I will offer my unpopular opinion. I caught the Mayor Pete fever a couple of weeks ago. If he doesn't get off of the gay religious schtick soon he will be in the dustbin of history with every other also-ran. We get it, we know, you are gay, we know you are religious. Now how about moving on to what matters to everyone. Your sexual orientation and religion does nothing for me. Your policies, however, do. I am a liberal atheist. Don't alienate me after you got my attention.
30
I used to vote more for Republicans than Democrats based more on my conscience than on my party affiliations - I've always registered as Independent. Over the years, that balance has shifted more to Democrats and Independents, largely due to where the Republicans have sounded more and more like Nationalists than Americans and have voiced oppression of basic American religious and civil freedoms. But, beware Democrats, condemnation of others for their beliefs, even those of Republicans, is a sword that cuts both ways. If you want to keep the moral high ground, please, do not dig in the mud to do so..... On a side note referring to an article preceding this one, about Trump's older sister and judge dodging prosecution by retiring, l find it odd that comments were not invited. In fact, I believe the NYT is inconsistent in how it selects articles for open comment. That article, like so many others I have read, was ripe for comments but the invitation was not open.
12
Notice how the religious right reacts to Buttigieg: “he’s criticizing our FAITH!” No he’s not — he’s criticizing your HYPOCRISY. Easy for some people to get the two mixed up, I guess.
38
Pete Buttigieg's talks about issues using language and ideas Democratic candidates frequently cede to Republicans. Pete Buttigieg's candidacy is considerably more because it is a strategy with focus on voters and ballot boxes everywhere in the United States. His candidacy is how in 2020 a Democratic could nullify Republican success gerrymandering districts instead the 30 years it may take through the census and courts. In the same vein, Pete Buttigieg is the type of candidate to tear up the Republican design of winning the Electoral College with candidates who do not collect the majority of votes cast in presidential elections.
5
From checking Pete Buttigieg's website, it appears that he will be announcing his candidacy for president on Sunday around 1:45PM EDT. I look forward to him being an official candidate and going after this administration. Sparring with Pence is a great prelude.
10
I’m giving $5 to Pete for America for every time and Pence mentions him publicly. #pencefundspete
13
Everything that is wrong in this world can be traced back to religion.
16
When a tenet of ones faith is to relegate an entire class of people who choose to love differently to second class citizen status, calling out same is not attacking one's 'faith' - it's your intolerance that's being called out. It's your sense of propriety and appropriateness, bereft of love, understanding and compassion, that would demonize those who love differently via cherry picking isolated, contextually ambiguous biblical quotes while ignoring broad overriding concepts of Love intrinsic in biblical teaching. Try as you might - but lurking behind your 'belief' is your bigotry which is wholly of you and animates said 'belief'.
As noted in the article seldom is such debate entered by liberals/progressives in the context of politics primarily due to the fact that this is largely a civil rights issue in a land where law supposedly reigns over parochial religious proclivities. Kudos to Mayor Pete but one shouldn't have to go there. The ideals one embraces informs the morality and ethics of their policy positions. That should be plenty - no need for the 'adornment' of religious clothing.
11
The "hypocrisy" that Mayor Pete has cited is both religious and secular, and there should be no moral qualms about public discussion of both. When evangelicals defend support for Trump as they have, then counter-arguments are only wise and natural. When anyone defends "The Great Divider" for his self-righteousness and hypocrisy, it should bring to mind many of the so-called evangelicals who refuse to criticize this shameful president.
This moderate progressive evangelical has no problem with Mayor Pete's comments to this point. What needs to be said about God and LGBT now is that this orientation is not so much a personal choice as a cultural product. It's not nature but nurture that makes a personal homosexual.
2
@Tom Your last two sentences have no basis in fact. It may be convenient theology for evangelicals to believe this, but there is abundant evidence to the contrary.
5
I am just so nervous that I might become blind with enthusiasm for Buttigieg (not Mayor Pete, please, that's like him being your virtual GBF) but if his campaign does lose this current Big-Mo, he deserves our huge gratitude for pointing out that the religious right don't own God any more than the Originalists own the Constitution. How have they been able to get away with that for so long?
14
He really is the opposite of Trump in every way, decent human being, articulate, loving spouse, veteran, kind, pleasant etc.
21
That 69% of evangelicals support an immoral (amoral?) man like Trump just screams hypocrisy. I'll never understand it.
And poor Karen Pence (who teaches at a school that does not allow gay children). She feels like her husband is being "attacked". How does she think gay kids feel?
Boo hoo, Karen. Boo hoo.
35
Does Pence not see his own hypocrisy? Pence constantly uses his faith to inform his politics and to impose his narrow minded beliefs on all. Buttigieg speaks of his faith while remaining accepting and respectful of the faiths and/or secularism of others.
One man is an actual practicing Christian, while the other has hijacked Christ words in order to oppress those who don’t share his beliefs. In an earlier era, Mike Pence would self-righteously torture confessions from and condemn to death those who didn’t share his beliefs while claiming to do God’s work.
15
Mike Pence has never ridiculed homosexuals or gay people. He may not go along with their lifestyles but he has never mocked them. He is a Christian and that is not what they do. Christians are taught to hate sin but love the sinner. There are Christians that feel that the gay lifestyle is wrong but do not judge. I wish that the liberals and leftists treated them in the same manner. They are some of the most judgmental people I have ever encountered. At least in Manhattan.
7
@KMW - He did something worse. He worked hard to put legislation in place to discriminate against them.
39
More power to you, Mayor Pete. Speak your mind. Don't forget to remind the many hypocritical Evangelicals in this country of something that Jesus said (which now must be an anathema to them); "Judge not....."
10
It's still a long ways to go. But evangelicals may have to ask themselves the answer to this question:
"Would you prefer judges who may ultimately be required to faithfully administer the law and constitution, or someone who will govern in accordance with widely admired Christian values?"
Or in other words, which is more important to you, politics or religion? It's just like it was 2,000 years ago. Are you going to be a follower of Caesar, or godliness??
2
@BillG Assuming the rest of us would allow it, evangelicals would first have to destroy the pluralist democratic republic created for them by Enlightenment thinkers (who understood the danger of theocratic government better than they do). Then they would have to address the problem that all theocracies must address which is what to do with nonbelievers. The only godly solution is the one we already have in our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. These are truer to the spirit of Jesus' teachings than any government sectarian religion has yet proposed.
9
MegWright,
I live in the bluest of blue cities (Manhattan) in the country if not the world. We have many gays in political office but few conservatives. They are openly gay and nobody blinks an eye. They are more accepted and respected than conservative Christians who are rare in Manhattan. I know this because I am one of those conservative Christians.
4
I lived among the Evangelicals in Mississippi for 6 years. I am a Jew, but would quote the New Testament to them, as well. Yes, there are Evangelicals who will listen to this candidate, but the ones who are hard-core will not. They stand by the rigid beliefs they were taught in childhood, plus the fact he is Gay is a Huge No-No they were taught.
4
...'the backlash was a reminder of how galvanizing religion and homosexuality can be when evangelicals and other conservatives of faith are convinced that their values are under attack.'
Huh?
Can conservatives of faith not see that my religious values (pretty much the opposite of theirs) have been and remain under attack by them?
8
We feel Pete Buttigieg is a genuine Christian, a man of faith, he is inclusive, and a good public servant, he is genuinely well informed, phenomenal leadership material, not fake reality TV spin.
Unlike Donald Trump and his cronies in the Republican elites who manipulate the poorly informed base. They have hijacked "Christianity", used to pervert faith in a disingenuous charade. people like Mike Pence and Lindsey Graham for overt discrimination and homophobia, and obsequiousness define Hypocrisy in their support of Donald Trump, a serial adulterer, a cheat, a liar, and a fraud.
17
The article has Christian leader Ralph Reed referencing the "faith" of the President. Really? He who daily plays an all-knowing, infallible god believes in a power greater than Himself? What's its name?
Doesn't having faith require humility?
18
Pete, more than the other Dem candidates, seems like someone can be president without feeling like it gives him a mandate to ram his own personal agenda down the throats of Americans. Presidents are elected with barely over half the votes. No one has a mandate. I think we need a president who gets that, and is willing to serve as many Americans as possible rather than cater to the narrow band of core supporters. And I mean that for a president of ANY political persuasion.
15
Jesus never said one word against abortion or homosexuality in Scripture, but he condemned the sin of hypocrisy more than any other. The fundamentalist hypocrisy that believes, against everything Jesus taught, that the political end justifies the means is a disease that has infected the Christian body. In turn that body has infected U.S. public policy because good men and women have quit the field of engagement. Pete Buttigieg is speaking out with a prophetic voice that goes far beyond our political moment. A true believer laying bare that hypocrisy is the real only way to overcome it. This is as true today as it was 2000 years ago. Buttigieg is right to affirm that if Mike Pence has a problem with homosexuality he has a problem with the Creator. I've waited years to hear those righteous words in politics.
29
@CallahanStudio - I believe Jesus did have something to say about divorce. Isn't it interesting that all those right wingers are happy to disregard it?
10
I think we need to clarify the "Two Corinthians" reference. I'm no Trump supporter but I am a dual citizen of the UK and the US (and an Episcopalian). In the UK (and Trump's mother was Scottish and by all accounts the religious influence in the household) it is always referred to as "Two Corinthians".
1
Sure. If you believe Trump's erroneous reference was from his upbringing, I have a certain bridge across the East River to sell you.
16
Buttigieg seems to be angling for the Democratic Vice-Presidential nomination because he spends all of his time attacking the current Republican Vice President Pence: Pence plenty; pound (i.e. Trump) shy.
Challenging the Religious Right is like trying to point out Trump's errors, distortions, excuses, outright lies, etc. to his base. They take pride in NOT believing what's right in front of them.
11
Like the male/female gender?
1
The beauty of the Bible is that we can all take great good from it at all levels of consciousness. However, only the very foolish fail to separate the cultural norms of the time from the spiritual wisdom. Sadly, far too many people who call themselves Christians fail to do this. The greatest Commandment given to us by the Master Mind Jesus was "love one another" … and he didn't offer any exceptions!
7
Pete Buttigieg is asking Evangelical, conservative Christains to be rational about their faith. And take responsibility if practicing their faith intrudes on human rights. Stop using their religion as an excuse for intolerance. Fair enough! Buttigieg' Christainity is about love and humility... the complete opposite of Trump's religion of self-promotion.
12
In his 37 years, Mayor Pete has used his time much better than almost anybody, with his Harvard and Oxford studies, his faith, his military service, his successful time as mayor, his learning 7 languages, his musical ability. He has the fastest learning curve I have ever seen in any politician, and I have no doubt at all that he would quickly grow into the job. We already know that he is intelligent, articulate, nimble, thoughtful, poised, but he also is interesting. He has a way of framing issues so that they can be viewed in a new way. Plus he is bold without being divisive. He has all the ingredients.
21
The new younger Jerry Brown.
3
Pete has exposed both Karen Pence and Trump whisperer Mike Pence for what they truly are, bigots and grifters who hide behind religion when it works for them.
21
Every major world religion is against homosexual behavior, so I am not sure what he means by a "religious" gay man.
2
@D
Further exposing the intolerance of most religions or the way they're corrupted by their zealots. Not that that's much of a surprise.
4
Buttigieg clearly illustrates how deep The United States of America's misogynistic roots go. We're okay with a black man being president, and maybe okay with a gay man being president. But God oh mighty, keep the woman down!!!
5
I love it! Go Pete! Be yourself. Put your religious convictions out there for all to see. Tell people that a righteous life is the goal. Don't get into the heaven and hell, salvation and condemnation deal, just talk about your desire to be righteous and how your faith guides you in that path.
This is a universal approach to religion and how important it is to many people, especially conservatives. Not all will break from Trump, but enough will.
Mayor Pete is teaching Democrats a lesson. Religion is not necessarily about chasing spirits or a ticket to a metaphysical realm. It's about life and how to live it in a righteous and just fashion. That's what religion is to me and to a lot of people. But most of all, this approach is a ticket into the faith community. It gets you in the door. Then, they will listen to you.
Liberals should relax the prohibition against religious talk and let Mayor Pete let these people into the Democratic tent. He can do it!
13
You've done a beautiful job of expressing my own beliefs. Mayor Pete is sharing the forward looking vision of leadership and faith that our nation urgently needs!
5
I'm moved by the interesting points of view and how it resonates with my own religious views. As an unreligious person yet I feel drawn to my family's Jewish heritage yet I attend a Unitarian -Universalist parish, while taking classes to prepare for my B'nai Mitzvah next month. I'm reminded of a quote from the New Testament . It is from Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen". Mayor Pete impresses me as a person with a deep ethical commitment and I am completely comfortable with his views of human sexuality.
10
Pence claims that his “view of marriage,” is “informed by faith...but that doesn’t mean that...we’re critical of anyone else who has a different point of view.” Since religious belief, especially conservative Christian faith, is steeped in a fervid stew of right vs. wrong, supported by an adamant belief in the concept of eternal punishment, this claim is ludicrous on its face, and it is disingenuous at best to claim that Pence doesn’t, in fact, embrace a religiously supported, punishment enforced, view of homosexuality.
I don’t share Buttigieg’s faith, but I do agree with his point that if Pence has an issue with Buttigieg’s sexual orientation then it is Pence who has the problem. Leaving aside the issue of the nature of the creator, I agree that people should not be shunned for innate, inborn characteristics. They are, on the other hand, personally responsible for derogatory criticism that arises from religious beliefs that have been demonstrably shown to arise from human, not divine, sources.
People cannot help what they are born with. People should, however, take responsibility to not defame others for inborn traits.
7
“My family and I have a view of marriage that’s informed by our faith,” Mr. Pence said. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re — that we’re critical of anyone else who has a different point of view.”
The legislation Pence has championed over the years is proof he is critical, plus he wants to impose his religious views on everyone else.
15
As a Christian, I am deeply disappointed that so many evangelicals continue to support Trump. And I'm genuinely perplexed. Are evangelicals being good witnesses to their faith by backing a man known for lying, swearing, name-calling, hate and immaturity? Does Trump display the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, the nine attributes in the Book of Galatians that define us as Christians: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? As Christians we should be the light of the world, not part of its darkness. The Book of Colossians encourages us to set our ``mind on things above, not on things on the earth.'' Evangelicals' support of Trump makes them seem as small and judgmental as Trump. I fervently pray that evangelicals will embrace another candidate in 2010, and cease diluting the Gospel to achieve temporal power. God is much, much bigger than Trump!
111
for "god's" sake, wake up people, there is no "god"...this antiquated religious belief is good for one thing: messing up the world. humanitarian efforts done in the name of religion can still do good works without the "god" bit...right, "god?" prayer is based on superstitious inculcations that were invented by....PEOPLE !
5
Who supports caging children?
Turning away the immigrant?
8
Any person who is truly a Christian could never support Donald Trump, an amoral racist, misogynist, sadist and narcissist. I applaud Buttigieg for calling Pence out on his hypocrisy.
Republican values rarely overlap with Jesus' teaching. For far too long, those who wear their Christianity on their sleeve have gotten a free pass on their duplicity.
7
Mayor Pete answers questions!
That in itself makes him stand out from any other politician.
He isn’t cowed by the supposed moral authority of Mike Pence and the religious right.
(Even Donald Trump seems to be. Suddenly upon his election this non-godly man is all about prayer breakfasts and two corinthians and Jerusalem—and Mike Pence?)
I am not gay or Christian or white or male or a veteran or even from Indiana, but I am proud that Pete Buttigieg is my fellow American. I feel like he speaks for me, much better than I can.
14
This piece is both positive and negative with regard to the media's coverage of this topic. Positive because it is reflective of some of the blindness by which a largely secular press assumes "religious" means self-proclaimed evangelicals; negative because it still feels a need to get quotes from disgraced political hacks hiding as men of faith.
Yes, Erick Erickson, an "evangelical blogger" wrote, “Mayor Pete Buttigieg Apparently Thinks Jesus Would Be Okay With Beastiality.” That's because Erickson is not an evangelical Christian but rather a mean-spiriting partisan stooge running on a con on evangelical lost sheep. "Blogger" indeed - and twitter ogre.
Ralph Reed is indeed the founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. He's also a 4 decade long partisan hack who masquerades his extremist fascism as religious faith. Yet, NYT must seek him out to cite his spin: Buttigieg seeks voters who are religious and conservative by which Reed actually means voters who are NOT religious and NOT conservative by an fixed meaning of the terms - rather religion spouting followers of a political cult of personality.
Someday, when the NYT needs a "faith perspective" perhaps rather than politicians with one foot already in hell, they'll call up someone like The Reverend Canon Broderick Greer of the Episcopal Church as identify him as "well known faith leader and Christian" and proceed to learn what REAL believers profess by the Holy Spirit.
10
There are many Christians who are Democrats and believe in the central tenet of our faith, God's unmerited Grace and love for all mankind, but our mainstream churches have mainly fallen silent in the midst of the rabid, heretical ravings of Evangelicals. They are those who pick and choose from the Bible and twist it to support their lust for power over others and impose upon the nation a conservative right wing authoritarian government that suppresses the rights of women, minorities, the poor, liberals, and gays. They long ago left the Jesus of the Gospels back at the cross as they fashioned a new Armageddon warrior hyper-masculine Jesus who would return after the Temple is rebuilt to slay the infidels and lift believers up to heaven comic book style. All of this is a grand distortion of historical Christianity. Real Christianity was fashioned through history via its creeds, books of confessions and common prayer and which held Christians together in an orthodoxy that stressed compassion, love, and justice rather than power, hate, vengeance, and war. We need for main stream Christians to stand up once again and speak truth against the heresies that have paraded on TV and radio for far too long and no Jesus didn't come here to make you rich. That's wasn't his message.
12
Social and political conservatives who are Christians can dish it out. Can they also take it?
8
I don't see a problem with "Two Corinthians", or "2 Corinthians", or "Second Corinthians", or "Paul's Second Letter to the Christians living in Corinth", yada, yada, etc. and so forth.
However, I DO see a problem with Trump himself!
6
I discovered Pete Buttigieg a couple of weeks ago on "Meet the Press". I sat and listened to him speak and I was in awe. He is soft spoken (i.e. he doesn't shout), he is clear and articulate, he has a firm grasp of the issues, and I like his policies. On top of that, he speaks 7 languages, plays 2 musical instruments, was in the armed forces, is a Rhodes Scholar, and has done a stellar job as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
This guys is the real deal and he's got my vote.
189
@confounded Imagine how great it would be to have a president who is able to understand complex issues, speaks in thoughtful, complete sentences, and does not make hatefulness the core of his message to voters ! Mr Buttigieg seems well prepared to do what Trump has never in his life been able to do: work cooperatively and effectively with other people (which is a key capability that a president surely needs to have). Mr Buttigieg is smart enough to know he doesn't know everything, whereas Trump frequently claims omniscience (and we have seen the results of his not knowing what he doesn't know).
33
What I like about Pete is that he's really smart and articulate, and he seems to have good politics. What I don't care about is what or whom he prays to. This should be a private matter, completely absent from politics, and it rankles me down to my core that we have to keep talking about deities as if they were a matter of political importance.
But I know better. My pipe dream -- that people would be content to practice their religions inside their houses of worship and quit trying to pass laws enforcing their own particular beliefs -- will never come true in this country. As a lesbian, I suppose we could do worse than Pete Buttigieg and I wouldn't mind a gay president. But to have my vote, he'll need to speak unequivocally about the importance of the separation of church and state.
8
Saw my first interview with Mayor Pete this past weekend. Wow.
Watched his TedTalk on YouTube. Wow.
The future of our country could be in very good hands someday. May it be soon.
10
If Jesus ever does come back, he'll have an uphill battle against a plethora of those telling him what he said and what he meant by his words. I hope I live to see that!
9
It’s great that Mr. Buttigieg wants to have this conversation; the religious right is only concerned about the ethics and values of Democrats. The problem is, though, that the Bible is very clear that marriage is between a man and a woman. So I find it hard to understand how anyone hopes that he will change conservative Christian minds by making a point (“...and yes, closer to God”) that is simply not in keeping with God’s word.
I’m a centrist Christian, a Democrat, and I couldn’t care less if Mr. Buttigieg is gay, married to a man, that they call their union a marriage, etc. But gay marriage is not going to win over conservative Christians. It just ain’t.
1
@Mike I fear that you are correct, that "Gay marriage is not going to win over conservative Christians."
Conservative Christians use the Bible to justify their own biases. They know few gay men, and they are disgusted by the thought of them. Therefore they search the Bible for the few verses that will justify their own bias or prejudice.
Like many organized religions, the conservative Christians forget the central message of Christs, that we must love all other persons, unreservedly.
Instead of loving others, they judge others.
You are correct, one cannot persuade self-righteous. judgmental persons.
3
@Mike please cite chapters and verses from the Bible that support your statement that it's "very clear."
4
@Mike Because conservative Christians are incapable of separating religion from law, right?
Right.
4
So far, president bonespurs has successfully shown that, in fact, character doesn't matter.
5
I like Mayor Peter. I see him as a bridge between the right and left. I also would like to see a Harris, Mayor Peter ticket. It's a can't lose ticket. The future vs. the past.
3
“I think in our country we need to understand you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are,” (Ms. P)
Interesting as the majority believe abortion is none of your or the States business but she and her kind attack (literally in numerous cases) those who hold different religious beliefs regularly. They also attack through anti-abortion laws enacted based on their own set of religious beliefs that are contrary to the majority.
All will blocking or leaving out the views of agnostics and atheists in our County.
Many of our founding father were effectively heretics yet we now jam religion into everything. But effectively only one form of religion. Why should I pray or invoke your God at a Conference Dinner or Commissioner meeting?
