L-R Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Zachary Ro, Pete Buttigieg Addressing supporters at a rally in Aurora, Colorado, on Saturday night, Pete Buttigieg got a question from a 9-year-old boy in Aurora, Colorado, asking for advice on coming out as gay. “Thank you for being so brave,” said Zachary Ro in a question read by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “Would you help me tell the world I am gay too? I want to be brave like you.” “Well, I don’t think you need a lot of advice from me on bravery,” said Buttigieg as the crowd roared its approval. “You seem pretty strong. It took me a long time to figure out how to tell even my best friend that I was gay let alone to go out there and tell the world. To see you willing to come to terms with who you are in a room full of a thousand people, thousands of people you’ve never met, that’s really something.” Amid the cheers for Ro, Mayor Pete did offer a couple of thoughts to young Zachary. “The first thing is that it won’t always be easy, but that’s OK because you know who you are,” shared the 38-year-old candidate. “And that’s really important because when you know who you are, you have a center of gravity that can hold you together when all kinds of chaos is happening around you.” “The second thing I want you to know is that you’ll never know who’s taking their lead from you, who’s watching you and deciding that they can be a little braver because you have been brave.” “When I was trying to figure out who I was, I was afraid that who I was might mean that I could never make a difference, and what wound up happening instead is it’s a huge part of the difference I get to make,” added Buttigieg. “I never could have seen that coming, and you’ll never know whose life you might be affecting right now just by standing here. There’s a lot of power in that.” Buttigieg closed the moment with the one thing every young LGBTQ kid needs to hear: “The last thing I want you to know is that even if I can’t promise it’s going to be easy, I’m going to promise that I’m going to be rooting for you.” The 9-year-old also gave Mayor Pete with a friendship bracelet, which the candidate proudly put on. #BravoPeteButtigieg
Powerful moment (better audio): 9 year old Zachary Ro of Lone Tree asks @PeteButtigieg how he can be brave and tell people he is gay too pic.twitter.com/1aUbYM8cDM
Zachary said he didn’t come to the event planning to ask the question. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing written down on a piece of paper and handed to volunteers collecting questions as he entered the rally Saturday night. Griswold told the Colorado Sun Zachary’s came up randomly. She was pulling questions gathered in a bowl and didn’t know whose questions she was grabbing. Afterwards, a reporter asked young Ro why he sought out Mayor Pete’s advice. “I feel inspired by seeing Pete being openly gay and running for president at the same time, and someday I want to be like him,” said young Zachary. “I feel like he gave me some really good advice.”
I caught up with 9 year old Zachary after he was brought on stage and asked @PeteButtigieg his question. His dad told me off camera he was proud of his son. pic.twitter.com/CsO60aQiUh
It’s close, but in the view of The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board, Buttigieg is best suited to beat Trump because of his centrist policies, his military experience, his (admittedly small-scale) executive experience and the enthusiasm he’s inspired, with better fundraising and national polling, bigger campaign crowds and more news coverage than Klobuchar.
He has shown he can manage a national campaign successfully. And in a nation that only legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, his message of generational change could actually inspire change.
Of the six strong Democratic candidates left, half are 77- or 78-year-old men, two are women, one of whom is 70, and then there is Buttigieg. He may have only been mayor of the fourth-largest city in Indiana, but his fresh approach is transformational.
[sic]
The New York Times Editorial Board asked Buttigieg how he would balance his devout Episcopalian faith with his duties as commander in chief, and he showed both his wisdom and his eloquence: “I think you have to accept the reality that you are living and working in a broken world just as we are all broken human beings and try to order your steps in a way that brings greater good than harm.”
That resonated with us, for its lofty rhetoric and grounding in humanity and hope: “greater good.”
It’s time for a generational change. It’s time to make America good again.
Vote Pete Buttigieg for president of the United States.
