Democrats’ outrage machine targets Buttigieg, Biden

Now that the 675 Days of Russian “collusion delusion” is over, the Democratic outrage machine is no longer satiated with just destroying President Donald Trump. Yes, many Democrats continue to pursue the Russian witch hunt, and it could ultimately doom their party’s 2020 chances. But others have decided to turn their appetite for perpetual outrage inward, finding no Democrat pure enough to live up to their own cartoonishly absurd purity tests.

Those battling it out in the “who can destroy America first” primary for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are currently all in a twit over that mayor whose name you can’t pronounce from that city you don’t know.

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-Ind.) appears to be climbing in the polls and raking in the campaign cash.

Now I know I am a member of what “the woke” refer to as the white cis-gender heteronormative patriarchy, but I would be the first to argue that an openly gay man rising in the polls for his party’s presidential nomination is kind of a big deal. And evidently, I am not alone.

But don’t tell that to Slate staff writer Christina Cauterucci.{mosads}

According to Cauterucci, Buttigieg doesn’t quite make the blue team’s diversity cut because “Buttigieg isn’t just gay – he’s also white, male, upper-class, Midwestern, married, Ivy League-educated, and a man of faith.”

Let that sink in for a minute. Mayor Pete is essentially doomed in the “oppression Olympics” of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary because he is a white male who shares some traits with the oppressive overlords of intersectionality.

But Buttigieg is not the only target of escalating Democratic outrage. A quick check of the headlines indicates that the intra-party feeding frenzy is now squarely focused on fellow white male and former Vice President Joe Biden (D-Del.), who has yet to officially enter the 2020 fray.

This was inevitable because not only had Biden been given 2020 front-runner status following the 2018 midterm elections, but his polling numbers have been incredibly resilient no matter how crowded the blue team’s primary becomes.

For the past several weeks, Biden has embarked on an apology tour of sorts to try and cleanse himself of past statements, positions and proclivities. From his past support of the 1994 crime bill to the way he handled the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings which he chaired, Biden is without question carrying around an awful lot of baggage. He hasn’t even addressed his support for the Iraq war, something that progressives will certainly seize upon.

However, the biggest gut punch thus far to Biden’s 2020 quest came from former Nevada lawmaker and 2016 Bernie Sanders backer Lucy Flores, who not only claims that Biden inappropriately touched her at an event during her failed 2014 bid for lieutenant governor but that “[h]e probably doesn’t remember the interaction” because “he is so used to behaving in that way.”

What’s clear is that the “Joe Biden being Joe Biden” shtick isn’t going to cut it this time around for the former vice president. If Uncle Joe is going to ultimately win his party’s nomination, he will likely spend far more time battling the past than he will the rest of the Democratic field.

This Democratic inclination to cannibalize their own early and often is only going to get worse as we get closer to the actual nomination. Frankly, I am surprised that the Democratic pounce hasn’t gotten more vicious towards former Congressional backbencher and famed media darling Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).

Surely it’s only a matter of time until his Democratic opponents start reminding voters that Beto’s first name is really “Robert Francis” and that his native language is not in fact Spanish.

Fasten your seatbelts; things are only going to get nuttier on the Democratic side of the ledger. Something tells me, it will be President Trump who enjoys this ever–burgeoning clown car rally the most.

Ford O’Connell served as director of rural outreach for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign; he runs a political consulting business, is an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, and is a regular commentator on FOX Business. He has also appeared on CNN. Follow him on Twitter @FordOConnell.