In order for any candidate other than Joe Biden to win the Democratic nomination for president, they have to get progressive far-left support. Mr. Biden doesn’t need that, because his name recognition and ties to President Obama have established a base for him outside the kook zone.
Pete Buttigieg understands the Democrat landscape and has made overtures to the far left in a number of ways. One of them is trying to diminish Thomas Jefferson.
If you have read “Killing England,” you know that the brilliant Jefferson forged much of the freedom language contained in the Constitution. All Americans benefit from Jefferson’s incredible foresight to this day. Even Mayor Pete.
But, as with every human being, Thomas Jefferson was a flawed man. He kept slaves on his Virginia property and entered into a sexual relationship with at least one of them.
Because of that, Mayor Buttigieg apparently believes that Jefferson should be held to account by removing his name from certain things. On May 17, there was this exchange on the radio:
Hugh Hewitt: “You talk about going to every Jefferson and Jackson dinner when you’re campaigning state-wide. Should Jefferson and Jackson dinners be renamed everywhere because both were holders of slaves?”
Pete Buttigieg: “Yeah, we’re doing that in Indiana and I think it’s the right thing to do.”
Jackson, of course, is Andrew Jackson.
If Buttigieg’s standard becomes accepted outside the radical precincts, most American presidents, patriots and icons will be banished from positions of esteem.
The cold truth is that black people, Native Americans and many other groups were, at times, treated badly in America mostly by white men in positions of leadership.
It was wrong and cannot be justified.
But for Buttigieg to judge Jefferson and Jackson by modern codes of conduct is foolish. It is the totality of a person’s life that renders the final determination. It is the time and place concept that honest people must consider.
Mayor Pete was heavily criticized in traditional circles for his rather shallow and politically driven mindset. He did not like that and lashed out, calling his detractors purveyors of a “right-wing media noise machine.”
He named Fox News commentators Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson as two of the biggest “noise machine” offenders.
But why isn’t Buttigieg, himself, a “left-wing noise machine”? He certainly is espousing far left thoughts, is he not?
Most people understand that all historical figures have deficits. Martin Luther King, Jr. did. John F. Kennedy did. George Washington held slaves. Abraham Lincoln tried for controversy on the slavery issue.
Should all the things named after those men be re-examined? And who will lead the Star Chamber doing that? Mayor Pete?
We the people get it. We know the far-left generally believes America is not a noble nation. It must be changed. Total make over.
The politicians who buy into that are kind of dangerous, I think.
Finally, it is deeply distressing to watch the political correctness brigades try to tear down history. And if this continues, I don’t see how Yale University survives.
In 1718, the prestigious school in New Haven, Connecticut was named after Elihu Yale, a slave-trader, Indian-abuser and all around bad guy.
So the name Yale has to go, right? Maybe Mayor Pete and his crew can come up with a replacement name. How about Noam Chomsky U? Maybe Fidel U. Or Che University.
My vote goes to Che. Harvard vs. Che. Che Law School.
Somewhere Che Guevara, the communist revolutionary with the jaunty beret, is nodding in agreement.
Viva, Che! Long live political correctness.
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