Pete for America

Pete Buttigieg, the candidate:

The "Meet Pete" section Buttigieg's campaign website begins: 

Pete belongs to the generation that came of age with school shootings, the generation that provided the majority of the troops in the conflicts after 9/11, the generation that is on the business end of climate change, and the generation that—unless we take action—stands to be the first to be worse off economically than their parents.

It's one sentence, but it tells us an awful lot about how the South Bend mayor and first openly gay presidential candidate is positioning himself in the vast field of Democratic candidates. Mayor Pete is young. He's a Millennial. He has a perspective that the 2 front-runners (both septuagenarians) couldn't possibly understand: one that is borne out of the reality that he is going to be here to deal with the fallout of the Boomers's shortsightedness. 

It's not a bad tactic. The field IS large, and as someone who didn't have a national profile even a month ago, Buttigieg has to contend with the fact that he could get lost in it. He could become just another milquetoast Midwestern white guy with nothing special to offer. He has to individualize himself without alienating others.

Mayor Pete is also distinguishing himself in another way. Traditionally, the Republican party has had something of a lock on issues of faith. By prioritizing their attacks on reproductive freedom and LGBTQ issues--and doing so using the language of the Christian faith--the GOP and social conservatives have monopolized discussions of religion and public policy. And Democrats have allowed this. They've just...ceded the ground. 

But why? Issues of faith and spirituality are NOT the sole domain of the political right. By saying so out loud, as an openly gay man, Buttigieg is making quite the statement, and perhaps reclaiming issues of faith for the Democratic Party. Because, after all, faith has no party affiliation. 

Policy Positions:

• Climate reform. The South Bend mayor was one of 407 American mayors who signed a pact to adhere to the Paris Climate Accord after Trump pulled the nation out of the international agreement in 2017.
• Gun reform. Mayor Pete is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group that advocates for gun control legislation at the state and federal level. He also supports universal background checks. 
• Health care reform. Buttigieg supports moving the nation to a single-payer healthcare system, eventually. He proposes doing it in stages, and in a way that would not eliminate private insurance companies right away.
• Immigration reform.
• Mayor Pete supports a Federal Equality Act, which would be an amendment to existing civil rights legislation guaranteeing federal nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ Americans.

Pete Buttigieg, the cocktail:

We only had two requirements for Mayor Pete's cocktail: it had to be delicious, and it had to be colorful, specifically, it had to be evocative of the rainbow. Buttigieg isn't running as just the gay candidate. He can't, and he wouldn't. There's so much more to him than the fact that he's gay. BUT! It's not a small thing that he's running as an openly gay man. That is HUGE, and it should be celebrated, and thus, his cocktail.

How to make:

First, drizzle the inside of the glass with strawberry syrup. Add a few ice cubes to glass. Then add:

50 ml Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka
15 ml Banana Liqueur
Orange Juice to fill glass

Don't stir. Allow the fluids and colors to swirl and mingle. Garnish with a spear of colorful and delicious fruits.

Sip and enjoy!