Republicans are seizing on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, to ramp up their attacks against Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying he is promoting his own agenda at the expense of families who are grappling with a toxic chemical accident in their backyard.
The Transportation Department does not have primary responsibility for the cleanup, and Buttigieg and his supporters are firing back, suggesting the GOP has other motives for its focus on him. The secretary, who sought the presidency in 2020, has taken the unusual step of responding directly to some of his critics, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), former president Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The result is an unusually personal and, on occasion, vitriolic back-and-forth involving a transportation secretary who is also a rising star in his party, potential candidate for higher office and prominent gay official — far from the usual technocratic and logistical debates that surround the Transportation Department.
Let's start with the obvious. The fact that Buttigieg is gay is beyond irrelevant. It literally has nothing to do with it. Being gay does not excuse incompetence, political tone deaf actions, and lying. But that will not stop WaPo and other fake news media from tossing out the "dog whistle" that this is all about anti-gay discrimination.
Moreover, the idea of Pete Buttigieg being a "rising star" is well past it's shelf life. There is no doubt that he once appeared that way. Many politicians who are relatively unknown can appear to be "rising stars" until they are put into positions where they must actually do a real job, then we get a better idea of who they are. Buttigieg has not done himself any favors since joining the Biden Cabinet. He has been a disaster and even members of his own party acknowledge as much.
Lastly, the fact that the Transportation department is in the crosshairs has nothing to do with undermining a rising gay politician. It has to do with the enormous obvious problems with supply chain and other issues that fall under the umbrella of transportation that were so bad and so obvious that judging the person in charge was inevitable (regardless of who it is). Like many things in life... something is only noticed when it is so exceptionally good or so exceptionally bad that it effects people's lives.
Alex Berenson on Twitter: "1/ This article is stunning. When I saw @stanford’s incoming class was only 22% white, I wondered how the number could be that low. Now I know. They squeezed out the Jews. Let’s be honest: the unapologetic rise of American Jews after WW2 was a crucial factor in US dominance…" / Twitter
it's a thread but 22% is a shocker
Team Butt-Plug is is a panic exactly because he is supposed to be a rising start in the party and a presumptive nominee for president, but his performance around the derailment has all but destroyed the prospect of his candidacy. All while the democrats are in desperate need of a 2024 candidate since the conventional wisdom on the left is that Brandon is a cognitive basket case, and Cum-Allah is an abject fucking moron.
If you ever wanted to start a recurring daily or weekly thread around here called "Great Moments In Leftist Identity Politics" you would never run out of material.