10
@Michael Republicans can't open their mouths without being hypocritical about something.
5
As a woman, I do want a woman president, really badly. However, if Pete Buttigieg gets the nomination, I'm all in. I like everything about him. His intellect, his knowledge of the issues, his service to the country, his age. How refreshing it would be to have him as our next president.
10
Five hours driving straight north of NYC brings one into the Canadian province of Quebec. We would not have any problem with Mayor Pete's sexual orientation but we would be flummoxed by his faith.
From Ambrose Bierce Devil's Dictionary
Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
We are officially, legally and overwhelmingly non-believers.
At 71 I am older than the average Quebecer but like Mayor Pete and his homosexuality I did not choose to be a non believer. I know the "sacred" books yet there is nothing in them that I find compelling me to believe in miracles and magic.
I have no supernatural deity to blame for my heterosexuality or my inability to believe and at 71 find myself in an intellectual battle I never expected to be involved in.
Here in Quebec there is little if any battle over homosexual rights they are our brothers and sisters and are entitled to every right and privilege we would expect for ourselves. Our debate is about religious accommodation and how does a society that rejects superstition and magic accommodate those compelled to display their belief in magic.
Quebec Bill 21 would bar senior Quebec civil servants from displaying anything that might be construed as a belief in a supernatural deity. I know about the abuse of hundreds of years of religious privilege and understand why that camel's nose would not be welcomed into the tent.
Our churches are empty. We like it that way.
8
You can support trump or you can be a Christ following Christian. The two are polar opposites and mutually exclusive. That so called white evangelicals ( its seldom if ever black, Hispanic or other minority evangelicals) support trump in such numbers it should be no surprise so many real Christians and others in and out of faith are done with them. They say one thing but support a president who does personally and by policy the opposite of what Christ and other biblical leaders taught in almost everything. Pence is the leading hypocrite with his enthusiastic support of the POTUS and his inhumane policies and practices that harm the poor, take advantage of the middle class and enrich the wealthy while trying to help the wealthy avoid paying their share.
I doubt the evangelicals will read this article, the Times being one of those "fake news" papers the president and his bootlickers complain about. Facts aren't anything the modern republican, much less the Taliban like white evangelical,care to think about.
10
For citizens and voters like me, Agnostic or Atheist, whichever you want to call me, we are completely left out of these discussions because we believe in ourselves and the planet that we live on (it's actually real), not some spirit in the sky that so far, no one has been able to prove exists. I get so tired of the arguments back and forth between so-called Christians and anyone with a differing view or belief. I call it brain washing, brain reorganizing, brain drain of realistic thought and critical thinking. I wait for the day that a pubic figure can stand before the masses and claim that they really don't know if God exists...wouldn't that be a sign of evolution? I am not holding my breath.
9
Dear Evangelicals, you clearly are not patriots since you have no problem with Trump kissing up to Putin, but if you want to be seen as Godly, perhaps you should act as though you really are. Supporting a man like Trump in his cruel policy of separating families can be seen as nothing else but supporting evil.
10
Two Corinthians walk into a bar.
The bartender asks, "What are you having?"
The one wearing the MAGA hat says, "An argument. He's telling me that my Christian faith means I can't support Trump because he's a racist, a philanderer, and a profane bully."
The bartender asks, "What did you tell him?"
"I told him I forgot to wear my hearing aid today."
6
Mayor Pete is a breath of fresh air, common sense and has obvious intelligence and compassion. A majority of us are sick of hypocrites in the pulpit and in the pews by far too many Evangelicals.
Eric Erikson is a prime example of the "meanness" and ignorance of the compassionate message Jesus taught. He reminds me of too many evangelical ministers who got caught cheating on their wives and politicos screaming about abortion while telling their secretary to go have one. Enough. Erikson and his ilk should be pushed into a closet and the sooner the better.
9
"Character matters" to evangelicals?
Donald Trump is like a searing hot character evaluator. To support him is to state unequivocally that character is meaningless. Make no mistake, by supporting Trump evangelicals have sacrificed any moral authority they ever had. That applies not just to the present, but from now on. One of the remarkable things about Donald Trump is that he is almost completely without virtue. All of the things that matter most to him are vile things. He is unfamiliar with truthfulness. He is vain. He is a serial philanderer. He makes a habit of belittling those around him. He loves money. The concept of fair play is foreign to him. He brags about sexual assault. He requires constant, effusive praise. To support the man is to explicitly condone his sheer, monstrous awfulness.
Buttigieg is right to push a Christian message to voters. Trump supporters are a lost cause, but people with a functioning conscience and some religious conviction will be glad to support someone who espouses actual Christian values.
11
Odd how religious bigots like Ralph Reed complain that their faith is being called out--they've never had any problem denigrating others.
And the religious right is going to have a problem criticizing Pete Buttigieg over his comments about their hypocrisy. For too long Americans have had to listen to them blather on about pro-life, family values, anti-gay--anti-everything yet here they are supporting a serial adulterer who hasn't had a passing acquaintance with any deity in his life-time, who publicly lusts after his daughter, as well as talks about having used his position to wander through the dressing rooms of even underage girls, and committed multiple financial crimes.
Thank god someone is finally calling them out on the ground over which they have for too long claimed to have sole control.
12
The measure of how "Christian" you are is what you do in life; not how many Bible verses you can quote. The present administration is Bible quoting, but seems to forget that Jesus told us to "clothe the naked and feed the poor". Mayor Pete gets it; most of the rest of them do not.
13
In the photo, right next to Pete Buttigieg’s right elbow, is the book The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis. Everyone should read it.
24
This is the best strategy by far, regardless of whom you are opposing.
This is straight out of Karl Rove's playbook, that being; 'Don't attack them on their weaknesses, attack their strengths.'
In other words, hammering their weaknesses is a waste of time, money, energy. They are already losing on the weaknesses, but could win on their strengths.
The GOP and Trump has used this tactic for decades at least as far back as Gingrich at least.
Finally a Democrat has figured it out.
9
I have a suggestion for believers and nonbelievers alike: read the book, "The God Delusion," by Richard Dawkins. Dawkins explores most of the arguments for and against belief in God. His main conclusion is about how the religious make the claim that, "Revelation" is a platform equal to that of reason which must be accepted before any discussion may begin. Dawkins' point is that, the religious insist from the very beginning, that the only possible conclusion is that they are correct because of their "Revelation", accessible only by themselves, says so. A B = C, where "C" is the Christian view. No other solutions are possible or acceptable.
2
I'm happy to see Pete take on people like Pence, who think they're the only ones that "own" religion. It's no surprise that the Pence's are outraged by his comments, but when you're exposed as a hypocrite for supporting a man with zero morals, you can't claim the high road. Freedom of Religion bills that condone discrimination against tax-paying citizens. Repressive laws against women's reproductive freedom. Karen teaches at a school that even denies the existence of gay folks. Such charming Christians.
Pete will never get the extreme ones to vote for him, but I'm sure he's impressed the more moderate ones with his genuine and sincere beliefs.
I think he may have what America needs right now. A clear talking politician with some very good ideas about some of the problems facing Americans today.
12
I don't believe Buttigieg is questioning Mr. Pence's religious faith per se. He's really trying to call out the kind of hypocrisy that Pence is the poster child for. "Conservative evangelicals" like to believe that somehow they have the lock on morality. But in reality it appears many just cherry pick what moral and ethical issues to support or criticize. People who wrung their hands and railed about the horrific character imperfections of Bill Clinton but can't bring themselves to call out the same flaws and transgressions of Trump. The only thing that they support is anyone with an (R) after their name. Complete, blind party affiliation.
In supporting Trump they've lost any claim to the moral high ground.
11
I wonder if Mayor Pete might also be highlighting some of the generational differences among Christians. Evangelicals perhaps are not a monolithic voting bloc. Older evangelicals, veterans of the abortion skirmishes, may just want their judges appointed. Younger Christians may want something different--consistency among their values and seeing their faith in action in a different way. As an older progressive Christian myself, I see many millennials in my church reflect Mayor Pete's orientation. Maybe Mayor Pete is tapping into the emergence of a younger, more nuanced Christian voting bloc.
6
Mayor Pete is educated - and he uses his education to communicate and serve people instead of dictate, he speaks multiple languages (even translating, at bedside, for a hospital patient in need), he has served our country on both the mayoral and military front lines, he married a talented teacher also committed to serving the public good, he thinks before he speaks and thoughtfully revises his position when needed instead of digging in with dogma, and he and his husband adopted two dogs. He's rebuilt his old Studebaker city, slashing unemployment from 11.8 to 4.1 percent, he led the charge to demolish more than a thousand decrepit buildings, and when asked for help salvaging homes - he doubled the requested rebuilding investment, and he's brought new corporate and financial investment to South Bend to ignite and sustain a downtown revival in a country where our cities have been hollowed out and left behind.
Mayor Pete has achieved all of this with maturity, compassion, and the calm, unflappable demeanor of a true leader and committed public servant.
These are genuine family values, and that's why Mayor Pete appeals to people on both sides of the aisle who want to see those values in the White House.
13
Mr. Pence defends his right to beliefs framed by his faith, and that Mr. Buttigieg is entitled to his own beliefs and should not judge.
This is false and I hope Mr. Buttigieg call out Mr. Pence on this. Mr. Buttigieg perspective is not based on a belief system, but on his own life and the basic idea that equality is a human right. Mr. Pence, on the other hand, has made a choice to believe that certain people and lifestyles are unacceptable.
Mr. Buttigieg's issue with the VP is this repression of people based on Christian values. Who is Mr Buttigieg repressing? No one.
10
Pete Buttigieg is not attacking anyone's faith. He's doing something that's long overdue -- starting a national dialogue on what exactly it means to be a "Christian" and how faith shapes morality. The evangelicals are so used to having a monopoly on that discussion that suddenly a disagreement with them sounds like an attack.
14
Mayor Pete has the political
Will to force the evangelical community to claim their alligence to God, their faith and the Bible or to place their faith in President Don Trump.
If the Evangelicals think that they can vote for Trump and still live by their faith in God, they are absolutely wrong. Their vote for Trump means that the Evangelical Community has made Trump their God.
The Evangelicals need to claim that Sunday pulpit for God, and not for Don Trump!
6
I grew up being taught the notion expressed by Karen Pence as, “I think in our country we need to understand you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are,”. I always sort of believed it. But eventually, when I was about 40 I had an epiphany: "WHY NOT?"
4
The election is a long way off, and I worry that Mayor Pete is just too young for the very big job of the presidency, but perhaps it's his youth that makes him so powerful. He hasn't been corrupted yet by years of focus-group tested talking points. He's just a smart, down-to-earth decent guy who is obviously extremely capable.
I'm aggressively non-religious and deeply suspicious of any sort of religious talk, and he's even got me nodding along with him when he talks about his faith. It's so genuine and humane and good and decent that I can't help being caught up in it. I think this kind of talk about spirituality is exactly what the left needs and I've got to imagine it's going to win over a slice of religious voters who normally vote republican as a default but who find much of the religious right rhetoric hypocritical and distasteful.
Can he win? Who knows, but I sure hope he has a huge impact even if he doesn't go all the way this time. He's got a lot of runway ahead of him. He can easily run for president in the next seven or eight elections.
8
“It seems to me the solution to that is not to attack the faith of anyone else, whether it is the president, the vice president or anyone else,” Mr. Reed said. “The solution should be to talk about their own faith.”
That's a bizarre comment from an alleged Christian, speaking about another Christian - even though evangelicals' opposition to gays is taken from the Old Testament, meaning "old contract with God", while Buttigieg quotes the words of the Christ from the New Testament. Jesus is not recorded as condemning homosexuality, but instead labels adultery, one of Trump's apparent passions, as a sin.
So if Christians are technically followers of the Christ, then people like Ralph Reed and Mike Pence do not seem to qualify as Christians.
7
I'm a Pete fan.
A big one.
For all the reasons you already know.
I'm OK with him to making observations about morality and hypocrisy. That's fine.
But, he'll win by speaking to the everyday concerns of everyday Americans.
Keeping it simple, direct, honest.
Most people are trying to get through the day with concerns about family and finances on their mind.
Keep the discussion there Pete.
The rest can be addressed when the people know you're a champion for their daily lives.
7
When you study the beginnings of this nation in the 18th century, it is difficult to cope with the nowadays backwards culture that has prevailed .
The USA are very conservative and philosophically ignorant on many important subjects compared to the "old world " : heath care, social justice, justice, puritanism and religious fondamentalism.
3
I think the left can and should court religious voters. Much of the new testament is a progressive political manifesto. Jesus exhorts his followers to aid the poor and feed the hungry. Jesus was decidedly pro-Immigrant.
'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in' -Matthew 25-35
Mayor Pete need not confront Pence over gay marriage to articulate a Christian alternative to the dominant religious right. He need only repeat Christ's own words.
6
Meanwhile, it’s been over 2 hours since Elizabeth Warren rolled out her NEWEST policy: AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) on corporates that will raise $1 trillion over ten years ... but, there’s zero coverage in the Times. Not on home page, not in business, not in National, not in politics...
The media is selling us a white male narrative. Look forward to further takes on why our political discourse needs to be smarter (rolls eyes)
Nothing against Buttigieg. More power to him. But, I want to see his proposals and substance - not just rhetoric and style.
3
Buttigieg is a politician, and an interesting one. He aims to challenge--and seems to be succeeding--in raising questions about who, exactly, gets to be framed as "religious" in this shredded society. How have evangelicals managed to convince so many people they they, alone, hold the keys to the kingdom? Pence is a good foil for this debate, since he clearly is an evangelical Christian, but seems not to understand, or care, that Christianity is a very, very big tent.
7
Oh my, far, far too much discussion of religion and personal beliefs of candidates in regards to politics and government.
If he can fight back against trump's UN-Christian and Pence's bigotry then I am all for him. Maybe he can show voters that those two are not what they appear to be.
8
Mr. Erickson,
President Trump is persecuting Christians. Most of the immigrant families from Central America are Christians. (Do you think Jesus was white and only wanted to save white people?)
These families are fleeing corrupt U.S.-supported military governments and violence for safety. Are they met at our borders with Christian charity and safe harbor? Not by this amoral POTUS.
10
Everyone knows that there are two types of religious folks: one that want to suppress the gays and the ones that don't and are inclusive. Conservatives are the former. As a gay man from India, my parents do not know that I am gay, but if they did, they would put me through conversion therapy, which is what they did to my cousin. They wouldn't be happy unless I was converted back to "straight." I'm sure some of these folks are fine human beings, just like my parents, but my freedom to be who I am comes before my parents.
8
A Vice President who once picked a fight with fictional Disney character Mulan, should not be lecturing anyone about novel attention seeking tactics.
8
How dare Mr. Buttigieg bring his religious convictions into the electoral marketplace! Oh, wait a minute, he's doing it from the leftist-approved perspective? Well, that makes it o.k. then...
1
Support for gays is not, by any means, an endorsement of Buttigieg's rationale.
1
@David Godinez - Pete isn't trying to insert his religion into public policy.
4
“My family and I have a view of marriage that’s informed by our faith,” Mr. Pence said. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re — that we’re critical of anyone else who has a different point of view.”
But, you are critical, VP Pence and you want to impose your interpretation of Christianity on the rest of us. If you and your wife want to the freedom to practice your religion in the privacy of your home, community and church, then you are more than free to do it. However, you are clearly critical of others who take a different view and want to take away the rights of those that read the bible differently than you.
8
The hypocrisy of the religious right is long known by now, however, the leaders of these churches love Trump because they are predators just like him. All one has to do is look at just the top ten of those mostly non-denominational "christian" preachers in terms of the money they generate and it goes from a low of $50 million dollars up to over $700 million for Kenneth Copeland who lives on a 1500 acre estate with multiple homes, a large money grabbing business and NINE AIRPLANES. Trump offered "false hope" to those that eventually elected him, very similar to those preachers during their so-called "revivals.
These church leaders claim to be religious, however, much like Trump and his "Trumpublicans", their god is the dollar bill and unfortunately, after all these decades, many of their flock continually fail to understand that.
For the most part, I am afraid Mr. Buttigieg is wasting his time.
3
I am constantly amazed at how many people "know" what Jesus said who have not read the New Testament and, if they did, they claim to be his sole, authoritative and authentic interpreter. They can't even agree on any single interpretation. Who are these kooks? Who believes them?
6
I like this candidate I only hope he doesn't isolate himself by Religion and Gay issues that pigeon hole him to those franchises.
Rather than trying to become the 1st Gay guy to be President he should focus on the greater good for all of us and not fringe groups that give him little in the way of votes and have a tendency to turn middle class voters and Independent voters off. I voted Obama but i think he was too influenced on being ordained the 1st Black President and it hobbled him in getting things done, not to mention the fact everyone knows that he is probably more the 1st multi race President. My point is; this guy should be working on becoming President, not Gay not Christian because frankly most people I talk to could care less, we need a Great Leader not another divider.
1
I see this whole buzz as being far more about the AMAZING DISCOVERY by the sometimes sleepwalking secular media, that something called progressive Christianity actually exists. And that, for example, the Episcopal Church exists and it isn’t like Jerry Falwell.
It takes a Presidential candidate who would be in the news anyway (because 37 years old and gay, not to mention articulate and cute) to drag this phenomenon onto the radar of the liberal press.
Despite the existence of Jim Wallis and the Sojourners, of William Barber and Moral Mondays and the Poor People's Campaign, of the Nuns on the Bus, of Bishop Michael Curry's sermon at the royal wedding, and of plenty of other "mainline" Christian politicians from Jimmy Carter and, yes, Barack Obama, to Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren—all of whom spoke about their Christian faith that in no way resembles that of Pat Robertson—the lazy media have continued to associate Christianity with the Republican Party even as the Republican Party has become increasingly cruel, racist, vicious, anti-intellectual, and authoritarian. Just yesterday, NPR's Sarah McCammon consistently used the word "Christian" all through an interview with a right-wing evangelical filmmaker.
Then they discover this guy and he points out something that others have been saying for literally years, with no effect, and suddenly they blink and shake their heads and go "Oh, wow, look at this."
4
Mayor Pete is showing the stark and nauseating contrast between someone who lives by the teachings of Christ (who by the way never said one word about homosexuality but did stress the need to help the poor and downtrodden) and those who SAY they follow Christ but instead support someone who clearly doesn't follow his teachings and probably doesn't even know what they are, and act in ways totally contrary to Christ's teachings in their own lives and politics.
Pence is the biggest hypocrite of them all in this regard.
10
Americans find comfort and sanctuary in religion because it does not require them to think or question just to obey. It is also why those very same people are easily seduced and exploited by politicians and religious zealots.
It is also why I have no sympathy when they end up bankrupt and out of work. Grow up, own your destiny and stop looking at what others have that you don't.
1
83% of white Evangelicals voted for Trump.
They thereby demonstrated that Trump's breaking of any number of the Ten Commandments was of no concern to them.
The only thing that mattered to them was that Trump promised to fight abortion and to fight to criminalize homosexuality.
Let it be known that their faith is that shallow.
7
Mr. Pence’s office responded to Mr. Buttigieg’s comments this week by releasing an old video clip in which he praised the mayor as a “dedicated public servant and a patriot.”
Ha! You know they're running scared when they're digging up old tape calling a Democrat a "patriot".
5
By the way, I’d suggest that anybody who thinks that Mike Pence and creeps like Erickson are on the side of the angels take a good close look at the ways those clowns have sucked up to the scabrous likes of “Pastor,” Kevin Swanson.
13
I admire Mr. Buttigieg's courage in addressing religious conservatives head on, but what a difficult conversation to undertake. In my experience, evangelicals throw around "catch phrases" like faith and values and God's will (that's a good one) without any real understanding of what these words mean. I grew up in an evangelical family, in the evangelical South, and attended church too many times to count. None of the so-called "logic" presented to me made any sense. My experience of the Divine or God or whatever you want to call IT has always felt to be the antithesis of everything the Christian Right stands for. I believe God is far more loving and mysterious and accepting than the Christian Right appears able to fathom. Good luck Mr. Buttigieg, you'll need it.
18
VP Pence has made it a point to frame his political beliefs based on his religious beliefs. He, all by himself, has opened the door to all for questioning his decisions. Thus, no one ought to be surprised when an opposing politician, Buttigieg in this case, points out Pence's inconsistencies. Pence is on record for his opposition to same-sex marriage and gay rights. Yet he is, pointedly, not on record for any condemnation nor criticism of Trump's bombast, misogyny, racism, and infidelities. That is hypocrisy in it's basic form.
30
It seems like the right wing, 'conservative' base of Trump's, leavened heavily with the Evangelical flavor, is doing everything they can to protect the Anti-Christ of Trump from being tossed down merely because he has that all important 'R' in the Party box.
Is this the Rapture, where the Evangelicals are totally entranced by the show in front of them, and on Twitter, that has tenuous connections to reality, and yet are controlling huge numbers of people because Trump is the president of the US.
I cannot understand how people calling themselves Christians, of any sort, could back this travesty of a man as president, or his VP or any of his cabinet. From Trump on down they are the most corrupt possible for their jobs, and yet some people support them specifically because 'they will give a black eye to the Librul Dems'. So much for 'turning the other cheek'.
Christ threw the money people out of the Temples, Evangelicals are trying to cozy up to the billionaire in hopes it trickles down their shoulders and into their hands. I guess that is what they get for backing this huge yellow snowflake.
If this is the Rapture, where folks are held by a spell of unreality, with Trump being the star anti-christ, I can only hope that the real Armageddon, that is The Revealing of The Truth, is near. We are too dangerously close to the obscene version of Armageddon, that being destruction, which certain criminal groups appear to prefer the destruction of all vs giving up their power hold.