(images via Jim Fall) Bearded pics of openly gay White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg hit the internet on Thursday and immediately went viral along with the hashtags #Bearded Buttigieg and #DaddyPete. A quartet of photos was shared by longtime New York City gay blogger kenneth-in-the-212 with the headline “Mayor Woof for President.” Kenneth added the caption, “I’ll bet the gays wouldn’t be complaining about this candidate.” Kenneth was referencing that, even though Buttigieg is the first openly gay viable candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, he hasn’t been universally embraced by the entire LGBTQ community.
Kenneth revealed they were the creative genius of Jim Fall, film director best known for the classic gay movie romp Trick and the upcoming Trick 2.
Fall told The Advocate he was inspired to beard-up Buttigieg after being “impressed with [Buttigieg’s] ability to stay cool and smart” during Wednesday night’s “fiery debate in Las Vegas.” After coming across a pic of Buttigieg with a mustache Thursday morning, Fall decided to get creative with FaceApp on his own with the former South Bend mayor’s pics. “And damn, he looks good with a full-on beard!” he told The Advocate. Falls says he doesn’t have a favorite in the Democratic primary race just yet, although he admits “both Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren have stayed at the top of my list.” There was no FaceApp time for Warren though. “Elizabeth doesn’t look so good in a beard or mustache, so I didn’t post those,” Fall added.
Fall does hope, though, that perhaps the bearded images might help some folks take a fresh look at the 38-year-old candidate. “It’s like, dang, he’s smart and sexy,” says Fall. “That’s an intoxicating combination.” “It’s amazing to me that we are living in a time where an out gay married man is a serious contender for the presidency,” explained Fall. “No matter what you feel about his specific politics, the LGBTQ community should be celebrating. I see so many gay men on social media knocking him down, and it’s disheartening.” “You don’t have to love him or even support him, but don’t disrespect him,” added the director. “Don’t eat your own.”
I’m late getting to this but I wanted to put out a few thoughts about last night’s Democratic debate in Las Vegas. First, welcome to the debate stage billionaire and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. After spending nearly half a billion on campaign ads, he finally got on the debate stage and had to face some heat. And boy did he. Within seconds of the beginning of the date, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (who really, really needed a good night) ripped Bloomberg a new one.
“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”
Warren followed that up later when the issue of women who had sued Bloomberg were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. Warren was unrelenting.
Please enter Warren cross-examining Bloomberg on allegations of sexual harrassment into the “electability” record. #DemDebatepic.twitter.com/pO5PJjgtEA
Needless to say, Warren had that ‘good night’ she was shooting for. Over the next 24 hours, she reportedly raised over $5 million for her campaign. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg landed some blows on both Bloomberg and Sen. Bernie Sanders for their ‘polarizing’ personas as well as not really being Democrats.
Pete Buttigieg ripped into Bloomberg and Sanders, noting that after Super Tuesday “the two most polarizing figures on this stage” could be the only two candidates left competing for the nomination https://t.co/j3rgbDkAfnpic.twitter.com/ByJQMoaaEI
The other ‘big’ clashes of the evening were between Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Buttigieg. When Klobuchar was asked about a recent ‘oopsie’ in an interview when she couldn’t name the president of Mexico, Buttigieg pointed out she sits on important Senate committees that deal with Mexico. And, then Klobuchar started to unravel. I’ll admit I was surprised to see Amy get so rattled, so unnerved. In the video below, her body language and voice really hyper-up as Buttigieg remains calm. At one point, Amy offered a snarky, “I wish everyone was as perfect as you, Pete.” At another turn, she informed him that he hasn’t ‘been in the arena,’ apparently inferring the work mayors do isn’t important.
“Are you trying to say that I’m dumb? Or are you mocking me here, Pete?”
