As we approach the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden continues to hold a sizable lead over the rest of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary field in national polling. <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">Biden currently stands 8.0% above second-place Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)</a> in the average of recent national polling. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg round out the top five in most recent national polling. Sanders&#8217; lead over third-place Warren is now substantial: 5.6%.
Buttigieg and Sanders have both been surging in the crucial early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire over the past couple of months, although Buttigieg&#8217;s moment may have finally passed. Sanders can always reliably count on the fact that his supporters are the most enthusiastic and loyal of any candidate&#8217;s in this 2020 Democratic presidential primary field. The septuagenarian socialist Sanders is likely the candidate with the most momentum at the present moment, although Biden himself has slowly crept back up in both the Iowa and New Hampshire statewide polling averages. Alas, never count out Joe Biden.
Warren emerged over the latter parts of the summer as a national frontrunner, but her moment has passed — she will all but assuredly need a surprise victory in Iowa or New Hampshire to resuscitate her campaign&#8217;s fading hopes. Biden&#8217;s consistent polling has remained relatively unaffected by the onset of the Ukraine scandal and subsequent impeachment imbroglio — perhaps to the surprise of many pundits who thought he would ultimately have to be dumped by Democrats as a sacrificial lamb of sorts.
At this point, pundits should be hard-pressed to predict anyone other than Biden as the likely Democratic presidential nominee — at least until we get results from Iowa and New Hampshire. But Bernie Sanders, with his rabid base of Soviet Union-nostalgic radicals, has now positioned himself as a very serious contender. The uniquely wealthy Bloomberg is also a candidate to still keep a close eye upon, despite the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s recurring outside donation debate criterion that portends to box out the self-funding Bloomberg from the debate stage for the foreseeable future.
Electoral prediction market website <a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3633/Who-will-win-the-2020-Democratic-presidential-nomination">PredictIt</a> now has Biden as its frontrunner, although Sanders is in second by a wide margin. After that large gap, Bloomberg, Warren, and Buttigieg then all distantly follow. The Warren campaign collapse from its erstwhile frontrunner perch, with now even Bloomberg leading her in the electoral betting market, is truly something to behold.
The <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">RealClearPolitics</a> polling average for 1/06/20 – 1/16/20 shows Biden with an average national polling lead of 8.0%.
A recent <a href="http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=b4747822-277e-4d2c-b896-eb4e04672c09">SurveyUSA</a> national poll conducted from 1/14/20 – 1/16/20 showed Biden, at 32%, with an 11-point lead over Sanders. Sanders was up seven points on Warren, and no one else polled in double digits.
A recent <a href="https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/ueji3eha6i/econTabReport.pdf">Economist/YouGov</a> national poll conducted from 1/11/20 – 1/14/20 showed Biden, at 27%, with a seven-point lead over Sanders. Sanders was up one point on Warren, and no one else polled in double digits.
A recent <a href="https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/478208-sanders-hits-highest-support-since-august">Hill/HarrisX</a> national poll conducted from 1/13/20 – 1/14/20 showed Biden, at 29%, with a 10-point lead over Sanders. Sanders was up eight points on Warren, and no one else polled in double digits.
A recent <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=3653">Quinnipiac</a> national poll conducted from 1/08/20 – 1/12/20 showed Biden, at 25%, with a six-point lead over Sanders. Sanders was up three points on Warren, and no one else polled in double digits.
A recent <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2020-democratic-primary/">Morning Consult</a> national poll conducted from 1/06/20 – 1/12/20 showed Biden, at 29%, with a six-point lead over Sanders. Sanders was up nine points on Warren, and no one else polled in double digits.
Will Biden remain the frontrunner? Can Sanders sustain his early state surge? Stay tuned.
Latest Aggregate Early State-By-State Polling Data
Iowa: Biden 21.0%, Sanders 17.3%, Warren 16.7%, Buttigieg 16.3%, Klobuchar 8.3%
New Hampshire: Sanders 19.8%, Biden 18.5%, Buttigieg 14.3%, Warren 14.3%, Klobuchar 5.8%
Nevada: Biden 25.0%, Sanders 19.3%, Warren 14.7%, Buttigieg 7.7%, Steyer 7.3%
South Carolina: Biden 32.0%, Sanders 15.0%, Warren 14.0%, Steyer 8.3%, Buttigieg 6.3%
This article has been updated to reflect the most recent survey data.

Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate In Detroit Over Two Nights

Who Will Win The Democratic Primary? The Latest On 2020 Presidential Primary Polling.

2020 Election

Bernie Sanders

Democratic Party

Elizabeth Warren

Joe Biden

Pete Buttigieg

As 2020 kicks into gear, a series of focus groups involving &#8220;low-information voters&#8221; conducted by Barack Obama&#8217;s former speechwriter offer some deeply troubling — if at times hilarious — takeaways for Democrats.
The study, which involved focus groups in four different cities, was conducted late last year by Obama&#8217;s former speechwriter, Jon Favreau, for the second season of his Crooked Media-produced podcast &#8220;<a href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/the-wilderness/">The Wilderness</a>.&#8221; Each focus group consisted of 10 voters with specific voting records: Philadelphia&#8217;s group of ten all voted for Hillary in 2016; Milwaukee&#8217;s group voted for Obama in 2012, flipped to Trump in 2016, then voted Democrat again in 2018;  the group in Miami was mostly black and Hispanic voters who voted for Obama in 2012, but either stayed home in 2016 or voted third party; and the Phoenix participants all flipped from Romney in 2012 to Clinton in 2016. All but the Phoenix group consisted of what politicos generally call &#8220;low-information voters.&#8221;
Vanity Fair&#8217;s <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/why-trump-has-huge-advantage-over-democrats-low-information-voters">Peter Hamby</a>, who spoke with Favreau about the focus groups, offers a rather devastating summary of what the podcaster leaned from the three &#8220;low-information&#8221; voters.
“I came away thinking that Trump may not be as big of a challenge as the cynicism and distrust that a lot of these voters have towards the entire political system and the media,” Favreau told Hamby. “Most of them don’t like Trump at all, but since politics hasn’t delivered for them in a tangible way, they’re starting to ignore the circus altogether, which makes them very hard to reach.”
Hamby points out that among the Democrats the low-information crowd named when asked about who they associate with the &#8220;Democratic Party,&#8221; only two of the current Democratic presidential candidates&#8217; names came up frequently: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Elizabeth Warren was named by just three people, while Pete Buttigieg&#8217;s name was cited by only one. Though respondents said they largely aligned with the Democratic Party on key issues, they also associated it with &#8220;infighting, taxes, socialism, ineptitude, and &#8216;too many candidates,'&#8221; Hamby notes.
Though most of the Democratic candidates appeared to be off most of their radars, Trump was &#8220;everywhere,&#8221; said Favreau. &#8220;I purposely waited to bring up Trump because I wanted to ask them about their thoughts on issues important to them and why they vote and what they think about government first,&#8221; he told Hamby. &#8220;But in almost every focus group, someone just brought up Trump almost immediately. He is everywhere, like a national psychic wound.&#8221;
While Favreau characterized Trump as inflicting trauma on everyone, he also admitted that while &#8220;none of them&#8221; liked him, they also weren&#8217;t thrilled about or committed to any of the Democrats and exhibited a deep distrust in the media. Hamby reports:
<blockquote>But even as they universally expressed displeasure with Trump, including the people who voted for him in Milwaukee but flipped in 2018, almost every participant told Favreau they wouldn’t yet commit to voting for the Democratic nominee in 2020. Some said it depends on who the nominee is. Others were open to voting for a third-party candidate instead of the Democrat. “None of them really like Trump, but they don’t have much love for Democratic politicians, Republican politicians, and especially the media, which they don’t trust at all,” Favreau said. “They really do see Trump as part of a broader political media culture that’s just out of control, silly, nasty, and not focused on what they care about.” A theme that surfaced again and again, not just about Democrats but about politics generally, was that the whole process is confusing, tedious, and off-putting—and that news organizations and social media do little to make sense of it.</blockquote>
Hamby also offers some rather humorous highlights of words and phrases the focus group participants associated with the top Democratic candidates:
<blockquote>In Milwaukee words that came to mind for Biden included “hugger,” “oil tycoon,” “cops,” and “old white money.” Six of the voters—all of whom had voted in the past two election cycles—responded with some variation of “nothing” or “I have nothing” when Biden was named. In Philadelphia the voters associated Biden with “crime bill,” “too old,” and “not fired up.” A grandmother and self-described “cat lady” named Jean said, “I heard he said a bad thing, I didn’t like it.” Biden elicited better reactions in Miami, where attendees said “Obama,” “experience,” and “well dressed” when the former vice president’s name was mentioned.
Sanders, too, was described as “too old” in all three cities, though many of the responses were, if not on message, at least message-adjacent. The Miami group associated Sanders with “crazy hair,” “grinny,” “free college,” and “wants to give away too many things for free.” The Philadelphia group said “your crazy uncle,” “health care,” “questionable health,” and “passionate hand talker.” In Milwaukee the Obama–Trump voters described Sanders as “for the people,” “crazy but in a good way,” “boisterous,” and “bold”—while three of the voters had no response to his name.</blockquote>
Warren inspired a few positive responses from people, including the words &#8220;energy&#8221; and &#8220;progressive,&#8221; but Favreau also noted that the participants &#8220;knew almost nothing about her,&#8221; Hamby notes. Buttigieg was almost totally unknown by any of the participants, one responding when asked about him, “Who dat?” (<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/why-trump-has-huge-advantage-over-democrats-low-information-voters">Read Hamby&#8217;s full piece for Vanity Fair here</a>.)
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economists-have-bad-news-for-democrats-hoping-for-2020-recession-to-topple-trump">Experts Have Bad News For Democrats Hoping For 2020 Recession To Topple Trump</a>

Donald Trump Melania Trump

‘Low-Information Voters’ Study Offers Some Very Troubling, And Sometimes Hilarious, Results For Democrats

