Much more at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html‘Outsider’ Buttigieg plays a skillful inside game, positioning himself for the future
By Sean Sullivan, Tyler Pager and Seung Min Kim Today at 10:00 a.m. EDT
Over Mexican food one recent evening, Pete Buttigieg told war stories from his presidential run to a small group of senators — including one who would have been an implausible dinner companion 18 months ago. At the table was Amy Klobuchar, his archnemesis on the campaign, who shared her own memories from the trail. The conversation was good-natured, according to a participant. It wasn’t the first time this year that Buttigieg had broken bread with Klobuchar. In March, Klobuchar joined Buttigieg for lunch and a dog walk, according to an aide with knowledge of the event — a far cry from the days of trading bitter insults on live television. “I wish everyone was as perfect as you, Pete,” Klobuchar said mockingly in one debate last year. “But let me tell you what it’s like to be in the arena.”
Six months into his tenure as President Biden’s transportation secretary, Buttigieg has not only entered the arena, he is standing at center court and schmoozing with players on both teams. A former South Bend, Ind. mayor who embraced the outsider mantle as a candidate, Buttigieg has quickly morphed into a quintessential Washington insider. He has used his position at the center of the high-stakes infrastructure talks to mend old rifts, strengthen existing friendships and build new alliances. His smooth debut has taken on greater significance as Democrats confront tough questions about the future of the party leadership. Biden says he intends to run for reelection, but as he nears his 79th birthday, that is no sure bet for many Democrats. Vice President Harris, Biden’s heir apparent, has had a rocky first few months on the job, prompting some Democrats to question her ability to pick up the baton.
Buttigieg’s networking is unfolding against that backdrop. He has struck a bond with the famously irascible Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and joined Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) on a bike ride. He visited House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.) on his houseboat, bringing a bottle of liqueur for his host. He was spotted grabbing tacos with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). As the infrastructure talks heated up, he asked a friend, Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), for a scouting report on the senators hammering out the deal. “What can you tell me about how it came together? And how do they know each other? Who is closer to the White House and who is not?” Coons remembered Buttigieg asking him. “He’s adapted well so far,” added Coons, who said he has known Buttigieg for a decade.
This article is based on interviews with two dozen Buttigieg aides, associates and others with knowledge of his activities. Many spoke on the record, but some would only talk on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions. Buttigieg declined to be interviewed. In a statement, his spokesman Ben Halle said Buttigieg is “honored to serve on the President’s Jobs Cabinet.” As a chief salesman for the bipartisan infrastructure plan that passed the Senate last Tuesday, Buttigieg has emerged the most visible member of the cabinet, and he is expected to play a prominent role as the talks shift to the House. Buttigieg and Harris are the only two primary rivals Biden brought into his administration. He is omnipresent on television and across the country, pitching new investments in railways and electric vehicles. He has become a fixture at dinners, Zoom meetings and photo-ops with boldface names. He gives out his number freely to members of Congress and frequently trades text messages with them.
Just 39, Buttigieg was a surprise sensation in the 2020 presidential race — an openly gay candidate who rose from obscurity to the final stage of the Democratic primary, preaching moderation and optimism. He has stayed in touch with members of his powerful donor network, parts of which have stuck together and put their money behind new causes. Many are hopeful that Buttigieg will run again, and his name routinely comes up in conversations about future elections.
Pete Buttigieg - Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
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Pete Buttigieg - Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Sorry we lost the Mayor Pete topic in Fogbow 1.0. He's been a busy boy, as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had a huge role in the Infrastructure Bill. Here come the Pete stories, WaPo has a big profile. And he's only 39, what a future he has ahead of him. Yay Pete!
Lt Root Beer of the Mighty 699th. Fogbow s titular Mama June in Fogbow's Favourite Show™ Mama June: From Not To Hot! Fogbow's Theme Song™ Edith Massey's "I Got The Evidence!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5jDHZd0JAg
Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
I always wanted Biden but Pete turned my head a little
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
And he eats Fox News for breakfast.
x5
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Oh, happy day! Congrats, you’ll be fantastic parents!
Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Happy news! And Gawd knows we need some happy news.
You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
A BABY!!! HOOOORRRRAAAAYYYYYY! Where is my crochet hook and yarn? That baby needs a blanket!
"Mickey Mouse and I grew up together." - Ruthie Tompson, Disney animation checker and scene planner and one of the first women to become a member of the International Photographers Union in 1952.
Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
I've read Chasten has been at loose ends in DC. He'll be a lot busier now.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Its TWO! They had one of both! Penelope Rose And Joseph August.
Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Patagoniagirl wrote: ↑Sat Sep 04, 2021 11:52 am Its TWO! They had one of both! Penelope Rose And Joseph August.
I just love this picture. Boy, are they in for a HUGE surprise! Or two.
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Happy sigh. See the love? Those kids are gonna be so loved.
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
"Mickey Mouse and I grew up together." - Ruthie Tompson, Disney animation checker and scene planner and one of the first women to become a member of the International Photographers Union in 1952.
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Obviously photoshopped.
I'm Foggy and I forget if I approved this message.
Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Tim Walz’ Golden Rule: Mind your own damn business!
Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Ha! With newborn twins, no time to shave.
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
I don't understand why Biden doesn't have Pete out talking infrastructure right now!
Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Totally agree. But that said, it appears that both infrastructure bills are wildly popular already across the country--it is the brokenness of our gov't that is the problem, and Pete can't do squat about that. yes/no?Patagoniagirl wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:19 am I don't understand why Biden doesn't have Pete out talking infrastructure right now!
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Perhaps. Maybe. Dont know. I just miss him.p0rtia wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:28 amTotally agree. But that said, it appears that both infrastructure bills are wildly popular already across the country--it is the brokenness of our gov't that is the problem, and Pete can't do squat about that. yes/no?Patagoniagirl wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:19 am I don't understand why Biden doesn't have Pete out talking infrastructure right now!
Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Me too.Patagoniagirl wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:49 amPerhaps. Maybe. Dont know. I just miss him.p0rtia wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:28 amTotally agree. But that said, it appears that both infrastructure bills are wildly popular already across the country--it is the brokenness of our gov't that is the problem, and Pete can't do squat about that. yes/no?Patagoniagirl wrote: ↑Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:19 am I don't understand why Biden doesn't have Pete out talking infrastructure right now!
I often think that we are so overwhelmed with news due to the limits of time itself. There are so many no-brainers out there; things that should be said, people that should be heard. But we get this flood of Lin Woods and Steve Bannons raising insane/destructive garbage. Don't want to see them. Oh well, still feeling massively depressed about it all.
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Re: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Tucker Carlson said some homophobic crap directed at Mayor Pete, which I'm not going to quote here because Mayor Pete doesn't deserve it in his thread. Mayor Pete had many defenders.
Not that Mayor Pete needed it, he can defend himself:
Not that Mayor Pete needed it, he can defend himself:
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams
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Re: Pete Buttigieg - Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
In a nod to infrastructure, the Buttigieg twins are dressed as traffic cones for Halloween.
Tim Walz’ Golden Rule: Mind your own damn business!
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Re: Pete Buttigieg - Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
"Mickey Mouse and I grew up together." - Ruthie Tompson, Disney animation checker and scene planner and one of the first women to become a member of the International Photographers Union in 1952.
- raison de arizona
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Re: Pete Buttigieg - Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg - Jan 19, 1982 - Mayor & Transportation Secretary
Gus is doing better!
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” —John Adams