In reading other outlets today, I came to realize Klobuchar has a particular distaste for Buttigieg. She sees the attention he’s received and his rise in the polls as unfounded, and the result of white, male privilege. I actually have my own idea as to why Buttigieg garnered the attention he did from the start of the race. He was the new unknown. An openly gay, Rhodes scholar, Afghanistan veteran unknown who not only is well-spoken but speaks seven languages. He was a new story for folks to lean in to. Buttigieg turned in good debate performances. And did well in Iowa and New Hampshire. In any case, I think Klobuchar didn’t handle the moment well last night. She could have chosen to take a breath before responding. But, instead, she went on a rant that looked frantic. As an alternative, she could have just stated, in regard to the name of the Mexican president, “I was tired and the name slipped my mind. It happens to everyone.” And then, STOPPED TALKING. She would have served herself better, in my opinion. Along the way, as no one was attacking former Vice President Joe Biden, he had one of his best debates of the primary season. It may help him do fairly well in Nevada and then next week in South Carolina. If Biden comes in second in Nevada, then wins South Carolina, he may recover some of his momentum.
Biden says look at the polls. He is the best equipped to beat Trump, and then stomps Bloomberg for stop and frisk. #DemDebatepic.twitter.com/DdNBy4oaMd
Sanders entered the debate as the newly-anointed front-runner for the nomination and nothing in the debate changed that. It’s worth noting that NBC News sent out a press release announcing the event was the most-watched Democratic debate ever, averaging nearly 20 million total viewers across the two networks, according to Nielsen Fast National Data. The one take-away I have from last night that I think is important is about ‘big-picture.’ There are four moderate Democrats currently competing for the same moderate Democratic voters. And as such, they are getting only about 12-15 percent support each. Meanwhile, Warren kind of faded after her poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire leaving the progressive lane to just Sanders. Thus, his rise in the polls. Each state’s contests divide up delegates proportionately according to the votes received. BUT – delegates are proportionately allocated to candidates getting 15% or more in a primary or caucus. If you don’t get to at least 15% you get nothing. If only one candidate gets 15%, the allocation is effectively winner-take-all. If no candidate meets the 15% threshold, Democratic Party rules state the minimum to receive delegates will be 50% of the vote received by the front-runner. Check out the delegate count below after two states’ contests. Only five candidates have earned delegates to date. Buttigieg and Sanders have nearly 3x the number of Warren or Klobuchar. According to reports, Klobuchar’s surprise third-place finish in New Hampshire was great news for her campaign, but she apparently hadn’t invested in any campaign infrastructure in Nevada having focused on Iowa and New Hampshire. So, many don’t expect her to do well this week. MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki looked at the polling in upcoming states and it looks pretty grim for many of the remaining candidates other than Bloomberg (who’s literally spending millions and millions), Biden, and Sanders. Notice that Harris and Klobuchar aren’t even registering in double-digits. And Buttigieg seems stuck at the 11-12 percent level. That means no delegates from those states if these numbers are even in the ballpark. Take a look at the California numbers. If Sanders walks away with 32% of the delegates, and Warren, Buttigieg, and Bloomberg fail to even be viable gaining zero delegates – Sanders begins to amass a delegate count that could be insurmountable. Meanwhile, Bloomberg has been spending in other states like North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Arkansas – and it’s paying off for him. Now, after last night, we’ll have to see how those numbers stack up on Super Tuesday. Finally, check this last graphic – Bloomberg is virtually the only Democrat with ads up in Virginia. Needless to say, when you don’t win delegates, the campaign donations dry up. The next two weeks could very well boil this race down to two or three candidates. We shall see.