Donald Trump

Vanity Fair

Former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg looked to be among the frontrunners for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination for some time, but recent polls &#8212; and recent protests &#8212; seem to indicate the &#8220;moderate&#8221; Millennial upstart candidate is falling out of favor with early primary voters.
Until late last week, Buttigieg&#8217;s popularity was on the upswing after a series of campaign revisions that saw him drop more progressive stances for more moderate ones, perhaps out of hope that Democratic voters, dissatisfied with former Vice President Joe Biden as the only workable alternative to Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and the progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) would select him as a viable alternative.
Buttigieg also built a considerable operation in Iowa, targeting cities with recent population growth for campaign offices in the hopes of driving new, more liberal voters to the Iowa caucuses, and securing an early win &#8212; or at least an early strong showing.
But there are signs that the Buttigieg bubble has burst. According to the Des Moines Register, which releases the most reliable polling for the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus, Buttigieg is now slipping in the polls as Sanders surges among young voters with an eye to a more progressive future.
&#8220;Right behind Sanders is fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts at 17 percent, followed by Buttigieg, at 16 percent, and former Vice President Joe Biden at 15 percent,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-takes-narrow-lead-iowa-poll-buttigieg-support-slips-n1113966">according to NBC News</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s a nine percentage points drop for Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, from the first-place 25 percent support he registered in the November Des Moines Register poll. And it&#8217;s a weak showing for Biden, who remains the leader in most national polls.&#8221;
There&#8217;s a saving grace for Buttigieg: all of the candidates polled fall within a few points of one another, leaving their actual positions, relative to other candidates up in the air. But there&#8217;s no denying that a drop, particularly at this stage of the game, less than a month out of the first primaries, signals that a strong showing for Buttigieg is unlikely.
And then there&#8217;s the protesters.
Over the weekend, Buttigieg was dogged by Black Lives Matter, who disrupted one of his major events, shouting &#8220;anti-black, anti-poor,&#8221; as Buttigieg tried to speak at a rally.
WATCH:
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WATCH: Pete Buttigieg was interrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters here in Iowa challenging his record as South Bend Mayor—he told them, “I think your facts are a little wrong, so I&#39;d love a chance to talk with you about it, but I&#39;d like for us to talk about it respectfully.” <a href="https://t.co/dYO106Jyzz">pic.twitter.com/dYO106Jyzz</a>
&mdash; DJ Judd (@DJJudd) <a href="https://twitter.com/DJJudd/status/1216534443722182656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
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This is the second such disruption. Black Lives Matter derailed a Buttigieg campaign event in California late last week, upending the candidate&#8217;s visit to a homeless shelter in the notoriously crime-ridden Los Angeles neighborhood, Watts, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-01-10/pete-buttigieg-faces-black-lives-matter-protesters-during-watts-visit">per the Los Angeles Times</a>.
Black Lives Matter&#8217;s ire stems from Buttigieg&#8217;s time as South Bend mayor, how he handled the homelessness crisis in his own city (the same crisis he was addressing in Watts), and how he handled the police-involved shooting of Eric Logan, a young black man from South Bend shot by a white cop.
&#8220;Major incidents involving race and the police are nearly an annual occurrence in the city of about 100,000. Soon after he was elected in 2011, Buttigieg faced strong criticism for demoting the city’s first black police chief, Darryl Boykins, after learning of a federal investigation into the department allegedly illegally recording officers’ phone calls. The calls revealed white officers using racial slurs, some of which were directed at Boykins,&#8221; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/27/pete-buttigieg-police-shooting-south-bend-indiana">the Guardian reported last year</a>, citing protesters&#8217; concerns.
This weekend&#8217;s protesters say they were bankrolled by an &#8220;outside organization,&#8221; which indicates Buttigieg is now a target, probably of his more progressive opponents, including Sanders (or at least Sanders&#8217; supporters). If he doesn&#8217;t respond adequately, that could mean a deeper hole going into the Iowa caucus, which takes place on February 2nd.

Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Campaigns In Iowa

Pete-er Out? Buttigieg Faces Falling Poll Numbers, Protests Ahead Of Iowa Caucus

The Washington Post recently released a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/washington-post-ipsos-poll-of-african-americans-jan-2-8-2020/a41b5691-e181-4cda-bb88-7b31935103d9/">survey</a> of only African American adults with questions pertaining to the 2020 election, and the Democratic candidates more specifically.
The survey, which was conducted between January 2 &#8211; 8 on 1,088 “non-Hispanic black adults,” has a margin of error of +/-3.5 points overall, and +/-4 points among the smaller sampling of 769 “Democrat-leaning registered voters.”
To the 769 who leaned Democrat, the survey asked: “If the Democratic primary or caucus in your state were held today, for whom would you vote? Which candidate would you lean toward?”
Perhaps not surprisingly, the overwhelming plurality of respondents chose former Vice President Joe Biden, who came out with 48% support among African American voters. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) came in a distant second place with 20% support. No other candidate reached double digits.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) had 9% support, followed by billionaire Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who were tied with 4% support. In sixth place was businessman Andrew Yang with 3% support, and in seventh, a tie between Mayor Pete Buttigieg and billionaire Tom Steyer, each with 2% support.
Again, unsurprisingly given the answer to the first question, when asked who their second choice would be, 24% of Democrat-leaning African American voters chose Sanders, 20% chose Warren, and 17% chose Biden.
Rounding out the top seven spots were Booker with 8%, Bloomberg with 5%, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Yang with 4%, and Buttigieg and Steyer with 3%. For comparison, “None of these” took 11% of the second choice vote.
Perhaps the most interesting question posed to Democrat-leaning African American voters was this: “Are there any candidates you would definitely NOT consider supporting for the Democratic nomination?”
Respondents were told they could choose multiple candidates for their answers.
Roaring into first place with 23% of Democrat-leaning African American voters saying they would “definitely NOT consider” her is Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). The candidate has not fared well among the Democratic establishment due in part to her heterodox views. This sentiment, which appears to have extended to voters, can be traced all the way back to her resignation from the DNC to endorse Bernie Sanders against Hillary Clinton in February 2016.
Coming in second in the category that no candidate wants to be in is Michael Bloomberg with 17%. Third place is Pete Buttigieg with 15% of Democrat-leaning African American voters saying “No thanks.”
Other notable mentions are former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick with 13%, Klobuchar with 11%, and Yang with 10%.
At the bottom of the list are Sanders with 7%, Warren with 6%, and Biden with 5%.
However, 44% of Democrat-leaning African American voters said they “would support any of the candidates above.”
Another fascinating question pertained to name ID. When asked about “favorability,” only two Democratic candidates escaped the fate of low name recognition among African American adults – Biden (3% “never heard of”) and Sanders (5% “never heard of”).
Even Warren had a “never heard of” number of 17%. Almost every other candidate’s “never heard of” percentage was in the 20s and 30s, including ostensible top-tier candidate Pete Buttigieg, who 34% of African American adults had “never heard of.”
Check out the entire poll <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/washington-post-ipsos-poll-of-african-americans-jan-2-8-2020/a41b5691-e181-4cda-bb88-7b31935103d9/">here</a>.

Top Dem candidates.

Washington Post Poll Of African Americans Reveals Stunning Info About Perceptions Of Some Dem Candidates

African American

On Friday, a surprising new Democratic primary poll was released by <a href="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2020/images/01/10/rel1_ia.-.democrats.pdf">CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom</a> that shows a new leader of the pack in the state of Iowa.
The new poll, which was conducted between January 2 &#8211; 8 on “3,131 active registered voters in Iowa, including 701 likely Democratic caucusgoers,” asked respondents to list their first and second choices for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The poll also includes a follow-up: “I’m going to read the list one more time, excluding any names you may have already mentioned. This time, please tell me if the person is someone you are actively considering or not.”
Iowa voters’ first choice among the Democratic candidates was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with 20%. Second place went to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) with 17%. Third place went to Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 16%, followed closely by former Vice President Joe Biden with 15%.
Aside from the 11% of voters who were “not sure,” the next two candidates were Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) with 6% and businessman Andrew Yang with 5%.
When asked to rank their second choice, respondents moved some folks around. Taking first place (in the second choice category) was Warren with 16%. Second place was Buttigieg with 15%. 13% of respondents had no second choice. Biden and Sanders tied for fourth place with 12% each.
Perhaps the most interesting and informative was the “actively consideration” category because it shows who still stands a chance even if they are lower in the primary rankings.
Tying for first place in the “actively considering” category were Andrew Yang and Pete Buttigieg with 29% each. Second place went to Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Joe Biden, each with 28%. Third place went to Klobuchar with 27%, fourth to Warren with 26%, fifth to Sanders with 23%, and sixth to billionaire Tom Steyer with 22%.
When the poll asked “likely Democratic caucusgoers” if their minds were made up or if they could still be persuaded to move to another candidate, 40% said that their mind was made up while 45% said that they could still be persuaded. In November, those numbers were 30% and 62%, respectively.
With this latest poll (as well as the accumulation of other recent polls), Sanders has dethroned Buttigieg from his perch atop the Iowa caucus candidate list – but just barely.
As of publication, the RealClearPolitics average for the Iowa Democratic caucus, which takes place on February 3, has Sanders in first place with 21.3%, Buttigieg in second with 21%, Biden in third with 17.7%, and Warren in fourth with 17%.
Sanders also leads in New Hampshire, which will vote second on February 11, with 21.5% to second-place Biden’s 18.8%, and third-place Buttigieg’s 18.3%.
Nevada and South Carolina, which vote February 22 and 29, respectively, are still strongly Biden country, and nationally, Biden still holds a commanding lead over all competitors with an RCP average of 29.3% to second-place Sanders’ 20.3%. Third and fourth place nationally belong to Warren (14.8%) and Buttigieg (7.5%).

Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sanders Flies Into First In Latest Iowa Poll; Buttigieg Plunges

Democrat presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg faced intense backlash on Thursday for appearing to suggest that the United States was at least partially responsible for Iran shooting down an Ukrainian passenger plane this week.
“CBS News has learned that U.S. officials are confident that Iran shot down a Ukrainian jet liner over Tehran in the hours after Iranian missile attacks on U.S. targets,” CBS News&#8217; Major Garrett reported. “176 people were killed, including at least 63 Canadians. This information is based on U.S. intelligence which sources say picked up signals of a radar being turned on. U.S. satellites we are told also detected two surface-to-air missile launches which happened shortly before the plane exploded.”
Buttigieg responded to Garrett&#8217;s reporting, which was featured in a tweet from CBS News, by writing, “Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all 176 souls lost aboard this flight.”
Last week, Buttigieg responded to President Donald Trump&#8217;s decision to eliminate Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani by telling an audience, &#8220;Taking out a bad guy is not necessarily a good idea.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Buttigieg on Trump killing top Iranian terrorist Qasem Soleimani: “Taking out a bad guy is not necessarily a good idea.&quot;
Soleimani was responsible for murdering hundreds of U.S. soldiers &amp; wounding thousands more.
Remarks from an event today in NH <a href="https://t.co/DRakmHJP72">pic.twitter.com/DRakmHJP72</a>
&mdash; Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1213317152012472320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Buttigieg received widespread backlash over his apparent comments blaming the United States for Iran shooting down the passenger plane.
Dana Loesch wrote: &#8220;The I, R, A, and N keys must be missing from his keyboard.&#8221;
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The I, R, A, and N keys must be missing from his keyboard. <a href="https://t.co/qt1iM4oi0H">https://t.co/qt1iM4oi0H</a>
&mdash; Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) <a href="https://twitter.com/DLoesch/status/1215369466751655938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Federalist co-founder Sean Davis wrote: &#8220;Democrats are fine-people-on-both-sides-ing Iranian terrorists to avoid siding with America because of their deranged hatred of Trump.&#8221;
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Democrats are fine-people-on-both-sides-ing Iranian terrorists to avoid siding with America because of their deranged hatred of Trump. <a href="https://t.co/1FFc9F0qIS">https://t.co/1FFc9F0qIS</a>
&mdash; Sean Davis (@seanmdav) <a href="https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1215362906033999872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Columnist David French wrote: &#8220;Nope. Nope. Nope. Iran launched a missile strike against our own troops, and then blundered by shooting down a civilian airliner when it wasn&#8217;t even under attack. That&#8217;s the story. This is on Iran.&#8221;
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Nope. Nope. Nope.
Iran launched a missile strike against our own troops, and then blundered by shooting down a civilian airliner when it wasn&#39;t even under attack. That&#39;s the story. This is on Iran. <a href="https://t.co/VzjnJk2jR8">https://t.co/VzjnJk2jR8</a>
&mdash; David French (@DavidAFrench) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidAFrench/status/1215365918827667460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Columnist David Harsanyi tweeted: &#8220;Honestly, this is just despicable. Of course, the reaction to this moral equivalency will be indignation that anyone dare question his patriotism.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Of course, the reaction to this moral equivalency will be indignation that anyone dare question his patriotism.
&mdash; David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidharsanyi/status/1215367753957363712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake wrote: &#8220;Are any other Dems connecting this to Trump&#8217;s actions? There&#8217;s still A LOT we don&#8217;t know here.&#8221;
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Are any other Dems connecting this to Trump&#39;s actions? There&#39;s still A LOT we don&#39;t know here. <a href="https://t.co/a61JefIy4a">https://t.co/a61JefIy4a</a>
&mdash; Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1215373213598916610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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John Noonan wrote: &#8220;Iran launches a ballistic missile salvo at Iraq. It fails to shut down its airspace during this attack. As it is attacking, incompetence by Iranian air-defense artillery leads to an IFF misidentification. In their confusion, they kill an airliner. So this is America&#8217;s fault.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Iran launches a ballistic missile salvo at Iraq. 
It fails to shut down its airspace during this attack.
As it is attacking, incompetence by Iranian air-defense artillery leads to an IFF misidentification. In their confusion, they kill an airliner.
So this is America&#39;s fault. <a href="https://t.co/QXy9CMq3z0">https://t.co/QXy9CMq3z0</a>
&mdash; John Noonan (@noonanjo) <a href="https://twitter.com/noonanjo/status/1215368435154259970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Columnist Conrad Black wrote: &#8220;Innocent civilians are now dead because Iran shot down a civilian passenger plane.&#8221;
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Innocent civilians are now dead because Iran shot down a civilian passenger plane. <a href="https://t.co/ofn464VQmY">https://t.co/ofn464VQmY</a>
&mdash; Conrad Black (@ConradMBlack) <a href="https://twitter.com/ConradMBlack/status/1215379564370780160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Tom Nichols wrote: &#8220;This isn&#8217;t what happened. The Iranians knew they were about to proceed with a complicated military operation. The airport shouldn&#8217;t even have been open. This is not &#8216;caught in the middle&#8217; of anything, it&#8217;s a screw up by the Iranians.&#8221;
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This isn&#39;t what happened. The Iranians knew they were about to proceed with a complicated military operation. The airport shouldn&#39;t even have been open. This is not &quot;caught in the middle&quot; of anything, it&#39;s a screw up by the Iranians. <a href="https://t.co/nqKD5hGY9n">https://t.co/nqKD5hGY9n</a>
&mdash; Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) <a href="https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1215371090748477447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel wrote: &#8220;Iran allegedly shoots down a commercial airliner, and Pete Buttigieg’s first reaction is to blame America. Ridiculous.&#8221;
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Iran allegedly shoots down a commercial airliner, and Pete Buttigieg’s first reaction is to blame America. Ridiculous.<a href="https://t.co/2e2ipUL3kh">https://t.co/2e2ipUL3kh</a>
&mdash; Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) <a href="https://twitter.com/GOPChairwoman/status/1215368021558071297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Columnist Dan McLaughlin wrote: &#8220;Pete Buttigieg wins the race to be the first major Democrat to blame Trump for Iran shooting down a civilian airliner flying out of Tehran.&#8221;
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Pete Buttigieg wins the race to be the first major Democrat to blame Trump for Iran shooting down a civilian airliner flying out of Tehran. <a href="https://t.co/qdwAfGtPiB">https://t.co/qdwAfGtPiB</a>
&mdash; Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) <a href="https://twitter.com/baseballcrank/status/1215353710139846657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Columnist Erick Erickson wrote: &#8220;Letting the veil slip a bit to see his real world view.&#8221;
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Letting the veil slip a bit to see his real world view. <a href="https://t.co/R5TRjzTo4U">https://t.co/R5TRjzTo4U</a>
&mdash; Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) <a href="https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1215368892241121299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Attorney Matthew Kolken wrote: &#8220;This is such a predictable response from the alleged &#8216;moderate&#8217; in the Democratic field. It has become increasingly obvious that scoring political points and undermining Trump is more of a priority than national security. We live in interesting times.&#8221;
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This is such a predictable response from the alleged &quot;moderate&quot; in the Democratic field. It has become increasingly obvious that scoring political points and undermining Trump is more of a priority than national security. We live in interesting times. <a href="https://t.co/fOK0UHCK2L">https://t.co/fOK0UHCK2L</a>
&mdash; Matthew Kolken (@mkolken) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkolken/status/1215384780449222656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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‘JUST DESPICABLE’: Democrat Pete Buttigieg Blasted For Blaming U.S. For Iran Shooting Passenger Plane

Iran

South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg may still be in fourth place nationally going into the 2020 Democratic primaries, but he&#8217;s well ahead of much of the field in fundraising according to his campaign&#8217;s fourth quarter financial disclosures.
<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/buttigieg-campaign-raised-24-7-million-in-fourth-quarter-11577884648">The Wall Street Journal reports</a> that Buttigieg, who has been enjoying a packed schedule of high-dollar fundraisers, raked in a whopping $24.7 million in the final quarter of 2019, nearly $10 million more than he raised in Q3, per his campaign&#8217;s FEC filings.
&#8220;Mr. Buttigieg’s campaign said more than 733,000 people have made a total of two million donations. The average contribution amount was $38, the campaign said,&#8221; according to the WSJ. &#8220;Mr. Buttigieg has aggressively pursued donors who can give the legal maximum of $2,800, a fundraising style like Mr. Biden’s and most previous major presidential candidates.&#8221;
The haul brings Buttigieg&#8217;s fundraising total to around $75 million, easily among the best in the field of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders. It also demonstrates Buttigieg&#8217;s power with major Democratic donors, who are being shut out of other campaigns. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have both sworn off taking checks from &#8220;billionaires&#8221; and corporations, and Warren, at least, has said she will not host or attend major fundraisers &#8212; a privilege she enjoys because she is still dipping into an immense war chest built in anticipation of her next Senate run.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is also likely to have had a good quarter, having told reporters back in early December that his campaign had crossed the $20 million fundraising mark. What remains to be see is whether Biden&#8217;s campaign has made its way back into the black after spending its way into the red in Q3, splashing out on private jets, luxury hotel rooms, and fancy meals. Biden has been traveling on a bus these last several weeks &#8212; the &#8220;No Malarkey&#8221; tour &#8212; to reinforce his blue collar image in the wake of his campaign&#8217;s spending disclosures.
The field&#8217;s biggest loser may be Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Warren hasn&#8217;t released numbers for Q3, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/elizabeth-warren-campaign-sounds-alarm-as-fundraising-slows-down.html">but according to CNBC</a>, the Warren campaign sent out a desperate fundraising email to supporters last week claiming to have raised only $17 million in Q4 so far &#8212; a shocking 30% drop.
&#8220;Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign told supporters in an email on Friday that, so far, it has raised just over $17 million in the fourth quarter, a significant drop from her fundraising haul during the third quarter,&#8221; the financial news outlet reported last week. &#8220;The memo asks backers to step up giving to the campaign.&#8221;
“So far this quarter, we’ve raised a little over $17 million,&#8221; the email read. &#8220;That’s a good chunk behind where we were at this time last quarter.&#8221;
That corresponds to Warren&#8217;s drop in the polls. She was once comfortably in second behind Biden both nationally and in early primary states and, for a while, was challenging the common understanding that Biden would be the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. But after a tough run in Iowa, where she was asked, regularly, how she plans to pay for her costly plans to expand Medicare, the social safety net, and student loan forgivness, she&#8217;s barely clinging to third.

