DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Pete Buttigieg faces down anti-gay chants in Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa (CNN)South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg brushed off anti-gay chants from a small number of out-of-state hecklers who interrupted his two Iowa events on Tuesday.
At one event, the hecklers invoked the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed because of the sexual behavior of the residents who lived there.
Buttigieg is gay and has talked openly about his Episcopalian faith. The Democratic presidential candidate sought to dispatch the disruptions without attacking the demonstrators, but did acknowledge the disturbances and, at one point, the fact that the men had the right to voice their opinion.
"The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you," Buttigieg said.

Interruptions at political events are common during the course of a campaign. Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Sens. Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders have all had protesters yell at them this year. But the anti-gay nature of the chants aimed at Buttigieg on Tuesday made the disruptions more personal.

Anti-gay sentiment has coursed through Iowa politics for years, particularly among some vocal social conservative groups, but the state was among the first to legalize same sex marriage 10 years ago, something that Buttigieg acknowledged on Tuesday. It's long been a hot-button topic in Des Moines, where several gay Democrats have been elected to local and state offices.

But Buttigieg's protesters -- led by anti-abortion activist Randall Terry -- came from out of state to attack the presidential candidate. Terry was seen driving a large RV past the event after the event concluded.

Terry said after the protest that he had also disrupted an event for Booker earlier on Tuesday but that he planned on attending as many Buttigieg events as possible.
The first disruption came in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where a man at the roughly 100-person event stood up and yelled, "We will not stop, he is misleading our children."
The man was shouted down by the audience and once he was removed from the event, Buttigieg said, "We are so dug in in such passionate ways."

"That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the creator," he said. "I view it differently. We ought to be able to view it differently."
Two protesters interrupted Buttigieg's next event in Des Moines by yelling "Remember Sodom and Gomora" at different times during the event.

The repeated chant refers to two biblical cities where, according to the biblical book of Jude, the residents "indulged in sexual immorality" and, as punishment, would "serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire."

Both men yelled for a prolonged time, but they could not be heard over the chants from the audience.

Buttigieg told CNN on Tuesday that he would "prefer to have those kinds of debates in a respectful format, versus through interruption, but a president is going to have to deal with tougher things than being interrupted in a speech."

"It is what it is," he said as he talked to voters after the event.

The mayor added that he didn't get a lot of that during his time in South Bend.

"We are all from the same community so maybe it is a little different. There was some nonsense. There always will be," he said. "I get the sense that folks here believe in respectful debate. We can have respectful debate all day. But ideally without interrupting one another."

A voter asked Chasten Buttigieg, the candidate's husband, about the hecklers after the event, too.

"We are beyond divisiveness," he said. "That is what we are out here to talk about."

The once little known Buttigieg, after a well-reviewed appearance at a CNN town hall in March, has seen a surge of momentum in his presidential campaign, leading up to his official announcement on Sunday in South Bend.

The mayor has made his sexuality, his marriage and his religion part of his pitch to voters.

Buttigieg came out in 2015, months before he was re-elected as South Bend's mayor. He has talked about the fact that he was uncomfortable with being gay early in his life and told an audience at an LGBTQ event earlier this month that "if you had shown me exactly what it was that made me gay, I would have cut it out with a knife."

He added later: "Thank God there was no pill. Thank God there was no knife."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/politics/pete-buttigieg-iowa-anti-gay-chants/index.html

It seems some on the far right have a priority list of sins. Multiple counts of adultery gain their support. Being gay garners their ridicule. These people are an embarrassment to Christians.

The guy in the video on that article ranted about gays then went into abortions and stop killing babies like he was losing it. Of course he began with 'God loves Us'... but not if we are gay?

I diots
O ut
W alking
A round

Kind of like Zombies only different.

My pastor is from Iowa.

Iowa's just a corny place to be from.

And he was smart enough to relocate.

Just another example of a sect of people on one side who cannot see gray area.

His family is still there and I have other friends who moved their recently.

I hope you know my comments are in jest. I mean I call some states like Montana the place where women are scarce and sheep are nervous. But it's just a joke.

I actually think more Democrats need to focus on those kind of states. Focus on going on FOX News like Bernie did. Catering to the areas they are already winning won't change the electoral college map. To change their minds, to change votes, you have to go to where they live, go on the channels they watch. Bernie had a pretty good reaction from what was reported as a mixed crowd.

Hopefully they've figured out that's what you need to do to win.

The person who introduced me to that acronym was from Iowa. Great violinist, and a real cutie, too!

I know you and Pit well enough that I don't think either of you are so dim that you don't understand that there are a ton of good people in Iowa.. I was just poking..


I mean, after all, it's not like it's Connecticut.

Protesters dressed as Jesus and Satan appear at Buttigieg campaign event in Iowa

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/43...mpaign-event-in

smh

Wouldnt be surprised if this was staged by the left.