8
"Rapture" has always been about unreality. It could not be otherwise.
2
The chances of Pete Buttigieg winning the Democratic nomination are slim to none. And even if by some strange chance he did, there is even a tinier chance that he would win the presidency. I do not think America is ready for a first man in office at this time. We may be leaning more to the left today than ever before but I do not think we are ready for this just yet. It will probably happen but just not now.
2
@KMW
They were ready for the "first dude" when Sarah Palin was running.
4
@KMW
I certainly never imagined that a vulgar, womanizing, serial bankrupt businessman known for engaging in racist practices could become president, but Donald Trump did.
7
Your coverage of Pete Buttigieg is generally interesting. I think you missed a bit here, mainly in quoting a meaningless, angry, and self-loathing person like Erick Erickson. Instead, let's focus on the real values that evangelical conservative voters bring to the debate : an intense focus on family and internal group support; a strong concern about particular values; and a desire to practice their faith and values. Mr. Buttigieg has the ability to express these same values in a resonant way.
In contrast, the comparison made by Mr. Erickson is only a distraction - 'click-bait' - and you fell into his trap.
3
@Dave D
If evangelical conservative voters really believed those things, they would not be able to support our immoral president.
4
Right, Mr. Pence! Don't "criticize" those who "have a different point of view". Just make it legal to refuse them service. And make it illegal for to them teach in schools. Or serve in the armed forces.
I can remember when so-called Christians quoted the Bible to justify segregation and the oppression of African-Americans.
16
In my view, the central issue in the upcoming election will not be liberal v conservative, pro-life v pro-choice, healthcare, or even immigration. It will be decency v indecency. Are enough Americans of all stripes, including the critical center, simply fatigued? Tired of the muck and exhausted from Trump's having dragged the national debate into the gutter. While Pete can wax eloquently about the issues, above all, he comes across as genuine and decent. That will carry him a long way, despite his age and lack of experience on the national stage.
10
A very fresh face for the Democrats, and the one candidate who is something new, different, and - dare I say it - in the Center enough to be a uniter and not a divider. He's so intriguing as a candidate! (And I am a Republican).
9
Until two months ago I had never heard of Mayor Pete. I discovered him while channel surfing one evening. The few words he spoke while my finger hovered over the remote caught my attention and for the next thirtysomething minutes, I sat back and listened with ever-increasing interest. Over the next few days, I pulled up everything Google and YouTube have on him. It didn't take long for me to decide that Pete Buttigieg was someone I definitely wanted on the stage when the Democrats held their debate. To help ensure he got the donations necessary to make that happen, Mayor Pete received my first and so far only contribution of the 2020 campaign.
259
The time zone I live in results with my waking up to articles already full of comments, so I usually end up reading them rather than providing my own. Thanks to all of you here who have provided the most wonderful, thoughtful comments.
I'm all for Mayor Pete and hope he is still in the game by the time of my state caucus. Mayor Pete feels like he could be my brother, my best friend, the really nice guy living next door.
20
Yeah, I’m dubious about jumping from mayor to president—but when I hear the man talk, I wonder if that’s right. What I specially like is that he at least seems to have a brain, know stuff, and say what he thinks. He also doesn’t sound canned.
4
"you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are,” she added, noting that the speech was probably “helping Pete to get some notoriety.”
Who knew Karen could throw such subtle shade....maybe her speech writer is gay?
6
In 2016, I presumed that evangelical voters would never vote for a candidate whose wife posed in nude, lesbian-themed modeling shoots. And I thought it was unlikely they would vote for a man with Trump's sexual and wife-cheating history. I was very wrong.
So, maybe we're wrong now when we think that they won't vote for a gay candidate. I live in Texas, and even here, I know that my kids' young adult conservative Christian friends have nothing against gay people.
However, I'm afraid that most of these voters are only voting against abortion -- to the point that if Jesus himself ran as a pro-choice candidate against Trump, he would lose.
209
„”bring up that subject”
As should you.
Reference being Faith, Hope, and Charity.
Rarely considered concepts.
16
@Joe B They're not even voting against abortion; they're voting for power. Cons believe they have the right to dictate how women use their bodies, who is allowed to love whom, which skin colors make one a "real American," and so on. That's why they voted for a man-baby who appears to violate every tenet of Christianity: they are not following the Bible, but rather their own personal desires.
38
@Raul Campos No one is pro-abortion Raul. No one. But thoughtful people are pro women's right to control their own bodies.
22
Pete Buttigieg is wearing his religion on his sleeve. Isn't that what the liberals have criticized the conservatives for doing in the past? Is it alright for the left to express their views but not the right? The next time a conservative is criticized for discussing his religious faith, they should remind them that it was Mr. Buttigieg who did this during his campaign. If it is good for the geese it is good for the gender. Or something like that.
3
@KMW - Nope, conservationists are not criticized for their religion, they are criticized for their religious hypocrisy.
8
@KMW That a liberal critique of the right is just bringing up religion is news to me. I haven't heard that one. What I do hear is criticism of politicians' tendency to invoke Christian values, even while cheating on their spouses, asking their girlfriends to get abortions while claiming to be pro-life, advocating for the death penalty, cutting benefits for the poor, imposing cruel treatment on the incarcerated, denying coverage to the sick, etc. It's the hypocrisy that's nauseating, not the faith.
8
@KMW
I am a passionate atheist, and a huge Buttigieg supporter. I would prefer that he did not mention religion, but it is one of the few things about him I don’t like, and I will put it aside. As far as your point, I would argue that Buttigieg references his religion in an attempt to bring people together. The conservative evangelicals do quite the opposite.
8
Pete Buttigieg is often compared to Barack Obama; however he strikes me more like Jimmy Carter-- a faithful and thoughtful person who seems best poised to oppose the corruption of the presidency.
As a liberal Episcopalian with a child in the LGBTQ community, I applaud Mayor Pete's candidacy.
26
But Buttigieg is Episcopalian, you see.
Evangelicals consider them as bad theologically and liturgically as Catholics, and as bad socially and politically as Unitarians.
Not at all their kind of Christian!
10
@PM Evangelicals believe everyone but their own are bad; even though they talk a different game in public. Try hanging with them when their guard is down. If you are not on board with their proudly proclaiming in an almost narcissistic way of their salvation, you will soon be absent from conversation with them.
5
Has anyone pointed out to the religious right that Donald Trump is perhaps a false prophet. see the 666 building that is owned by his son in laws family. the signs are there.. its time they saw them. So much on the right and the Republican agenda is not the teachings of the Bible - taking care of the least among us, to leave judgement in Gods hands, I remain confused by these religious leaders and wish Buttigieg luck in bringing the goodness of religion to our national discussion..
12
Pence has a nice "theoretical", cozy Christian life: espouse the virtues while practicing the Politics of Division and Harm. For Pence to beam his admiration at Trump is disgusting to watch. Pence's "religion" is some fantasy in a vacuum, disconnected to the work of helping humanity. And to not call out Trump's vile philosophies is unforgiveable. And UNChristian to say the least.
20
Calling out hypocrisy is not the same as attacking one's religion. Mr. Buttigieg is right to call out the hypocrisy that has poisoned the religious right. Mr. Nader and his ilk in particular are living proof of snake oil salesmen who hide behind the Bible while cleverly convincing their flock of easy prey that in order to do "God's work" they need to send these men their hard-earned dollars because God wants them to live a life of luxury. Yeah, sure sounds exactly like what Jesus would do.
15
Strange days were in. In summary I really done want bible thumpers in charge of anything. Particularly judgmental bible thumpers. Bad business
1
@Mike
In general, I agree with you. I find all religion silly. But I would not call Buttigieg a bible thumper. He always mentions the rights of, and his respect for, nonbelievers, something “bible thumpers” aren’t often known to do.
3
No community is more practiced in self-delusion than evangelicals. They have an intense fetish for martyrdom and raise their children to believe Christians are a vulnerable, persecuted minority. Everything is steeped in a morass of fear, guilt, and self-righteousness. Men are supposed to be the "spiritual leaders" of their wives and daughters, whose value is only measured in their ability to support the men in their life.
Unfortunately, I doubt Mayor Pete will be able to reach them.
8
The key words here are white evangelicals.
Why would people of devout religious faith support a thrice married, serial adulterer, racist pathological liar? It’s more about identity politics —white supremacy in this case—over religion.
17
That was "an "attack" !?
9
Neither Pence nor anyone else of significance had attacked Buttigieg for being gay, so there was no reason for him to pick this quarrel with the VP - - - except to attract attention and put himself in the media spotlight.
It was a shameful and transparently political move by Pete Buttigieg.
3
@C Nelson
They do not have to attack him personally for being gay, and they will not because they know what the reaction would be. But in their churches, and with their statements, they make it clear that homosexuality should be seen as an inherently evil thing. They foment hatred, plain and simple.
4
@C Nelson - Pence's lifestyle 'choice' = his religion. Make no mistake; the religious path is a chosen path.
Pence's choice to allow and excuse discrimination against gay people includes attacking any and all gay people including Pete and myself.
We have every right to point out that our un-chosen God-given sexuality trumps any meticulously crafted 'belief' system. I always laugh when people like to sound intelligent by acting aghast when politicians make 'political moves'...( but have no problem with religious legislating and politicking. )
3
@Johnbbf
You "always laugh", you say? I really doubt that.
And I get that you harbor a great deal of anger, but your rant does not in any way address the point of my initial comment.
I stand by it.
Print media would not be doing this man a disservice by including the phonetic spelling of his name with each article.
6
Gay marriage has been settled. The Supreme Court voted to approve this a few years ago. Why is Pete Buttigieg even discussing this in his campaign. This should be a non issue. He should be running on his record and not on an issue that has been decided. People want to hear his policies not about his private life.
6
@KMW - Roe v Wade is also decided. As is Obamacare. But obviously some battles never die. If I learned anything over the years, it’s that when you start to beat Republicans, it’s always wise to run up the score.
8
KMW,
If it were only true that the issue of marriage equality was settled. Unfortunately, the reality is far from it. Marriage equality for LGBT folks does not bring along with it many of the inherent rights afforded to binary couples. Laws still exist that allow us to be discriminated against in the workplace, housing, public and private accommodation. Basic laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation still do not exist in many states.
It is untrue to state that marriage equality is anything but settled. Mr. Buttegeig simply states the hypocrisy of saying one thing and doing another. As scripture tells us you cannot serve two masters. In this case Christ and discrimination.
7
Abortion and The ACA (Obamacare) is supposed to be settled, too. Why do Republicans keep running against them?
4
Totally unfair to confront Evangelicals with the teachings of Christ.
40
"'I think in our country we need to understand you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are,' she added."
Oh, yes, you absolutely should -- when those beliefs lead to actions and policies that are harmful in the lives of others. We seem to have no problem calling out ISIS for their homicidal beliefs or the Hasidic community for their religion-based resistance to vaccination. Why should evangelicals be exempt from scrutiny and criticism?
There are no gay people who are trying to turn straight people gay. They just want space to be themselves without being mocked or shamed or differently treated or excluded or killed for it.
There are, however, straight people who want gay people to be straight, or at least pretend to be. And this leads them to mock and shame and treat differently and exclude and kill gay people. It leads them to promote conversion therapy, shun LGBT teens and drive them to suicide, deny marriage licenses to gay couples, fire or refuse to hire gay people, refuse the simple decency of recognizing others' preferred gender, invoke the "gay/trans panic defense" when justifying the shooting of gay and trans people, and support other government policies that discriminate against the LGBT community. They are being hurtful and destructive to others. And if they claim their religion is making them do it, then those religious beliefs absolutely SHOULD be examined and challenged.
27
@Dan Bruce
"A simple reading of Scripture" also shows that gay people should be put to death (Leviticus 20:13), along with adulterers (Leviticus 20:10) and children who disobey their parents (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). Are these all things that evangelicals believe should happen? If not, then they're cherry-picking their own text to support their biases and contradicting the "clear teachings of the Bible," whether they admit it or not.
119
@Dan Bruce There are differing interpretations of the Bible. You may proclaim yours to be the truest and most accurate, but you do not have a right to speak for others or dictate to them what to take from the Scripture. There are no sacred lines here.
57
@Dan Bruce
Everyone picks and chooses what they want to believe from the bible. That’s necessary, because there is so much conflicting information. Are you really ready to say that every single part of the Bible should be taken literally? Think about that carefully.
71
The christianists do not perceive their hypocrisy in supporting trump. They consider themselves 'pragmatists' accepting and supporting whoever will help them meet their objectives. Even to Satan himself I suspect.
18
I truly hope Pete doesn't win the primary- the last thing I want is a religious person in the White House. He's better than the religious right, but moralizing is not something the President has any business doing, and I fear for freedom from religion with any devoted Christian. Of course, the religious distrust atheists more so than rapists (Pew), so it is a requirement to at least say you are religious in America.
Pete really does seem to believe, and that is scary.
5
@YQ
Buttigieg will be attacked about every part of his life. I expect a presidential candidate to stand firm against verbal attacks like Pence’s adamant anti-LGBT diatribes.
Buttigieg may have firm religious beliefs, but so far he hasn’t tried to push laws based on them like pence did in Indiana.
9
@YQ - Newsflash most of our presidents have had some type of religious belief.
9
Pete Buttigieg has put the Christian back into Christianity.
What a relief to listen to a presidential hopeful that’s incredibly smart and articulate, who’s speeches are absent of hate and fear mongering, and full of substance instead of vicious cliches and chants.
If people could get past their phobias and just listen to what Mayor Pete says, they’d see someone with a realistic vision for ALL Americans and plans for how to get there. Just listen to this amazing candidate. He’s what we need now in our Oval Office.
21
This is the point
Hanger the conversation
The 50 years of fear mongering by Republicans needs a serious course correction.
Start
HERE
3
Anyone who calls himself a Christian and rejects the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament about sexual conduct is self-deceived. I have no problem with a celibate Pete Buttigieg calling himself a Christian, but I do have a problem with him calling himself a Christian who openly rejects the Bible prohibition against men having sex with men and practices such sin. Jesus himself said that he would recognize such people as being his followers.
2
@Dan Bruce That last sentence should read, "Jesus himself said that he would NOT recognize such people as being his followers."
2
@Dan Bruce - I'll bet money that you don't have a problem with Christians getting divorced and remarried. The bible was pretty clear about the evils of divorce.
17
@Dan Bruce
Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. Stop listening to others and read the Gospels for yourself.
24
Buttigieg is right. He is awesome. His public comments were a relief to hear the way Obama's first public comments were to me. Religious Conservatives are religious people who have chosen to mix their religion and their politics. Most Christian teachings warn sternly not to do that, and why. The Constitution does too, and they misuse it the same way. People are not comfortable talking about religion publicly, and the conservatives count on that silence. It's time to go to the mat with religious conservative republican libertarians.
18
Pete Buttigieg has criticized Mike Pence for his religious beliefs regarding marriage being between one man and one woman. Mr. Pence may not agree with Mr. Buttigieg's definition but he has not criticized him in public for sharing his views like Mr. Buttigieg is doing to him. Mr. Pence has not mocked his lifestyle the way Mr. Pence's are being done. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but it appears that Mr. Pence's are being stifled. Only the left's viewpoint holds any merit.
Mike Pence is not alone in sharing this view on marriage. The Supreme Court may have changed the definition to modernize it but millions still believe it is a union between one man and one woman. If a person strongly believes this as the cake baker, Jack Phillips did in Colorado, he should not be forced to make a product that goes against his religious principles. This appears to be what Pete Buttigieg is trying to do. Intimidation never works.
We still have religious freedom in America and everyone should be entitled to their freedom of expression. It is their individual right to hold the religious convictions that are dear to them. The liberal Democrats are working diligently to destroy this. They will not succeed. Americans will never allow this. America is the land of the free and home of the brave. That has not changed.
4
@KMW - Pence tried to insert his religious views into public policy and he has no right to do this.
You can believe anything you want but you can't force the rest of us to live by your beliefs.
7
@KMW
You think that the former governor and now VP Pence is being stifled despite all the power he wields and his platform on the national stage? You think he is above reproach for parading and trying to legislate his right wing Evangelical beliefs? You don't think his support of and belief in Trump is a deeply cynical means to his religious ends?
No one is taking away Pence's religious freedom but he has tried to impose and legislate his religious beliefs on the rest of us. Abortion is a good example. So is gay marriage and the freedom to discriminate. Pence's legislation would have affected Buttigieg negatively, whether or not Pence managed to be civil, maintain that unwavering beautific facial expression (no wonder he has so few wrinkles) and communicate with him.
Pence has used the fantastical evangelical interpretations of the bible, not shared by other Christians, to inform national and international policy which affects all of us of varying or no religious faith. Pence has pushed for Supreme Court nominees that want to take away Roe V Wade and therefore impose his religious beliefs about abortion on the rest of us. Whether or not you feel very passionate about this issue, it is a woman's right to choose. It is using government to legislate religion and to control people according to the narrow beliefs of Evangelicals.
Yet, the Evangelicals think they are the ones being discriminated against.
9
Pete is intimidating no one. But he is challenging evangelicals everywhere to think
Not good for a true believer
4
Religion should have never become a test for a political candidate and issues like sexuality and reproduction should have never have become a test for Christian voters. But political conservatives who are Christians made it so. That is the landscape a gay married man who wants to serve the public in elective office enters. It is a landscape filled with landmines. I wish him wisdom and courage getting through it.
14
Here in Wisconsin, we just had a disheartening state Supreme Court race. The man who won stated in earlier writings that transgender folk should be sterilized. He called Mitt Romney's religion a heresy. He will now sit on our highest court. Local pundits think he won because he used the argument that he was being persecuted for his religion. I am so sick of that trope. He was being called out because he is a bigot plain and simple. I don't know if Mayor Pete has a snowball's chance of winning the presidency , but I applaud him for daring to call out the hypocrites who say they are Christian, but never show us they are Christian.
30
While I typically support the least religious candidate I can find, I applaud Mayor Buttigieg taking the fight to the religious right and holding them accountable for their hypocrisy. Vice President Pence is an opportunist of the lowest order, who has gladly supported this obscene president while it serves his interests, all while parading his phony faith-based conservative nonsense to his equally hypocritical base. While I usually deplore the broadcasting of religious faith in politics, I am liking this Mayor Buttigieg more and more.
27
This could be a huge trap for Mayor Pete. I would prefer that all our elected representatives be people of 'good character' but that doesn't mean they should be of a faith or religion.
Which is why in the face of the evangelical weaponization of religion into our politics we must insist upon separation of church and state. Always.
People of 'good character' need not believe in (a) God.
Mayor Pete made some great points in his comments to Pence.
No one is denying Pence's faith or his right to exercise it. What I object to is Pence trying to ram HIS faith down upon me via government law. Let him enjoy his faith and he needs to understand that I do not share it.
The importance of separation of church and state can not be more necessary for American democracy.
12
Finally, an astute Democratic Party politician courts the long ignored Religious Left.
16
I love how every time Christian Trump supporters are asked, “how can you support a man who has had multiple marriages, multiple affairs, been accused of sexual assault numerous times, and been caught on tape BRAGGING about sexual assault”, they feel “attacked” - It’s not an attack. Mr. Buttigieg is calling for a moment of self reflection.
26
The problem with so many religious people is that they don't really care about the man Jesus at all. His message is a dead letter. Instead, they invoke faith to attack others who disagree with them. They then cry foul when their beliefs are questioned.
Those evangelicals who support Trump are not Christians. They are immoral cowards who mumble words like Amen and Hallelujah as though words can remove the taint of their true beliefs. They proclaim Christ as savior then denounce healthcare, deny rights to the LGTBQ community, cling to their guns, back racist policies and adhere to the propaganda and doctrine spouted by Limbaugh and Fox News.
Evangelicals should just scrap the Gospels altogether. They fool no one when they call themselves Christian. Their savior is capitalism, their prophet is Trump and they read from the books of Hannity and Limbaugh.
21
@tom
Evangelicals who are wealthy believe that they are being rewarded, in true self-serving interpretation of the bible. So does that mean that poor people are undeserving? Is that why they won't support the social safety net or take care of children alive now or allow asylum seekers into our relatively empty country? I find all this true perversion of the teachings of Jesus.
11
As a practical matter, Buttigieg had to get out in front his own sexuality. He is an openly gay office holder in a gay marriage. If you leave that issue floating, someone less kind is going to define your identity for you.
More generally though, Buttigieg's statements make perfect sense from a Millennial perspective. He's a moderate Democrat, almost conservative, representing a younger generation's world view. Strict religious interpretations of sexuality are being challenged.
Just last week the Mormon church had a "revelation" which permitted the church to baptize the children of homosexual couples. The decision was not motivated by the traditional demographic, I assure you. Young people are leaving religious institutions because they perceive an institution that is both hypocritical and immoral. Buttigieg just highlighted exactly their grievance before the public.
Republicans are only smoldering because they are on the defensive now. They do not want to have an open and honest discussion about the morality of prohibiting gay love within their religions. Buttigieg, as an Episcopalian, is well positioned to make them extremely uncomfortably in their faith.
And no. I don't think he is unfairly attacking Mike Pence or his religion. Pence is the one who brought his faith into the public sphere. If he wanted quiet deference to his spiritual beliefs, he should have left them out of politics. Pence is fair game for criticism as far as I'm concerned.
29
Democrats have never ceded Religiosity to Republicans.
The Republicans set to misinform, manipulate and inflame religious folks with a vision of the teachings of God that is more like the teachings of Beelzebub.
Any political party who condones forcefully taking sick and hungry children from desperate mothers, and placing them in cages, is most certainly not practicing the teachings of forgiveness and love of Christ.
