Buttigieg: 'I'm not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson'

But unemployed Chasten can be at home to take care of the babies.

[quote] The work that we are doing is joyful, fulfilling, wonderful work. It's important work

Oh, I'm sorry.

I thought he was talking about his work as TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY, and FIXING THE SUPPLY CHAIN.

Not staying at home, being domestic diva Molly Homemaker (faux straight person) to his husband and child.

Get a fucking grip, Pete. PRIORITIES!!!!

How many more threads about this pipsqueak are you going to start?

He loves hitting at easy targets. Like anyone takes Tucker Carlson seriously. He's a professional troll.

Tucker Carlson is a troll.

Yet, this is not a good look for the head of the Dept. of Transportation.

Man up, Pete, and get back to your job. You wanted it and now there are transportation issues. The family planning thing was ill-timed.

Perhaps you’d be better off being a small town mayor and taking months off at a time for your personal pleasures.....?

Buttigieg needs to apologize to America. He is a disgrace staying at home when the country is in desperate situation with transportation issues.

He is an insult to all the hard working parents who have to get off their ass and work, some a few days after having a baby.

That baby will do just fine if he attends to the job he was appointed to. But no he wants to sit on his ass and get paid for nothing at a time when the country is a fuckin' mess.

That's the nail on Biden's single, un-re-elected term. Sheesh.

[quote]That's the nail on Biden's single, un-re-elected term.

Exactly. America needs a proactive leader heading the Department of Transportation.

I see a lot of Fox viewers are hanging out on DL this Sunday morning.

The only qualification he has for Transportation Secretary is driving back and forth to work in South Bend,' We know he got the job thanks to Diversity. They wanted a gay.

I’ve said this before, this is why I can’t identify as a liberal anymore and sadly, this is why the rednecks hate them.

You’ve got 2 fucking men in the household and they both have to stay at home and watch one fucking baby? What kind of bullshit is that.

This is the only circumstance where I think the term “man the fuck up” isn’t degrading. You’re a man you’ve got your little housewife Chasten, go be a man and do your fucking job.

R11: they have twins who were born prematurely.

Dragging your adopted kids into a Jake Tapper interview answer is shameful. And how's the family dog handling all the household stress?

Oh yes, r11, you definitely used to be a liberal.

r6 is a pro-Tucker troll.

I always forget that our elder Eldergays have many of the same ideas about parenthood as other 70 and 80somethings.

Will some one recap what America got for having the entire Trump clan on the taxpayer's dime? I'll wait

Pete should not get into a wig snatching incident with Tucker Carlson.

He is proving to be overly sensitive. Every POTUS has had insults lobbed at them. It comes with the job. Pete pretty much is losing his ability to become POTUS. If he tries to run again, his enemies (including Democrats) will roll this footage constantly. In 10 years, voters will remember they had a bad Christmas because transportation issues weren’t solved and store shelves were empty. They won’t remember Tucker Carlson being mean to Pete.

Presidents and leaders in federal, state and local government end their time off when a crisis occurs in their jurisdiction and they return to work. If Buttigieg thinks that parental leave is equivalent to when he was called to active duty while he was mayor, he’s mistaken. He could easily come into the office a few hours a day or even work from home to deal with the supply chain crisis.

R18 He was doing an interview and was asked about it.

[quote]and FIXING THE SUPPLY CHAIN.

It isn't Pete's job to hire truckers, genius.

The trolls don't seem to get that, r21.

He named one of the twins Penelope.... On purpose?

r21, this is r18 in the *Missing Pete B.* thread:

"There are ships off the coast of California that can’t unload. And pilots are quitting their jobs rather than submit to vaccination.

Isn’t Pete Buttigieg supposed to be dealing with these problems?"

Pete over sensitive? Please. He had more shit slung at him when was running for President than every other candidate put together.

R18, He was asked about Tuckers comments you goddamn moron.

The beginning of the Tapper interview, Pete tried to paint the bottleneck at the ports as the picture of booming economy. Nice try. Jake's titled expression looks like his colon was rupturing.

[quote] He was doing an interview and was asked about it.

And why was he asked about it? To keep the story in the news.

The correct response is “I’m not here to validate right wing talking points, I’m here to tell you what I’m doing to get delivery trucks back on track so Americans aren’t afraid they will be without food.”

R24, how exactly would that person expect Pete to get them vaccinated? And since CA has its own mandate, is Pete supposed to control that as well?

His job is dealing with the actual infrastructure, not hiring people for private companies. There are so many *private* entities involved in the chain and the govt has very little control over it.

It's so lazy for his critics to speak in generalizations. What *specifically* do they think he should be doing that he isn't? Do they imagine he's sitting home watching his stories and eating bon-bons or do they think he physically has to be unloading cargo ships? Do they understand that this thing called technology exists where he can actually take meetings without physically being present?