The gay attacks will run him out of the race. Trump will easily use it to his advantage, I can hear it now 'I, Donald J. Trump, want to ban all gays, Murica will never be a gay country'.

Was it these guys

Someone needs to supoena Buttigieg's bank account and see who he's been paying lately.

And there it is. The Jussie factor used as a weapon against the left. Good job.

One of the men who shouted about the biblical cities destroyed by God's wrath for their sinful ways was Randall Terry, a Christian activist who founded the anti-abortion rights group Operation Rescue. The organization says it split with him 18 years ago and now considers him too radical.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli...lly/3494336002/

Are you surprised now?

Nobody asked for the Jussie factor, y'all served that one up, and others like it, on a silver platter for the right.. if you are going to give it to them, expect them to hit you with it.

And it's neat that you act like Jussie is this unique event that couldn't possibly represent a larger group of people.. yet...


Sure reads like a pretty small number of people who are obsessed with this man being gay, yet they are being given a whole lot publicity over it... and a whole lot of other people are extrapolating their feelings about these disruptions onto a much bigger and broader group of people.

I guess one would first have to conclude that there isn't a much bigger and broader group of people that don't share these views. But we both know that there is.

free pete

I don't know that. But I will assume then, based on the fact that Jussie had ranking folks within the city of chicago drop his charges... that he still has a job.. and that people still support him and watch his show.. that the number of people on the left who approve of illegally attempting to incite race violence is also fairly big and broad...

I think there is certainly a much bigger and broader group of people that will do that than just the ranking folks in Chicago who dropped the charges.

I mean that was the discussion, right? I said a much bigger and broader group than two.

And "attempting to incite race violence" is nothing more than an assumption. I don't even think that was one of the charges that were dropped.

They don’t care. Have you seen how their tune changes when a few people protest a trump rally?

Say what? I’m pretty sure we all agreed Jussie was a dumbass jerk that set race relations back years. Only my take was and still is..he was tried in the press room and not in the court room. So you’re just hitting me with a lie. Please continue.

Evidently not everybody did.. or he would have been tried in court, he would have been fired just as the left demands that everybody who does something offensive be fired and be put on the persona non grata list...


And he was found not guilty.

As someone who lives in South Bend I can definitively say that regardless of his sexual preference Buttigieg is completely incompetent. He has ruined downtown South Bend by deliberately log jamming traffic by turning efficient one way roads into two way streets that are hopelessly bogged down. THe roads have turned into a complete mess with massive potholes everywhere. We have THE WORST streets in the STATE.

I mean this guy is detrimental to the public good and it will take years to repair the damage he has done to this city. The idea that he is running for President is actually terrifying in how bad he would screw the country up.

Welcome back, Razor.

A few months ago, I called out for you to weigh in on PB, because I wanted to hear from someone who knew him before I met him... and I knew about him well in advance of most national consumers.

Thanks for contributing.
I've been waiting to hear from you.

As far as I know, you are the only Dawgtalker who has Real Life experience living with Pete Butigiege.


It's good to read what you think of him.

It's the kind of first-hand testimony that helps me, as I reason my way through this selection process.

Nobody wanted to live, eat, or shop in ugly downtown South Bend 5 years ago, and now they do. Winning trumps whining. Pun intended.


https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/lo...47b6293e3a.html

SOUTH BEND — Long after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s second and final term ends in 2020, there will be a highly visible reminder of his tenure leading the city.

Downtown underwent a dramatic transformation under his leadership. One-way streets became two-way. Speed limits were reduced. Driving lanes were narrowed. Trees were planted. Decorative brick pavers were laid.

Buttigieg and his supporters say his signature “Smart Streets” initiative brought much more than aesthetic changes. The more pedestrian-friendly downtown has spurred more than $100 million in private investment, as several key buildings found new life.

New hotels. New apartments. New restaurants.

As the economy recovered from the recession of 2008-'09, some of that investment might have been inevitable. But Jeff Rea, president of the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the Buttigieg administration helped take the growth to another level.

“You can’t necessarily give Pete or Smart Streets credit for all of those (projects) but certainly the mayor has an important influence on the climate itself and their willingness to get deals done,” said Rea, a former Republican mayor of Mishawaka. “The city has been aggressive in pursuing these projects.”

Indeed, all of the new apartments and condos downtown, through renovation of older buildings and new construction, didn’t happen by accident. The city in 2013 hired market research firm Zimmerman Volk Associates to project the potential market for downtown housing. The firm’s study concluded that downtown had the potential to absorb 322 new apartment units, and developers have said the study gave them more confidence to invest.

Six years later, more than 500 units have been built or are under construction. They have lured new residents to the city, from recent Notre Dame graduates to empty-nesters looking to downsize.