During last night’s CNN Town Hall event, Pete Buttigieg’s response to recent comments by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh about his sexual orientation earned him the biggest applause of the night. Last week, Limbaugh asked his listeners if they could imagine Donald Trump “having fun” with the idea of Buttigieg kissing his husband, Chasten, after a debate. He added that “America’s still not ready to elect a gay guy kissing his husband on the debate stage.” Rushbo’s stance seemed to be that Democrats were uncomfortable with the idea of Pete and Chasten exchanging PDAs. Note – it’s very common for candidates to hug/kiss their spouses after a debate event. Why a hug between the Buttigiegs would be ‘too much’ isn’t quite clear. Limbaugh also wondered aloud how parents would “explain” Buttigieg kissing his husband to their children. This point became an instant meme with folks referencing Donald Trump’s infamous Access Hollywood statement: “How do you explain ‘Grab’em by the p*ssy’ to your children?” The next day, Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera asked Trump about Limbaugh’s comments. Trump said that he could see Americans voting for an openly gay candidate. “There would be a group that probably wouldn’t, but you or I wouldn’t be in that group.” On Sunday, during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Dana Bash asked Buttigieg to respond to Limbaugh’s remarks. “Well, I love my husband. I’m faithful to my husband. Onstage, we usually just go for a hug, but I love him very much,” Buttigieg said. “And I’m not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh.”
Fast forward to last night’s event on CNN, Erin Burnett asked Buttigieg about the comments from Limbaugh (who’s been married four times) and Trump (who’s been married three times): “Publicly, Trump says he would not have a problem supporting a gay candidate? Do you take him at his word?” “Not if he’s sending out his supporters to talk in this way,” answered Buttigieg. “The idea of the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump lecturing anybody on family values?” “I’m sorry, but one thing about my marriage is it’s never involved me having to send hush money to a porn star after cheating on my spouse.” #BOOM #HugeApplause “So if they want to debate family values, let’s debate family values, I’m ready,” added the former mayor.
.@PeteButtigieg: "The idea of the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump lecturing anybody on family values… One thing about my marriage is, it's never involved me to send hush money to a porn star" #cnntownhallpic.twitter.com/T0xZ67m1bA
Six of the Democratic candidates, including Buttigieg, will take to the debate stage tonight in Las Vegas in advance of Saturday’s Nevada caucuses. The debate will be broadcast live on NBC News, MSNBC and Universo (in Spanish) beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
In this week’s podcast: • Two gay men were shot in Miami for kissing goodnight • A new study shows men in same-sex marriages experience less stress than their straight peers • Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh went after Pete Buttigieg’s marriage but Pete clapped back • New report shows LGBTQ youth consider suicide even more than we thought • And new music from Bridesmen All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
During appearances on Sunday morning talk shows, Democratic White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg was asked about comments made this week by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh asked listeners if they could see Donald Trump having homophobic “fun” with Buttigieg kissing his husband on stage. He also wondered aloud how parents would explain Buttigieg kissing his husband to their children. Buttigieg responded to Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday: “I’m in a faithful, loving, committed marriage. I’m proud of my marriage. I’m proud of my husband. I’m not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Donald J. Trump as the moral as well as political leader of the United States. America has moved on and we should have politics of belonging that welcomes everybody. That’s what the American people are for. I’m saddened for what the GOP has become if they embrace that kind of homophobic rhetoric.”
Buttigieg on homophobic attacks: “I’m not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Trump as the moral & political leader of the US … I’m saddened for what the GOP has become if they embrace that kind of homophobic rhetoric.” pic.twitter.com/sXFHOnlXYm
The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, expressed similar sentiments when speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Nation: “I love my husband, I am faithful to my husband. On stage, we usually just go for a hug, but I love him very much. And I am not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh.”
Chasten and Pete Buttigieg on the campaign trail Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: Pete Buttigieg, on the campaign trail, posts the above photo with hubby Chasten, with the caption “Happy Valentine’s Day to the one I love.” #swoon • Advocate: Two gay men were shot this week in a drive-by attack in Miami, leaving one in critical condition, and they believe it happened because they were kissing — and a lesbian nearby was also injured. • Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A new poll released Thursday showed the former vice president Joe Biden with 32% of support in Georgia. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg were both at 14%. The poll pegs Pete Buttigieg at just 5% of Georgia’s vote and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 4%. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar trails at 3%. Georgia’s primary is on March 24. • Apple TV: Don’t forget the five-part docuseries Visible: Out on Television is now available on Apple’s streaming service. The series investigates the importance of TV as a medium that helped shaped the American conscience, and how the LGBTQ movement has shaped television.