Now all of a sudden these right wing trolls want the federal government to intervene into free markets? Fine, let’s nationalize the ports and railroads.

PENELOPE

*

In the pathway of the sun,

In the footsteps of the breeze,

Where the world and sky are one,

He shall ride the silver seas,

He shall cut the glittering wave.

I shall sit at home, and rock;

Rise, to heed a neighbor's knock;

Brew my tea, and snip my thread;

Bleach the linen for my bed.

They will call him brave.

R29, if there's anything the right-wing is consistent about, it's their glaring hypocrisy.

"Vaccines are a private matter. Govt overreach! Now watch as I punish private businesses for wanting their own mandate."- DeSantis/Abbott

Pete's answers suck. I would not mind if Buttigieg was down at the ports helping unload. Instead of unloading his paternity leave anecdotes. Bottle-feeding. Christ almighty.

[quote] I would not mind if Buttigieg was down at the ports helping unload. Instead of unloading his paternity leave anecdotes. Bottle-feeding. Christ almighty.

All gay men are effeminate, dontcha know? They want to be women.

Like I sympathize with Pete, because there really isn't a quick fix that he can do to fix supply chains. This is a systemic, very complex flaw that was made apparent by covid, and it was caused by years and years of globalism and outsourcing and etc.. All he can really do is advocate for more infrastructure spending, and that's in a standstill because of Manchin and Sinema. And even if they passed that bill, it would take years for all of the necessary work to be completed.

So instead of telling people the reality of the issue and letting others now that his efforts are ineffective, he's instead distracting us with a Tucker Carlson feud. Liberals who are more concerned with social and identity politics will eat it up, and they will champion Pete. He's going to try to build support for a future run at office.

Pete should get out there and unload those trucks.

[quote] Like I sympathize with Pete, because there really isn't a quick fix that he can do to fix supply chains.

Supply chains aren’t the issue at the moment. Cargo ships sitting in the harbor and not being unloaded is the problem.

And even though it’s not Pete’s fault, the price of food is rising and he will get blamed for it. He needs to up his communication about what he’s responsible for and lay off the post-natal depression act.

Next up: Buttigieg will take three weeks of personal leave to process the blowback he's experienced this past week.

He should go on Tucker Carlson's show

And no one comments on Tucker Carlson's cunty and homophobic crack about Pete "learning how to breastfeed?"

Frankly, Fucker Carlson wouldn't even know who the Secretary of Transportation was if it wasn't someone he could make rude comments about.

“How dare you stay home to take care of your kids!” “All babies lives matter and are important.” “COVID health precautions, screw those!” “Schools teaching things I don’t believe in or support, we shouldn’t allow it!” “Cops bullying children in the schools? Well they’re always right! We need to give them more money, after all we believe in small government!” 🙄

The trolls are out full force in their pro-Tucker anti-Pete stance, r39.

Whenever you see an OP or any post on the data lounge with this many upvotes, you know it's sock puppets at work. Give it a rest.

[quote] The trolls are out full force in their pro-Tucker anti-Pete stance

Maybe Pete should learn how to handle the media.

HOOOOOOLLLLLLYYYYYYY FFFUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!

I am blown away by the small-minded, Republicunty people posting in this thread. Definitely not what I’ve come to expect from DL.

Except that crack about naming one of his crotch fruits “Penelope,” that was on point.

No, r38, he shouldn't.

I don’t really think if he could do anything to solve the crisis. Of course the administration does have to take some blame for this but it’s a complicated issue. However when you’re a cabinet secretary you don’t get the luxury of a two month break regardless of the reasons why. Blinken won’t be able to solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis but that still doesn’t mean you should take a two month break if a war broke out between the two.

I don’t care about Carlson but how is this different from Cruz heading to Mexico when his state had a power emergency? Cruz was going on a weekend when he supposedly wasn’t working. As Senator he had no direct role in fixing the immediate problem. He said some bs about his kids but was considered an asshole.

I hate Tucker Carlson and it sucks when he has a valid point.

Pete was accused of doing nothing in South Bend. Now he stands accused of doing nothing in this new job.

And you queens thinks he’s going to be President one day?

If Pete was straight, his defenders would think he’s a moron. And not just now, the whole time.

Good for Tucker to call him out. CNN and MSNBC sure would not have.

But CNN and MSNBC should just stop taking about Tucker Carson and what he has to say about anything. It's just free publicity. His ratings are already high enough.

Gov Polis has a better chance of being first homo president. Buttigieg has too much of a used car salesman vibe to him.

Penelope was the wife of Odysseus/Ulysses, r44. See r30. I didn't find that crack on point, I found it uneducated.

"I don’t care about Carlson BUT..."

Oh, r47...trying to bothsides it, ain't ya? Really, it's not going to work.

