Pete Buttigieg fact-checks a GOP congressman to his face at House hearing

jeffw@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 490 points –
Pete Buttigieg fact-checks a GOP congressman to his face at House hearing - LGBTQ Nation
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Good. This is the kinda shit Dems should keep doing. It doesn't matter if it sounds petty, these assholes are a threat to our democracy, they should not be allowed to spew their lies without consequences. If the press refuses to do their job, it falls to whoever is closest to a Republican.

Buttigieg should be front and center a lot. He's whip smart, a great speaker, and really relatable

Yes. But I don’t think he’s a “dem” like the ones forcing Biden so trump wins. Therefor it’ll be him making his way with little help sadly.

Thank you, I’m so tired of this loyalty to decorum. Call them what they are, authoritarian regressives

Step 1: sell the press to the rich

Step 2: everything is shitty now, but why?

“I’m wondering if there’s some point- if you’ve identified some point where you will stop, where the administration will stop, where the federal government will stop this requirement and let the market decide..."

Let the market decide? Sure let's do that. As of now, let's have the U.S. government stop subsidizing the oil industry to the tune of $20 billion+ per year and see who keeps buying gas powered cars when gas is $15-20 per gallon. Better still, pour that $20 billion into EV car development and green energy and help save the fucking planet.

not EVs. public transport. or at least mostly that and a little EVs

Both, in particular, EV public transport. Something like this would be nice.

Do NOT use battery electric busses when you could use trolleybusses. Or even better, just use trams

That being said, anything is better than diesel busses

For future readers, the quote in this comment is from GOP Representative Perry who was then immediately proven wrong by Buttigieg.

Let the market decide" is like saying "Let the intoxicated person drive the car."

Better yet pour the 20billion into reliabke regional and long distance rail infrastructure.

EVs can't save the environment. EVs are made from oil (tires, plastics), and the metals they are made from are extracted and shipped using huge machines also made from and burning oil.

Switching from pumping oil to mining Lithium isn't a net improvement to the environment.

Any mode of transportation that is heavy and uses tires is going to be a major source of microplastics.

It is not possible to expand into sustainability when it's our massive scale that is at the core of our unsustainability. Degrowth is our only chance.

I'll take the lesser evil of local pollution over sending billions of tons of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere every year.

I doubt degrowth will ever happen unless it's caused by population collapse due to mass casualties.

I think education alone curbs population growth towards negatives, and that policies can easily decrease population growth far into the negative, as many modern nations have illustrated. Mass casualties aren't realistic or necessary.

8 billion is unsustainable, our population will decrease drastically in the coming century. We can choose whether it's via degrowth (a controlled, intentional, intelligent reversal of the economic growth of the last decades) or famine, disease, and war.

I fear you're right that degrowth will never happen and we're just going to march toward collapse.

You're missing options like rail

Rail as part of degrowth is a great idea. Rail as part of expanded exploitation of natural resources is not.

Switching from pumping oil to mining Lithium isn’t a net improvement to the environment.

We did both before EVs were a thing.

I just wish Mr. Buttigieg wasn't confined to such a low-stakes role in the administration. It's great that he gets the occasional moments like this, but he's not exactly being set up for a run at the Presidency in 2028.

I dunno if I'd consider Secratary of Transportation as a low stakes role, he's been out and about getting IIJA funds out across the country and there to present new rail, highway, air and marine infrastructure improvements.

Plus, if an unspeakable fate were to befall thirteen specific individuals, simultaneously rendering them unable to perform their duties, you'd have a President Buttigieg.

He needs to age into his vibe first.

I just wish Mr. Buttigieg wasn’t confined to such a low-stakes role in the administration.

Mr. Buttigieg is just a small bean from Indiana. If we want real leadership, we need to look to a more successful set of mayoral candidates. Like Michael Bloomberg or Lori Lightfoot.

I would not like either of those options. I'd take Jeff Jackson (NC) or Buttigieg any day.

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A lot of GOP voters don't really care about facts sadly. I've talked to some that insist Jan 6th wasn't an issue.

A lot? Pretty much all of them. Look at how many lies trump said during the debate... they'll lie directly to their base and their base isn't even intelligent enough to question it.

They even know they're being lied to, and still go along.

Because they somehow think the lying will benefit them and not the people they hate.

Predicting a republican's reaction to any issue is easy because they are all grifters.