• Bloomberg Law: Michael Avenatti, who became famous representing porn star Stormy Daniels, was convicted of trying to extort millions of dollars from Nike Inc. and defrauding a client in the process. Jurors in Manhattan found Avenatti guilty of all three criminal counts. The verdict on Friday, following a two-week trial, could lead to a long prison sentence for the lawyer. • CBS News: Donald Trump says he’s considering ending the standard protocol of having top administration officials listen to his calls with foreign leaders, following his conversation with Ukraine’s president, a call that culminated in his impeachment. • KIT212: Kenneth rounds up the what’s what in gay rags this week including forever-hottie Robbie Williams covering this month’s Attitude Magazine (below). • Boston 25 News: Drug Enforcement Agency officials raided the home of Dr. Keith Ablow, the embattled former celebrity psychiatrist caught in a series of sexual assault lawsuits. The famously anti-LGBTQ Ablow saw his medical license revoked last year after he was accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual activity with several patients and illegally distributing prescriptions to employees. • Mediaite: Mike Bloomberg’s campaign openly mocked Donald Trump again over his comments on the coronavirus in which POTUS said, “Now the virus that we are talking about having to do, you know, lotta people think that goes away in April, with the heat,” by basically just splicing it with that famous Billy Madison “What you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things…” scene. #BloombergAintPlaying
L-R Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg CNN’s final tracking poll for the upcoming New Hampshire Democratic primary tomorrow shows Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) holding steady with a solid lead. Conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, the results show Sanders with 29 percent support, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 22 percent support, former Vice President Joe Biden ranks a fairly distant 3rd place with 11 percent, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) with 10 percent. Those results mirror the RealClearPolitics average of polls showing Sanders with 29 percent and Mayor Pete at 22 percent with the rest of the pack fairly far behind. It’s worth noting that in 2016, Sanders beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary by nearly 22 points. I’m not thinking Sanders win this time will be quite so large. While nearly half say they haven’t fully made up their minds, when asked who voters in New Hampshire believe will win the primary, 59 percent said Sanders versus only 10 percent naming Buttigieg.
In this week’s podcast: • Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a historic night at the Iowa Caucuses • Voters in Switzerland overwhelmingly approved protections for LGBTQ people • Virginia becomes the first state in the South to approve statewide LGBTQ protections • A beloved morning talk show host in the UK came out as gay • A star of the Netflix docuseries ‘Cheer’ is getting ready to climb to the top of the human pyramid All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report Hit the play button below to listen, and if you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news in a quick podcast, please share this with your friends 🙂
According to reports, Klobuchar’s surprise third-place finish in New Hampshire was great news for her campaign, but she apparently hadn’t invested in any campaign infrastructure in Nevada having focused on Iowa and New Hampshire. So, many don’t expect her to do well this week. MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki looked at the polling in upcoming states and it looks pretty grim for many of the remaining candidates other than Bloomberg (who’s literally spending millions and millions), Biden, and Sanders. Notice that Harris and Klobuchar aren’t even registering in double-digits. And Buttigieg seems stuck at the 11-12 percent level. That means no delegates from those states if these numbers are even in the ballpark. Take a look at the California numbers. If Sanders walks away with 32% of the delegates, and Warren, Buttigieg, and Bloomberg fail to even be viable gaining zero delegates – Sanders begins to amass a delegate count that could be insurmountable. Meanwhile, Bloomberg has been spending in other states like North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Arkansas – and it’s paying off for him. Now, after last night, we’ll have to see how those numbers stack up on Super Tuesday. Finally, check this last graphic – Bloomberg is virtually the only Democrat with ads up in Virginia. 
Needless to say, when you don’t win delegates, the campaign donations dry up. The next two weeks could very well boil this race down to two or three candidates. We shall see.
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