[quote] I don’t care about Carlson but how is this different from Cruz heading to Mexico when his state had a power emergency? Cruz was going on a weekend when he supposedly wasn’t working. As Senator he had no direct role in fixing the immediate problem. He said some bs about his kids but was considered an asshole,

R47, I don’t want to link Pete with Cruz in any way shape or form, but your point is well-taken. I thought it was shameful that Cruz fled (although how much difference on a day-to-day basis it would have made if Cruz stayed in Texas remains questionable), the point was, Ted Cruz, as a public servant was allowing his fellow Texans to suffer, while he used his privilege (&$) - provided by fellow Texans - to flee a challenging situation.

It’s a similar situation with Pete. How many Americans can just up and drop out of a new (high level) position when they suddenly decide to adopt?

Remember: we are paying for Pete’s expenses while he “bonds” with the children he suddenly chose to adopt in the midst of a countrywide transportation breakdown.

Pete will never be President because he’ll never get the black vote. White gays say it’s because black people are homophobic despite the fact that there’s a video of him teaching white children that the founding fathers of the Constitution didn’t know or realize slavery was bad. All the black LGBT who called it out are just you know, homophobes.

Penelope is an awful name. The sound of droplets hitting a toilet.

The right-wing extremists in America - media, trolls, Karens, Bubbas, Jesus-grabbers, Qanon krazzies, grievance addicts, corporate criminals, flat-earth antivax nutcases - are just so fucking exhausting.

America 2021 - stuck in a party with a crazy drunk person who keeps talking about his medical problems and drools on your cocktail - I am increasing isolating. The inmates can have the asylum, just stay off my lawn.

R54 Absolutely. There’s no difference from him and Ted Cruz aside from the fact that Ted Cruz was a weekend and Pete has been months.

And this liberal bullshit is why we’re all going to have to learn Russian in 20 years.

We’re not fucking Sweden.

R57 It’s left AND right wing.

I can’t take it anymore there needs to be a party that represents the middle ground.

The right wants a fucking third world country (anti-abortion, anti-LGBT, religious based) and the left wants a fucking socialist matriarchal utopia where there’s no gender or masculinity that’s just as repressive.

Isn't America facing a diaper shortage...?

R60 Oh the irony!

[quote] [R54] Absolutely. There’s no difference from him and Ted Cruz aside from the fact that Ted Cruz was a weekend and Pete has been months.

Ted was captured in the airport sheepishly returning from Mexico was he not? He left his family to enjoy the Mexican weather, while his fellow Texans were challenged by the power breakdown.

[quote] And this liberal bullshit is why we’re all going to have to learn Russian in 20 years.

Respectfully disagree. We were closer to Russian Annexation during the prior “conservative” government. I refer to photos of Trump and Putin where Trump literally (and figuratively) acts as Putin’s lapdog. (See Below: a picture speaks a thousand words.)

[quote] We’re not fucking Sweden.

I’ve lived Malmo. Sweden. Certainly life was different there, but the quality of living (medical care, education, cleanliness, lack of crime, guns, etc.) was much, much higher than in the US.

Why aren’t Harry & Meghan commenting? They took parental leave from their very important jobs.

R36, that has always been the problem with Dems: Messaging. They absolutely suck at explaining things.

I saw a woman being interviewed on MSNBC who said it best: "Don’t sell the recipe, sell the brownies” Just stop talking about the god damned numbers and tell voters how their lives will improve if the bill passes. Dems keep talking about "infrastructure" and dollar figures. Fucking tell seniors: THIS BILL WILL GET YOU DENTAL, HEARING AND VISION!

That's why we have morons who have no clue that govt has no control over the damned cargo ships sitting out there and they have no control over god damned trucking companies not being able to find actual drivers. Dems need to friggin comprehend that millions of Americans are simply idiots.

[quote]We're not fucking Sweden.

It's like an actress saying "I'm not fucking Meryl Streep!" We hate ourselves so much, we love our dysfunction and are addicted to our anger.

No, he shouldn't, R38. Tucker is recorded. That's why the coward never aired the interview where he was called out for being a mouthpiece for the same billionaire elites he rails against to his moronic viewers.

R59 without question the left has elements that are annoying. But saying there is equivalence is part of the problem.

Cruz went to Cancun with his family during the snowmageddon in Texas. As if bouncing off to a tropical vacation with your teenagers is at all comparable to taking care of your premie newborns

The nerve of Tucker saying Pete should breastfeed when he's the one with the doughy body and no doubt sporting B-cups that any hungry baby would salivate over.

We've seen Pete's hot bod.

This was Azealia Bank’s perspective on Sweden which I found interesting.

Basically the quality of life is not representative of an Americans quality of life.

Reminds me of my Uber driver from Libya who said African Americans would fucking hate any country in Africa if they moved there.