Pete Buttigieg Rakes In $24 Million In Final Quarter Fundraising, Warren’s Take Drops Thirty Percent

In an interview with <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/buttigieg-not-wanted-son-ukraine-220724456.html">The Associated Press</a> released Monday, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg echoed a criticism of the Democratic presidential frontrunner frequently leveled by the man the Democrats want so badly to dethrone — the very criticism that sparked the Democrats&#8217; impeachment effort.
Without a single Republican vote, the House Democrats impeached President Trump for allegedly attempting to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating his political opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, specifically in connection to his son&#8217;s lucrative position on the board of a Ukrainian energy company while Biden was heading up U.S.-Ukraine relations.
&#8220;There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that,&#8221; Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their much-scrutinized July 25 call. &#8220;So whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.&#8221;
Trump was referencing Biden threatening in March 2016 to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid to pressure Ukraine into firing its top prosecutor, Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who was conducting a corruption investigation into the energy company, Burisma Holdings, which was employing Biden&#8217;s son, Hunter Biden.
Biden later publicly boasted about his successful pressure campaign, but has since defended his actions, insisting that he wanted Shokin removed because he was failing to weed out corruption, not because of his investigation into his son&#8217;s company.
In his new interview with AP, Buttigieg took a shot at Biden over the issue, saying that he would not have allowed his son to take the position in the first place. AP reports:
<blockquote>Pete Buttigieg says he &#8220;would not have wanted to see&#8221; his son serving on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company while he was leading anti-corruption efforts in the country, an implicit criticism of the controversy that has ensnared his 2020 Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden.</blockquote>
His administration, Buttigieg told AP, will &#8220;do everything we can to prevent even the appearance of a conflict.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s very important because as we see it can create a lot of complications even when there is no wrongdoing,&#8221; he explained.
&#8220;So, I would not have wanted to see that happen,&#8221; the Democratic candidate said when asked how he would have handled the Burisma situation if he were in Biden&#8217;s position.
After echoing Trump&#8217;s criticism against Biden, Buttigieg attempted to distance himself from Republicans, saying: &#8220;And at the same time, again, I think this is being used to divert attention from what&#8217;s really at stake in the impeachment process. There&#8217;s been no allegation, let alone finding of any kind of wrongdoing.&#8221;
&#8220;I just think it&#8217;s the wrong conversation to be having right now, though, given the spectacular misconduct that we have already seen in facts that are not in dispute, where the only argument to be had is over whether it rises to the level of removal,&#8221; the mayor added.
AP reached out to Biden&#8217;s campaign but they declined to comment.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/buttigieg-channels-trump-hits-biden-on-ukraine">Report: New Evidence Shows Hunter Biden-Ukraine Payments Flagged As ‘Suspicious’ In Early 2016</a>

Biden Buttigieg

Buttigieg Channels Trump: Hits Biden On Ukraine

Ukraine

Speaking to schoolchildren, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg tried to ensure that they knew two things: that the Founders of the United States who wrote the Constitution were ignorant about slavery being a bad thing, and that they also did not respect civil rights, the implication being that only the enlightened Americans of today have a real grasp of what is right and true.
Buttigieg stated: “Similarly the amendment process; they were wise enough to realize that they didn’t have all the answers, and that some things would change. A good example of this is something like slavery, or civil rights. It’s an embarrassing thing to admit, but the people who wrote the Constitution did not understand that slavery was a bad thing. They did not respect civil rights, and yet they created a framework so that as the generations came to understand that that was important, they could write that into the Constitution too and ensure true equal protection for all.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;The people who wrote the Constitution did not understand that slavery was a bad thing.&quot;
– <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteButtigieg</a> <a href="https://t.co/rM7Njnm8pU">pic.twitter.com/rM7Njnm8pU</a>
&mdash; Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href="https://twitter.com/dcexaminer/status/1211684008620429312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Historian and columnist Jay Cost, who is the author of author of “The Price of Greatness: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and the Creation of American Oligarchy,” ripped Buttigieg, starting by tweeting, “The ignorance is astounding.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The ignorance is astounding. <a href="https://t.co/FX5Kt9aNvg">https://t.co/FX5Kt9aNvg</a>
&mdash; 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 (@JayCostTWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayCostTWS/status/1211733574124220417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Cost continued, “The guy who literally wrote the text of the Constitution, Gouverneur Morris, gave an amazing series of speeches in Philadelphia denouncing slavery.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The guy who literally wrote the text of the Constitution, Gouverneur Morris, gave an amazing series of speeches in Philadelphia denouncing slavery.
&mdash; 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 (@JayCostTWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayCostTWS/status/1211733770300207105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Sean Trende at Real Clear Politics tweeted, “A MAJOR PLOTLINE OF THAT MUSICAL THAT EVERYONE FELL OVER THEMSELVES ABOUT THE LAST FOUR YEARS WAS THAT THE PROTAGONIST, THE PRIMARY ANTAGONIST, AND THEIR FRIENDS WERE ALL EARLY ABOLITIONISTS.”
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A MAJOR PLOTLINE OF THAT MUSICAL THAT EVERYONE FELL OVER THEMSELVES ABOUT THE LAST FOUR YEARS WAS THAT THE PROTAGONIST, THE PRIMARY ANTAGONIST, AND THEIR FRIENDS WERE ALL EARLY ABOLITIONISTS
&mdash; Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanTrende/status/1211736974891110400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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To buttress his argument, Cost quoted the Madison debates from August 8, 1787, in which the notes stated:
<blockquote>Mr. Govr. MORRIS moved to insert &#8220;free&#8221; before the word inhabitants. Much he said would depend on this point. He never would concur in upholding domestic slavery. It was a nefarious institution. It was the curse of heaven on the States where it prevailed. Compare the free regions of the Middle States, where a rich &amp; noble cultivation marks the prosperity &amp; happiness of the people, with the misery &amp; poverty which overspread the barren wastes of Va. Maryd. &amp; the other States having slaves. Travel thro&#8217; ye. whole Continent &amp; you behold the prospect continually varying with the appearance &amp; disappearance of slavery. The moment you leave ye. E. Sts. &amp; enter N. York, the effects of the institution become visible, passing thro&#8217; the Jerseys &amp; entering Pa. every criterion of superior improvement witnesses the change. Proceed south wdly &amp; every step you take thro&#8217; ye. great region of slaves presents a desert increasing, with ye. increasing proportion of these wretched beings.
Upon what principle is it that the slaves shall be computed in the representation? Are they men? Then make them Citizens and let them vote. Are they property? Why then is no other property included? The Houses in this city [Philada.] are worth more than all the wretched slaves which cover the rice swamps of South Carolina. The admission of slaves into the Representation when fairly explained comes to this: that the inhabitant of Georgia and S. C. who goes to the Coast of Africa, and in defiance of the most sacred laws of humanity tears away his fellow creatures from their dearest connections &amp; damns them to the most cruel bondages, shall have more votes in a Govt. instituted for protection of the rights of mankind, than the Citizen of Pa. or N. Jersey who views with a laudable horror, so nefarious a practice.</blockquote>

ARROGANCE: Buttigieg Tells Schoolkids American Founders ‘Did Not Understand Slavery Was A Bad Thing.’ He Gets Slammed For His Ignorance.

Pete Buttigieg is mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
The crime rate in South Bend is higher than 96% of all U.S. cities, according to city-data.com. Drugs are rampant in the city, which lies east of Chicago. The incarceration rate is also soaring in Indiana, according to <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/IN.html">prisonpolicy.org</a>.
So, of course, it makes sense that Buttigieg, who is running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, wants to legalize all kinds of drugs.
“Incarceration should not even be a response to drug possession,” Buttigieg told editors and reporters at the Des Moines Register.
“Is that across the board? So if it’s meth or coke or ecstasy, any drugs, if it’s possession, incarceration isn’t…” one editor asked.
“That’s right,” Buttigieg said.
&#8220;I would not have said even five years ago what I believe now, which is that incarceration should not even be a response to drug possession,&#8221; said Buttigieg, who earned degrees from both Harvard University and Oxford University. &#8220;What I’ve seen is that while there continue to be all kinds of harms associated with drug possession and use, it’s also the case that we have created — in an effort to deal with what amounts to a public health problem — we have created an even bigger problem. A justice problem and its form of a health problem.&#8221;
Buttigieg explains his stance on his campaign website, saying he would do away with prison time for any kind of drug possession. &#8220;Eliminate incarceration for drug possession, reduce sentences for other drug offenses and apply these reductions retroactively, legalize marijuana, and expunge past convictions,&#8221; his Criminal Justice Reform web page says.
The plan did not go over well with Bill Bennett, the former White House drug czar during President George H.W. Bush&#8217;s tenure.
&#8220;This is crazy. This is a bright guy. I don’t agree with him, but obviously he’s a guy of some subtlety and intellect,&#8221; Bennett told <a href="https://www.marijuanamoment.net/1980s-drug-czar-calls-pete-buttigiegs-drug-decriminalization-plan-nuts/">Fox News</a>. &#8220;No subtlety here. He acknowledges the harm that these drugs do—goodness gracious, it’s incredible the harm these drugs do.&#8221;
&#8220;We have a terrible problem going on in this country,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We do not need to encourage more of it.&#8221;
Bennett also said “the legalization movement, one of the hypotheses there was that it would end the black market of drugs. With legal marijuana, the black market would disappear.&#8221;
But that hasn&#8217;t happened.
“The black market has grown because it undercuts the legal market by selling cheaper, of course it’s easier to hide the black market when you have legalization going on,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But again, why would one want to encourage more of this? Ninety-five percent of the people who would get into trouble with heroin, with cocaine, with meth, started with marijuana. The marijuana that’s out there now is four or five times stronger than the marijuana in the 60s or 70s.”
And Bennett said even marijuana &#8212; which is being legalized in many states across the U.S. &#8212; can cause major problems with users.
Cannabis “leads to mental problems, serious mental impairment, lack of focus—not good for students obviously—anxiety, and then later in life, it can lead to psychosis, and often does.”
“Sorry to be worked up on this, but this is just nuts what we’re doing here,” Bennett said.
&nbsp;
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Pete Buttigieg Visits NH