Not everyone has been a fan. Critics have complained that the new apartments’ monthly rents, easily topping $1,000, are priced beyond many residents’ reach.

The street changes themselves also annoy some motorists. Any news story about Smart Streets that’s shared on Facebook is bound to draw complaints from residents that there is now too much traffic congestion downtown at peak travel times.

There are also key parts of downtown, including the former College Football Hall of Fame and the State Theatre, that still need to be addressed.

And then there’s Smart Streets’ roughly $21 million price tag, paid for with bonds that are being repaid with Tax Incremental Financing money, which comes from property taxes paid on the assessed valuation growth in an area. That project, combined with the city’s $50 million overhaul of its parks system, poses a “challenge” to the city’s ability to make other big investments in the near future, Rea said.

The city’s extended debt already has factored into the St. Joseph County Public Library’s plans for a $36 million to $38 million renovation and expansion of its downtown site, Rea noted. The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, in addition to committing $10 million in private donations to the project, is fronting another $4 million that the city will repay. But the city can’t start doing that until 2021, when it will have paid off enough debt to issue more bonds.

But Mark Neal, who was Buttigieg’s controller and filled in as mayor during Buttigieg’s seven-month deployment to Afghanistan with the Navy Reserves in 2014, said he isn’t worried that the city has spread itself too thin. That’s because the city’s property tax revenue is growing with increased assessed valuation, he said.

The assessed value of downtown property rose from about $132.8 million in 2013 to roughly $160.9 million last year, a 21-percent increase, according to a Tribune analysis of St. Joseph County property tax records. The area analyzed was bordered by LaSalle Avenue to the north, Hill Street to the east, South Street to the south and Taylor Street to the west.

Neal acknowledged that new downtown housing is unaffordable for many, simply because new construction anywhere tends to be more costly. But he said downtown’s revitalization is spurring new investment in more affordable rental housing in neighborhoods “a stone’s throw away” from downtown.

The revitalization “is going to have a very long-lasting and impactful effect on the city as a whole,” said Neal, now a partner at Bradley Co., who has recently redeveloped the Hibberd Building downtown as new apartments. “People like me, 10 years ago, would never have thought about investing a single dollar in South Bend...If a downtown isn’t attractive, it’s really hard for someone from outside the community to want to spend any time there. That’s just the reality.”

Seriously, Clem? Asking razorthorns what he thinks of Buttigieg is like asking a KKK member what they think of the black politician in their city.

Not only do you have years of him posting about his disdain for homosexuals, bet the fact that he needs to preface it with this should give you a clue as to his thinking:




My dad’s brother and his very large family all live in South Bend and the like Buttigieg very much. They think he has done a lot for the city and has things moving in the right direction.

I don’t know enough about him to form an opinion yet, but I sure as hell would not be looking for opinions and insight where you are right now.

He is unelectable, so there is that issue.

You’re tripping hard. Mayor Pete is absolutely electable.

I don’t have faith that this country will elect a gay president no matter how competent, Swish. I still don’t have faith that a woman can be elected as president at this point.

That’s why every citizen should vote. I’m convinced if there was 75% turnout at the polls we would get the right man or woman every four to eight years.

I believe a woman can be elected in the USA now, however I agree with you about a gay man or woman. There is just to much prejudice in the world still.

I don't totally disagree with you but I do believe it is a lot more nuanced than just having the numbers.

I think that same 75% would also have to vote in the primary elections. I think that same 75% would have to vote on issues that are important to them and not "electability" just to beat "the other side". I think that 75% would have to be voting FOR somebody and not just AGAINST everybody else.

As for Buttigieg specifically, a trusted friend who went to Notre Dame and stays very close to the community likes him. That kind of endorsement means a lot to me. From what I've read up on the guy (which admittedly isn't all that much yet). I definitely think I could have voted for him 10 years ago when he was an individual with opinions and beliefs... Over the past 10-15 years some of his views appear to have morphed to mirror the democratic party collective.. why? Because if you want to get elected to higher and higher office, you have to tow the party line or risk alienating "the base"... You have no idea how much that funnelling of opinions and options into one or two camps to gain "party" support really bugs the crap out of me.

He is still on my list, in fact he's near the top of my list, of democrats that I will consider voting for.. but there is a lot of work left to do and the more he moves from being Pete Buttigieg to being just a reflection of the democratic party, the less I'm going to like him.

Yep.
I'm glad he finally weighed in.
There were no surprises in what he said.
And I know there's no point in arguing with him.

I agree with this. Pete is a great candidate, it's the bigots who vote I don't trust.

And that's the sad part of this. At this time if the primary elections were held tomorrow, Mayor Pete would get my vote. His sexuality has nothing to do with it. It's just that I think he represents the best of what the Democratic party has to offer.