[quote]If Pete was straight, his defenders would think he’s a moron. And not just now, the whole time.

BULL. SHIT. I'm one of those who got tons of shit for saying it was ludicrous for him to be running for president and that his defenders chalking it up to homophobia was idiotic.

THIS issue is showing that a lot of you have no fucking idea how maritime commerce actually works. And that you don't account for the god damned pandemic being another part of why this is happening.

R68 Neither is a good look. The twins will be sleeping most of the time during Pete's leave. Its not like thy are active 2 year olds running all over and I'm sure they have a nurse and or nanny and Chasten isn't working and neither delivered the child so obviously no post partum depression or nursing.

Lots of right wing and bitter YangGang / Bernie Bros in this thread...

[quote] As if bouncing off to a tropical vacation with your teenagers is at all comparable to taking care of your premie newborns.

No, the circumstances are not identical, R68, between Ted Cruz and Pete.

Yet, the underlying principles are the same: both made CHOICES in their personal life - choosing that over their professional one.

Pete is no victim here. He [bold] chose [/bold] to adopt children in one the the biggest transportation breakdowns the US has ever experienced. He has a non-working partner to care for the children and he is [bold] funded[/bolded] by the very same people he has was chosen by Biden to serve.

He needs to get to work or resign.

[quote] Buttigieg: 'I'm not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson'

Dig in those six-inch heels, gurl!

You can’t compare Cruz to Buttigieg. Cruz was a Senator. The only people that can rightfully be angry are citizens of the state he represents. Buttigieg is in a cabinet post making decisions that affect the entire nation.

OP "Good on him!"

Oh, dear

Once again: Pete 1, Critics 0

Your right hooks just never connect!

R76 The rightwing headcases talking endless drivel about AOC or Sen Warren are all in NYC and MA, right?

What planet do you pretend you're living on?

To the person using the Cruz analogy, I'll explain it to you: The govt actually warned TX about their grid issue. This was an issue that could've been prevented, but TX ignored the advice of the govt and Cruz is part of that mentality which led to the grid crisis. Beto O' Rourke organized to make sure those who were suffering the most had food and clothing. He made phone calls. He actually did something. Cruz did nothing when he could've. He fucking ran. His ideology is why it happened in the first place - no actual regulations. And he ran off.

The govt has no control over what is currently happening with the cargo ships. If it did, this may not have happened. The govt can't force people to drive trucks. The govt does not own the cargo ships. The govt did not create the pandemic which is the reason that production OVERSEAS can't keep up with demand here.

[quote] He needs to get to work or resign.

The very least he can do is stop with the baby raising crap. He failed at getting ahead of the story and now he’s very defensive.

Parental leave has been a hot button issue for many people. There are many workers who are angry that they have to take on extra work while co-workers get this benefit. I’ve always said we’d be better off if women had equated parental leave with the education idea of Sabbatical. If everyone had been included from the start, people would be more receptive to the idea.

R80 Good analysis. But facts and simple logic no longer works with the Right. See the Texas school district that demanded that alternatives questioning the Holocaust be taught. Truth is what they want, not what facts determine.

This is what Cruz could've done and DIDN'T during the crisis:

[quote]Mr. O’Rourke, a Democrat from El Paso who served in Congress from 2013 to 2019, organized volunteers to make more than 784,000 wellness calls to senior citizens around the state.

People at the height of the pandemic continued to work at Whole Foods, Wallmart, Walgreens in food service industries, trucking. . . to provide us with necessary goods and services Now that shelves are empty the Secretary of Transportation is taking leave after 7 months on the job. How many people can take a leave after 7 months on the JOB?

[quote] Pete over sensitive? Please. He had more shit slung at him when was running for President than every other candidate put together.

Don’t make me fucking laugh.

[quote]Buttigieg is in a cabinet post making decisions that affect the entire nation.

And what decision did he or didn't he make that caused the current crisis? The platitudes are tiresome. Try being specific. What did he NOT do that could've prevented this current situation?

[quote] The govt has no control over what is currently happening with the cargo ships.

But the government can control the message. Someone in the Biden administration should be on every talk show explaining why ports are backed up. Instead we get Pete whining about his premature babies which he didn’t birth and obviously has enough money to hire help for.

You're going to be waiting a long time for an answer, r86.

Pete’s babies are literally like causing people to STARVE to death!!

[quote]Now that shelves are empty

[quote]one the the biggest transportation breakdowns the US has ever experienced

One of the biggest differences between Fox/OAN watchers and the rest of us is that they just robotically repeat what their leaders say. Anyone with a working brain can look around and see that these two comments are laughably false.

R86 Don't understand your logic. Pete needs to fix the current situation whether he caused it or not. Like a doctor mending a leg they didn't break.

Had hope for Pete. So far not impressed.