I do agree with Pete that we must confront Republicans regarding their distortions of religious teachings of Love, and challenge their hypocritical views of religion for the sole purpose of manipulating voters.
I do know that I was created in God’s image and no amount of Republican propaganda is going to change that.
12
While I strongly disagree with Mr. Buttigieg's views on Scripture and marriage, I do agree that Christians who have unreservedly supported President Donald Trump have been hypocritical. Trump's pronounced lack of character was what caused me as an evangelical to be unable to support him as president - not to mention his strange, dark, conspiratorial-laden, nativist views that are a complete rejection of the Reagan Republicanism I support.
Trump's continued lack of character and principle remains a major concern. A leader's character is his or her most important asset, casting a far longer cultural shadow than a leader's policies, appointments or decisions. So while I disagree with Buttigieg's policy views, and do not support him as a candidate, I agree that many Christians have been hypocritical in their silence on Trump's character.
11
One person's "attacking" is another person's "exposing the hypocritical". Jesus approves of the latter as evidenced by his own actions.
16
Mr. Buttigieg bringing the conversation about religion to the self righteous Republican right is welcome for more than just confronting anti-gay bigotry, although the topic is a hot button wedge issue that needs blunting.
We currently have a Secretary of State that openly says his brand of evangelical Christianity informs his mission as our representative to the world. At the same time, he says he's putting "the swagger" back into American diplomacy. You know, that Jesus-like swagger. He is on record saying that we must continue the struggle until the Rapture. And he is just one among many.
Say what you will about Mr. Buttigieg, he is a brave man. He will be attacked mercilessly (Beastiality, really? Erickson channels Santorum.) But the increasing role of religion in America's government is a subject that needs addressing.
17
The religious right wing want to use government to legislate their beliefs on abortion, same sex marriage and the freedom to discriminate based on their narrow interpretation of Christianity. Hence, despite Trump's moral and ethical failings, they see him as an avenue toward that end. The means justifies the ends. Some even see Trump as sent by heaven and have found rationale in the bible.
Pence calls it religious freedom. I call it forcing their religious beliefs on the rest of us through government. Frankly, I would like to be free of their religion. Thank you Pete Buttigieg for offering another deeply personal and more humane, loving and inclusive view of Christian faith that many Christians share.
19
This is refreshing to read. People who have no idea what Christ said have stolen religion and used it against Christians. Conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists have become fascists who serve no God by themselves. They've gotten by with it for too long.
14
The Vice President claims he's not critical of anyone else who has a different point of view on marriage. But he doesn't want people who don't follow his beliefs to be able to legally marry. That seems far worse than personal criticism.
11
It's overwhelmingly hypocritical for right wing politicians to start clutching their pearls over what are both modest, and completely factual, statements by Buttigieg. After all, it's Republican evangelicals who have spent the last 40 years spreading the most hateful, bigoted, and dehumanizing lies about the gay community. Erick Erickson's attempt to equate being gay with bestiality is a perfect example, and no amount of gaslighting from people like Ralph Reed will change that.
I've spent most of my life, as a gay man in America, fighting off the relentless wave of hatred coming from the Republican party and their evangelical supporters. I'm tired of trying to find equal ground, or be forgiving, or look for understanding. I've had enough, as have most LGBT Americans my age. I'm glad someone is finally calling them out.
24
There is no use in any progressive, gay, or even Democrat running for president trying to win over the strong Trump supporting evangelicals. They are very thoroughly brainwashed from a young age and very unlikely to change even though they are supporting one of the least spiritual, least religious, most immoral, most corrupt, most lying president in my life time of 12 presidents.
13
Mr. Buttigieg as the right to ask legitimate questions about the disconnect between what evangelicals Christian preach vs their choice of president. I do not see this as persecution. How could they rally people to their cause by constantly supporting a president that literally steals, cheats, lies every day and uses racism and antisemitism to gain political power??? By sustaining Trump, one day will come when they won't recognize themselves. It's for them to know if they will be ok with the image they see!
5
It's not that there is a fear in America today of Government persecuting Christians as the quote from Mr Erickson says. The fear is that so-called Christians in the American government today (such as Mr Pence) are persecuting LGBT people by denying them rights that they do not deny to those who call themselves Christians.
15
I'm so happy to see Mayor Buttigieg call out the so-called "Evangelicals" for their hypocrisy in embracing the morally challenged Donald Trump while at the same time trying to legislate their religious beliefs against homosexuality. This debate is overdue. I'm also glad he made Mike Pence the face of that hypocrisy.
12
I’m not sure that being gay and supporting gay, lesbian and transgender activities is the best route for a society. For one, the growth rate would be zero. It is just not a natural life style. God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Over the years, we have been conditioned to accept the gay community due to Hollywood and the MSM being dominated by gay influences. This goes for diversity, political correctness and multiculturalism. It’s a complete mess!
1
Wow. Growth rate would be zero? Scared, huh?
6
@Sven Gall Wow, so much of the anti-gay rhetoric all in one post. At first I thought it was satirical, but alas ...
8
@Sven Gall - Same sex activity occurs in nature (animals, humans), so how can it be said to be unnatural?
9
As an atheist raised in an ultra-religious environment, I can testify to the fact that what normal folks see as hypocrisy of evangelicals in the support of someone like Trump, the deeply religious view as "spiritual warfare". The religious take a zero-sum, cynical view to an individual (or political party for that matter) that they see as an asset that is working to achieve their preferred end result(s). Expecting evangelicals to abandon Trump or the GOP for that matter is not realistic against this mindset.
Since at least some of those "end result(s)" include things such as allowing the religious to discriminate against the LGBTQ community in the name of "religious freedom", don't expect these less than rational thinkers to embrace someone such as Buttigieg. Make no mistake, the very implication created by the fact he is gay means he will not embrace the "spiritual warfare" they are looking for in a candidate.
5
“I think in our country we need to understand you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are,” said Karen Pence.
And yet she steadfastly supports her husband who steadfastly supports a president who goes out of his way to attack Muslims because of their religious beliefs. It will require a mountain of evidence to convince me Mike and Karen Pence don't also gleefully wish to persecute Muslims. She's a two-faced liar.
The hate, judgement, cruelty, uncharitability, violence and general anti-Christianity of the Evangelicals is disgusting.
22
The faith of Mike Pence? Raised a Catholic, switched to Evangelical Christianity for political expediency. - No faith, only opportunism.
13
Why is it Evangelical Christians are always "under attack" when anyone points out their hypocrisy? This is their way to deny and deflect who they really are with their intolerance and bigotry. Their ability to subscribe certain scripture to justify their own ends defies the Good Word. The Pences personify these worst traits.
15
That Buttigieg is changing the conversation around Christianity has merit. Sounds like he is framing his beliefs around the philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth who spoke the Sermon on the Mount, not the heretical ideas of the Christian fundamentalists who have concocted the Prosperity Jesus, the Gun-Loving Jesus, the Gay-Hating Jesus, the Enslavement-of-Women Jesus.
However, if Bittigieg's campaign becomes focused on religion--with all its blather and preposterous magic--as the pivot-point of a better life, count me out.
3
Karen Pence is exactly right. And exactly wrong.
She is right that citizens of the United States have are allowed their own religious beliefs and practices. She is wrong, however, in asserting that other citizens have no right to criticize those beliefs.
Our executives, legislators and jurists are sworn to uphold the constitution on behalf of all citizens. When these folks put their religious beliefs ahead of that duty, they should be criticized. Our constitution protects free speech, not the right of some to impose their religious beliefs on others.
8
Well the so called Christians should emulate the documented actions of Jesus more and those of faux news pontificators less.
3
Evangelicals in the US have been running away from the actions and words of Jesus since before I was a kid. Apparently he was too much of a radical. Better to focus on Paul's arguments about whether women should cover their faces and such.
4
For months I've been listening to candidates, trying to figure out which to donate to based on a single criteria: his/her ability to attract moderate and even conservative voters and win in 2020.
After listening to Buttigieg speak for just a few minutes, I believed he'd be the one, based on all the reasons noted in these comments.
Although I think it would be great to have a woman president, Buttigieg seems far more electable than any of the current candidates.
Those who advocate a woman based solely on the fact that "it's time" may be helping to ensure another four years of the current administration.
13
Of course Pence was nice to Buttigieg to his face. But it is his public policy that matters. That is who Pence really is.
17
@Charlotte - Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. It allows people and businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals. Now he wants us to believe he would never discriminate.
18
My Methodist pastor used to tell a joke: How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb? Two: one to call the electrician, one to mix the martinis.
How many Episcopalians does it take rip the hypocrisy mask off evangelicals? Just one: Boot Edge Edge.
20
Conservative evangelicals cast "bullet-ballots" the same way gun voters do, except their one issue is wanting to overturn Roe versus Wade. Buttigieg might consider pointing out that the abortion rate in America has plummeted the last few years and is now lower than when Roe became law in 1973. There are a number of reasons for this, but possibly the biggest is a little thing called Obamacare. The interesting pre-existing condition known as a pregnancy can cost as much as $30,000 from soup to nuts, but because of Obamacare's ban on discrimination against pre-existing conditions it no longer means financial ruin to carry a fetus to term. If you are pro-life, which do you prefer, rhetoric or actual results?
338
@Bill U.,
Would be great if the NYT would do a series analyzing trends in abortion in the US.
39
@Bill U. As you know pro-life Republicans are also again Obamacare. They are also against sexual education, contraception and almost any positive measure which will protect the baby and mother health after birth. So you got your answer, most of the so-called pro-life people prefer rhetoric over actual results.
68
@Bill U. - Yep, and states like Colorado have reduced the number of abortions by providing affordable contraception, something Republicans continually oppose.
24
If Buttigieg (an amusingly funny name if translated liberally) makes his lifestyle an issue, he will top out at 1%, because we don’t care what you live like, we care about not having it constantly thrown in our faces.
2
@Pilot - LOL. Now that Democrats have become the party of family values, and the most popular Republicans all have sleazy affairs and multiple divorces, we finally hear the pivot of “we don’t care what you live like.” Nice try. That’s almost as funny as Trump’s, Giuliani’s, and Gingrich’s nine weddings.
18
@Pilot - I know exactly what you mean by "throwing it in your faces." You mean you want gays to go back into the closet and pretend to be straight, so you don't have to know they exist. People who believe as you do say that someone's gay marriage is "throwing it in your faces." Or a gay couple living together, or even simply going out in public together.
Yet it never occurs to you that when you yourself date or marry or live with someone of the opposite sex, you're "throwing it in our faces" that you're heterosexual. When you talk about your wife at work, you're throwing it in people's faces.
16
@Pilot
Who's throwing it your faces? Fox News? Homosexual Lifestyle Invaders?
Who's "throwing"?
13
Mayor Pete should continue to hammer these Pharisees for their hypocrisy.
Adultery is one of the BIG NO NOs. "You shall not commit Adultery" is one of the Ten Commandments.
"Homosexuality" is never mentioned by name but deduced by far right pretzel twisting of Greek and Aramaic words that could easily be interpreted in less hateful and scornful ways.
Also, to be forgiven one must repent. As far as I know, Trump has never asked forgiveness and is a serial sinner.
He even said that he had nothing to ask God forgiveness for.
18
Perhaps Mr Buttigieg can convince Mr Pence that actively pursuing the “end of days” as Trump seems to be doing through his support of Netanyahu is a bad idea. Also, it’s good to hear a Christian evangelical who does not cherry-pick most of his quotes from the Old Testament and actually seems to have read the teachings of Jesus.
10
This is Great, Pete! You rock the house! Forcing the Salad Bar x'tians to face their smug hypocrisy, particularly regarding their boy's teachings about non-judgement. Make 'em work on the Beam in their eyes and leave our Motes to us.
The quote from Ralph Reed (when his own ox gets gored) is beyond ironic: “It seems to me the solution to that is not to attack the faith of anyone else… The solution should be to talk about their own faith.” Bwahaha!
I hope I get the chance to vote for you, Pete!
12
Looks like politicians have found a Black Hole all of their own. Personally I would like to see all vestiges of religion out of politics and government decisions. But of course that will never happen in the Country of ours that was taken over by religious fanatics that left England to find religious freedom they soon imposed on anyone and everyone.
A land with no religion would be a true Garden of Eden.
8
Religion is too often taking the front seat in American politics.
Religious interference in everyday life problems with strong limitations of secular rights is becoming unbearable but mostly hypocritical.
Religious beliefs must be kept at a personal level out of public life and shouldn’t be used by politicians for their personal gain .
This improper use of religion is a Republican trademark and I believe that Pete Buttigieg is exposing the truth and sycophancy of many republican politicians, preachers and religious zealots.
4
Mayor Buttigieg is speaking truth to both political and religious power. His decency, authenticity and readily apparent compassion are focusing a great deal of Light on the immorality and hypocrisy of Pence and other ultra-conservative Christians. The truth shall set you free.....
14
The hypocrisy of the self-styled "religious right" is stunning: they use their self-serving beliefs to bludgeon their political opponents gleefully, but when Buttigieg quite reasonably asks how a truly devout person could support a racist and misogynistic President they cry foul--"keep religion out of politics" cries Mrs. Pence and Ralph Reed.
426
@G. O. Thanks for your spot-on analysis. I'm sick and tired of so-called Christians who continue to support this train wreck of a human being, aka the president. Crude, crass , narcissistic, unethical - the list goes on. Spare me the moral high ground you feel you're entitled to. It's merely "sound and fury signifying nothing."
9
I am a 63 year old retired engineer, father of three; though I was brought up Catholic, I am now an atheist. The hypocrisy of the Catholic Church with respect to the rolling pedophile scandals would have been reason enough to leave my faith; but, honestly, my decision had more to do with history, science, and logic. Nonetheless, I am a supporter of Mayor Pete, and respect his faith (as well as other true believers that actually practice what Jesus purportedly taught). I'm confident that he, unlike the "religious right", would respect mine as well.
27
Let's hear the religious right condemn and oppose Donald Trump for his many religious, moral, and legal transgressions.
Silence.
They live in the next to the biggest glass house there is, after Donald Trump's.
They're in bed with Trump now (yuk!), they don't like it (they say), but they're all in with Trump's so called "Making America Great Again" mantra.
They can't have it both ways.
Pete Buttigieg is ready from day 1 to be President of the United States, and Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces.
Trump isn't (even after two years).
God will judge the hypocritical religious right harshly when they stand before him (or her).
17
Pete Buttigieg is not challenging the Religious Right, but in reality he is in challenging the text of the Holy Bible. What he says about same sex marriage is not supported by Scripture. Yes, some liberal churches agree with him, but they have to deny the text of the Bible to do so. What that amounts to is Pete Buttigieg and liberal churches making themselves their own god, something that Scripture predicts will happen when men and women reject the God of the Bible and his teachings on marriage and same-sex sex. Buttigieg may be a nice person in the secular sense, but he is not adhering to the Christian faith based on belief in Jesus, and his version of Christian love is distorted. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15). The New Testament, which give the teachings of Jesus, clearly prohibits men from having sex with men. It also says marriage partners must give their bodies to one another in sexual union. Thus, since same sex intercourse is prohibited, same-sex Christian marriage is impossible. Pete Buttigieg has rejected the teachings of Jesus for political expediency.
Please point out the original Greek text where Jesus says anything about homosexuality.
Jesus said much more about not judging, loving others and service than anything else.
12
The Bible is much clearer on adultery than it is on its supposed proscription on homosexuality, so by your own standards Trump should be the pariah, not Pete.
16
@Dan Bruce - You don't get to hijack all of christianity and claim to speak for all christians. YOUR denomination's interpretation of the bible (often based on inaccurate translations or interpretations of the text) is up to you, but don't try to force it on everyone else.
11
Tremendous progress has been made in realm of Christians not hating someone who has sex with their own gender. This is a good thing.
However, let's not be naive here. The Bible is very clear in how it defines a healthy sexual relationship. And Pete Buttigieg is simply not in alignment with that. Trump already has an ironclad grip on the evangelical base... Pete's expression of sexuality will only serve to strengthen that grip... not erode it. You may not like it, but that is the reality of the collective evangelical mindset.
One of the reasons Trump won in 2016 is because he had the ability to reach across party lines and erode territory that had long been held by Democrats. "Tarrifs on cars" and "What do you have to lose" really hit home with the rust belt. If Dems are serious about winning in 2020, they need a candidate who can reach across party lines and erode Trump's base. Pete Buttigieg is not that guy.
3
@Jon K - Give me a break. The bible talks about how wrong it is to divorce and remarry but right wingers have no problem with it.
The bible was also fine with men marrying underage girls and having multiple wives.
Newsflash we have separation of Church and State in this country.
6
I am always amazed by the stark differences between those that claim to be Christians and weaponize their beliefs to punish and belittle others, and those who actually follow Christ’s teachings and “Love thy neighbor as thyself”.
12
Mayor Pete has all the "white guy" signifiers - military vet, counterterrorism work, Ivy League degree, executive - then they get to the gay part and suddenly there is fussing about too much identity politics. ( insert eye roll. ) Evangelicals are always lecturing the rest of us about respect for their beliefs while working tirelessly to push their specific religion into law. Somehow after seeing these laws we are to believe that not consigning him to hell to his face constitutes civility. God bless Mayor Pete for pointing out their total lack of respect for the religious beliefs of those whose are taught we are ALL created in God's image and capable of personal moral decision making. Mayor Pete may be the prism through which these ideas of identify and belief can be refracted and perhaps better addressed.
18
Karen Pence hides behind the dodge that all religious scoundrels use: “I think in our country we need to understand you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are,”
When your beliefs become public policy, and hurt others, then yes, your beliefs deserve criticism. And Pete Buttigieg's comments ring true. The hypocrisy of American Evangelicals is stunning, and it deserves being called out for what it is. My thanks, Mayor Pete.
35
Buttigieg himself has best crystallized (as usual) the difference between his faith and that of right-wing evangelicals like Pence: his faith speaks to him about acceptance and welcoming, while Pence's is one of restriction, defending one's identity as the "chosen."
This is especially true when it comes not only to sexual/marriage questions, but also immigration and many other "hot button" issues.
9
Character must matter, even to Evangelicals.
5
@Ted Olson Character does indeed matter to Bible-believing Evangelicals. The greatest test of character is displayed by those who follow Jesus and keep his commandments, one of which is the prohibition of men having sex with men, something that is clearly stated in both the Old and New Testaments. The Democratic Party has become decidedly anti-Bible in recent years. That essentially rules out that Party for Bible-believing Christians. We are left to choose the lesser of two evils in elections. That won't be Pete Buttigieg.
@Dan Bruce - How conveeenient that some people can boil their faith down to one or two prohibitions that will never, ever affect their own lives. What about the 603 laws in the bible? How many of those do you force yourself to live by or judge others for not living by?
The bible condemns divorce, yet James Dobson's Focus on the Family printed a study that ranked all the major denominations by divorce rate. In first place, with the most divorces, were evangelicals. Tied for last place, with the fewest divorces, were Lutherans and atheists. Think about it.
8
@Dan Bruce - But you're OK with violating what the bible says about divorce?
4
It’s not hypocritical to have religious views and vote for Trump. It’s arrogant. It’s self-interested. It’s morally corrupt.
But when the story one believes becomes the most important way to understand the myriad complexities and contradictions of modern human society, then one must confront a choice. Trump voters simply made a choice. It’s a mistake to confuse it with “religious purity” - whatever the heck that means.
1
Perfect. Mayor Pete and other Democratic politicians must take the fight to the evangelicals, the working white middle class and the geezers. Remind them that the only real conservatives are the progressives.
5
Mayor Pete and Tim Ryan are of most interest to me...and Kamal Harris, too; Warren is really good, but IMO is not electable.
Pete Buttigieg is so amazingly articulate and decent that it makes me even more despairing for what we have now in the White House and with McConnell.
11
The Church is over there and the State House is over here, and never the twain should meet. Then we will get along just fine.
10
Even more than the issue of homosexuality, a candidate’s position on abortion rules the votes of right wing Christians. I’m going to assume Mayor Pete is pro-choice. He’s smart enough to present his stance in a way that may influence some of the critical on-the-fence voters. He’ll never sway the far right, but hopefully he doesn’t need to.
4
@RR - If the Right really hated abortion then they would be the world’s most fierce advocates of birth control. But they aren’t. Draw your own conclusions about their real motivations.
15
Contrary to all other advanced nations, any American running for office has to wear his religiosity like a shield of armor on their chest for all to see.
So much for separation of State and Church.
Yet since this has been a must play game in US politics for ages, I am delighted to no end that Pete Buttigieg is fighting the evangelical intolerant right-wing with his eloquent philosophy of the core principles of Christianity.
506
@Sarah Hear hear.🎉
18
Thank you for noting how the foundational separation of Church and State seems to have been thrown out the window.
Let it also be noted that it seems easier for the electorate to rally around a white, male military veteran than it is to consider a woman, especially one of color, religion or no religion.
But you are right. It’s a game, and if this fellow can play it successfully, our country will be much better off.
34
@Sarah The Constitution prohibits the state from limiting free expression of religion. It does not prohibit religion in the public sphere, instead it guarantees it. Those who want to eliminate all religion from American life are un-Constitutional.
4
I don’t understand the need to pick a fight over his being gay. Who is that designed to motivate? Gays? Don’t you think he has that vote locked up if he becomes a (very) serious contender? It seems like a poorly thought out provocation. The press was focused on his intelligent and straightforward answers to questions. Now, the talk is about his gayness.
1
@William There is nothing he could do to prevent his sexual orientation from become a prime topic if he becomes a serious contender for national office. So might as well take it on from the start.
9
@William, good. Let's just get it out of the way, so Pence and his army of church ladies are exposed to the sunlight of American plurality.