My family likes him because "at least you know what you're getting"

I don't really think they understand how much shittier he can (and will) get.

All of these hearings serve no purpose other than to give Congress people 4 minutes of time to create some sound bites for the campaign.

Questions are widely leading or very inaccurate or even just lies ... If they ask a question at all. Some just spout garbage for a few minutes.

Not always. Both Trump's NY fraud conviction, and election interference (hush money) felonies came out of the Michael Cohen hearing, specifically from AOC questions.

Your overall point is absolutely correct, though. It's even more frustrating when it's easy to see how powerful these hearings can be.

Fishing for a guppy and caught a whale?

I wouldn't say so. She asked direct, pointed questions about how the Trump org had over valued properties and other assets in order to get more favorable loans. She knew exactly what she was doing during that hearing.

It goes both ways, I'm sure Buttigieg is happy to be in the news

If Biden gets replaced, please be Pete

the bar is so low. did everyone forget who this guy is?

I shall never forget as long as I live. Katie Porter or AOC would be better choices.

What are you referring to?

He's a milquetoast centrist moderate who will champion the same neoliberal policies that led us to this current state of crisis in America. He was also a proud McKinsey consultant and I think he worked with the CIA. During the election I thought his main issues were just not enough experience, though (he was just mayor of a small town basically). Social issue wise he's better than Trump still. Anyone is, though lol.

Agreed. Pete in the debate would have been a dramatically different situation. I'd happily watch him fact check all day long.

We should start a campaign to write him in to force the Dems' hand.

I like Pete but his name is a problem. It has the word butt in it, and is pronounced like "booty judge."

Great guy, unfortunate name.

Sounds fun to me. If it was actually pronounced like that I'd like him more.

Yeah. Maybe hanging a lantern on it would work. Do a campaign commercial with Sir Mix A Lot or something.

Is it too late for him to replace Biden?

Yes, it will be Newsom

Whitmer or whitehouse woukd be better, but the way the DNC plays things, they would obviously choose the weakest candidate for no reason other than to not seem biased against their opposition. It’s fucked. The whole thing is fucked.

I think it’s a bit more nuanced than that. They’ll obviously choose the most neoliberal candidate they think they can get away with, and try to pass him (and it will be “him”) off as “progressive”

If only there was some kind of formal method for identifying and vetting and selecting the party representatives, as part of - like - an election or something. I feel like if maybe we'd started back in January and had a bunch of debates between these people early on, we might be able to include ourselves in the discussion.

Instead, I guess we're just going to wishcast our favorite blue state governor into the White House, until the DNC Convension disabuses us of our delusions.

No. It’s because they are getting paid by the same people to seem like they care. They don’t and I am not saying both parties are the same I’m saying the same entity controls both party’s coffers. The oligarchs.

Not going to lie, I would probably vote for Whitehouse just so he can be Whitehouse in the White House 🤭

That is probably the only dirtbag Democrat that could sway my vote from them to the Green party. Fuck Gavin Nuisance with a long rusty shovel.

I will vote for whatever candidate has the best chance of beating Donald Trump.

Are you under the impression that the green party is a reliable place to put your vote? Do you believe that this is not a complete waste of your one singular vote?

They might be in one of the 35-40 states where their vote doesn't matter anyway.

It’s not a waste if you vote. It’s a waste if you don’t vote. Screw your head back on.

Stop trying to shame people who want to vote differently from you. It's not an effective way to change someone's mind and it's anti-democratic.

Our voting system is undemocratic. Until that isn't the case, I will keep trying to push people away from wasting their votes.

What? No! But we make such a big deal about spreading democracy. Say it ain't so!

In all seriousness I hope this election makes the rest of the US wake up to the fact that our democracy sucks, and we can stop being a hypocrite about destroying the way of life for other countries like Cuba because we don't like there's.

Him or Bernie should have been president

He was kind of a wet paper sack sitting the primaries, if he'd come in with this energy he might've gotten somewhere.

They called him Mayo Pete for valid reasons, perhaps a refresher is in order.

I accept my anger and cynicism; I forgive myself for letting these people anger me. I try to “turn the other cheek” and simply be a better person than them. But…

…the more i hear these people talk, the more I’d love to see something excruciatingly painful to happen to them.

central planning model and this dictatorial policy

Fuck you, Scott Perry.

Its the same shit from these people day in and day out. The Reagan Playbook is half-disintegrated in their hands but they can't stop running it.