BRILLIANT: Mayor Pete Wants to Decriminalize ‘Meth, Coke, Ecstasy’ And Heroin

On Christmas, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg attempted to politicize the day by tweeting a message laden with current political overtones, but in the process he mangled Biblical history and was called out for it on social media. Buttigieg tweeted, “Today I join millions around the world in celebrating the arrival of divinity on earth, who came into this world not in riches but in poverty, not as a citizen but as a refugee. No matter where or how we celebrate, merry Christmas.”
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Today I join millions around the world in celebrating the arrival of divinity on earth, who came into this world not in riches but in poverty, not as a citizen but as a refugee.
No matter where or how we celebrate, merry Christmas.
&mdash; Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg/status/1209833386459750400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Buttigieg’s obvious attempt to make political hay out of a holy day for Christians by twisting the story of Jesus triggered strong rejoinders on social media:
Tony Shaffer, President of the London Center for Policy Research, snapped, “OMG — Joseph and mary were traveling to register as required by a totalitarian Roma occupation for a census so Rome could tax the region more efficiently — do @TheDemocrats choose to be stupid or are they incapable of speaking the truth?”
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OMG &#8211; Joseph and Mary were traveling to register as required by a totalitarian Roma occupation for a census so Rome could tax the region more efficiently &#8211; do <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDemocrats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheDemocrats</a> chose to be stupid or are they incapable of speaking the truth? <a href="https://t.co/OvvzHRff4e">https://t.co/OvvzHRff4e</a>
&mdash; Tony Shaffer (@T_S_P_O_O_K_Y) <a href="https://twitter.com/T_S_P_O_O_K_Y/status/1209975401952563202?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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NRO columnist Dan McLaughlin added, “You were doing OK until &#8220;refugee.&#8221; Joseph &amp; Mary were in Bethlehem because the government commanded them there to pay taxes. A Christian would know this.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
You were doing OK until &quot;refugee.&quot; Joseph &amp; Mary were in Bethlehem because the government commanded them there to pay taxes.
A Christian would know this. <a href="https://t.co/gXx6GAJ5MD">https://t.co/gXx6GAJ5MD</a>
&mdash; Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) <a href="https://twitter.com/baseballcrank/status/1210198830756577280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Radio host Lars Larson tweeted:
<blockquote>For goodness’ sake @PeteButtigieg, “refugees”? Caesar ordered a census … 1stof its kind, purpose TAX collection. You Ds play the same games w census and taxes. By that measure all of us are “refugees” every April 15th. Read The Book would you? Much better than the movie.</blockquote>
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For goodness sake <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteButtigieg</a> , &quot;refugees&quot;? Caesar ordered a census&#8230;1st of its kind, purpose TAX collection. You Ds play the same games w census &amp; taxes. By that measure all of us are &quot;refugees&quot; every April 15th. Read The Book would you? Much better than the movie. <a href="https://t.co/Q3FWgGR82k">https://t.co/Q3FWgGR82k</a>
&mdash; Lars Larson (@LarsLarsonShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/LarsLarsonShow/status/1210032909463121921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Writer John Hayward added, &#8220;All I want for Christmas is for left-wing totalitarians to stop misrepresenting Jesus as a &#8216;migrant&#8217; or &#8216;refugee&#8217; in clumsy efforts to trick Christians into giving up on protecting their borders.&#8221;
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All I want for Christmas is for left-wing totalitarians to stop misrepresenting Jesus as a &quot;migrant&quot; or &quot;refugee&quot; in clumsy efforts to trick Christians into giving up on protecting their borders <a href="https://t.co/eJfyFUmrAO">https://t.co/eJfyFUmrAO</a>
&mdash; John Hayward (@Doc_0) <a href="https://twitter.com/Doc_0/status/1210177654894333952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Buttigieg may not know the history of Christianity very well, but he does know how to target religious Christians. Last April, he attacked Vice President Mike Pence, a devout Christian, tweeting, “Speaking only for myself, I can tell you that if me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade. And that&#8217;s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand.” He <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/45811/karen-pence-responds-pete-buttigiegs-attack-her-amanda-prestigiacomo">added</a> on the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, &#8220;He’s nice. If he were here, you would think he’s a nice guy to your face. But he’s also fanatical.&#8221;
Pence responded to Buttigieg on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” saying, “He said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and about me personally, and he knows better; he knows me.” Pence pointed out that Buttigieg’s remarks were likely a political move, adding, “I get it you know, it’s like — you have 19 people running for president on that side in a party that’s sliding off to the Left.”
U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who like Buttigieg is gay, <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1119068781886750720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">snapped</a>, &#8220;One of the things that really bothers me about this attack is that Mike Pence is a friend of mine. Mike and Karen are great people. They are godly people. They’re followers of Christ. They don’t have hate in their heart for anyone. They know my partner, they have accepted us. You ask me do we agree philosophically on every single issue? No.”

Dr. Julianne Malveaux Interviews Pete Buttigieg At UDC TV

Buttigieg Politicizes Christmas By Twisting The Story of Jesus. Social Media Blasts Him.

Christianity

Actor Kevin Costner, once thought to be an independent, has now endorsed South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg for president despite the mayor&#8217;s increasingly clear lack of support among the progressive base.
According to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kevin-costner-endorses-pete-buttigieg-at-iowa-rally-1264728">The Hollywood Reporter</a> (THR), the &#8220;Field of Dreams&#8221; actor fittingly endorsed Buttigieg in Iowa over the weekend at a Sunday rally, during which he praised the mayor for being a &#8220;man of his moment.&#8221;
&#8220;Whether your road leads you to Pete, like mine has, that’s for you to judge,&#8221; Costner told the crowd at a high school gymnasium south of Des Moines. &#8220;When Pete speaks of unity, it’s the kind of unity I’ve been waiting and hoping to hear about.&#8221;
Costner went on to describe Buttigieg as a man who can transcend history in ways that other candidates cannot — although he avoided saying anything specific about Buttigieg&#8217;s character or political record beyond high-minded platitudes.
&#8220;The strength he describes isn&#8217;t the kind that limits compassion in the name of America,&#8221; said Costner. &#8220;It&#8217;s a man who not only understands how the world looks at us, but how history will and how we ought to look at ourselves. And maybe most importantly, I see Pete as a man of his moment and maybe of his time.&#8221;
Costner praised the state of Iowa for offering the first salvo in the Democratic Party presidential primary process.
&#8220;That power, that awesome responsibility, originates here on the ground in Iowa,&#8221; said Costner. &#8220;What you do with your vote is put those first seeds in the ground and see what grows next year.&#8221;
As noted by THR, Costner previously endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, although his politics have been more staid than most of his Hollywood colleagues throughout his long career. In the 1980s, he considered himself <a href="https://ohfact.com/interesting-facts-about-kevin-costner/">a friend of Ronald Reagan</a> before switching parties in the early 1990s. He is also an avid supporter of America’s veterans and <a href="http://archive.vcstar.com/news/kevin-costner-performs-at-reagan-library-event-to-support-veterans-ep-512396138-351527211.html/">even performed for them</a> at a Reagan Library event in 2013.
“We understand the sacrifice and probably will never completely understand, but we are with our soldiers,” Costner said at the time.
Earlier this year, without mentioning President Trump by name, Costner expressed dismay over the state of American politics, arguing that our selfishness has transformed the country away from its former greatness.
“The political landscape is unrecognizable to me, and shame on us for being in that spot,” the actor told <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/podcasts/kevin-costner-politics-the-highwaymen-1203204842/">Variety</a>. “That could change overnight, not because of a vote, but because people say, ‘I want to try to be more than about myself.’ That’s the definition of public service.”
Costner went on to say that the American experiment will always be great, while conceding that it will wane if politics continue down this path.
“This is the greatest experiment in humankind: America,” he said. “This great idea about America still exists, it’s still here. People still want to come here, but we’re not first in hardly anything that matters and we have an inflated idea about how we are. We exaggerate about what we are. We are everything that’s great and we are everything that’s human. And our humanness and our level of selfishness is overtaking our chance to be great.”

Premiere Party For Paramount Network&#8217;s &#8220;Yellowstone&#8221; Season 2 &#8211; Arrivals

Kevin Costner Endorses Pete Buttigieg: He ‘Speaks Of Unity’