The right works by whispered innuendo, fear, and lies about gay people. They roar their approval when trump spreads his tiny hands and says 'some people think gay politicians serve the devil, not that I'm saying that they need to be beaten, just, you know, maybe people should be listened to..."
Mr. Buttigieg, say it loud and proud, the way trump brags about his flabby prowess! His base can deal with public backlash against them. They are so far over their skis right now anyway, pushing, pushing America for a theocracy that represents only them.
7
I have wondered why evangelicals would decry seeming attacks on their religiosity and yet support a man like Trump which only opens that door wider. The hypocrisy is indeed staggering.
11
The more I hear about Pete, the more I like him. I don't care if he is gay or Christian--he appears reasonable, intelligent and articulate.
In November of 2020 Americans will have a political election not having a contest of whose religion is the being served. I hope in a year and a half we vote for someone who understands and is excited by the Constitution and loves our country.
9
When we can arrive at the day when one’s sexual preferences, color or religious beliefs are not part of our political discourse, we will have reached the nirvana of American political life. None of these things matter in the selection of someone to lead our country, only his/her qualifications to lead. It’s that simple.
8
I appreciate Buttigieg's ponts, but as a non-Christian, I would like to see religion removed from all political discussions. Whether your version of your religion allows you to accept homosexuality or not is irrelevant to me. We are not and have never been a Christian country, despite the public narrative that suggests differently.
6
What is great about this situation is that we are finally seeing news coverage of a Christian point of view that is really more what Christian teaching is about. In too much news coverage, the term “Christian” is used to describe a right wing conservative world I, for one, don’t recognize. I am often astounded at the perceptions many “unchurched” people have of the Christian faith, perceptions they have gleaned from media coverage. (Actually, I’m often astonished at how many people think all Christians are Catholic and answer to the Pope!)
I guess there must be a world of poorly educated, bigoted people out there who call themselves Christians, because I see talk of this world all the time in the news, but I - a church organist - don’t know any of them.
I’m delighted Buttigieg is challenging this perception.
298
@WDP
I don't think that all the oh-so-pious who have voted for Trump think that all Christian are Catholic and answer to the pope.
Something they really don't know is that when if comes to the prohibition of putting the 10 Commandments in stone on public land, they scream that their morality applies to all of mankind.
They have no clue that there are three different versions of them, the first being Jewish, the second Catholic and the third, Protestant.
24
@WDP Thank you for this--I'm pleased that Mayor Pete is helping to reclaim the word "Christian" for those of us who are not the Mike and Karen Pences of the world.
32
@WDP
YES!!! I have been saying it for the past two years, Evangelical Christians are giving Christianity and Religion a bad name. Following this disgusting human being like he is some special blessing to their world and drinking his rotten cool-aide like it's nectar. He's appalling to good Christians.
27
I still hope for the day when we get a candidate who’ll proudly proclaim that he or she is an atheist, agnostic or secular humanist. That’ll be the day our nation will start making progress toward realizing its promise that all men and women are created equal.
14
we should give evangelicals the same consideration as any other human, and admit that we all frame our prejudices first, then find reasons later to believe them.
that said, it is immensely pleasurable to see a christian point out that VP Pence wears his christianity like a gold lamé suit: he's the Liberace of Jesus. (P.S. mike -- i love the hair.)
i still don't know much about Buttigieg, haven't seen him speak at length, but my sense is that he is adult in his declarations and does not speak so much from political calculation as from belief. this is so shocking in a politician that it may be his candor, and not his appeal to christians per se (who may also respond to candor) that right wing commentators find so threatening.
last point: notice how this article filters its analysis through "tactical political calculation." it does not assert that Buttigieg opines through calculation, but it proposes that his effect must be calculated, and implcitly that politics is the art of calculating electoral response, and that calculation can predict who may achieve political supremacy.
i submit that, after money corruption, the interpretation of politics as merely the art of calculation is a serious cancer on our democracy. journalists who propagate the myth that cancer is good for you share the blame for this cynical corruption.
6
I am reminded of David Brooks brilliant commentary of several years ago on same sex marriage.
@Susan Cole When I hear Pete Buttigieg, I'm reminded of the brilliant teachings of Moses, Jesus, and Paul on same-sex sex and marriage (they all prohibit it for Bible believers).
@Dan Bruce - Yet you seem to have forgotten what Jesus and Paul said about divorce. Why is that?
5
Mayor Pete's version of Christianity is more appealing than Pence's version of Christianity to be sure.
But what does either version have to do with governing in America? This whole discussion invites the inference that religion has a role in our democratic society. It should not.
Buttigieg has some appealing qualities, but his need to use his Christianity as a political strategy is off-putting.
I don't care about his sexual identity (although it would be nice to have a gay president) and I don't care about his "faith."
By engaging in this debate, he is stipulating to the importance of catering to evangelicals. No thanks, Mayor Pete.
6
As a Canadian, it pains me that I can't contribute to his campaign (I can't even buy a "Boot Edge Edge" t-shirt on his website as this is considered a campaign contribution). After 2 years of collective trauma, he appeared to be the one candidate who is generating a level of hope and enthusiasm on both sides of the aisle (Evangelicals aside), and one not seen for any of the other candidates. I think Mayor Pete has an appeal to middle America unrivaled by the other Democratic candidates and if primary voters disregard this, it will be at their peril. This guy is the real deal and the best chance of beating Trump. I've never in my wildest dreams thought about travelling to the States to volunteer for a presidential candidate. But assuming he makes it that far, I'm thinking about it now.
11
He’s not attacking evangelicals; rather he is asking them to square their beliefs against the sin-ster in chief. Any faith that can’t withstand a bit of questioning and soul searching really isn’t much of a faith at all.
Will he win over the gray haired crowd? Doubtful, because they can’t handle the notion of gay lifestyles being acceptable as normal. But when we look at younger evangelicals, the ones who grew up watching Will and Grace or Ellen, he may actually bring them over to his corner.
I am an agnostic, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think Pete could bring the country together again. Speak to the parts of scripture which directly relate to helping the poor, protecting creation (the environment), and other liberal things that align with the teaching of Jesus, and he could do quite well with young voters of faith.
13
Saying you're a Christian doesn't mean you're a Christian, not that any Christian would believe the NYT would understand this level of religious nuance. His voluntarist religious philosophy, such as it is, is an "uber"-selfconfidence in whatever he chooses to say in the moment. In other interviews, the young gentleman confesses his "theological indifference"--so how can he criticize anyone else for their beliefs, when he adheres to none himself?--and that the only real religious idea he holds to is traditional Anglican liturgy ("give me an organ over a guitar"). So it is obvious why liberals and the NYT would attach themselves to someone so passionately marginal.
1
The mainstream US culture is profoundly lost in a miasma of religiosity and militarism that elevates some and devalues many others. It has always been present along with our national penchant for racism and xenophobia.
There's an implosion coming and it won't be peaceful and it won't be pretty. May take another generation or two for things to get really ugly.
4
"Eighty-one percent (of 'evangelicals') voted for him, compared with 16 percent for Hillary Clinton."
The 'evangelicals' who voted for Trump are fundamentalists, good old fashioned Bob Joes fundamentalists.
The MSM needs to learn there's a difference.
4
@emm305. I had the same thought. All the agnostic and atheist commentators here seem to think that all people who believe in Christ are a generic group of Christians and will vote similarly.
Tell that to my evangelical sister, who taught her children that our devoutly Catholic mother is going to hell because she’s not the right “kind” of Christian. And Boot-Edge-Edge is an Episcopalian, which is basically a liberal Catholic. Ironically, the Episcopalians believe that all people who call themselves Christian are Christian, even the ones who haven’t spoken the magic, arbitrarily-decided, words aloud “I accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior.”
3
Poor Mrs Pence; and to think she teaches schoolchildren. The mayor isn't seeking notoriety, he's part of the persistent percolation of Christianity toward truly evangelical possession, as its substance gains substantiation. Whose faith could not be strengthened?
5
Gallup Poll: "WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The residents of most U.S. states are more likely to identify as conservative than as liberal in their political ideology"
"Meanwhile, in six states, there are more liberals than conservatives"
https://news.gallup.com/poll/247016/conservatives-greatly-outnumber-liberals-states.aspx?g_source=link_NEWSV9&g_medium=TOPIC&g_campaign=item_&g_content=Conservatives%2520Greatly%2520Outnumber%2520Liberals%2520in%252019%2520U.S.%2520States
@Dev
the actual headline of that article is "Conservatives Greatly Outnumber Liberals in 19 U.S. States"
those 19 states represent 68 million people, not voters just people.
There are about 326 million people in the U.S.
only 75,000 people were polled.
30% land lines were mandated by the polls.
different states had different percentage of respondents. not number of , percent of which changes the collection validation
The claim made ignores those who defined themselves as "moderates"
in other words your claim is garbage.
5
What an inspiring person! Pete Buttigieg has it all -- intelligence, courage, empathy, groundedness. He reminds us that "we the faithful" are God's church, we evolve in our capacity to love and become more inclusive precisely because we are rooted in a continuous and living apostolic tradition. May Saint Francis and Saint Clare watch over him specially! And may be get through this horrible period of ugliness and national disgrace.
5
An old friend with whom I keep in touch a bit, explained to me that he despises trump, but voted for him because "Christianity is under attack" (and of course he despises Clinton - why never explained).
This friend is highly intelligent, retired Air Force pilot and an all around nice guy. But. He's so extreme in his faith that he's become judgmental and overbearing about it.
His example of being under attack was when having dinner with some friends, he explained to them that gay people were filled with and being controlled by the devil. That if the LGBTQ folks would just "give their hearts to the Lord, be born again and repent" they would "find their way" and become "normal".
His dinner companions were so repulsed they got up and left the meal. He was shocked, upset and couldn't understand why.
At that point in our conversation I was so dumbfounded I didn't know what to say, and still can't wrap my head around what I'd just heard.
4
@Deb
It seems that, like many of the President's most hardcore supporters, your friend has chosen self-imposed ignorance over acceptance of reality. Sad.
4
@Deb
good for the people who got up and left the table. people like that need to be shunned and ostracized. If they ask why tell them flatly their opinions are destructive and have no place in your life or the lives of Americans. Then send them away.
you control who enters your personal life, at least for the most part, reject evil and push them out.
5
Why do people think religion defines moral authority? Just because religious leader say it does? In reality, religion has no moral authority, they say what they want to stay in power. In many ways, they are like Trump.
10
This is the most optimistic I've been about America in a long time. It's time to reclaim the Beatitudes-based approach to Christianity which conservatives abandoned.
9
Mayor Pete is clearly not attacking a person's faith. However, he is criticizing a person's actions when it is to the detriment of another person. That is the hypocracy to which he refers.
10
Is this guy running for pastor or president? We need to hear more about his thoughts on social, economic and political issues.
2
I applaud Buttigieg’s invoking Christian doctrines in support of liberal, and progressive causes—it’s something I’ve done since Trump assumed office. It’s such a natural, I remain mystified that most Democrats have failed to see the powerful instrument it provides. Buttigieg and I share the same favorite Bible verse, from Matthew 6:5-6, about how the loudest public prayers are the biggest hypocrites.
I hope that Buttigieg goes beyond invoking religion to further tolerance toward gay rights and same-sex marriages. The Judaeo-Christian ethos delivers an even broader and more powerful message. I have put it like this: Donald Trump and his Republican minions live every day in willful, wanton defiance of God’s 10 Commandments and Jesus’ Golden Rule. Let me just quote two of those Commandments: “Thou shalt not bear false witness; and thou shalt not commit adultery.” What more needs to be said?
Christian support of Trump for his position on abortion or gay rights? Jesus, I note, said absolutely nothing about either one. But he explicitly admonished us to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” What Trump Tweet or saying reflect the spirit of those words? But: the Democratic policies of Social Security, Medicare, Obamacare, and Medicaid are the pluperfect examples of the Golden Rule.
And to those Christians who claim that the abortion issue trumps all: where, I ask, in the entire Bible does God or Jesus grant you the right to make such subjective distinctions?
10
What I certainly like so far about Pete is how willingly he stands on his own beliefs and doesn't try to be a Bernie wannabe like most of the other candidates.
8
To be perfectly blunt, evangelical Christians SHOULD spend some time in the closet. It might teach them actual compassion for those who had no choice but to hide who they were for decades.
23
@Alexandra
Good morning!
White Evangelicals have had plenty of time to work on Compassion: I’m not holding my breath. What is their religion worth, if adherents won’t follow its precepts?
I’d rather they stay out of the closet and exposed, as they are helping us make the case about the separation of Church and State.
7
@Alexandra
It is not only about those having to hide their sexuality for decades. It is also about Republicans' attack on Roe v. Wade.
As a matter of fact, I was delighted and quite surprised to hear from a niece of my husband from SC, one who grew up in a bible-thumping Southern Baptist family, telling me yesterday that Republicans only care about a fetus, yet once another baby is born into poverty they don't give a darn anymore, calling mothers needing help to put food on the table, buy cloth, etc., etc. "moochers".
It sometimes take at least one, sometimes two generations, to notice that the oh-so pious Evangelicals are picking and choosing form both their Good Book as well as The Constitution whatever fits into their pre-Enlightenment view.
5
Pence claiming to blindsided by their good working relationship saying he has no problem with Buttigieg is absolute nonsense. He does have a problem, he's spent years trying to legislate his preferred methods of discrimination.
If you're friendly to my face but champion the laws that directly discriminate against me and abbreviate my rights you are attacking me, you are not my friend, no matter how polite you are to my face. Pence has indeed been attacking Buttigieg (and many others) for years.
43
The "religious, conservative right" in these United States is none of those words. The best descriptive words are: opportunistic, authoritarian, power-hungry, and hateful. Their career people, like Ralph Reed, are all of these.
Mayor Pete is a man of character, not a charlatan.
29
There is no way for an honest person to mistake Gods will for individuals in the area of sexuality as revealed in both the bible and nature. If you want to tamper with that my question is who are you arguing With? Capitalized for emphasis. You may as well say why should I accept that all men are created equal. And if you want to go there where are you? Basically in a disposition that says Im fine on my own! Who needs Gods input.
@Dennis The New Testament does not talk about God and nature. The Old Testament is Jewish law. I think the better question you should be asking is why are you given the right to define another person's rights as a human being? Unless, of course, you want to imply that God has made some sort of mistake in creating human beings that are different in many ways.
9
This is your basic media squabble. Mr. Buttigieg something perfectly reasonable. Conservative media hams overreact and accuse him of "persecuting" Christians. NYT overreacts to the overreaction, reporting the most vitriolic comments as if they were opinions worth passing on, and trying to draw general conclusions about religion, politic, and society, to make the whole thing look more important than it really is. Cut it out, all of you (except Mr. Buttigieg, the main person in all this who is saying something perfectly reasonable).
11
Is it possible to go beyond identity politics and get some info on what this candidate has accomplished? What is the miracle of South Bend that would merit vaulting from mayor to president? Seriously. I would like to know.
3
@Evidence Guy He's a Rhodes scholar who attended Harvard, was a Naval Intelligence Officer and won in Indiana twice as mayor. His policies helped improve economic conditions. Winning in a conservative area says a lot. And Trump did what to become president? Identity politics does, apparently, play into why people vote.
7
@Evidence Guy - Buttigieg won re-election with 80% of the vote in a Republican area. Why don't you ask the people who voted for him?
5
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
- John Lennon
Us and them; the elixir of sycophants.
4
though his Christianity is nicer, it is based on ignorance and fear and a bronze/iron age god. Buttigieg has just cherry picked it. All Christians do the same, including the conservative ones. They all invent their religion and god in their image. And that shows that it is simply made up nonsense, where humans want to claim some magical being agrees with them and only them.
9
“character matters.” A lovely mantra. Almost onomatopeic. An example of semantic surrealism.Words, whatever their transmitted and received powers are just words.They are not, and can not ever be, what they are created to represent. Just as a map is not the territory it graphically represents and dimensionalizes, and a menu is not the food to be ordered, served or not these coupled words are not the + - -/+ behaviors of a specific person. Group. System. Their religiosity is manifested not only in semanticized theology. Who, for example, does the believer(s), of whatever label, God, faith, etc., accept or reject by each person’s daily deeds. Not only with expressed honest or hypocritical words. Or silence and separatism! M/arginalizing? Exclude or include? In ranges of ways? And sites? What enables a person who chooses to pray to...for...to also prey upon? To arrogantly behave Godlike and attribute personhood to a fetus? What differential criteria would/should Pete’s behavior be judged with, and by, as a heterosexual male? A homosexual male? White American? Former soldier? Mayor? Married? Who, amongst those criticizing his character and faith, NOW, would have dared to risk stepping out and helping Jesus carry his burden, as he treaded, judged and adjudicated, THEN? Who, and how many, among the faith-inspired Christians, have gone beyond words, with deeds, to help the “kidnapped” Christian children from their Christian parents, whatever their legal status? In a WE-THEY USA?
3
I'm a 77 year old non-religious believer who has been railing against the religious right/left's adamant belief in hypocrisy for years. They seem to revel in and see nothing wrong with their belief that their god see's nothing wrong with the hatred they spew. If you don't follow their dogma, they hate you too.
Religious hate=hateful religions
4
Do we really want our politicians seeking to lead by invoking a Christian god? I didn’t like it when Joe Lieberman did it either.
Please, keep your gods to yourselves!
8
@Jsw
I’d love that, too, but unfortunately the introduction of narrow theocratic ideas in government policy requires us to address this.
We ignore doing so at our own peril.
2
nOt one single one of these Political Clowns has the guts to point out the obvious....
Marriage is a "RITE".....its not a "right".
Our form of self-government contains no sacred vow to protect marriage. NONE. Marriage is entirely a religious ceremony....
If yer dang church wont marry ya......find a differnt church! Is this really that difficult to figger out???
Gay Marriage has always been about gaining a tax advantage....as US Tax Code has followed a rather hazy practice of allowing "married" couples to have a slight tax advantage over single people. But even here....that barrier has long since been removed, as US Tax Code honors the ole "civil union" concept.
The past 20-30 years of haughty indignation and embarrassing overacting by the LGBT community about "gay marriage'" makes me wanna puke. Its a waste of time an it truly annoys the rest of the country.....people with more important stuff on their minds........
Buttitgeig himself proves my point......he went and got married in an Episcopal Church, which has long approved gay marriage even before it was this stupid sensationalized overacted nonsense used by shallow politicians to mobilize enough votes to keep collecting more money for re-election campaigns. Good Grief. Enuf Already!!
1
@Wherever Hugo
Sorry, Hugo, but you have it backwards. Marriage in this country is a civil action, not a religious one. If you choose to be married in a religious rite, fine... But basically marriage is a contract between you and the state. A marriage performed in a church is no more legal than one performed by a mayor, a ship captain, or an ordained Elvis impersonator in a Vegas chapel! Again ... marriage is a CIVIL action. Religion is a guest at a wedding, not the host.
7
@Wherever Hugo Marriage in this country is a civil contract, as explained above, and moreover, it is not about attaining a tax advantage, but a tax equivalency. Why should your man-woman union have tax advantages that a man-man or woman-woman union does not? Remember our government, and our laws, are secular, not Christian.
3
@Wherever Hugo
Hugo, it is more than just taxes: inheritance rights, visitation rights, etc.
Folks have been using marriage laws to mistreat disfavored minorities: time for that to stop.
If you are still serious about your argument, read about the issues that formed the basis to the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. Then we can discuss your proposition more reasonably.
4
Oooh, the tender feelings of the hypocrites have been hurt. Their "religious beliefs" expose their character, or lack of it. Go Buttigieg!
7
Buttigieg is exactly the clean-cut, Leave it to Beaver throwback from the 1950's that conservatives pine for. Except he is a gay democrat. Hah!
I have been waiting for decades for the holier-than-thou moral hypocrisy of the religious right to come back to bite them. It would be too perfect if it were precipitated by the Trump-Pence ticket.
8
I yearn for the day when our political conversation returns to public policies on how to deal with actual REAL issues that we citizens face. This includes climate change that's already wreaking havoc on Americans irregardless of their theories about religion.
Does anyone remember that part in the constitution about no religious tests for our representatives? It's the FIRST thing the Founders put in there in case you're not sure where to look, because they felt it was that important.
29
@Entera
The US obsession with what private individuals do with their bodies and reproductive systems is an endless mystery to me. And it's clear that there is absolutely no separation of church and state in these matters, as it's a constant theme on every election cycle. Bizarre. And unhealthy.
7
Attacking? An ironic reference point from a perspective that doesn't hesitate to treat gay people as non-entities. Surely, Pence's work as governor and Mrs. Pence's current pace of employment speak to that.
Personally, I don't see Mr. Buttigieg as attacking. I see him standing up for himself and others like him. I see him pointing out to hypocrites that holding fast to Christian values means helping others less fortunate than ourselves. He's holding up the Golden Rule, which has been entirely misplaced by the current administration and its followers. Compassion and empathy need to return to the White House.
54
@RCChicago Not sure exactly what you think Pence has done or hasn't done as it relates to Trump and his behavior. Pence has done a good job of staying out of the opinion game and focuses on what is important in his role. The president has vacillated on gay marriage, Pence hasn't, but also doesn't bring it up. Buttigieg brought up Pence's beliefs, Pence didn't, hence the "attack." As to compassion and empathy needing to return, there is part of me that agrees with that comment, but there is also another part of me that says if I am truly compassionate and empathetic towards someone I have to care enough to be truthful based on my beliefs.
@RCChicago
These Trump 'evangelicals' like to play the victim as they ram their beliefs down the throats of others...from state legislatures & SCOTUS.