He’s become a whiny complainer. I have much more respect for some of my female colleagues. One birthed a baby two hours after performing trauma surgery and returned the next morning for 6am rounds.

While I don’t advocate an intense birthing experience and actually appreciate the idea of parental leave, the whole-Pete-cabinet-member-adoption-during-supply-issues has made a mockery of something significant.

He has no breast-feeding issues, post-birth bleeds or post-natal depression to deal with. And he has a stay-at-home partner in Chasten.

Pete needs to rise to the occasion and get on with the job of being a Department of Transportation Chief.

Where are the empty shelves? I just went to the grocery store this morning and everything seemed to be normal.

R54 you don’t just decide you’re going to adopt on a Saturday and go pick up a child on Monday. Adoption can be a years long process and if you pass up an opportunity when it presents itself, you may be waiting for a while until it presents itself again.

There were multiple articles over the summer where they discussed that they had been trying to adopt for the last year.

It's poor planning on Pete's part simultaneously taking on 2 jobs he never had experience with: Transportation Secretary and parenting.

Pete's favorite Diva must be Penelope Cruz. He probably adores Almovodar.

[quote] What did he NOT do that could've prevented this current situation?

He could be on every talk show promoting the infrastructure bill that Congress has been trying to pass rather than whining about parental leave.

It goes like this:

Tucker has the right to say what he wants. I’m here to talk about how this new legislation will strengthen roads to airports [insert tearful story about Americans having trouble getting to grandma’s house for Christmas] and help Americans catch up to other nations by creating super speed trains which assist in cutting down harmful emissions as cars do.

Pete = a smidge less-detestable at his job than Ted Cruz.

Can I just say that I think Chasten is a really white trash name!

[quote] [R54] you don’t just decide you’re going to adopt on a Saturday and go pick up a child on Monday. Adoption can be a years long process and if you pass up an opportunity when it presents itself, you may be waiting for a while until it presents itself again.

Am well aware of this, R94. Am also aware that adoption of twins is....”unusual”. It is not altogether clear if these infants were the result of surrogacy and that their origin is, well, less than completely transparent.

[quote]There were multiple articles over the summer where they discussed that they had been trying to adopt for the last year.

Herein lies the point: Pete wants to move from a small stage to a bigger one. Hell, he campaigned for an international role as the president. Family planning is important. If he wishes to have children, good on him. To do so at the expense (on many levels) of the populace - and his job - is at best, unprofessional and worst, unacceptable.

Two months off at seven months in.....no.

Chasten should work off his baby weight and get down there on the docks and unload to Build Back Better!

R93 Whole Foods, Stop and Shop, Bed, Bath and Beyond here in the northeast have had many empty shelves for months and one trip doesn't allow me to stock up because products that I want are often not available. Also there is a problem with inflation due to the shortage of goods.

[quote]He could be on every talk show promoting the infrastructure bill that Congress has been trying to pass rather than whining about parental leave.

That's exactly what he did for [italic]months[/italic] before his paternal leave. There are [italic]tons[/italic] of videos of him talking about that bill.

[quote] [R93] Whole Foods, Stop and Shop, Bed, Bath and Beyond here in the northeast have had many empty shelves for months and one trip doesn't allow me to stock up because products that I want are often not available. Also there is a problem with inflation due to the shortage of goods.

I would add Trader Joe’s to this. Here in SoCal we see tons of cargo ships just parked off the coast. Waiting and some have been parked for weeks.

R86... Well, not apologizing to Tucker Carlson, for starters.

Maybe the government should bring back the slave trade? How else are they going to get those ships unloaded.

[quote] That's exactly what he did for months before his paternal leave.

And where did that get him? Falling into the trap of Tucker Carlson, who with 5 minutes of tv time made Pete look lazy and missing in action. Most Americans don’t remember the wonky stuff, they remember the salacious gossip. Pete must up his communications strategy. What’s he thinking about while he’s changing Penelope’s diaper? Obviously not how to react when Tucker Carlson lobs a bomb.

While on the subject of transportation, I want to see the foursome juxtaposed next to a pair of black baby buggy bumpers.

“This is a capitalist country. Nobody wants the federal government to own or operate the stores the warehouse, the trucks, or the ships or the ports," @SecretaryPete tells @chucktodd "Our role is to try to make sure we're supporting those businesses and those workers who do”

Love when Pete uses Republican language against them!

So what if the twins were premature. If they are health enough to be home then they are healthy.

The entire point of maternity leave was to allow the MOTHER to recover physically and emotionally so she can get back to work healthy. Nursing the baby was another factor.

Later when they decided to add paternity leave it was to help the MOTHER who was still recovering from child birth. Help her not just with the babies but with other mundane things as well - letting her sleep, laundry, cooking, etc. BECAUSE she was still recovering her health and getting her strength back.