Hollywood

Kevin Costner

Leftism

Progressivism

The Hollywood Reporter

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) attacked South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, her competition for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, during the Democrats&#8217; debate last week, over claims that Buttigieg attended a high-dollar fundraiser thrown in his honor in a &#8220;wine cave&#8221; in Napa Valley.
“Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,” Warren said during the debate.
There were already issues with her attack: Craig and Kathry Hall, who own the Hall Rutherford winery where the event took place, told the <a href="https://apnews.com/a74487680e39e68805b6647816abf7fe">Associated Press</a> that the fundraiser wasn&#8217;t nearly as glamorous as Warren made it out to be, and while they do sell a bottle of wine for $900 &#8212; a price point Warren said demonstrated how out of touch Buttigieg&#8217;s backers were &#8212; that bottle is actually a &#8220;extra large&#8221; and holds four times what a standard wine bottle holds.
Their most expensive bottle of wine is around $400, according to their website, but the Hall Rutherford Winery sells bottles across all price points, starting at around $20. And one of the attendees, Bill Werhle, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/21/about-that-wine-cave-dinner-i-was-there/">wrote his own op-ed in The Washington Post</a> defending the fundraiser, noting that “plenty [of the attendees] were people of means,” but that he&#8217;s “neither a billionaire nor a millionaire,&#8221; and the bottle of wine he drank retails for around $150.
But there&#8217;s a bigger problem with Warren&#8217;s line of attack: she&#8217;s isn&#8217;t so immune from &#8220;influence&#8221; as she claims. According to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/warren-s-souvenir-bottle-pops-buttigieg-wine-cave-debate-n1106186">NBC News</a> &#8212; not exactly an anti-Warren outlet &#8212; Warren, herself comfortably a millionaire (her net worth is somewhere north of $10 million), held her own winery fundraiser, complete with a $1,000-per-plate dinner, an appearance by noted millionaire entertainer Melissa Etheridge, and a souvenir wine bottle.
&#8220;On a Saturday evening in June 2018, with temperatures in the 70s and the Red Sox playing at Fenway Park, supporters of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren gathered at the City Winery Boston for a fundraiser,&#8221; the outlet reported. &#8220;They were treated to songs by the Grammy-winning artist Melissa Etheridge and heard remarks from Warren, who was months away from announcing her campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. For the top donors, those who could contribute or raise $5,400 per couple or $2,700 a person, there was a VIP photo reception and premium seating &#8230; For them and others who gave at least $1,000, there was also a gift: a souvenir wine bottle.&#8221;
Warren says she&#8217;s since &#8220;learned&#8221; from her mistakes and doesn&#8217;t sell access, but that&#8217;s also not entirely true.
&#8220;She used more than $10 million from her Senate campaign account, some of it raised at large donor events, to help seed her presidential bid, a fact Buttigieg eagerly pointed out,&#8221; the New York Post reports, adding that Warren embraced the sort of fundraiser and donor she now eschews as recently as 2018. &#8220;Past Warren donors say she was an engaging presence at those events, asking questions of her wealthy patrons and listening intently to what they had to say.&#8221;
She also handed out awards to millionaire donors, co-hosted events in tony locations, and courted celebrities like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
As for her newfound commitment to bypassing mega-donors and mega-fundraisers, it seems fairly limited, too. Instead of just personally courting those millionaire and billionaire fans, she&#8217;s just shuttling off that responsibility to bundlers, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/18/big-democratic-donors-elizabeth-warren-2020-071333">according to Politico</a>, who act &#8220;as conduits&#8221; to her campaign and raise the cash on her behalf.
&#8220;[Paul] Egerman, her campaign treasurer, is a prolific political donor himself. And the wealthy supporters Egerman and [Shanti] Fry are organizing today may have another act to play in Warren’s campaign: If she became the nominee, those donors may help finance the national Democratic Party, which can collect six-figure sums and which Warren has said she would raise money for if chosen as the nominee, or help super PACs that would support Warren against President Donald Trump,&#8221; the DC-based outlet reports.
Jacobin &#8212; another not-very-right-leaning publication &#8212; also took Warren to task recently for narrowly defining what &#8220;PAC&#8221; money she&#8217;ll accept, leaving the door open for plenty of fundraiser influence &#8212; just not through very specific channels.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Trolled Pete Buttigieg Over His Winery Fundraiser. There’s Just One Big Problem.

On Friday, actress Jane Lynch waded into dangerous political territory for someone in Hollywood by criticizing 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Twitter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hello everyone. Billionaires in wine caves have as much right to say who gets to be president as waitresses in diners and plumbers in my bathroom. Class warfare is ugly, <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ewarren</a> Thanks for listening everyone.
— Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) <a href="https://twitter.com/janemarielynch/status/1208122516302110721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>Hello everyone. Billionaires in wine caves have as much right to say who gets to be president as waitresses in diners and plumbers in my bathroom. Class warfare is ugly, <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/ewarren">@ewarren</a>. Thanks for listening everyone.</blockquote>
Lynch’s tweet came one day after the sixth Democratic debate during which Warren got into a tiff with rival Pete Buttigieg about wealthy campaign donors.
At Thursday’s debate, Sen. Warren criticized the idea of relying on high-dollar donations, stating in part: “We can’t have people who can put down $5,000 for a check drown out the voices of everyone else. They don’t in my campaign and they won’t in my white house.”
Buttigieg, who suggested the remark was directed at him, rebutted Warren’s notion, saying that Democrats cannot “defeat” President Trump “with one hand tied behind our back.”
Then came the now-infamous line from Warren:
<blockquote>So, the mayor just recently had a fundraiser that was held in a wine cave full of crystals and served $900-a-bottle wine. Think about who comes to that. He had promised that every fundraiser he would do would be open door, but this one was closed door. We made the decision many years ago that rich people in smoke-filled rooms would not pick the next president of the United States. Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States.</blockquote>
Warren added that she doesn’t “sell access” to her time, and doesn’t “meet behind closed doors with big dollar donors.”
Buttigieg responded, and there was further back-and-forth between the two candidates.
After posting her tweet about “class warfare,” Lynch got some blowback. While the actress’ tweet has received more than 59,000 “likes” and 7,400 retweets as of publication, it also boasts approximately 21,000 comments, an overwhelming number of which are very critical.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
This reminds me of Marie Antoinette—but a modern version where you say let them drink wine in wine caves when they toil cleaning up after the mess you leave behind as plumbers in your bathroom. One billionaire shouldn’t have more say than all the plumbers in the whole country.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) <a href="https://twitter.com/eugenegu/status/1208150947735621633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>This reminds me of Marie Antoinette—but a modern version where you say let them drink wine in wine caves when they toil cleaning up after the mess you leave behind as plumbers in your bathroom. One billionaire shouldn’t have more say than all the plumbers in the whole country.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
Whew.
Really wishing you had chosen not to comment.
Love your acting but this is a garbage take that completely misses the point and minimizes the corrupting influence of money in politics.
Class warfare is a constant. And 99% of us are its casualties. THAT’S what’s “ugly.”
— Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath) <a href="https://twitter.com/leahmcelrath/status/1208137404848201728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>Whew. Really wishing you had chosen not to comment. Love your acting but this is a garbage take that completely misses the point and minimizes the corrupting influence of money in politics. Class warfare is a constant. And 99% of us are its casualties. THAT’S what’s “ugly.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Yes, &#8220;class warfare&#8221; is quite ugly.
And the ultra-rich should stop fighting the war.
— Pé Resists (@4everNeverTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/4everNeverTrump/status/1208141982024921088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>Warren would not disagree with you. The problem is—which is clear when Warren talked about it—that billionaires in wine caves have *substantially* more say in the process than waitresses and plumbers. Yes, &#8220;class warfare&#8221; is quite ugly. And the ultra-rich should stop fighting the war.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
When waitresses &amp; plumbers can buy access to people running for president, then we can discuss how class warfare is unfair to the wealthy.
— 𝐝𝐨𝐤𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐤𝐢 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐧𝐢𝐜 (@disco_socialist) <a href="https://twitter.com/disco_socialist/status/1208135640270770176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>When waitresses &amp; plumbers can buy access to people running for president, then we can discuss how class warfare is unfair to the wealthy.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
do you, a functioning adult, actually believe that billionaires and waitresses currently have equal power to choose their elected officials?
— Natalie Shure (@nataliesurely) <a href="https://twitter.com/nataliesurely/status/1208155565802840065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<blockquote>Do you, a functioning adult, actually believe that billionaires and waitresses currently have equal power to choose their elected officials?</blockquote>
Lynch has <a href="https://twitter.com/janemarielynch/status/1208123597635686402?s=21">tweeted</a> again about the “wine cave,” writing: “And the dying embers of what was the wine cave meme is gently blown back to life.”
According to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=jane+lynch&amp;order=desc&amp;sort=D">Open Secrets</a>, in March 2019, Lynch donated $2,500 dollars to the Buttigieg campaign. The actress has also expressed support for more moderate Democrats, recently tweeting that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was “<a href="https://twitter.com/janemarielynch/status/1208140895402500097?s=21">presidential</a>.”
On Friday, Lynch retweeted screenwriter Matt Oswalt, who wrote: “Let’s just vote for Amy Klobuchar and be done with it. A stable, intelligent, thoughtful, slightly boring president who doesn&#8217;t live on social media is just what this country needs. And I find the whole &#8216;eating salad with a comb&#8217; thing kinda sexy <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/hashtag/demdebate?src=hashtag_click">#demdebate</a>.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Cosign oh so full heartedly! <a href="https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amyklobuchar</a> <a href="https://t.co/3RIfSs2ImS">https://t.co/3RIfSs2ImS</a>
— Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) <a href="https://twitter.com/janemarielynch/status/1208062858958909440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
Lynch wrote above the retweet: “Cosign oh so full heartedly!”

Jane Lynch.

Actress Jane Lynch Dragged On Twitter After Criticizing Elizabeth Warren Over ‘Class Warfare’