3
@BCC - As Gov. of Indiana, Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which would very specifically allow individuals and businesses to discriminate against LGBT people. I thinik that's one of the things Buttigieg was referring to.
2
Yep, character matters to Evangelical right voters -- until they have a chance to pack the Supreme Court. Then, not so much.
25
@Omar
It must be that or something close to that for Evangelical right voters to continually support someone whose ethical standards and antics are like those of a boy gangster.
2
The over reaction from the right is an indication that they see Mayor Pete as a significant threat. And their responses so far - he doesn’t understand religion, or he’s attacking my faith etc. shows they cannot counter his comments - instead they are attacking him.
What remains to be seen - does Mayor Pete have the toughness to stand up to these types of attack’s and keep them on defense. If yes, the Mayor will be a major contender for the Democratic nomination.
21
@YC - Among other things he's a soldier and he's also someone who has had to stand up to discrimination. He's much tougher than any of the stale doughnuts on the right.
3
Buttigieg's comments should not be characterized as an "attack" on their faith. For three years I've been trying to understand my fellow Christians support for a person whose policies are abhorrent and contrary to Biblical imperatives - not welcoming the "alien within your gates," disparaging and harming the poor ("widows and orphans" or "the hungry and thirsty" in Biblical terms) and oppressed ("those in prisons"), and destroying or, at the very least, refusing any policy that would help to save our Creator's good earth. And that's not mentioning his crass ,immoral life-style, albeit heterosexual, selling their soul for a couple of judges and denying the words of the prophets and Christ.
34
@Ruth Van Stee nice sentiments! If you truly believe in the words of the Bible, then lets look at more than just the select few you chose. Let's go to Matt 21: Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." - Have you sold all of your possessions, or given them away to those that are hungry and thirsty? Have you sold or given away all of your possessions and gone to the border to love and feed all of those that are hungry and thirsty? If not, then how can you judge the president for his response to those who choose to ignore Romans 13?
1
@BCC - So the rest of us must follow that but Trump and the billionaires who support him don't need to? How about if we all sell all we have and give it to the poor right after Trump and the billionaire class do that?
1
This contretemps between Buttigieg and Pence masks a deeper and more disturbing reality: evangelicals support Trump (and not Democrats) because they have one overarching goal, which is to overturn Roe v Wade and outlaw any kind of abortion.
Of course, this assault represents a faith-based action to impose a religious belief upon the general population. But under Trump, it is proceeding with accelerating success throughout the state and federal court systems, and in red state legislatures. It is an organized and well-funded campaign, and it is such a priority of the religious right that its adherents will put up with Trump's immoral, misogynistic behavior, saying he has "repented."
We will see moral courage by Democrats, including Buttigieg, if/when they take on this issue and raise strenuous objections to one faith's (Christianity) goal of imposing its fanaticism upon the general population.
26
@Paul Bernish
And, these fundamentalist evangelicals have fought equal rights for women and the Equal Rights Amendment. They still do in Red legislatures, Congressional committees & subcommittees since Phyllis Schlafly led the charge to stop the ratification process.
Do not understand why Democratic controlled House judiciary committee & subcommittee have not voted out the ERA ratification extension Steve King had bottled up sent it to the Senate.
2
@Paul Bernish What "contretemps"? Pence has been respectfully civil and silent on all of this. Certainly, he professes traditional Christian beliefs, but he has not "attacked" the young gentleman or responded in any way to the young gentleman's vociferous complaints. Those who knew him in Indiana, and I am one of them, can say with first-person certainty that, while he opposed same-sex "marriage" and affirms traditional Christian teaching (both Protestant and Catholic) regarding same-sex attraction, on a personal level, he was without exception polite, kind and generous to everyone he met, regardless of their politics, sexual orientation, etc. It is the Left, to be fair, who have targeted him personally, sometimes viciously, for his deeply held (and hardly uncommon) Christian beliefs. And Pence just turns the other cheek.
@Paul Bernish You are correct in that too many evangelicals make religious arguments against abortion. The real argument is actually one of science and law. Science to define "life" and law to be applied equally to "life." The argument on the prochoice side is about the "rights" of a woman, the argument for the prolife side is about the rights of the being we believe lives inside the woman. We have significant inconsistencies in how we apply the definition of life within the law right now. A third party can be punished for double murder when a pregnant woman is killed, but that same woman can choose to abort that same baby and that is about her choice. That is a problem. To me it is not a religious argument, it is an argument created by conveniently defining things based on what we want rather than what is right.
I am not religious at all, in fact, with the rise of the religious right in this country, the idea of religion has become more and more repugnant to me. I don't want any of these hypocritical people dictating or promoting a single stance on any legislation. I believe in complete separation of church and state.
However, I am anvery moral person, which is why I'm 100% on board with Mayor Pete. His thoughtfulness and values align with mine. I am extremely happy that he's endeavoring to take "religion" back from the hypocrites in the Republican party. Additionally, and in the same vein, his thoughts on taking back the word "Freedom" are also a breath of fresh air. For too long the GOP has hijacked that term as well.
32
Mayor Pete is not the first to support LGBTQ+ rights on the basis of religious faith. Conservatives do not own the idea of voting one's values.
See the chapter on LGBTQIA rights and the chapter Religion and Politics in the book "Just Peace Theory Book One: Spiritual Morality, Radical Love, and the Public Conversation."
Also, it is wrong to say that Hilary Clinton called ALL Trump supporters "deplorable". She was only speaking of the racists, misogynists, homophobes, and xenophobes who she considered irredeemable. She went on to describe other Trump supporters.
Finally, let US be clear. It is not possible to be a Christian and a Trump supporter. Jesus taught: the devil is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44) Jesus said he came to make us choose sides (Luke 12: 51). One may choose to follow Jesus or one can choose to support Trump who is a liar, but one cannot do both.
22
Refreshing and bright. Hard to envision him on stage with Vladimir or Xi, or any of the senior G-10 leaders.
@GCM - Why? He speaks multiple languages, has a good grasp of the issues, is articulate and can think on his feet.
6
@GCM: I find it very easy to envision him on stage with all world leaders. After Trump? Absolutely.
8
@GCM - Buttigieg speaks multiple languages and without a doubt knows much more about those countries than Trump even cares to try to learn about. The fact is that Trump has insulted and offended all of our allies and cozies up to our adversaries. The world community would breathe a heavy sign of relief if Mayor Pete became president. Of course, they'd breather a sign of relief if ANY Democrat took over the helm of the country.
1
We all need to start assessing the candidates on policy. Not religion, sex, sexual preference, age or ethnic background.We've got a planet burning up through fossil fuel abuse and we're re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Do you think a far more advanced country, New Zealand, gives a flying hoot about whether their Prime Minister breast feeds in Parliament. It's all about policy and Governing. America boasts freedom from religious, sexual or ethnic discrimination. But like a lot of marketing, even patriotic marketing, they're just words. Let's get to the real issues.
12
I'm not sure Pete Buttigieg can win, but I like his approach and Pence has courted this criticism in the way he has enabled and defended POTUS while shrouding himself in the cloak of Christianity.
7
Buttigeg is right when he says that anybody who has an argument, it's not with him it's with God.
People can site the Bible but the Bible wasn't written by God it was written by man and we all know that human's make mistakes.
This young man appears to be a great person and should be looked at as a truly good candidate.
6
While I am an atheist, I would feel very comfortable with this man as my President or VP. That says a lot, for many use religion as a way to separate us, but I see Mayor Pete is capable of using his belief system as a way to bring us together.
More than anything, the Republican Party is about divide and conquer, and if Trump gets re-elected his demented ways will turn us into Israel, with borders alive with bullets and bodies, and our minorities, like the Arabs in Israel, out in the cold.
I look forward to the next year, listening to intelligent, science accepting Democrats speak of hope and change.
Hugh
15
What I like about this man is that I think he speaks from the heart. He doesn't sound to me like just another politician who has rehearsed giving the right answers. I believe he is genuine. To me this difference is striking as it sets him apart from the rest of those running for president in next year's election.
I have zero problems with him being gay. I applaud his military service and I am impressed by his intelligence, compassion and sensitivity. He is a bit young, but I think he would accept the counsel of those around him who are more experienced.
I don't know if he will be the next president, but in my opinion, he is the type of person we need; in other words, he has everything that Trump lacks and nothing Trump has.
And a president like that, I think, could successfully efface the foul memory Trump will leave on many of us.
14
Finally someone speaking out on evangelical Christians hypocrisy in supporting Trump. I don’t know if Mayor Pete can win, but I’m supporting him and love to listen to his intelligent, common sense ideas.
14
Progressives finally found the person to take on Christians. The problem is he's not fooling anyone. Denigrating Christians is not something normally done by a defender of Christianity. Nice try, though.
1
@AACNY - He is a Christian, a real one, not a phony and he didn't denigrate Christians, he spoke out against bigotry and hypocrisy.
7
@AACNY
Mr. Buttigieg is not "denigrating Christians"; he's pointing out the hypocrisy of certain self-proclaimed "Christians" who blindly support a thrice-married, adulterous, lying buffoon who has a open, sordid history with racist and sexist behavior. It's a valid issue. Conservative columnist Mona Charen brought up the same issue at CPAC in 2018 and had to be escorted from the event by security guards because of death threats she received for daring to broach the subject. And people like Erick Erickson "denigrate" Christians and Christianity more then Mr. Buttigieg does. I'll listen to Pete Buttigieg talk about Christianity before I listen to the likes of Erick Erickson, who, according to the article, apparently has no problem bearing false witness.
6
@AACNY: He's not denigrating Christians. He's calling out fake Christians for their false values that are the opposite of what Jesus taught. See the difference now?
6
First, could we clarify labels. "Evangelical Christian" is a redundancy, in that all Christians are by definition "Evangelical", drawing from the Greek "good news" at the heart of the faith.
For decades, "Fundamentalist Christians" have demonized gay people based on a few badly-interpreted and mistranslated verses from scripture. (Quick reference: http://ecinc.org/clobber-passages) Their biblical literalism conveniently excuses the pantheon of Republican politicians (Donald Trump, Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Sanford, Rudy Giuliani and Bob Barr, to name a few; and then there is Dennis Hastert) who flaunt the Gospel proscriptions on divorce and remarriage.
These fundamentalists, having made their pact with the devil, are backpedaling now as they realize that such deals do not end well. Just ask Faust.
7
Seriously, Mike Pence? You and your family are not critical of others who have a different view? No, you just supported legislation time and time again that essentially was a mockery of people who do not believe in your "religious" views. You initiated legislation that was based on your own religious beliefs, not the beliefs of the people of Indiana. You cost taxpayers over $300,000 in legal fees paid out to defend laws about abortions and burying fetal remains. Then you were obvious in your positions that were anti LGBT. Then you strongly opposed Syrian refugees' relocation to Indianapolis. These acts were not about religious freedom, but restrictions. Pence might have found common ground with The Mayor in encouraging economic growth in northern Indiana, but it is ludicrous for M/Mrs Pence to assert a kind of live and let live attitude about people who do not share their beliefs. Undermining tolerance was at the fore of Pence's governorship, continuing today. Apparently, the one person whom M/Mrs Pence allows to be tolerated for his behavior - lying, philandering, slandering others, etc. - is Trump. So, Mike Pence, please don't play the victim who has been slighted by The Mayor.
21
In one of his interviews, Mayor Pete talked about the "religious left" and how they have been largely left out of the conversation for years. I about cried. Thank god someone is finally recognizing us. I was raised Catholic and believe we all have a duty to help the poor and downtrodden. That is precisely why I vote democrat. Those on the "religious right" make no sense to me--how can anyone claim to model their life after Jesus, but not support immigration rights. Or wellfare programs. Or equal access to heath care. The list goes on and on.
Mayor Pete is smart and straightforward. His words have substance. He understands what a "public servant" is and what that concept means in practice ("servant" being the operative word). I was skeptical of his candidacy at first, but sign me up. I've found my candidate.
36
@Michelle well, your Jesus said to abandon families for him, and is murdering every non Christian in the book of revelation. Christians invent a Jesus that matches them. I'm glad you are concerned for the downtrodden, but your Jesus isn't all sweetness and light.
1
Buttigieg is a far better democratic candidate than Bernie Sanders. He is at least a democrat. Bernie is a democrat like Trump is a republican. The poor candidate we have had result from the corrupt core of party leadership and the way extremists control the debate.
We need to remind ourselves that only half the registered voters voted. Our nominating process alienates the electorate by turning out a never ending series of choices between least offensive candidates with shifts occurring because of fatigue with one party's control and major missteps, e.g., McCain loses to Obama because of the consequences of W.'s administration and his choosing Palin for VP.
Buttigieg is a reasonable man with vision and a capacity for personal reflection that he is willing to share with the people whose votes he seeks. From what we have seen so far, he scores points for genuineness, something that is foreign to the electorate. The millennials and gen x'ers are less hung up on race and sexuality and his candidacy may bring them out of the malaise of the extremists and the political hypocrisy in which they developed.
Evangelicals are hypocritical in their support of DJT. They excuse him but judge others based on convenient citing of doctrine. Calling them hypocritical is like saying the KKK is racist. Where is the integrity in supporting a lying, misogynistic, self-aggrandizing reality tv star.
14
Love it. Pete doesn’t have a chance, but getting these hypocrites all riled up will bring their immorality further out in the open. Keep going after Pence. Every time he speaks we get another SNL moment.
3
‘suggested he was attacking the vice president to further raise his profile’
Doesn’t that describe Trump’s MO from day 1?
7
Yea ,someone has found the guts to confront these hypocrites on their own turf.I am not a religous person at this point in my life but anyone who has read Jesus's knows current evangelical teachings have nothing to do with his message.
13
Buttigieg projects himself as a Christian who refuses to "otherize" but cannot stop himself from showing his true progressive colors in denigrating VP Pence.
1
@AACNY: He's calling out hypocrites who use Jesus as a cudgel against any that they consider 'other'. And it's about time.
8
@AACNY
He's not "denigrating" Pence. As the article states, he is "questioning the moral authority of evangelicals like Vice President Mike Pence who remain silent about President Trump’s personal conduct yet disapprove of same-sex marriages and oppose gay rights." It's about time somebody did.
6
@AACNY - He denigrated Pence's bigotry which Pence has inserted into public policy, resulting in some very real harm to people, including physical harm from disease.
6
Mr. Buttigieg is absolutely correct in his portrayal of evangelicals. Their values are for sale to the highest bidder. Pointing that out is something every Democrat should do. They claim Trump has repented, getting them off the hook. Trump has NEVER apologized for anything. The fact they are willing to give him a pass over and over is what needs to be pointed out here. And Pence and his wife can say whatever they want. The fact of the matter is the policies Pence supports every day and the ones he wishes to implement are anything but Christian. Evangelicals are not being "shoved into the closet", a place Buttigieg knows all too well. They are being forced out into the open to be seen for EXACTLY what they are. Hypocrites who behave like many Catholics....misbehave Monday through Saturday. Be viewed as a devout Catholic by what you do with your money on Sunday. What would Jesus say? Exactly what Mr. Buttigieg is articulating. That they find the truth uncomfortable is not Buttigieg's fault.
14
As I’m once again beyond disgusted by the comments by Eric Ericsson I’d like to remind everyone that the NYT often publishes opinion pieces by that guy. The whole business of providing every deplorable with a huge platform has nothing to do with free speech. This country has no chance of regaining its sanity while the normalization of the crazies continues.
11
@Anna
Agreed. Ericsson spews hatred at every turn, he is not just another voice, he is a rancid rabid voice, one that does not belong in these pages.
2
I usually disdain ANY politician discussing religion, but Mayor Pete is right to take these evangelicals on. When did Jesus have anything to say on homosexuality? But he did have a lot to say about hypocrites, feeding the poor, and loving thy neighbor.
16
Great.....more self-righteous zealots in politics. Just what we need.
@Wherever Hugo: We've tried to ignore (we on the left) the right wingers zealotry. It hasn't worked. Time to call them out as the hypocrites they are.
6
Quick question for Karen Pence. Which of your two marriages was the Biblical one?
The hypocrisy of these Evangelicals is beyond belief. No wonder the fastest growing religion in America is none.
19
I am greatly tired of having had my faith hijacked by false prophets and pseudo christians. God's truth is marching on without the hypocrisy of Evangelicals. Go get them Pete.
11
Don't blow your moment Pete. Don't pick pedestrian political fights, you'll come off as just another pol. Just continue to be relentlessly decent, thoughtful, reasonable, and principled. Those traits alone will stand you apart. If you need to talk about religion, talk about what it means to you, not how others have gotten it wrong. Most religious people think the religious right's weaponization of religion is distasteful and, frankly, a dumbed down politicized version of what is very personal to them. Leave room for folks to say that, though they cannot square your orientation and marriage with their beliefs, they identify with your decency. You need not change their religious beliefs, you need only show them that a married gay man is not a threat to their beliefs. IN other words, don't be their enemy, simply show them you are not.
507
@Johnb
This is great advice!
Mayor Pete is the "character candidate". "Smart and Decent" is a winning strategy. Stick to it!
30
@Johnb
Excellent advice!
13
Exactly!!
4
If we could look at the history of men of character who led nations to better conditions for their people, we would find all sorts of identity issues within each. Everyone of us has to develop and keep our true identity as human beings, if we are to state we are followers. (of any religion or none). Followers use their heros and Gods to model their identity according to a code and a mission. Each one of us has a mission and an identity that has to consider the other as well as the self when life demands a show of character. Let's focus on character and the ways to improve it in ourselves and in those we influence. Mr. Buttigieg has it and it shows.
7
When it comes to identity politics, the Dems could use a little identifying with the Christian right. Maybe a gay person quoting the scriptures is the ideal person to help achieve this.
119
@Mike Edwards Agreed, I think Mayor Pete is precisely the person to be effective in this role. He's a gift.
14
@Mike Edwards - He clearly is not identifying with the Christian Right. He is clearing clawing Christianity back and reclaiming it for people who, you know, follow the teachings of Jesus. If many on the Christian Right decide to come along for the ride, then good for them.
35
@Mike Edwards A gay person quoting the Bible incorrectly to advance a personal and political agenda is not the way to attract Bible-believing Christians to the Democratic Party. If anything, it is an insult and a call to react in the opposite direction. What Democrats don't realize is, as bad as Trump's personal morals are, the Bible-ignoring policies of thje Democratic Party are worse..
It’s about time someone called out the breathtaking hypocrisy and UnChristianness of my fellow Christians.
2 Timothy 4:3 explains it beautifully
Jesus warned us about people like this. And of course, they will brush Buttigieg off bc he’s gay, and worst horror of all, bc he’s Episcopalians!!!
I’ve been saying for years that it’s time to take Christianity back from these charlatans (yes, they are charlatans). On a practical note, while the Ds carry on about Joe Biden, the Democrat who has the best chance of ensuring Trump does not get a second term, the Rs + the evangelical Christians don’t bat an eyelash at the misogyny, cruelty, malevolence, lack of compassion (a hallmark of Jesus) and plain meanness of Trump - all in the name of stacking the courts.
WWJD?
23
I wish the NYT (and mainstream media in general) would stop pushing this loser so hard. I get that the gay movement is throwing a lot of money his way and I get that the NYT (and mainstream media in general) really likes the gay movement.
But could we please, just once in a while have a little tiny bit of coverage of the Senator from California or the Senator from New York in addition to the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana? Why does one white male have to make every single qualified female candidate vanish from the pages of every mainstream newspaper in the country?
If the white male mayor of South Bend is treated as more important and newsworthy than the five female Senators in the race combined, you don't get to pretend the women all lost because they were "bad candidates." This is how the NYT (and mainstream media in general) elected Trump.
6
@Woofy - He's bright, articulate, a veteran and a scholar and he has held elected office. He's no loser.
3
“I think in our country we need to understand you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are,” said Karen Pence.
But what about your fake religious beliefs ?
Pretending to represent Jesus while supporting ripping healthcare and the safety net away from millions ?
Supporting Prosperity Gospel instead of humane gospel ?
Supporting a national shooting gallery instead of public safety ?
Jesus preached against the hypocrites.
Karen Pence doesn't understand Christianity or America.
232
If anything Mayor Pete is exposing the total hypocrisy of Pence and his ilk. Mayor Pete has the legs to do this.
12
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."
How comforted we will be, when we see, we haven't got a clue, as to the depth and breadth of pure love and mercy of The Divine Mystery of The Universe.
God's name in ancient Aramaic is Abba which means Daddy as much as Mommy and He/She: The Lord has said, "My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are not yours." -Isaiah 55:8
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be filled."
How comforted you will be when your greatest desire is to do what "God requires, and he has already told you what that is; BE JUST, BE MERCIFUL and walk humbly with your Lord."-Micah 6:8
"Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy."
"For with the measure you measure against another, it will be measured back to you" Christ warns his disciples as he explains the law of karma in Luke 6:27-38.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God."
In other words: how comforted you will be when you WAKE UP and see God is already within you, within every man, every woman and every child. The Supreme Being is everywhere, the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. Beyond The Universe -and yet so small; within the heart of every atom.
"Blessed are The Peacemakers: THEY shall be called the children of God."
And what a wonderful world it would be when we all seek peace by pursuing justice; for there can be none without the other.
Godspeed on that and on Mayor Pete for President 2010!
8
@Eileen Fleming Thanks, very beautiful.
Someone had to do it!
4
Pence is a terrible bigot and hypocrite. Kudos to anyone who calls him out on it. Same for the holier-than-thou Evangelicals.
21
A: “Gays are dirty sinners all destined for Hell!! They should be kicked out of the church, denied communion, not be allowed to married and anyone should be able to discriminate against them on religious grounds.”
B: “I disagree. I love God and think God loves everyone.”
A: “Where do you get off being so aggressive in attacking others?”