It's gotten out of hand and lost its real purpose to placate those who don't need it in the same way or to the extent the real purpose intended Placating demanding adoptive parents was probably not the greatest idea.

In this case neither parent is recovering from child birth. One parent can stay home full time to take care of one or two or three babies. The working parent is the head of an agency and has the luxury of being able to come and go as he needs and go home if he is needed - he can even be driven by his chauffeur. He can also have the babies safely come to his humongous office to visit.

All this in addition to the bloody obvious - infants SLEEP most of the time. they sleep, they eat, they poop and then they pretty much go back to sleep.

You do not need TWO GROWN ASS MEN to take care of two infants all day long.

This is so unseemly and so typically male entitlement that it just lowers him in my eyes. He has terrible judgment and he is a selfish person. What did he do all day while the babies slept?

That he took such an indulgence during the pandemic is even lower.

R72 how many premature newborn twins have you taken care of? I know many of you weird gays hate or dislike kids, but why can’t you see you are completely backing up the heteronormative society you claim to dislike? Chasten is “the wife”, Pete is “the man” and should not be home taking care of his kids at a crucial time for the family. Do you believe everything would be different with the supply-situation if he did not take paternity-leave? Do you want politicians who can’t lead a balanced life? Every parent should have the possibility to have some paid leave when they have a baby. Kids that are well taken care of are less likely to be a drain on your tax-money, become drug-addicts, go on welfare, and are more likely to become productive members of society. Can you please look at the big picture and consider what may give the biggest benefit over all? You can dislike children all you want, and think that they are not your responsibility. They will still grow up to be productive or criminal or something else, and it is of benefit to all of us if resources are put towards raising healthy kids.

[quote] Kids that are well taken care of are less likely to be a drain on your tax-money, become drug-addicts, go on welfare, and are more likely to become productive members of society.

Maybe Joe should have taken parental leave when Hunter was born.

R72 I wonder how men in the military who serve overseas feel about Pete? They are away from their families, many of them not able to be there when their wives gave birth and have never seen their newborns in person.

Anyone with half a brain, would know that if you are in a position of responsibility, you don't take weeks off during a time of crisis.

Pete is a CABINET member, for fuck's sake.

And whether you stans like it or not, his job IS related to the supply crisis. Even if he has to pretend that he's doing something, then fucking DO it. At least TRY to look like you care.

He's not doing that. And he's getting defensive about WHY he's not at work.

Any way you slice it, this whole thing looks bad.

GET. BACK. TO. WORK.

R72 Newborns sleep a lot whether premature or not.

I love babies and children. I love gay men. WTF are you talking about?

Premature babies are taken care of in the hospital until they are safe to go home.

How would these babies NOT be taken care of if they were only with one parent during working hours? This has nothing to do with leading a balanced life. Your horror stories are irrelevant to this story. None of your dire predictions are related to the fact that one parent who has NOT GIVEN BIRTH and does not need recovery can handle two infants who sleep most of the time. Hell he doesn't even have to figure out and maneuver breast feeding 2 infants at the same time.

There is needed leave and there is taking advantage unneeded leave. Pete is taking advantage.

I suppose I could have replied to your screed with one word

MARY!

"If he wishes to have children, good on him. To do so at the expense (on many levels) of the populace - and his job - is at best, unprofessional and worst, unacceptable."

So, no one who works for the government should be allowed to take parental leave, because to do so would be at the expense of the populace? That's total bullshit and you know it. And who the fuck are you to decide who merits parental leave and who doesn't? As a gay man with absolutely no parental aspirations I will never benefit from parental leave, but it doesn't harm me in any way. When one of my colleagues goes out on parental leave a substitute is hired -which is good for the economy.

[quote] Maybe Joe should have taken parental leave when Hunter was born.

Actually the Biden boys are not good examples. Besides being injured, they witnessed their mother and sister die in that accident. Their father did consider resigning to help them through this but he was persuaded to stay in congress and he commuted every day to be home with them. That is how you live up to your responsibilities and still be a good parent. That is a balanced life. That is how you teach your children.

[quote] So, no one who works for the government should be allowed to take parental leave

Not when you are a member of the President's cabinet, and during a time of crisis that is related to your job.

Pete's a snowflake, a weak sister.

R110’s points are spot on.

R112 makes points also; yet fails to recognise that even WOMEN sometimes have difficulty with work in regards to parental leave currently in the US. They are the ones that birthed the children and feed the children from their corporeal systems.

Until parental leave is universally acknowledged for women here in the USA, parental leave for males who do NOT BIRTH the babies remains a bit of a conundrum.

When parental leave following birth is acknowledged across the board in this country (as it is in many places abroad), then this issue for paternal leave may not be a big deal.

But for now it remains so.

Pete’s is tone-deaf and inappropriate in the current climate given:

1) Adoption of the infants (they primarily eat and sleep) and Pete nor his partner are recovering from a birth process.