Jane Lynch

During last night&#8217;s Democratic Party presidential primary debate, the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/ia/iowa_democratic_presidential_caucus-6731.html">surging</a> Pete Buttigieg delivered a snide aside that would be headline-grabbing were it not merely part of a continuous line of attack. Discussing electability concerns in a back-and-forth with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Buttigieg, the rather <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/22/south-bend-poor-say-democrat-pete-buttigieg-left-them-behind.html">neglectful</a> mayor of <a href="https://patch.com/indiana/south-bend/south-bend-one-worst-cities-live-study-finds">shoddily managed</a> South Bend, Indiana, <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2019/12/20/buttigieg-i-can-win-the-presidency-because-im-a-gay-man-in-mike-pences-indiana/">quipped</a>: &#8220;If you want to talk about the capacity to win, try putting together a coalition to bring you back to office with 80% of the vote, as a gay dude in Mike Pence’s Indiana.&#8221;
The implication, of course, is that the vice president of the United States — a Christian who takes his faith seriously — is somehow openly hostile to homosexuals. Even worse, it seems Buttigieg believes Pence, a former Indiana governor, was able to inculcate and disseminate such a viciously homophobic atmosphere throughout the Hoosier State during his gubernatorial tenure such that Buttigieg&#8217;s political rise was made much more difficult as a result.
These allegations, as Buttigieg&#8217;s Democratic presidential primary rival Joe Biden <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/02/democrat-voters-biden-malarkey-campaign-slogan-074727">might put it</a>, are malarkey. But the notion that Mike Pence is a homosexual-loathing troglodyte is more pernicious than that, too. Buttigieg&#8217;s nonstop bashing of Pence evinces a serious character flaw in the mayor. And it is shameful, to boot.
Buttigieg&#8217;s jihad against Pence is nothing new. Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro dedicated a <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/04/pete-buttigieg-attacks-mike-pence-bad-faith/">National Review column</a> over eight months ago to decrying Buttigieg&#8217;s &#8220;bad-faith attack&#8221; on Pence. At the time, Buttigieg&#8217;s verbal fusillade against the sitting vice president &#8220;betray[ed] a fundamental misunderstanding of religious people [in] suggest[ing] that their belief in the immorality of certain sexual behavior reflects animus for those who engage in that sexual behavior,&#8221; Ben wrote. And as Erick Erickson and many other conservative Christian commentators have argued, Buttigieg&#8217;s cloaking himself <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-pete-buttigieg-tried-use-bible-argue-matt-walsh">under the veneer of Scripture</a> to try to justify his invariably <a href="https://theresurgent.com/2019/04/08/on-meet-the-press-pete-buttigieg-shows-why-progressive-christianity-is-a-hypocritical-farce/">non-justifiable policy stances</a> is intellectually disingenuous.
Buttigieg&#8217;s self-serving distortions of biblical verses to defend his progressive social crusades — chiefly, abortion-on demand <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-pete-buttigieg-tried-use-bible-argue-matt-walsh">until birth</a> and the civilizational <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-remember-those-who-told-us-gay-marriage-would-not-lead-to-polyamory-they-were-wrong">redefinition of marriage</a> so as to delink sexual complementary — is itself malicious toward those religious Christians and Jews who (properly) read the Bible as supporting contrary policy positions. But the deeply personal nature of his ceaseless singling out of Pence, in particular, is uniquely off-putting. There is no rational reason whatsoever for Buttigieg to care this much about Pence, who has never publicly spoken of Buttigieg with anything other than dignity and charity.
At its core, Buttigieg&#8217;s insatiable desire to invoke Pence as a bogeyman for all his woes reveals a proclivity for dishonesty and profound cynicism. Mike Pence is simply not an individual who should occupy such an outsized space in Pete Buttigieg&#8217;s head; on the contrary, there are many of us social conservatives with <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/trump-vp-pick-mike-pence-evangelicals-225623">long enough memories to remember</a> how poorly then-Governor Pence handled Indiana&#8217;s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) &#8220;controversy&#8221; back in 2015. Pence&#8217;s dithering on Indiana&#8217;s RFRA and seeming willingness to appease the left-wing secularist mob by conceding the premise that portions of RFRA might somehow be &#8220;anti-gay&#8221; was not exactly an impressive demonstration of conservative mettle.
But Buttigieg has no use for any facts about Mike Pence. The South Bend mayor is happy to straw man to his heart&#8217;s content in order to make his political rise look more impressive than it actually is — and for what we can only assume is the inherent &#8220;joy&#8221; of smearing an upstanding man, to boot. It is a sad, petty, and bitter exercise.
Buttigieg may get a sick and twisted pleasure from all of this. But rational Americans can, and will, see it for what it is: Shameful.

HAMMER: Pete Buttigieg’s War On Mike Pence Is Shameful

Amy Klobuchar

Homosexuality

Indiana

LGBT

Mike Pence

Religion

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg&#8217;s rock star status in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary race has largely plummeted in the wake of reports detailing his abysmal support among black voters — a core constituency of the modern Democratic Party base. Now, some progressive activists are downright labeling him the epitome of &#8220;white male privilege.&#8221;
According to the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-12-18/pete-buttigieg-progressives?_amp=true&amp;__twitter_impression=true">Los Angeles Times</a>, Buttigieg has now become a joke in progressive social media circles, where he is routinely mocked for both his failed attempts to garner black voter support and &#8220;the swanky locales of his private fundraisers.&#8221;
&#8220;The acrimony has spilled over onto the campaign trail with rivals increasingly sniping at Buttigieg by name,&#8221; the outlet reported. &#8220;In a year when Democrats fielded their most diverse slate of candidates ever, some are frustrated by him outperforming women and candidates of color with longer resumes. Compounding that sting is his meager support among black and Latino voters, a core of the Democratic base.&#8221;
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said that Buttigieg&#8217;s &#8220;gravitas&#8221; does not match that of his opponents.
“Of the people at the top of the race &#8230; you have three very accomplished people with gravitas,” said Green. “That does not extend to a 37-year-old mayor who won his last race with 8,000 votes.&#8221;
Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, said that the hype around Buttigieg is “very hard to stomach&#8221; when other candidates are &#8220;carrying the hopes and dreams of millions who haven’t been given that.&#8221;
Rebecca Katz, founder of the progressive consulting firm New Deal Strategies, simply labeled the South Bend mayor as &#8220;the living and breathing embodiment of white male privilege.”
“Right now, people don’t really know who Pete Buttigieg is,” Katz added. “He’s different at the end of 2019 than he was at the start of 2019.”
Many progressive activists have taken particular issue with Buttigieg shifting between the moderate and far-left lanes of the primary race whenever it suits his political purposes. For instance, he first supported “Medicare for All” but now supports the idea of &#8220;a government-run public option to compete with private insurers.&#8221; When it comes to his college affordability programs, progressive activists felt his talking points were too in line with the GOP.
&#8220;Many on the left also got angry when Buttigieg, responding to a voter question in New Hampshire about the federal deficit, said that his party was &#8216;not known for worrying about deficits and the debt too much, but it’s time for us to start getting into that business,'&#8221; the report continued. &#8220;He then went on to slam the GOP for growing the deficit under its watch. Liberal economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman tweeted his dismay, wondering, &#8216;Is Buttigieg just Howard Schultz in disguise?'&#8221;
In response to his critics, Buttigieg has touted his other progressive bona fides, including &#8220;hiking taxes on the wealthy, raising the minimum wage, and boosting union membership.&#8221;
To be sure, this type of infighting among Democrats is to be expected during a primary season. Where Buttigieg faces the greatest uphill battle is winning black voter support. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/consensus-mayor-petes-low-black-voter-support-may-cost-him">overwhelming consensus</a> among political pundits is that lack of black voter support may well ultimately cost him in the end.

Progressives Denounce Pete Buttigieg As The Epitome Of ‘White Male Privilege’

New polling shows a very troubling development for those desperate to see Donald Trump go down in 2020. After struggling in three key battleground states against Democratic presidential frontrunners, Trump has seen a surge in support since Democrats formally moved forward with impeachment. The Republican president now leads every potential Democratic opponent in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, three of the Rust Belt states that helped deliver Trump&#8217;s electoral victory in 2016.
In a <a href="https://firehousestrategies.com/analysis/december_2019_battleground_survey/">report</a> published Sunday, Firehouse Strategies presented their new quarterly battleground polling results, and they were quite grim for Democrats. In a survey of 1,759 likely 2020 general election voters in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania conducted last week (12/3 through 12/5), the Firehouse/Optimus pollsters found that Trump was &#8220;surging&#8221; as an apparent result of the Democrats&#8217; impeachment effort — while Democratic frontrunner former Vice President Joe Biden is suffering a &#8220;sharp decline in support.&#8221;
&#8220;As the impeachment process heats up in Washington, Donald Trump is seeing a boost in support in crucial swing states,&#8221; Firehouse Strategies reports. &#8220;Across the board, President Trump is polling well against the Democratic field in each of these battleground states. Notably, Vice President Biden has seen a sharp decline in support in our surveys as he currently runs behind President Trump in each of the three states.&#8221;
And it&#8217;s not just Biden who is suffering, it&#8217;s all the Democratic candidates. Trump now leads each of them, and often by significant margins.
&#8220;As the race currently stands, President Trump is in the lead in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in hypothetical match-ups against former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg,&#8221; Firehouse explains. &#8220;Across the three states, Trump’s closest contest is against Joe Biden, although the president leads by an average of 6 percentage points against each Democrat.&#8221;
In Michigan, Trump leads Biden by 5 points (46-41), Warren by 9 points (47-38), Sanders by 6 points (48-42), Buttigieg by 11 points (48-37), and Bloomberg by 11 points (48-37).
The numbers are similar in Pennsylvania, where Trump leads Biden by 5 points (46-41), Warren by 7 points (47-40), Sanders by 10 points (48-38), Buttigieg by 6 points (46-40), and Bloomberg by 4 points (45-41). The 4-point gap with Bloomberg is the closest any of the Democrats get to Trump in the three key states.
The results are even worse for Democrats in Wisconsin, where Trump now enjoys a greater than 8-point advantage over all of the Democratic contenders. Trump beats Biden by 9 points (48-39), Warren by 13 points (50-37), Sanders by 13 points (51-38), Buttigieg by 11 points (49-38), and Bloomberg by 14 points (49-37).
So is the Democrats&#8217; impeachment campaign to blame for Trump&#8217;s surge and the Democrats&#8217; — particularly Bidens&#8217; — &#8220;sharp decline&#8221;? The Firehouse/Optimus survey asked the likely 2020 voters in the three battleground states what they thought about impeachment and got some pretty clear results:
<blockquote>In each of these battleground states, we find that a majority of likely 2020 voters do not support the impeachment and removal of President Trump from office. Impeachment and removal is opposed by 50.8% of voters in Michigan, 52.2% of voters in Pennsylvania, and 57.9% of voters in Wisconsin. Non-partisan voters in Michigan (70%) and Wisconsin (61%) oppose impeachment and removal while non-partisan voters in Pennsylvania slightly support it (46.4% to 40.9%). When asked about whether congressional Democrats should be spending their time impeaching Trump or focusing on policy issues, a majority of these battleground state voters choose “focus on policy issues” (MI: 59.4%; PA: 63%; WI: 67.2%).</blockquote>
Firehouse provides the following &#8220;key point&#8221; in summary of its findings: &#8220;Overall, we find President Trump performing well in these crucial 2020 states. While these numbers will fluctuate as the presidential election continues, Trump is well situated to win back these contests.&#8221; (<a href="https://firehousestrategies.com/analysis/december_2019_battleground_survey/">Read the full report here</a>.)

