Pete Buttigieg

Richard J.

"Let's face it," wrote Nick Lento on Facebook yesterday, "Mayor Pete is a Democratic version of Mitt Romney... corporate to the core." That's right. His corporateness defines him and oozes out of every pore. Pete is the ultimate product of McKinsey & Company, a real life, genuine nexus of evil on Planet Earth.

Yesterday, Bernie's campaign announced it just finished a massive fundraising quarter-- $25.3 million in the past three months, significantly more than the $18 million he raised in each of the previous two quarters this year and nearly identical to the third-quarter figures announced by the campaign at this point in 2015.

“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47!”  With that unequivocal statement, Beto O’Rourke ignited right wing gun pundits who’ve kept some powder dry for just such a remark:
“Who is this “we” he speaks of? Democrats? Liberals? Bring it, fools. Come and try to take my legally purchased guns. I double-dog dare you to come to my house and attempt to violate my Constitutional rights. It’s won’t be nearly as easy as Beta O’Dork thinks. (Def-Con News)

I know the value of good a good p.r. and publicity operation. When I moved to San Francisco after my years abroad, the first job I got was in a p.r. firm and I learned about it from the inside. When I started my own indie music label the only way we could compete with the majors was p.r. since it was a relatively inexpensive too. And when I was running first Sire Records and then Reprise Records, p.r.

Unless you're new here, you know the misuse of the word "moderate" to describe conservatives is a pet peeve of this blog's. I was happy to see someone else tackle the topic this week-- Norman Solomon for Common Dreams: There’s Nothing Moderate About "Moderates." A Primary Example Is Joe Biden.

Trump's mind by Chip ProserIn Tuesday night's debate, Mayo Pete mostly regurgitated his slick McKinsey-like, carefully-tested talking points. He didn't really have a memorable moment, but he did make a worthwhile point about Status Quo Joe: "We cannot have a vision that amounts to 'back to normal,' he said.

Last week, someone suggested I switch from using "McKinsey Pete" to "Mayo Pete." Not everyone understood the McKinsey reference and Mayo seems to capture the candidate pretty well. I took the advice and-- BOOM!-- the New York Times was out with their blockbuster report that defined McKinsey really well-- McKinsey Advised Johnson & Johnson On Increasing Opiod Sales. And it isn't just Johnson & Johnson.

On Friday we took a little look at McKinsey Pete's gay identity politics. Several people have asked me to explain why living in the closet is such a terrible thing.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with the newly named chair of the Commission on Unalienable Rights, Mary Ann Glendon, right, July 8, 2019. The commission will be operating on the principles of “natural” law and rights, and Glendon has close links to the Vatican. MICHAEL GROSS/STATE DEPARTMENT