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. "The only reason we got this president, is that 'normal' didn't work." But he suddenly pivoted to Trump and his enablers in the Republican Party-- very smooth, very well-done. "We have to be ready to take on this president and, by the way-- something that hasn't been talked about as much tonight-- take on his enablers in Congress. When David Duke ran for Governor, the Republican Party, 20 years ago, ran away from him. Today they are supporting naked racism in the White house or are, at best, silent about it. And if you are watching this at home, and you are a Republican member of Congress, consider the fact that when the sun sets on your career, and they are writing your story, of all the good and bad things you did in your life, the thing you will be remembered for, is whether in this moment, with this president, you found the courage to stand up to him or you continue to put party over country."The naked racism line was a great one from Pete-- and several Democrats running for Congress agreed wholeheartedly in terms of their own contests. Kara Eastman is taking on reactionary Republican Don Bacon in Omaha again this cycle. "Donald J. Bacon has voted 95.7% of the time with Donald J. Trump," she reminded us. "Today a prominent community leader in Omaha, Preston Love Jr., made the comment that Bacon pays 'lip service' to the African-American community in Omaha. He says he does not agree with the President’s viewpoints, but then stands with him almost all of the time. Bacon’s refusal to stand up against racism, sexism, anti-semitism, homophobia, and anti-immigrant statements and policies that stem from the President shows his true character. He is not representing the district, but just a party that has clearly lost its way."Kathy Ellis, is running for Congress in a red, red southeast Missouri district where Trump beat Hillary 75.4-21.0%. Her opponent, notorious anti-gay closet case, Jason Smith, adamantly opposes Trump being impeached (and himself being outed). "I couldn't agree more with Mayor Pete's comments on this topic," Kathy told us yesterday. "The blatant racism of our President is unacceptable, and it is the responsibility of Republican members of Congress to hold him accountable. However, my opponent, Rep. Jason Smith seems to have no comment about this or any other Trump policy that is harming the people in my District. The people in the 8th District and nationwide will not forget his silence."Jon Hoadley is a Michigan state Rep. running for Congress in the southwest corner of the state. His opponent, Fred Upton, is a sly old Trump enabler. Hoadley told us that "We are at a generational moment. We need bold ideas that place people and communities at the center of decisions. The Fred Upton who folks voted for over 30 years ago is not the Congress Upton of today. When he said no to healthcare, no to equality, and no rising to the challenges of a climate crisis, it is clear voters are going to say no to his reelection. The Trump Republican Party has changed. Congressman Upton has changed. Is that the legacy he wants to leave for the history books?" Teresa Tomlinson is running for the U.S. Senate. She wants to "remind everyone that Georgia Senator David Perdue was in the Oval Office when President Trump made his infamous 's-hole' countries statement. Perdue first said that didn’t happen, and then said he didn’t hear it. Denial is cowardice. We have seen the true colors of the current failed Republican leadership. They are cowards, for surely they do not condone or support the racism of the president’s tweets and rants, they are simply scared to say so. Or, do they? It is for them to tell us and tell us now. Do you stand with this President and his racist remarks, or are you cowardly enablers? Senator Perdue’s silence speaks volumes."But, back to Pete; the line just wasn't enough to fish him out of the mayonnaise. In fact, two old buddies-- Ian Welsh and Pachacutec-- teamed up last night to take a swing at explaining who exactly Mayo Pete is... after his endorsement by former New Dem PAC head Patrick Murphy. Pachacutec started by introducing himself-- in contrast to Mayo Pete-- to Ian's readers:Then he introduced Murphy via something I had once written about him, long, long ago, although my comment was about the other conservaDem Patrick Murphy, the guy from Florida, rather than the guy from Pennsylvania, which I'm 100% certain is the one who endorsed Mayo Pete:"Pete," wrote Pach, "is getting a fair amount of recognition for being a gay candidate. People who know me know me know that I’m a big old homo. And now with my tiara firmly in place, I’m here to call out Mayor Pete."
Okay, I don’t actually wear a tiara. I’m actually very much like Pete in my gay origins, in that I am a light-skinned person, presumed to be white (though I’m half Latino) with a good education, cis gendered, and a beneficiary of all the presumptions of competence and intelligence that accrue to light-skinned, well educated men who are not effeminate in their conduct or manner.Like Mayor Pete, I came out later in life, in my young 30s. That was a pretty traumatic time for me, actually. I made a fair mess of my life, and we won’t get into all that. But as Ian’s readers know, it’s what you do with your suffering that makes or breaks you. If you dive into it and learn from it, with the right support and process, you can turn it into your superpower.Or you can become a preening, pompous, head up his ass climber who cashes in the cultural, social and political checks earned for work done by all the very homos, queers, transgender men and women, and people of color that you personally avoid engaging at all costs.Everyone in the gay community knows these people. These are the white boys who stand and model, painfully preppy, in bars filled with other white boys, with a few token “ethnics” like black men, Asians or Latino men sprinkled in to provide a little variety, a little sexy “grit” and fetish fodder. Their Grindr profiles say things like “No offense, but I prefer white guys,” or “no fats or fems.”These are cis gay white boys who might stay for the drag show and enjoy the bawdy jokes, but who feel painfully uncomfortable around effeminate men. As in my tweet, they don’t even see women, non-binary gender rebels, or black folk. Mayor Pete’s relationships with black folk in South Bend are a joke. Gay guys like Mayor Pete never go into a bar if the person of color ratio gets too high, say, higher than 15%, unless for example they really have a thing for Latin guys and it’s salsa night at the club. Some of these guys really fetishize some groups, be they Asians, black men or Latinos. It gets very creepy.I don’t want to belabor the point. This guy has no claim to stand for gay politics when he is precisely the kind of guy who wouldn’t have been caught dead anywhere near the Stonewall Inn, and lacks the self-awareness to know it or understand why. I personally know the type, because, in the beginning of my coming out journey, I had to overcome the legacy cultural biases, blind spots and presumptions of privilege (I know Ian hates that word, sorry) that would have made me into one of those guys.For some people, the experience of coming out, and the experience of being marginalized or oppressed in some fashion, leads to expanded empathy and curiosity for others who are downtrodden or outcast. That’s clearly not Mayor Pete. Pete fundamentally believes in his inherent superiority, and subsequently wants to have it both ways: he wants people to overlook his gayness because he’s not that gay, and then he wants credit for being some kind of LGBTQ pioneer. But whether you look at his policies, his politics or his presence in a room with real people, he is what he is: a conservative wannabe frat boy who happens to be gay. No wonder Patrick Murphy loves this guy.
Yeah-- it works for both Patrick Murphys. And-- just asking for a friend-- do gay frat boys still stick to that old "No Fats, No Femmes" thing? Someone should ask Mayo Pete at the next debate.