20
I'd vote for him absolutely. I like everything about him. I hope he jumps to the front of the pack. Enough with old white men, time for new blood.
18
Having grown up in Europe, I continue to grapple with the idea that Religion would play a role in Politics at all. Ones moral and ethics are not determined by how religious one is and in the US, being religious still means being christian.
German Chancellor Merkel is married for the second time and has been at the helm of one of the most influential European countries for over a decade.
Former Chancellor Schroeder was married for the fourth time when he was re-elected.
I believe that if we could separate religion and politics and not use a candidate's faith as a deciding factor, we could placed much greater focus on the things that also matter such as the growing divide between rich and poor, race, education and health care.
13
@Steph
Yes, but her party, the Christian Democratic Party, is a predominately confessional (Catholic) party. To Merkel, she has served her party best by serving her country even better.
2
Mayor Pete is attacking Pence even though Pence treated Pete with decency and never brought up his homosexuality. Pence has become a caricature villain of the Left like Dick Cheney was under Bush, and Pete is cynically attacking him in an unprovoked way to get support from primary voters (see all the other comments here) and divide Americans. Too bad.
19
@Naysayer
You've got to be joking. If you looked up the word "hypocrite" there would be Pence's photo next to it. How Pence can praise Donald Trump, even thanking god for having Trump as president is beyond the pale.
Pete Buttigieg is speaking truth to power, as much over-used as that phrase is.
211
@Naysayer
Likening Pence to Cheney hardly strengthens your position.
No, Nay. It is his record as Governor.
People are rejecting his ideas about governance, and note the chaos his unreasonable social policies produced, a few of which were clearly unconstitutional.
He rejects sound scientific findings, and arrogantly imposed his theological views on state policy.
Like Trump, he serves only his base.
We cannot credit your blanket claim about his misunderstood virtue.
98
@Naysayer - If Pence had his way Mayor Pete wouldn't be able to marry the person he loves. That's not treating someone decently.
139
I am an orthodox Jewish man ( yeshivo, etc.), married since 1985 to a nice Lutheran boy from St Louis, Missouri, who loves Pete Buttigieg.
We have both come closer together practicing how to say his name, watching his videos on youtube and taking pride that someone who answers to a higher calling is running for President.
We lived in South Bend, Indiana in the late 80s. We know the Midwest and realize that G-d is not a dirty word there.
For many years I had a visceral revulsion when the word G-d was mentioned. As a gay man, as a person who marched to the beat of my own drummer, as someone who values the intellect and thinking, I had always found much of what is called religion off putting. It seemed shallow, narrow minded, just plain revolting.
One day I sat down and said, G-d, I don't know what you are but I want to know. Please help me have some meaningful relationship if that is even possible.
That was the day my life began to change.
I discovered G-d is Real.
And personal.
And need not be made in the image of any groupthink or religion.
Call Him ( Her) a Higher Power, the Universe, Consciousness, whatever works for you.
There is something that is the Heart of This.
Life is Holy and when I make this the center of my life I experience the nobility of being made in His Image.
I came home to my Jewish spiritual home but I understand, as does Pete, that each of us has our own path in this Holy Life.
It will be nice to have a President who gets this.
326
@simon sez - i admire your faith as something sincere and constructive, but as an atheist i have to remind you that it is a belief, not a fact, and that similar beliefs have been twisted away from your vision into something much darker and oppressive.
for the rest, you're deluded if you believe that personal beliefs foretell administrative outcomes. there are laws, opposing factions; procedural mechanisms; budgets; authorizations; the courts; public opinion; and yes, political calculations. running a government and leading a nation is no simple task: if it were, belief in G-d would be sufficient credentials for the job.
17
Thank you, Simon, for your beautiful comment. As a recovering Catholic who spent 20 years resolutely outside any faith community but has slowly found her way back via the Methodist and Lutherans I appreciate your bravery and eloquence.
16
@simon sez Nice story, but God can't help us. Only ending the GOP can.
18
So Pence released a video clip of Mr. Buttigieg praising him. Buttigieg should release the many clips of Trump praising freedom of reproductive choice.
33
Excellent article! Can we get more articles like this so it can be read by conservatives here? I am craving for candidates who can articulate well and respect everyone. Tired of the current President and extreme leftists who thrive on derision.
10
There are two silver linings around the dark cloud that is the Trump Presidency. The first one is that it has energized a large portion of the electorate. The second one is that since it is so unconventional, it has blown away all established norms. It has paved the way for a thirtysomething gay young man to run for a major party nomination and he has a good chance of becoming our next president.
22
From what I heard Mayor Pete is hardly attacking Christians but rather pointing out that the simple reality that gay people are God’s creation too, and to condemn them is to condemn their creator, and that love and acceptance are Christian values.
77
It may be a good thing Mr. Buttigieg is not embarking on a run for Chief Priest, but the office of the POTUS probably does need a new character progenitor. The question is would Mr. Buttigieg’s personal morality be as willfully ignored as Trump’s with a bigger eye toward policy?
I’m all in for Mayor Pete and I hope the media doesn’t kill his chances to become a major player (hopefully President) in the struggle to regain integrity in government. Religion is a dangerous place for the media to focus. Pete’s views are well balanced based on his overall experience in community, the military, his education and yes, his spirituality. Let’s keep the focus on his plans for the country. The media must not inadvertently sabotage this.
21
What this article fails to apprecIate is that Mayor Pete is giving voice to countless Christians who are not affiliated with the evangelical movement or the Catholic Church (yes such people do exist!). He will likely never win over many evangelicals, as, in reality, evangelical Christianity is more of a political movement than anything. But he does help many Christians feel more comfortable in the progressive movement-Christians who believe the government should serve the poor and forgotten. The Democrat party has essentially abandoned talking to this group, so his openness about his faith is a breath of fresh air and very welcome.
46
Pete Buttigieg is a breath of fresh air, and as an independent voter the fact he is well spoken, and unafraid to speak of his personal faith is something progressives, Democrats have needed to do.
Add in the fact he is a military veteran, speaks eight languages and is a Rhodes Scholar and he is more than qualified and much needed in these fractured, uncivil times.
Should he announce he will run for President, every member of my family will be donation to his campaign!!
31
Isn’t he running?
@Beth Grant DeRoos - I've already set up a monthly donation. If he becomes the Democratic nominee I will increase it.
5
One thing Mayor Pete's open expression of his religious beliefs will accomplish is pointing out the hypocrisy of religious leaders who support a president whose personal and professional behavior is at odds with the Christian message they espouse. For evangelical and other far-right religious leaders and followers, access to power trumps (pardon the pun) the Gospel message espoused in the New Testament. To have a gay man point out such religious hypocrisy is particularly satisfying, since his life of service and religious rhetoric are more in tune with what Jesus preached than the pharisaic behavior of Trump's high-profile supporters who anoint themselves as the arbiters of Christ's message. Whether Mayor Pete is successful in his political quest in 2020 remains to be seen, but he is proof a gay man does not have to cede discussion of morality to anyone, much less someone like Donald Trump.
37
@Tim Well said- Mayor Pete is genuine and sincere- something which can not be said about our current
executive leader-
7
I think it is important to understand a candidate’s motivations and ethical framework (or lack thereof).
There is a stark contrast between mainline Christianity’s focus on the teachings of Jesus (helping the poor, welcoming the stranger, love of neighbor) and fundamentalism’s focus on gays, abortion, sexual “purity” and an equivalence of wealth with goodness. Of course that difference of focus will play out in a candidate’s priorities.
That is not to say that any candidate’s religious beliefs or lack thereof should be disqualifying for public office. But voters deserve to be able to take into consideration the factors that will influence decisions that candidate may make in the future.
10
As mentioned in this article, evangelicals support of Trump / Pence has nothing do with character, morals or even belief. It has do to with getting conservative judges that believe in a strict (ie: biblical) interpretation of the Constitution, over turning Roe v Wade, reinforcing so called family values in society, supporting private, Christian schools and Christian beliefs in public schools.
Mayor Pete does not support these principles and therefore will not garner their support. Mayor Pete will win over many people that have an open, intellectually curious mind. The dogmatism of the Evangelical Right prohibits their conversion, by and large.
56
@deedubs He is not going for their support, He is going for the middle who self-identify as Christian. The Teavangelicals are not reachable.
2
@deedubs their politicization of scripture makes them somehow less Christian and less American at the same time.
7
Mr. Buttigieg is refreshing. Because trying to impose your beliefs on others is a cardinal sin of the left, the Christian left has for far too long believed that it was right to keep their faith private and out of the public square. The language of faith has so been ceded to the Christian right, that the media and the public have long ago come to think of society as composed of "the Christian right and the secular left." Sadly, the Christian left has also long allowed the church's right wing to define what is and is not Christian belief and doctrine, thus turning off many young people.
Yet, every human has and operates out of philosophy, a world view. For people of faith, that world view is based in their faith whether left or right. Progressive Christians are no different. Their faith informs what they do. It is well past time for those of us on the Christian left to acknowledge that our faith beliefs undergird where we stand in the public square and not just in the private realm. It is time for us to speak out without fear showing the public a different face to Christian teaching. Connecting what we stand for to what we believe in faith is not the same thing as "imposing" our beliefs on others. It is simply being honest about who we are and why we fight for human rights, social justice, and equality as we do.
64
I absolutely love Mayor Pete. Yes, I know it's early, but I have given to him twice and will do so again. I want to see him in the debates.
What I like so much about him is that he is a calming spirit. I can breathe easier when he's speaking. When Trump appears I realize I hold my breath, mute the tv, leave because I cannot abide him. Mayor Pete is smart, balanced, centered.
None of the other candidates even remotely interest me at this point. I will vote for any Democrat over Trump/Pence (Mr. and Mr. Hypocrites) but I will vote for Pete in the primary.
I am not a believer in Jesus' divinity but believe his words are a force for good. It's sickening that people who are so hateful to 'others' use Jesus as a cudgel. I find it so ironic that people like Erickson say Mayor Pete 'doesn't understand' Christianity! What a blatant lie. He understands the gentleness, the kindness, the love that Jesus gives. Mr. Erickson doesn't seem to understand that at all.
I'm all in for Mayor Pete! He can stand up to Trump/Pence. I'm not sure anyone else can do so as well as he can.
245
I do not consider Mayor Pete's comments to be any sort of an "attack" on Pence. He is stating the Pence position and Pence has made clear his position against gay rights or marriage equality, each based on Pence's version of religious text.
Buttigieg is a breath of fresh air, bring clarity and honesty to an issue that must be discussed openly...the hypocrisy displayed by the so-called conservative evangelicals in their support for a con, cheater, bully, misogynist and utterly incompetent and amoral grifter. The discussion about gay rights, equality and religion has been made an issue by the right and Buttigieg is free to join the discussion.
150
Most Americans, especially the religious right, are completely ignorant of the connection between our founding fathers and religion (or lack thereof) and Christianity, in particular. Several of them were extremely wary of the great danger religion posed for our liberty and freedom. Thomas Jefferson stood head and shoulders above them. I wonder how many Americans are aware that he wrote his own New Testament, most conspicuously omitting the mumbo jumbo about the "miracles", like raising the dead and the one about the fish and bread to feed hundreds, if not thousands, gathered to hear him preach. There is a lot more to be said along these lines. For starters, may I suggest reading Richard Dawkins', "The God Delusion"?
19
Liberal Christian congregations that accept Buttigieg's views are the fastest declining group in the USA. This isn't about religious but the people who reject religion and embrace spirituality. These are Buttigieg's target audience. To this audience his Biblical arguments almost sound impressive.
5
@Pat Pete Buttigieg's target audience is the vast majority of rural Great Lakes States voters who claim Christianity but do not know where the Bible is in the house and have not been to church since Great Aunt Minnie's funeral. They are the ones who have been swayed to believe Teavangelicalism is the only true Christianity, and voting with that block.
5
@Pat
I totally agree. I remember when I was a child my father said to me that he thought the man made church, as an institution, was an abomination. However, I was taught that being spiritual and loving nature and it's Creator was a wonderful thing that man had made a mockery and a prison of. I pray when I walk in nature, hold my grandchildren, and when I thank the Creator for all the wonder in my life. I do not have to be told how to worship by greedy and hypocritically pious men. Christ taught that whenever 2 or more of us are together in spirit, that is church and He is there.
7
The religious right needs to be confronted on morality, because too many of their "positions" are immoral, oxr amoral. Ask a religious conservative the following: Is it moral to provide services for the poor and the disabled? How about care for pregnant mothers and their infants? Care of the environment, given to us by the Creator to be enjoyed, not destroyed? Respect for other faiths? Fidelity in marriage? The "Religious Right" is a slogan used to describe a very conservative economic belief system that favors the ultra wealthy. Faith is used to promote a narrow economic agenda that does great harm to many. The media has been too easy on their leadership, but so have Democrats. We should applaud "Mayor Pete" for exposing the hypocrisy behind men like Mike Pence.
100
The Christian Left vs the Christian Right. Now there is an issue.
Serious students of the Gospel, those blessed to have heard the
Gospel well-taught, and Seminary Professors in America's great Mainstream Christian seminaries are insightfully aware that the policies and legislation of the Democrat Party are much more in tune with the tenets of the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth, than are the policies and legislation of the Republican Party.
This is not to be taken lightly.
98
@James
Please sir, it's the Democratic Party, not the "Democrat" party. Small point. But I agree with you that the Democrats and their policies are more in tune with what Jesus said in Matthew 25.
8
@James
Yes, I've been long making the point that the Christian right is mostly led by very poorly educated "pastors". When I was growing up in the Presbyterian Church, my pastors could read the Hebrew Scriptures in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek and Latin (OK, not Aramaic, but close).
5
I think Mayor Pete, whose sole and very modest governmental experience is serving as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is quite a stretch as far as qualifying for Presidential candidate is concerned.
Also, while his being gay is a non-issue as far as so many of us urban and Democratic voters are concerned, it may be a significant negative among non-urban and non-Democratic voters. (Not to mention the inevitable and unending media debate over whether Mayor Pete's husband should be called "First Husband" or "First Spouse.")
The NYT's recent opinion piece on whether Pete is "gay enough" was too subtle point for many; that he is gay at all, complete with husband, may be too much for many voters in fly-over land.
If Mayor Pete can successfully run for House or Senate or governor of his state, that will bolster his credentials and make him a plausible candidate in a later run for President.
I am a life-long Democrat and I sincerely hope the grown-ups in the party can take charge and find an electable candidate who will appeal to the great majority of American voters, especially those who felt their needs were ignored in 2016.
10
@Mon Ray
Buttigieg has no experience. His greatest attribute is eloquently talking about speech and behavior. Sound familiar?
1
@Mon Ray Mayot Pete has a more political experinece than tRump and he is well read, a deep thinker, and is very articulate. None of which is Donald Trump. His youth is a positive rather than a negative to me because he is the Future.
5
@Mon Ray as an unlikely nominee because he is gay and religious he is the best placed to speak of the hypocricy of the right. And that is something that very much needs to be done. It is an issue that touches him and does not touch the other candidates so they are unlikely to raise it. And if the do it will be dismissed by the right as merely politics. Buttigieg is a very welcome addition to the national political scene. I hope to see much more of him either in Congress or as part of a Democratic administration in 2020 and beyond.
2
If Mayor Pete were to switch parties and challenge Trump in the primaries, I suspect he’d easily win the Republican nomination. Or has Trump already found a way to prevent anyone sensible from running against him?
2
@David
His pro-choice stand would probably get in the way of the Republican nomination. Too bad.
4
Refreshing to hear a competent and thoughtful candidate. You can tell he has carefully thought about these issues for a long time. I am looking forward to hearing more from Mayor Pete and wish him luck.
45
At a time when so many "facts" are made up, truth is whatever you say it is, science is shunned and words are losing their meaning, Mayor Pete's words stand out in sharp relief to the rhetoric on both sides.
I don't think his candidacy is going away.
62
Generally speaking, I agree with Mrs Pence: “'In our country we need to understand you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are.'” I would also add that, in our country, we need to understand no one should be attacked for what their sexual orientation is, either.
Hopefully, now, with a liberal politician and man of faith like Mr Buttigieg in the public eye, the national conversation regarding the election of a president whose personal morality is so at odds with his support base will be more open and honest. Indeed, quoting the Clinton-era refrain noted at the close of the article: character does matter. Mr Buttigieg certainly seems to be a man of character -- something our nation sorely needs at our highest levels of leadership.
788
@sbnj I support Mayor Pete and have already contributed a modest amount to his search committee. But I do that with eyes wide open - Mayor Pete is a moderate Democrat, just a tad to the left of Barack Obama. And I'm good with that.
167
@sbnjThe flagrant hypocrisy of evangelicals must be seen for what it is. Trump is an affront to everything Christianity stands for. To say that this clown-man was "sent to us from God" is either hypocrisy or frank stupidity...or a little of both. If these are the kinds of people who will populate Heaven....I, for sure, do not want to be there.
75
@sbnj
Evangelists cannot ask the questions: Mr. President, can you do our bidding, without the groping, infidelity, lying, cheating, and name-calling. If not, why not. What is the motive, and what is the goal, of your sinful nature.
23
He sure is a breath of fresh air. I have no idea whether he would make a good President, but we sure need more of his voice.
Not only does character matter, but after corrupt and cruel Donnie, I would say it is one of THE most important considerations I will look for in a candidate. Policies matter too, and I know he will be thoughtful in considering policies.
And anyone who judges Mayor Pete on who he loves, after supporting trump is a hypocrite of the highest order.
141
@deb Trump is a member of the Dia Tribe.
2
There is a wonderful book called “Christianity for the Rest of Us” that I recommend to anyone who believes that Christianity has been hijacked by the right. It is a great reminder that the core teachings of Jesus — love God, love your neighbor, love the stranger — are a message of tolerance and social justice for all, period.
64
@Susan Written by Diana Butler Bass, a highly knowledgeable person, seriously devoted to God.
1
To paraphrase Mr. Trump he could take out a gun and shoot someone on 5th Avenue and the Evangelicals would still vote for him. Mr. Buttigrieg is the follower of a mainline Christian denomination. the Episcopal Church which is another word for Anglican and goes back centuries. The Evangelical churches are a recent development in the many strains of Christianity and like many Christian churches Evangelicals and Episcopalians don't have much in common. No Democrat is going to going to get Evangelicals to vote for them in any case, particularly in the South where I live. If Mayor Pete wants to push back against Mr. Pence, former governor of his home state, for his narrow-minded stance on homosexuality fine. Evangelicals need to be called out on their support of a guy like Trump. However, as a Christian who likes to go to church, but for whom religion is not a huge part of my life, I wish everybody would keep their religious convictions to themselves. There is something about freedom from religion that I like. Pete Buttigrieg's positive message appeals to me after all the cruelty of this administration so I hope religion does not become a big deal that turns me and others off.
48
@ I hope someone will chime in on this because I probably don't explain it very well. It seems to me that today's "evangelicals" have hijacked the very word "evangelical" and are better described as fundamentalists or Bible literalists.
In my understanding "evangelical" used to mean simply relating to the Gospels of Christ, i.e., Protestantism. Case in point: In the 1960s the Congregational Church and the Evangelical Reformed Church merged to form the United Church of Christ, one of today's mainstream and most liberal Protestant churches.
Today "evangelical" has an entirely different meaning and to me has little to do with spreading the word of the goodness of Christ and becoming more Christ-like oneself. Now it has a more political meaning and a dogma that asserts its beliefs based on a literal translation of the Bible.
Perhaps this new interpretation is at least partly responsible for turning people away from Protestant Christianity.
1
The religious right chose someone they can manipulate, not someone they can trust to model their values. In striking a deal with the State, they did what Jesus refused to do. From the beginning of the story, Jesus refused to align with various powers—political, religious, supernatural— to promote his agenda. One cannot arrive at the endgame of universal love through unloving means. Love will finally win because it is love—not because it made smart deals with temporal power brokers.
True Democratic governments appear to be the least bad form of civilization. When such governments happen to be led by people with the highest ideals, they are even less bad. The worst case has always been governments overtaken by the pseudo-religious who equate "God's kingdom" with their own.
Perhaps the religious right should consider the source of Frodo's ring before trying to use such dark power for good.
21
I am not a religious person, but enthusiastically cheered when I heard Pete Buttigieg’s reasonable response to Evangelical hysteria using a clear and distilled defense of his God-approved relationship. If he can convert just one Evangelical, he’ll have my vote.
47
Someone needs to stand up to the Christian Right. The Christian Right is not a religious movement but a political movement. They have created a deformed and twisted expression of the faith in which up is down and down is up. The Christian Right is more or less "America First." It is an aggressive group aimed at preserving American militancy abroad, patriarchy at home and abroad, and beliefs and policies that are anti-science, anti-ecology, anti-humane, and support a deformed model of winner-take-all capitalism. Finally, the Christian Right essentially began as a backlash to the Civil Rights Movement and the integration of public schools. That's all you really need to know about them.
227
@Paul
"Someone needs to stand up to the Christian Right."
*****
Let's be honest. This is his real value. That he does it masquerading as a Christian who doesn't judge is his real talent.
3
@Paul
In their parlance, it’s time to take Christianity back!
4
@Paul
I wish I could give you a thousand 'recommends'. Thank You!
2
An authentic, intelligent, compassionate and communicative leader/thinker. A real substantial candidate.
All the best to a successful campaign!
To his team: please keep his safe!!
56
Democrats should not cede any moral or philosophical ground to Republicans. Religion, sanctity of of life, freedom, patriotism, may be defined narrowly or more broadly, but these concepts belong to all Americans.
34
@Orange Nightmare Stringfellow's "My People is the Enemy" would be unexpectedly enlightening to the to the religious right.
