By Jeffrey A. Rendall
TDS Dems dredge up a ghost from the not-so-distant past for a spin as 2028 frontrunner
Remember 2020?
Most people will probably never forget that year. Not only was 2020 the time for overhyped COVID paranoia that duped the American population into rejecting their individual rights in favor of accepting draconian preventative health measures to supposedly “keep people safe”, it also was the year for the crucial presidential election that split the nation down the middle on the issue of elections integrity, a matter that still plagues us to this day.
2020 lingers on in so many ways. Its memory is burned into the back of our collective consciousness forever.
One offshoot of 2020 hasn’t been so recollection-worthy, that of the 2020 Democrat presidential primary race. All most Americans likely remember from that political crap-fest was doddering (even back then) senile Joe Biden dueling-it-out with equally annoying old coot Bernie Sanders for the hearts and minds of the leftist, Trump-hating Democrat electorate.
It’s almost comical to review the debate questions and issues the Democrat contenders fielded in the lead up to the key moment when Sanders suspended his campaign and party members threw their (light)weight behind Obama’s veep for their nominee to battle President Donald Trump.
Additionally recall how Trump had looked strong in early 2020, if not unbeatable, prior to the COVID scare fest. The 45th president had just beaten back a sham impeachment trial stirred by Adam “Shifty” Schiff and then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Yeah, all of those things remain in our memories. But what’s largely forgotten, up until recently at least, was the upstart presidential campaign of fresh-faced and horribly under-qualified South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a political nobody who’d opted to run for Trump’s job on the strength of his being gayer-than-gay in a party increasingly held hostage by the LGBTQIA+++ lobby.
Sure, “Mayor Pete” talked a good game and pontificated the right things to inflame the passions of the Democrat base. But how else could a pasty white dude compete in the race-obsessed Democrat party than to champion his alternative sexuality?
After bowing out and joining the effort to prop up Biden, Pete Butt was rewarded with a cabinet post in senile Joe’s and cackling Kamala’s administration, to act as Secretary of Transportation though he seemingly had little to no experience doing anything that he’d be required to do, which was ensure that commerce flowed easily using the country’s multiple modes of transportation.
Pete failed miserably in his duties, partially because he’d paused to take “paternity leave” when he and his “husband” adopted twins. So much for guaranteeing the work would go on after accepting a new-age government-mandated leave of absence!
It’s not surprising how people have forgotten Buttigieg. But apparently Democrat voters haven’t readily disregarded their fondness for the now middle-aged political curiosity. Pete’s vaulted into the lead in a recent poll testing their preferences for a 2028 candidate!
In an article titled, “From Mayor Pete to President Pete? Buttigieg leads 2028 Dem poll”, Seth McLaughlin reported at The Washington Times last week:
“Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is the front-runner to win the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, according to an Emerson College poll released Thursday.
“Mr. Buttigieg, who rose to political stardom in the 2020 nomination fight as South Bend, Indiana’s ‘Mayor Pete,’ is the preferred pick of 18% of likely Democratic primary voters, followed by Gov. Gavin Newsom of California at 16% and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York at 11%. Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and former Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s late-innings 2024 nominee, each came in at 10%, with Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky at 9%. Eighteen percent of respondents remain undecided.
“The survey showed that support for Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has ticked up a couple of points from earlier in the year, while support for Mr. Newsom and Ms. Harris has fallen off four and three points, respectively.”
I’m not sure if this is considered great news for Mr. B and his elevated political stature — or it’s merely a kick to the gut to the already reeling cackling Kamala Harris and Governor “Hair gel” Gavin Newsom. But if you’re a bored-as-sin political pundit and you’re dying to talk about Democrats other than the usual woeful mob of liberal wannabes, injecting Pete Butt’s persona into the mix is like spying a large lake in the middle of a bone-dry desert.
Or is Pete’s rise just a mirage?
The same Emerson survey showed the Republican race tightening as well. McLaughlin added, “Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are locked in a statistical tie among a field of possible 2028 Republican contenders, at 36% and 35%, respectively. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley both came in at 5%.”
The news regarding Vance and Rubio appears to be more comment-worthy at present, but for entertainment’s sake, we’ll focus on the Pete-Butt-to-the-top rumors here.
This most recent development in the Democrat pre-race looks to be Democrat survey-participants continuing to “shop” for an acceptable nominee. Their hatred for President Donald Trump is always at or near its apex, so Democrats figure whoever they select had better be ready to beat the Republicans across the finish line in two years.
Making Democrats’ dilemma even more intriguing is the fact that redistricting is taking place across the country, and the new congressional maps/representation could make a difference in which faction controls Congress. Liberals are rapidly losing their built-in advantages in a number of population-gaining red states, so the prospect of stopping Trump – or the next Republican presidential nominee – seems even more daunting than it was just a year ago.
Meanwhile, the current “bench” of Democrats appears to be mired in inertia stifling apathy. By putting out their “feelers” early, Democrat pols such as cackling Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom failed to excite the all-too-anxious Democrat base.
Democrats chose senile Joe Biden in 2020 because they surmised, back then, that putting forth Bernie Sanders was too risky.
Basically, everyone presumed “The Bern” was unelectable. They were probably right. The same was true for cackling Kamala Harris, a lesson Democrats learned the hard way in 2024.
By the same token, Democrats have come to a similar awareness with cackling Kamala at this juncture, too. This fact could change, but for now, with their quick glance in Pete Butt’s direction, the base is signaling they’re still searching for possible alternatives to the rumored favorites, a “White Knight” candidate who could perform the best next Big Bubba Bill Clinton or Barack Obama impression.
I bet Democrats are holding out hope that Michelle Obama will change her mind and declare how “worried” she is about (Republican candidate X) and therefore feels she’s indispensable and needs to enter politics to give the nation a chance to return to its former race-obsessed glory.
Pete Buttigieg is no Michelle Obama, but neither is he a legacy loser like senile Joe Biden, either. “Mayor Pete” stems from the newer Democrat generation of socialist-true-believers; he’s a “minority” in the sense he’s not white and straight, and he qualifies as different enough in the voters’ minds. The fact Pete hasn’t done anything of consequence – ever – doesn’t matter to the type of Democrat ballot-puncher who just wants to be rid of Donald Trump.
We can’t be sure whether Pete Butt is even planning another run at this point. Here’s guessing Buttigieg will continue to struggle with black southern Democrats who prefer to throw in with a more mainstream – ethnically and gender-wise – Democrat, and there’s little indication they’d take to a gay mid-westerner over a proven commodity like cackling Kamala Harris.
But the fact that someone like Mayor Pete is on the minds of Democrat primary voters means the Democrat contest is still wide-open at current. The announced candidates will emerge in the latter part of this year and the campaign to lead the party will begin in earnest then, too. Electability, it would seem, would play a major factor in Democrats’ deliberations.
The 2028 campaign for Democrat presidential nominee hasn’t begun to take shape yet and already the voters are flirting with a number of potential hopefuls vying to be the one to consolidate the party’s coalitions into a viable election winner. Pete Buttigieg checks most of the right boxes for Democrats, but would electability be one of them? Anything goes in the Democrat party.
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .