be used to drive us apart. Whether it’s freedom, whether it’s patriotism, whether it’s service. Which is why I believe that we ought to have national service available for every American who wants to. Up to a million civilians service opportunities across the land, working on everything from climate projects to serving seniors, to community health issues. It will help bring us together.”

“I believe in fairness as a basic American value, which is why there ought to be fair wages for everybody and $15 an hour ought to be the beginning, not the end of the conversation.”

“We have seen some of the same conversations going on in this country for as long as I have been alive, but not nearly enough has actually changed. It’s why we need action, not just words. We have an action plan to counter violent extremism and domestic terrorism in this country. We have an action plan to make sure that when the rising tide rises in the American economy, that it really does lift all boats, it really does make us better off in our community. We got a plan to make sure that we have racial equity in our time because your race should have no bearing on your health, or your wealth or your relationship with law enforcement.”

“We got an action plan to lift up rural communities across the country. We need to reverse the decline in healthcare providers and the closure of rural hospitals so that life expectancy is the same no matter where you live in this country.”

“We need a federal government that will support local innovation and regional cooperation when counties and towns are ready to partner up with their neighbors and use technology in order to create new jobs. We got to support that, we will under my administration. We’ll also make it easier for those little local communities to access federal resources.”

“We’re going to encourage communities that welcome immigration as a way to grow population,” said Buttigieg. “As part of how my city is growing and is part of how our communities can grow. We need to not only grow jobs, we got to grow population. And there are ways to do it that will make us all better off.”

“Now, when I talk to Democrats around the state, around the country, what I find is that they’d be happy with pretty much any of us, as long as we could beat this President. I mean, a lot of folks would vote for a ham sandwich, if it could beat this President,” Buttigieg said of President Trump. “I am though, worried that we might make a mistake in this party. And the mistake would be to try too hard to play it safe.”

“The problem with playing it safe is we need to inspire people too. We can’t look like our message is to just kind of turn back the clock and go back to normal. We are where we are because normal didn’t work.”

“In our part of the country normal has failed us for far too long. There’s no going back to normal. There’s no again. It’s about making sure the future is better than the past and representing something that’s going to be new and different. That’s what this campaign is about. Motivated by our values, but committed to real and serious action.”

An audience member asked Buttigieg how he would go toe to toe with President Trump to “combat rhetoric.”

“So the good news is you can tell the President hasn’t quite figured out what to do with me, because he thinks of a new kind of new attack every time he brings me up. Sooner or later, he’ll come up with more. I’m not that worried about him. In fact, I’m looking forward to the chance to show Americans a contrast. A different, obviously a different style, different approach. Also, we made some different choices in life. I think Americans ought to have the opportunity to see the President stand next to a war veteran and explain how he used his millionaire connections to be able to fake a disability to avoid serving when it was his turn.”

Another attendee asked Buttigieg about illegal immigration and the current status along the US and Mexican border.

“This is a mixture of cruelty and incompetence. This is not the first time that we have had this many people come to our border. Yet for some reason, it is the first time that we’ve seen images of this kind of suffering at the border, Buttigieg said. “What does that mean? It means that this administration and this President are not capable or not willing, and we know it’s both, to actually do the right thing there. Look, we can manage the border in a way that is consistent with our laws and consistent with our values. That’s what we’ve got to do. What does that mean? On day one, it means making sure that we never separate children from their parents again.”

Buttigieg fielded a question from the audience about technology aiding the rise of White Nationalists.

“There’s no question that these extremist ideologies are spreading faster than ever before because of internet technologies. It’s one of the reasons why my action plan proposes that the Department of Homeland Security’s program on countering violent extremism, which by the way this administration cut, it makes no sense, we beef it up with a billion-dollar investment so they’re actually able to do their job and help get ahead of these movements.”

“Now, we have also got to deal with technologies and work with technology companies in a way that won’t be simple, because we got to honor the First Amendment. But we know that these companies don’t want, or at least shouldn’t want, to be a platform for hate. So we have to make it easier for these tools to spread that allow them to get ahead of this. And we have to establish some level of responsibility if you’re effectively posting or even publishing this stuff, for what goes on.”

“Now, if we have a stronger domestic program for violent extremists, we can also build the kind of partnerships that we have. Think about it this way. You know, when there’s illegal activity or material on the internet, for example, illegal imagery on YouTube, law enforcement can partner with those websites to deal with that. We got to do the same thing when it comes to dangerous, violent extremism. And that will be the focus of how my counterterrorism strategy domestically interfaces with the publishers in the tech companies.”

Buttigieg’s stump speech and question and answer session was about 38 minutes in total.

“They tell me that our time is up. But I just want to thank you again for being part of this. And I urge you to stay connected with our campaign, I believe we’ve got a chance on our hands, and maybe the last best one, we’re going to get to steer this country on to a better course. And as Iowans, you’ve got a thumb on the scale of the American political process; we are now getting to the period where it’s past kind of get to know you, and it’s where we really need to earn your support. And with your help, I believe we have a chance to change the course of this country.”

Buttigieg then spent another 20 minutes taking pictures with attendees.

Keith Comfort, who attended the town hall shared, “I thought he did a nice job of mixing offers with policy of what a Mayor Pete presidency would look like. Very impressed.”

Donna Crookham added, “Very impressive. Like that he understands US history. Very articulate. You can tell he’s had to deal directly with people. Remember at this stage in 2007 no one thought Obama had a chance.”

Jim Hansen also referenced Obama in his remarks about the town hall. “Did a great job! Combination of policy, personality, and intelligence, reminds me of the last Dem president.”

“One of the (many) great things about democracy is being able to hear from candidates. Calling them names only reflects poorly on the name-caller. Give candidates the chance to tell us why we should vote for them,” added Andrew Glover.

Not everyone was in agreement with Buttigieg. Anna Mae said she was, “Disappointed in his definition of “healthcare”.

Kris Lamb DęKock shared, “If his service as Mayor of South Bend, IN are indicative of his abilities, he’s lacking. ”