2) The small amount of time Pete has been at his position (literally months).

3) The new administration and the transportation issues currently beleaguering the country.

4) There is no need for a federal official to take off TWO months of work for “paternity leave” when he has assistance at home AND when essential workers have had to work tirelessly throughout the pandemic, with or without the birth of their infants.

[quote] So, no one who works for the government should be allowed to take parental leave

Obviously there’s a difference in importance between a Cabinet position and a secretary.

If China bombed the US, would you say, “Oh well, the Secretary of Defense is on paternity leave.” Some jobs are more important than others.

👑Candace Owens has spoken!

“ Fact: @PeteButtigieg taking 2 months for paternity leave in the middle of a national transportation crisis is sickeningly pathetic. Privileged times have produced the weakest men that have ever lived in America.

Remove this little boy from office.

#BringBackManlyMen

LOL, R89

Joe needs to rescind Pete's leave, and order him back to work.

This is going to keep gaining steam.

Even Democrats are annoyed by this story.

[quote] Candace Owens has spoken!

And, like Tucker Carlson, she’ll be immediately labeled homophobic which takes the focus off why Pete can’t work.

[quote]And no one comments on Tucker Carlson's cunty and homophobic crack about Pete "learning how to breastfeed?"

Thread here.

Over at the Herman Cain Awards subreddit, Candace Owens has gained a reputation as the Grim Reaper because so many of the idiots who approvingly quote her insane anti-vaccine, anti-masking tweets go on to die from Covid.

R116 MARY right back at you. This issue is bigger than Pete and his twins. Maternity- and paternity-leave matters for the society as a whole. He is setting a good example.

R127, so? It's a fair observation. But god forbid we recognize the obvious.

Please, Tucker, don't ever do this again. Don't even make me agree with you.

[quote] So, no one who works for the government should be allowed to take parental leave, because to do so would be at the expense of the populace? That's total bullshit and you know it. And who the fuck are you to decide who merits parental leave and who doesn't? As a gay man with absolutely no parental aspirations I will never benefit from parental leave, but it doesn't harm me in any way. When one of my colleagues goes out on parental leave a substitute is hired -which is good for the economy.

Well, there appears to be no “substitute” hired for Pete’s job, R117, huh? So much for the economy, huh..which by the way, is limping along.

All we see is that Pete is being dragged for taking so much time off when everyone else has been struggling during the pandemic.

I think his decisions are poor; and his timing poor. So far not impressed with his tenure, although I did have higher hopes for him. These are my perceptions only. Your perceptions are yours.

I’ve seen bigger balls on my female colleague I mentioned above in the thread.

Pete’s now coming across as an unfortunate complainer. And a caricature,

Will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

DL is the only non exclusively right wing site attacking Pete over this. Even the far left Young Turks defended him.

R123, that moron didn't even finish college. Every one of these idiots the right worships is stupider than the next. She also inspires terrorists. Rancid cunt.

[quote]So much for the economy, huh..which by the way, is limping along.

You know why? Because the fucking Republicans and their two Dem whores won't let the economy bounce back with a bill that could do so much. It isn't the decisions being made that are hurting us, it's the right-wing roadblocks *preventing* full recovery.

The right-wing is in fact destroying this country solely to get power back. Pete being with his babies will never be the problem.

"Rancid cunt" is too good for her, r133.

[quote] won't let the economy bounce back with a bill that could do so much.

Where do you think the money for that is coming from? You must be one of those freaks that believes this won’t cost the taxpayer one cent.

And with ships stuck in port, how do you think the materials will get to their project sites? You think the American steel industry is just going to pop back into action and get massive amounts of raw materials to the necessary building site?

Do you understand that economists are predicting that interest rates are going to rise. Nobody will be buying anything if they do.

It's amazing that Pete, Kamala and AOC will take the time to discuss anything but that which is directly related to their jobs.

[quote] Whenever you see an OP or any post on the data lounge with this many upvotes, you know it's sock puppets at work. Give it a rest.

Bullshit. I have one account and I've gotten a huge number of WWs for my sarcastic post. I am not a troll-- I just think it's ridiculous that Buttigieg took time off during such a crisis for the country. I'd think that if a Trump official took time off, or if Gandhi took time off. I think it's irresponsible and selfish to have a kid (much less two) at this point in time. I'd think that if it were a straight couple too.

[quote] I just think it's ridiculous that Buttigieg took time off during such a crisis for the country. I'd think that if a Trump official took time off, or if Gandhi took time off. I think it's irresponsible and selfish to have a kid (much less two) at this point in time. I'd think that if it were a straight couple too.

^^THIS!!

Does anyone believe Pete and Chasten do not have nannies doing the heavy lifting at home?