Nancy Pelosi

Impeachment Backlash: Trump Now Beating All Democrats In Three Key Battleground States

Impeachment

Michael Bloomberg

The following is satirical.
The new economic numbers are out and it now seems clear President Trump has helped create one of the greatest economies in American history. In the wake of the good news, Democrats are scrambling to find an effective way to campaign against him.
In an interview given to Chuck Todd in the bowels of Castle Democrat, which sits on the mist-shrouded crags atop Mount Incompetence, DNC Chairman Hapless Schmoe said, “We thought if you journalists kept using the word bombshell over and over, we might be able to sell the people on this cockamamie nonsense about Ukraine or wherever it is, but if they’re not stupid enough to fall for that, they’re sure enough not going to vote for one of our lousy candidates.”
The lousy candidates, meanwhile, have been retooling their campaign slogans in hopes of offering voters an alternative to peace and prosperity.
For instance, Joe Biden is testing out the new slogan: “Sure, America is doing great but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t use a doddering, corrupt old fool in the White House.”
Elizabeth Warren is now using the slogan: “The economy is amazing, but I have a plan for that.”
And Pete Buttigieg has new signs that read: “Who wants a gorgeous, graceful, kind, stylish, and elegant first lady when you could have my husband Christian instead?”
Bernie Sanders has been telling his rallies, “I happen to believe that every man, woman and child should have a free alley cat for dinner like they do in other socialist countries.”
And in his new TV ad Corey Booker says: “I’m walking around bare chested in a short leather skirt because I’m Spartacus. No, really.”
Finally, Nancy Pelosi will be running to hold her speaker seat with the slogan: “I prayed for the president and look how well he’s doing. Clearly God listens to me, so you should keep me in Congress.”
Democrats say if these slogans don’t work, they’ll just go back to shrieking lies while the media pretends to believe them, as usual.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jobs-report-presents-terrible-news-for-democrats-as-they-push-forward-on-partisan-impeachment">Jobs Report Presents Terrible News For Democrats As They Push Forward On Partisan Impeachment</a>

Democrats Offer Voters An Alternative To Peace And Prosperity [Satire]

On Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg held a town hall in Henniker, New Hampshire. During the event, a 7-year-old girl asked the South Bend mayor a question about abortion.
“Mayor Buttigieg, I have listened to you in the debates, and learned some stuff about you, and that you believe in a woman’s right to choose about her own body,” the girl said. “I agree with that. No one should mess with or choose about my body except me and my parents because I’m still a child.”
Buttigieg interjected: “You sound pretty sophisticated for a child. Do you mind if I ask how old you are?”
The girl said that she didn’t mind, and told the mayor that she was 7. Buttigieg replied: “Really? Well, you’re ahead of your time.”
The girl continued, asking: “I believe that you make your decision on whether you’re going to have a child, and then your decision is made, and the abortion is not part of it. What do you think about that?”
Buttigieg responded to the little girl, saying:
<blockquote>Well, first of all, thanks for speaking up about this, and thanks for being here, and I wish I was as tuned in to big issues when I was 7 as you seem to be. This is a hard issue for a lot of people because they believe different things – and where I live, people believe different things, including people that I respect. But the way I think about it is that this choice, it’s about drawing a line, and we might each, following our own beliefs, have a different idea about where to draw the line.
What I hope everybody, or at least most of us, can agree on is who gets to draw the line – and that’s the person making the decision, that’s the woman in question. And I trust women to make that choice. I don’t think that choice is easy. I know that it’s not going to be any better because the government’s saying what it ought to be. I trust women to make that choice. And it sounds like you and I view this issue the same way.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WATCH:
Pete Buttigieg is no moderate.
He just told a 7-year-old pro-life girl it&#8217;s okay to kill babies in abortions.<a href="https://t.co/KYgPd7NJgV">https://t.co/KYgPd7NJgV</a> <a href="https://t.co/1W6IRTHp45">pic.twitter.com/1W6IRTHp45</a>
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/LifeNewsHQ/status/1202726154257350656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
Buttigieg has made his position on abortion clear on numerous occasions, using similar verbiage. The extremity of his position can be seen during a Fox News town hall in which Chris Wallace asked the mayor about third trimester abortions.
“Do you believe at any point in pregnancy, whether it&#8217;s six weeks or eight weeks or 24 weeks or whatever, that there should be any limit on a woman&#8217;s right to have an abortion?” Wallace asked.
Buttigieg answered in typical fashion, saying: “I think the dialogue has got so caught up on where you draw the line that we&#8217;ve gotten away from the fundamental question of who gets to draw the line, and I trust women to draw the line when it&#8217;s [their own life].”
Wallace followed up, asking: “You’re saying that you would be okay with a woman well into the third trimester deciding to abort a pregnancy?”
Buttigieg pushed back, taking issue with the “hypothetical” nature of the question. Wallace then stated that at least 6,000 abortions a year are performed in the third trimester, and it’s therefore not hypothetical.
Buttigieg was finally forced to answer Wallace’s query:
<blockquote>So let&#8217;s put ourselves in the shoes of a woman in that situation. If it&#8217;s that late in your pregnancy, that means, almost by definition, you’ve been expecting to carry it to term. We&#8217;re talking about women who have perhaps chosen a name; women who have purchased a crib; families that then get the most devastating medical news of their lifetime – something about the health or the life of the mother that forces them to make an impossible, unthinkable choice.
And the bottom line is, as horrible as that choice is – that woman, that family may seek spiritual guidance; they may seek medical guidance – but that decision’s not going to be made any better medically or morally because the government is dictating how that decision should be made.</blockquote>
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As former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino said during an interview with Lila Rose, founder of anti-abortion organization Live Action, late-term abortions are never medically necessary to save the life of the mother.
<blockquote>ROSE: One of the biggest arguments of pro-abortion activists is that abortion is medically necessary. What&#8217;s your position on that?
LEVATINO: We hear all the time how abortion – including, especially late-term abortion – is necessary to save women&#8217;s lives. Nothing could be further from the truth. I spent nine years working at a tertiary medical center. I mean, there are only certain hospitals in the country that are designated to take care of the really, really high risk pregnancies&#8230;
I was faculty at the [Albany Medical Center] hospital for nine years, and I saw hundreds of cases of really severe pregnancy complications – cancers, heart disease, intractable diabetes, out of control, toxemia pregnancy, out of control, and I saved &#8230; in those nine years, I saved hundreds of women from life-threatening pregnancies, and I did that by delivering them, by ending their pregnancy by delivery, either induction of labor or caesarean section&#8230;
And I always tell people – in all of those years, the number of babies that I was obligated to deliberately kill in the process was zero. None.</blockquote>
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While Mayor Pete Buttigieg stands in line with many of his Democratic presidential peers on the issue of abortion, he is wildly out of step with the American people.
A 2018 <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/1576/abortion.aspx">Gallup survey</a> asked respondents whether they believed abortion should be legal or illegal “in the last three months of pregnancy.” 81% said that it should be “illegal.” 65% stated that abortion should be illegal even in the second trimester.
In 2019, Gallup asked respondents if they believed abortion was morally wrong or morally acceptable, “regardless of whether or not you think it should be legal.” 50% said it’s “morally wrong,” while 42% said it’s “morally acceptable.”

Pete Buttigieg.

WATCH: Buttigieg And 7-Year-Old Questioner Discuss Abortion

Abortion

Continuing his quest to Make America Merry Again, President Trump delivered a powerful message about the birth of Jesus Christ as he addressed the crowd during the lighting of the National Christmas Tree.
“In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas tree,” President Trump began, as reported by <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trump-the-cross-is-a-powerful-reminder-of-the-meaning-of-christmas">LifeSiteNews</a>. “Later that night, African-American community centers held an outdoor worship service on these grounds, and during that service, the Washington Monument was illuminated with a beautiful cross, a powerful reminder of the meaning of Christmas.”
The president then spoke of the three wise men and how the birth of Christ inspires us all to love one another with open hearts.
“More than two thousand years ago, a brilliant star shown in the east. Wise men traveled far and they came and they stood under the star where they found the Holy Family, in Bethlehem,” the president said. “As the Bible tells us, when the wise men had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. Christians give thanks that the Son of God came into the world to save humanity. Jesus Christ inspires us to love one another with hearts full of generosity and grace.”
President Trump then tipped his hat to David and Sharron Hudson of the Salvation Army, an organization that has increasingly been inundated with false accusations of homophobia from the radical Left in recent days. Those accusations boiled over into absurdity when <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pete-buttigieg-criticized-volunteering-salvation-army-n1096111">LGBT activists began criticizing South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg</a> for once having volunteered for the organization.
&#8220;Joining us today are David and Sharron Hudson of the Salvation Army,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;Each year, through their Angel Tree program, the Salvation Army brings new gifts to more than 600,000 children. David and Sharron are an inspiration to us all. And, David and Sharron, thank you very much for being with us. Thank you.&#8221;
As the president concluded, he reminded the audience that every human being is a child of God and wished the whole country a Merry Christmas.
&#8220;At Christmas we remember this eternal truth: Every person is a beloved child of God,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;As one grateful nation we praise the joy of family, the blessings of freedom, and the miracle of Christmas. On behalf of Melania and our entire family, Merry Christmas, and God bless you all.&#8221;
During the campaign of 2016 and following his election, President Trump promised to buck the culture of political correctness he saw during the Christmas season. Accordingly, Trump denounced the phrase, &#8220;Happy Holidays.&#8221;
“We’re getting near that beautiful Christmas season that people don’t talk about anymore. They don’t use the word Christmas because it’s not politically correct,&#8221; he said to a crowd in 2017. &#8220;You go to department stores and they’ll say &#8216;Happy New Year,&#8217; or they’ll say other things and it’ll be red, they’ll have it painted. But they don’t say — well guess what? We’re saying Merry Christmas again.&#8221;
Though President Obama did say &#8220;Happy Holidays&#8221; for the White House Christmas card, <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/03/remarks-president-lighting-national-christmas-tree">he did use the phrase</a> &#8220;Merry Christmas&#8221; during the National Tree lighting.
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