He's a successful mayor in Indiana, an Afghan veteran, young and most important, smart without getting on your nerves about it.
He talks, it makes sense, without strident rhetoric. Flyover country as an interview lead-in. The letter text discussed; this link, have a look.
Pence and his glide-and-slide act about his GLBT stance addressed by Buttigieg by analyzing without homilies and without rancor. After Pence, fresh air.
And being a mayor, with the orientation of resuscitating a city that's midwest and has suffered; he has the "luxury" of avoiding dogma and aiming at answers. And he had the track record of getting improvements into action. He is a formidable option to more "politicized" DNC chair candidates.
Wikipedia, Pete Buttigieg entry. NYT speculating greatly, in its doing a recognition piece on Buttigieg.
The mayor's online coming out op-ed for an Indiana paper.
CNN in ending an online item, noting Buttigieg's entry into the DNC chair contest:
He pointed to his own experience in South Bend, a city that has a sizable minority population, even though a majority of its residents are white.
"We didn't pick one demographic over another. The point is, look, the core of our moral authority as a party is our defense of equality, fairness, things like voting rights," he said. "But we also are, I believe, motivated by values that are universal. I believe when we talk about fairness, we can do that in a way that appeals to all types of voters and all kinds of Americans. And I think not being afraid to talk about our values will resonate in places where we as a party have been struggling."
In addition to Buttigieg, Perez and Ellison, South Carolina Democratic chairman Jaime Harrison and New Hampshire state chairman Ray Buckley are also in the DNC chair's race.
Ellison and Perez each issued statements welcoming Buttigieg into the race. "Democrats deserve a vibrant conversation about the direction of our party," Perez said.
"Pete showed tremendous courage during his re-election campaign when he came out -- no easy thing to do in a red state like Indiana in the middle of an election," Ellison said.
The DNC function is not to set policy, but to fairly advance the chances of the party to regain relevance after the whomping it took in the 2016 election; with grassroots organizing skills important, and trust among the grassroots. And retaining the new young wave that heard Sanders and said, "Finally, no more bullshit. Somebody making sense, coherent, correct in what he is saying." SO - Back to Ellison; this Sam Seder video analysis. Given how Ellison has encountered flak to where he said he'd exit Congress to be a full time DNC chair, one must presume, but more than that, one has to get the same absolute commitment from Buttigieg; quiting the mayor's office if elected to the chair.
NOT BEING A DEM PARTY INSIDER, BUT AN INDEPENDENT BECAUSE THE PARTY OF WELLSTONE SHOULD BE MOVING TO A MORE LIBERAL SET OF ANSWERS THAN WELLSTONE SPOKE; ENDING THE KLEPTOCRACY/OLIGARCHY THAT OWNS IT NOW; AND BELIEVING MANY FEEL THE SAME WAY TO WHERE THAT MESSAGE BEING THE HONEST MESSAGE OF THE NEXT NATIONAL TICKET WOULD BRING IN INDEPENDENTS WHO ARE LIKE MINDED, AND BIDING TIME WHILE ENTIRELY SKEPTICAL; I LIKE ELLISON, FOR CLOSENESS TO BERNIE, AND OTHERWISE. So, yes Pete Buttigieg is a contestant now and inoffensive to everybody and a sound and very smart technician, but if Ellison is not chosen, trust will be withheld. So two videos, here and here. The first one has one hell of a starting few seconds of earlier video. The second one is about relevance or less, for the Democratic Party aside from being a second-place GOP-lite. Lesser evil sucks, and Ellison will get those folks off the dime; unless they sabotage him to their discredit and to their death spiral to completely worthless Tweedle Dum (second twin) status. Ellison extends an olive branch, but let's end with a short Young Turks "Who Should Lead The DNC," segment.
AS A BOTTOM LINE: Buttigieg would be less offensive than Perez; but really, absent Ellison getting the nod, leaves doubt. Yes, the South Bend, Indiana mayor would, absent the messed up recent history where Sanders was scorned, be likable, inoffensive and probably would do an energetic and smooth job. Distanced quite far in those traits from DWS and her butchery.
But smooth is the enemy of shaking sense into an inert body. That is a bottom line that had better be learned. Or it will be eight years of Trump and his roster of nominees for a cabinet of greed, plutocracy, and even kleptocracy.
Party regulars, don't you want a shot at some of the spoils four years from now? If that is not relevant motivation for even the lesser among you to change entrenched stagnation, what is?