2
Dear Mr. Buttigieg,
While I don't believe you have a snowball's chance in you-know-where to win your party's nomination, let alone the election, I truly admire your courage, decency and passion for this country and support your efforts. You are the man who can lead us from ahead instead of keeping us behind. You've already broken the 'rules' of conventional wisdom that have 'governed' us for far too long. Here's hoping your own brand of unconventional wisdom becomes accepted as commonplace from now on.
Thank you, Sir.
61
@Guido Malsh: Please don't give up on him yet. I think he has a big chance. People respond to his authenticity, calmness, reasonableness and it will keep him in a strong spot. There's a long way to go. I think he's the real deal and can sustain and grow his voter base.
30
@Guido Malsh from whence do you cull 'a snowball's chance in you-know-where to win your party's nomination'?
4
@Guido Malsh
Guido, since it seems you live in a state where your vote will actually make a huge difference please don’t give up on Buttigieg. And please tell yr fellow Ohioans to vote for him.
7
Is it possible that a gay progressive Christian from Indiana is exactly what we need?
Even I, an urban New Englander, worry a bit that Democrats are too rooted on the coasts. And I certainly worry that Democrats have ignored religious people, even progressive ones (like me).
It rankles a bit that the media fawns over male candidates, but in this case, count me in for taking Buttigieg seriously.
639
@Cousy
As an urban New Englander, you worry that Democrats are too rooted on the coasts?
Elisabeth Warren is from the mid west.
Just saying.
21
@Cousy
I so wanted to vote for a woman in this election, but the female candidates are not up to par in my opinion. let me add most of the male ones are not either.
Mayor Pete is my candidate. I don't even care that he's a white male.
34
@Clayton Marlow
...and I love her - given her money for years and went to her kickoff. Many folks perceive her to be coastal, given her Harvard/Cambridge life on the last 20 years.
18
With the election of Trump, white evangelicals have clearly shown that there is no there there. Mayor Pete is truly refreshing. Its time for Democrats to reclaim the moral high ground. Trump sets the bar very, very low.
121
“the hypocrisy is unbelievable,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this week.
Not a good way to win over evangelicals. Doing so on Meet the Press” is not particularly brave. He should really venture out on to Evangelical “turf” to spread his message and not just on friendly turf.
1
@Edward
"...the hypocrisy is unbelievable" is a true statement regarding evangelical "christians".
Spread his message? Have you ever tried to convince an evangelical to be reasonable? Evangelicals make a brick wall seem soft.
5
@Edward - You seem to have missed the state where he won an election.
1
A simple question to American evangelicals and Christians in various sects is simply this, "How can Jesus approve of hating and discrimination in God's name?"
Too many modern Christian sects preach the Bible as condemning the LGBTQ community but the Bible more often tells Christians to be inclusive and loving, not hateful and discriminatory. Exclusive practices are preached by those who cherry-pick sections of the Bible they wish to believe in, ignoring the vast majority of New Testament text. Discriminatory Christians blindly accept leadership that preaches justification of hatred and exlusion instead of openly debating that failing to love all is What Jesus Would Do.
Two significant New Testament verses commandments regarding universal love and compassion are as follows:
Matthew 22:37-39 - "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Luke 6:31 - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
VP Pence sadly promotes policies or exclusivity and discrimination. Thank goodness for leaders like Pete Buttigieg who question why Christians should promote hatred and discrimination of anyone for any reason.
44
@Question Everything
2 Timothy 4:3
Those so-called Christians who support trump are confusing a challenge to their doctrine with an attack on their faith.
52
The prophets consistently railed against violence abroad, injustice at home and false cult (typically, religion bowing down to serve immoral leaders). Evangelicals? Silent on all three.
Hebrew scriptures measure a nation by its treatment of widows, orphans and strangers in the land. Evangelicals? Another three-strike out.
And "what would Jesus do?" in the 21st century? Well, my guess is he'd spend more time talking about scandalous poverty and obscene greed; desecration of the earth and unrestrained nationalism; nuclear weapons and the domestic armaments industry; and, sexism, racism and homophobia than he ever would scolding folks about what they do in their bedrooms.
If religious arguments and language are going to enter the political sphere, so be it. But, the way I see it, evangelical christians have pretty much squandered away in hypocrisy any moral high ground they might once have had.
129
“Suffer the children...?” The children are suffering enough under Trump. Jesus never said to imprison toddlers in cages and if they seem sick, just let them die. If there is one issue the evangelicals should be furious about, it’s Trump’s death camps for children who will never see their parents again. This is kidnapping, child abuse and child endangerment writ large, and Trump is the crook behind all of it—with the tacit approval of evangelicals.
19
Mayor Buttigieg's message is not an attack on any religion. His stated belief is about the hypocrisy of those who identify themselves as religious but ignore the teachings for power...
99
@Michael Grove: What I so appreciate about Pete is that he has no qualms saying exactly who he is - a man who loves Jesus. As a non-believer in his divinity, I certainly believe in his words as a way of loving a good and honestly moral life. I also have no fear that he would ever try to force his religion into my life and take my freedom as a non-believer away. I DO have that fear with Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan, et al in the right wing who pray to their god while on official American duties. If they could impose an Evangelical Theocracy right this moment, I believe they would.
That is why they must be stopped. They do not believe in the separation of church and state. I fear them for that position, though, of course, they would never say that out loud. Pete has said, out loud, who he is on this question and I so appreciate his stance.
I want Jesus to be revered, not used for political purposes, which is what the right wing does.
20
The attacks on the Episcopal Church and on Episcopalians are hurtful. As a life long Episcopalian it is difficult to not hear the statements from the right as a kind of hate speech against me, my family and my church
28
@christopher from prague
More importantly, how do the statements from within your own Church make you feel?
From HuffPost 11/12/2018 - Albany’s Episcopal Bishop William Love published a letter on Saturday claiming that those advocating for marriage equality in the Episcopal Church have been “deceived” by the devil.
“The Episcopal Church and Western Society have been hijacked by the ‘Gay Rights Agenda’ which is very well organized, very strategic, very well financed, and very powerful,” Love wrote. “Satan is having a heyday bringing division into the Church over these issues.”
2
Changing demographics continue to be the primary controlling factor on sexual orientation issues. In general young folks aren’t bothered by any of this. In another generation or two it will be far less controversial. Those like VP Pence will become anomalous rather than mainstream.
20
Re: Erick Erickson, an evangelical blogger, said that Mr. Buttigieg’s comments about religious conservatives who support Mr. Trump suggest that he “would be O.K. with using the government to persecute Christians.”
E.E., the Pences, and others are hiding the ball. Mayor Pete is a bona fide Christian and is pushing against the homophobic hatred of these and other evangelicals. As for saying these things to "gain notoriety" as Karen Pence put it, he is already a rising star in the Democratic circles and Karen Pence got her notoriety by publishing a homophobic book.
87
Erickson and his ilk make a lot of money stoking fear and outrage.
30
Is there any doubt he's trying to up his profile by going after the VP? I'm not religious, but Pence's views were shared by Pres. Obama until he "evolved."
2
@EJ - President Obama never, ever demonized gay people the way Pence does.
34
@EJ How do you come to the conclusion that President Obama shared Pence's views? Surely not from President Obama!
He kept his very personal views in this regard private. But what he did/does, was/is always show compassion and improve life for everyone as much as possible. Religious or not, that is all that counts!
24
I don't view Pete's words as an attack. That is inflammatory rhetoric. He doesn't go for the jugular, which makes him unique. He actually seems to live very ethically and to have a deep understanding of scripture. He is following Ephesians 4:25 ESV
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
All the best, Pete!
59
I don't know what percentage of so-called Christian Evangelicals are sufficiently reasonable to accept a gay Episcopalian (which to many Christian Evangelicals are closer to heathens than their perception of Christians), but Pete would not need too high a percentage to capture a significant proportion of the "believer" vote. Most non-believers respect the religious rights of all types of believers as long as they also believe in the absolute separation of church and state, which just happens to be the law of the land and one of the preeminent tenets of the Constitution. This guy seems to be the real deal, but is America ready for a small-town mayor to jump to the Presidency?
28
@Mister Ed
Ed, I think you’ve captured the situation beautifully. And he is right to address the purported religious ‘values‘ of the current administration, who have been making an issue of them.
One thing to consider: how many small-town mayors share his extraordinary background? Looking at it another way, our past presidents have included salesmen, farmers, and traders.
The good news is that a keen intellect is scalable. He has succeeded in many different areas and situations, and has done so with solid results, in a relatively short time. That is a rare trait.
18
@Mister Ed Harry Truman, haberdasher from Missouri, did very, very well by America.
5
@Mister Ed It would be a step up, well an entire flight of stairs up, from the reality TV host we have now.
8
Mayor Pete should try and awaken Americans who didn't bother to vote in the 2016 election. I read that it's close to half of this country. No that's downright terrifying.
29
Please, please, please...keep religion out of politics. The separation of church and state is one of the most important pillars of our country.
20
@Pragmatist In CT
So you’re in favor of having only atheists and agnostics in government? Yikes.
Many religious folk (like me!) are passionate about the rule of law and the separation of church and state. As you know, that principle is designed to protect religious expression as well as prevent government policy and process from undue influence of religion.
19
@Cousy that is no different then what Pragmatist in CT said...:-)
3
@Pragmatist In CT
So you mean Mayor Pete should be quiet?
I think he is the first Christian in a good long time to open his mouth about religion without scaring me. I have no fear that a person of faith like him would erode church and state.
Pence et al, another story.
12
"He speaks of faith in a way that is largely nonthreatening and not filled with anger" He speaks of most everything he addresses in this manner and it is such a welcome change.
79
Mr. Buttigieg is entering the field that Democrats have long ceded for now good reason; and he is joining what is arguably the most important political/moral battles of our time.
As he says, this is not about winning an election: it is about winning an era.
The most powerful and appropriate response to the backward-looking jingo of MAGA lifted from Reagan yet devised.
34
I first heard how Buttigieg decided to come out on the New Yorker's Radio Hour. He moved me to tears, and I'm a straight, married, agnostic middle-aged Asian woman.
As far as I'm concerned, he is the best presidential candidate I have ever seen. My husband who is also on Team Pete thinks he has no chance because of his sexual orientation, but I am hopeful America will see that we need him more than he needs us.
752
@SYJ I totally agree with you, and I, too, felt initially that America is not ready for a gay president. Now I am not so sure. A recent poll put it that 68% of the country would vote for a gay man/woman.
I was hooked on Pete Buttigieg the very first time I heard him speak on a cable news show. This is exactly the kind of person we need leading the nation.
64
@SYJ Thank you for a wonderful comment. I'm a gay black man (double whammy!), and back in 2008 I was very excited by Senator Obama's candidacy, but I had a nagging thought that I was living in a fantasy world. When he won the Iowa caucus, I knew that voters were seeing him and not his race. I'm hoping for the same when it comes to Mayor Pete, who I am supporting 100%.
68
The evangelical, religious "Right" should be afraid of Mr. Buttigieg. For decades, now, they have used their personal religious convictions as armored cudgels to beat a wide variety of people they feel do not measure up to their strait-laced standards of behavior: gay folk; liberals; mainstream christians; poor people; addicts; atheists and the non-religious. Now along comes someone who speaks their language and is comfortable speaking about his own faith and he does not use his language to beat - anyone. Rather, he points out firmly and calmly that the evangelicals who support Donald Trump and what he stands for are failing to act in accordance with scripture and have, in fact, fallen into hypocrisy.
Pete Buttigieg cannot be contradicted by the evangelical Right. Either they continue to embrace the lie that Donald Trump is doing "God's work," or they must examine their own consciences and listen to what they hear. Mr. Buttigieg is opening windows, doors, and -- one hopes -- minds, and is letting in a new breeze. I find that profoundly refreshing.
316
@Jimbo
The evangelical right represent an alliance between extremely wealthy right wing families and religious entrepreneurs of evangelical persuasion.
Essentially the rich on the right have established (tax free) foundations that give money to religious entrepreneurs & leaders of religious groups with a tacit quid pro quo that those entrepreneurs/leaders will yank their flock to the right.
The preferred tactic is abortion. They campaign on making abortion illegal, all the while they vote GOP.
Here’s the hinge: ethics/morality/values, what have you, is a middle class characteristic - the rich don’t need them and the poor can’t afford them. Proof of this phenomena: The country usually found to have the lowest abortion rates (Netherlands/Switzerland) is where abortion is largely free and largely legal - but they ARE largely middle class societies w/ good education & w/out large tracks of poverty. Meanwhile the country usually found to have the highest abortion rate is Brazil where abortion is illegal but wealth is highly concentrated and poverty abounds.
So they vote GOP, the GOP gets elected and further concentrates wealth (bit.ly/EPI-study) causing poverty & ignorance to spread and w/ it desperation in society, including conditions that lead to higher incidence of unwanted pregnancies leading to abortions.
So the GOP & the evangelical leadership are conspiring to get evangelicals to vote in favor of policies that make abortion that much more likely to occur. Ah morality
4
@Jimbo
Agreed he is opening windows and doors. I also think he is holding up a mirror to those who most need to revisit their reflection.
3
@Tim Kane
The poor can't "afford" ethics? I'm flummoxed by such a dismissive statement. Poor people tend to be the most generous and supportive of family, neighbors and strangers, yet have the least to give.
3
Mayor Pete is really something. Extremely intelligent and compassionate, and more than anything a thoughtful person who has reasoned his way through the miasma of today. I'm totally with him.
87
Mayor Pete raises the key issue by how he frames it, and that quotation is in line with Isaiah, Micah and other Prophets. His focus: who is the truly "religious" person? It ought not be a matter of what or whom one is for or against, but rather how one lives from day to day. Sounds simple; but not.
19
It is a sad commentary on religion when those who identify as "conservative evangelical" christians consistently demonstrate intolerance for those not like themselves. Condemnation seems to come easily in their writings, sermons and treatment of others. The wish to legislate personal/religious beliefs into the fabric of our land is sad. 2020 cannot come soon enough.
37
Religion has always been deeply corrosive and if it can't be abandoned completely, then it should at least be kept well away from political discourse. Here in the UK a politician's religion has no bearing on his or her prospects (with the possible exception of Northern Ireland .. yet another region that rejoices in religious conflict).
15
In the article, Ralph Reed is quoted as saying, “It seems to me the solution to that is not to attack the faith of anyone else, whether it is the president, the vice president or anyone else,” Mr. Reed said." But Reed misses the point, or rather, because he's a pretty smart guy, refuses to address what Buttigieg is actually saying.
Mayor Pete is talking about the chasm between the stated beliefs and many practices of evangelicals and the gospel proclaimed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount as well as the text and meaning of many of his parables. In these most reliable accounts of Jesus ministry and life, readers find a man both humble and righteous. His ministry focused on the poor, the downtrodden, and to no little extent, the worth of women.
To take Christianity, and especially a particular version of Christianity and reflect it in so many areas of the fabric of our country, is to do violence to what Jesus said and how he lived his life, as well as died.
Until more people attracted to Jesus as a guding light to belief and behavior can reconcile his life with their beliefs about others, we are still wandering in the wilderness.
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The day that conservative Christians even consider supporting an openly gay Democratic politician is the day, well, the day hell freezes over.
This I've gotta see.
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@Ex New Yorker: Yes, but when are they ever going to vote for any Democrat? I say we not worry about them. We have to outvote them, which is difficult with the electoral college and voter suppression, but I believe we can and we will.
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@Ex New Yorker If you are talking about the far-right Evangelical voters who made a Faustian bargain with a man who embodies every immorality under the sun, then yes, you are right. We need not worry about them - they are in too deep with their hypocrisy to back away from Trump now.
But there are millions of voters who were put off by Clinton and feel that they have absolutely nothing in common with the coastal crusaders like Warren and Sanders. Mayor Peter is reaching out to them using some of the language they understand: religion.
Democrats don't need to win over Trump's most ardent base. Jesus himself couldn't convince these people to jump ship. All a candidate like Peter Buttigieg needs is to peel off 10,000 voters in places like Wisconsin and Michigan and the White House is his. His way of doing this seems to me to an infinitely wiser strategy than what I have seen the more established candidates try at this point.
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@Ex New Yorker - I live in one of the reddest states in the country. In my Republican majority district, we tossed out the Trump enabling representative and replaced him with a lesbian Native American.
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What does it actually mean that Pete is "religious"?
Any political can say he is religious, but what does
it actually mean in terms of his qualifications for the
Presidency?
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@David Of course, I agree that being religious is no qualification for being President. But being the sort of religious that Buttigieg is -- harkening to the ethical and democratic aspects of the Abrahamic religions (and others) -- is important to the extent that it places morals of the right sort above politics. Of course, there are conservatives who might say that say thing, but I disagree about the content of their morals vision.
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@David, what does it mean for any candidate to say that? Yet they all do. Do others get a free pass on proving their religious credentials because they're heterosexual? But Pete has to explain and prove his?
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@David
There is no religious qualification for the presidency.
Granted, some, maybe many, Americans have developed such a proviso in their own minds, but both legally and in fairness to all, there is no such qualification.
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Super excited to see how far his campaign goes.
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How refreshing to meet a young man who is willing to create a strategy to deal with the verdant hypocrisy that is masking his opponents. He is fresh and very sharp at understanding the context that is necessary to speak with clarity of what is plain in front of our faces.
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@Slow fuse
And he's only 37-years old! How precious!
Next.
@Slow fuse
Calling out the blatant over the top hypocrisy to the Republican crowd is "attacking", to many of the rest of us it is a necessary not so subtle reminding them to walk the Christian talk, and return to the very foundational teachings they are supposed to be the most inspired by from their Savior. [Disclaimer: former religious, but no more]
Jake News... "I see you" (in the Avatar movie line sense). There are "old souls" in younger bodies and then there are those souls stuck in pre-adolescence in a Freudian sense like Donald Trump. I'll take the old soul as a leader any day over the latter.
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Mayor Pete will be the one to beat, because he signals a return to civility even when divides are deep. He is the embodiment of personal freedom and moral character - elemental aspects of what it is to be American. He spoke his truth at Victory Fund. I found it strange that the Republicans trotted out Pence's wife to deliver their retort. Clearly Buttigieg is the last person they want to go up against in 2020.
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@RP I'd have no problem voting for the mayor if he were the presidential candidate. But is he realistically electable?
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I never thought Trump was even marginally electable, and now look where we are.
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@Our Road to Hatred
Yes - he is electable!
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Character does matter. And Pete Buttigieg has it!
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@Juan
Agreed, Mayor Pete has "Character." To me, it's a breath of fresh air. However, that will not win the election.
He now needs to pivot and offer policies that will address national issues.
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Nice “reframing”! Let’s start seeing people practice what they preach.
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Good.
For far too long, the Democratic Party has ceded the issue of religion to the GOP.
It's about time someone had the guts to point out that in many ways, the values espoused by Democrats are more true to the Bible that the values promoted by the GOP.
Any religious person who support Donald Trump is a hypocrite of the worst kind.
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@Matt
I totally agree, especially with your second paragraph. It both puzzles and dismays me to see so many who call themselves Christians contorting themselves and their faith into pretzels to find ways to support Trump & the GOP, whose values seem 180 degrees from Jesus' teachings in the Bible.
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@Matt I think Mayor Pete, whose sole and very modest governmental experience is serving as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is quite a stretch as far as qualifying for Presidential candidate is concerned.
Also, while his being gay is a non-issue as far as so many of us urban and Democratic voters are concerned, it may be a significant negative among non-urban and non-Democratic voters. (Not to mention the inevitable and unending media debate over whether Mayor Pete's husband should be called "First Husband" or "First Spouse.")
The NYT's recent opinion piece on whether Pete is "gay enough" was too subtle point for many; that he is gay at all, complete with husband, may be too much for many voters in fly-over land.
If Mayor Pete can successfully run for House or Senate or governor of his state, that will bolster his credentials and make him a plausible candidate in a later run for President.
I am a life-long Democrat and I sincerely hope the grown-ups in the party can take charge and find an electable candidate who will appeal to the great majority of American voters, especially those who felt their needs were ignored in 2016.
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@Mon Ray Do you still believe that experience makes a candidate electable? I thought that was thoroughly discredited in 2016 when the most qualified candidate (likely in history) lost against arguably the least qualified candidate ever.
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One of the most frustrating experiences for LGBTQ individuals is the often repeated trope that one's sexuality determines one's politics. If you are part of or a supporter of the LGBTQ community, you must be ideologically left. If you are not, you have to veer right. This is deeply unsatisfying for many in the LGBTQ community who are spiritual (not necessarily religious), who seek solace in the depth of meaning and reflection.
Pete Buttigieg is a public personification that reality is not so clear cut, that people no matter what their sexuality is, cannot be fit into neat categories. That there are many LGBTQs who go beyond the presumed standard stereotypes in what is already a heavily prejudiced and stereotyped identity associated with certain values. Buttigieg is indeed a refreshing figure and exemplar that once sexual identity becomes a secondary concern in describing a person, one can start to think about the substance that an LGBTQ individual can bring to the table.
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@Aloysius
I know a number of gays who are very religious. And very liberal. The reason being is that for decades the conservatives have fought against gay rights and only the liberals have been willing to fight for them.
The same is true for religion, most sects have fought against gays and that has only changed in the last decade or so. Which is why many gays have trouble with religion.
Having known many gays, yes they have been stereotyped, mostly by the conservative right though. Anyone who really knows gays knows that they are not from the same mold.
I know gays like Pete and I have known others quite unlike him.
That is why liberals tend to be like cats, they are quite different and the right like sheep.
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@Aloysius
I know plenty of gay men who are Republicans. Some are out and some are not.
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