I think *you're* amazing, r137, I really do. You simply amaze me.

R14 Absolutely.

I’m a gay biracial atheist from a multi-racial / multi-cultural city of 100k 30 minutes outside of Boston. I can speak spanglish and patois for christ sakes.

Not hating the rich, not hating men, not hating million year-old gender norms doesn’t make me a fucking right wing hillbilly.

And the fact that you would assume that based on what I said just shows why I no longer identify as liberal.

R140 No, and little heavy lifting is needed as the twins are going to be sleeping more than anything else

[quote] Does anyone believe Pete and Chasten do not have nannies doing the heavy lifting at home?

I believe they have MANnies. I also believe one of them will file a MeToo lawsuit in a year or two because Chasten didn’t want to lift his caftan and Mayor Pete went looking elsewhere.

R129 Bullshit.

How many men in this country can afford fucking paternity leave besides white affluent men?

So he goes on MSNBC yesterday to talk about Tucker Carlson and then today on CNN to talk about Tucker Calrson....over an issue that most Americans (right or wrongly) would probably agree with Tucker on.

It kinda shows how clueless the guy is.

Just keep your mouth shut and do your job.

Tucker Carlson is an amoeba. The man has no brain cells left. He's an asshole and a moron. Wipe him off the face of TV!

[quote] How many men in this country can afford fucking paternity leave besides white affluent men?

Even they don’t want to take it. I remember Tony Blair’s wife being mad because he only took like two weeks.

The tide is turning on Pete.

He’s revealed himself to be a smarmy, selfish douche.

R145 not bullshit. They should have paid paternity -leave.

[quote] So he goes on MSNBC yesterday to talk about Tucker Carlson and then today on CNN to talk about Tucker Calrson....over an issue that most Americans (right or wrongly) would probably agree with Tucker on.

Additionally, most Americans wouldn’t have known he said it if these shows didn’t perpetuate what was said. It’s not like Fox News viewers called up their liberal friends and said, “Guess what Tucker just said.”

Pete, gurl you in trouble. The media is not your friend.

The Republicans are so SHOCKED that let Biden positions might be unstaffed. Surely, this will be the wake up call they need to on the nominees they are blocking.

[quote]And with ships stuck in port, how do you think the materials will get to their project sites? You think the American steel industry is just going to pop back into action and get massive amounts of raw materials to the necessary building site?

Do me a favor? Don't mention the port situation as a cudgel against the govt which is not responsible for what is going on. Stop lying about who actually controls the situation.

[quote]I'd think that if a Trump official took time off,

He took time off after his kid was born to go fuck a porn star. He also took time off every fucking day to watch FOX and tweet. Weekends: Golf. Every fucking weekend.

[quote] This issue is bigger than Pete and his twins. Maternity- and paternity-leave matters for the society as a whole. He is setting a good example.

No, you just don't get it.

This IS the issue. People taking benefits that they don't need and by doing so that hurts others.

We are quick to condemn people who take advantage of government subsidies or other benefits when technically they may qualify but realistically and morally the benefit was never designed for them.

I can never defend this kind of getting it over. I hope we find out that he didn't really absent himself from work for 2 months or even one month or weeks.

And no he is not setting an example for anything except selfishness and male entitlement.

Is Pete still pretending he just happened to adopt a pair of boy/girl twins which were obviously the result of IVF? I wonder how many woman undergo IVF, carry twins to term and then say... nah, I don't want them. I think I'll give them to that nice gay couple.

-- Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris

I wouldn’t mind him taking some time off, but two months is a bit excessive in his situation.

Pete was also on Meet the Press this morning and Chuck Toad brought up the paternity leave thing, but refused to mention Tucker Carlson by name.

That was where Pete stated that parenting new born babies is "work".

[quote]Buttigieg needs to apologize to America. He is a disgrace staying at home when the country is in desperate situation with transportation issues.

Yeah, but what does he really “do” to help with the desperate situation. It’s not like he’s any hands-on work. His work as head of department can be done remotely for a few weeks.

You right-wing cunts worshipped a president who spent all day watching TV and tweeting while his kids took vacations all over the world on the tax payer's dime and you have the fucking nerve to get angry Pete is taking time off? Trump hasn't done an honest day's work in his entire life. And by the way, Pete is taking care of his newborn children. The last time your pig-god had a newborn he left the mother, his THIRD wife, to go fuck a porn star and sexually harass a reporter. And none of you hypocritical Christian slimebags had a problem with that.

Fuck every single gay man who is going along with this right-wing smear campaign if any of you really are gay men. I think it's mostly right-wing trolls, and I hope every single one of you drops dead immediately if not sooner.

R160 dearie, we're not all rightwing cunts, we're also progressive gay men who are appalled at Pete acting like an entitled little twat.

R159, what’s the matter, did your Grindr friend not show up?

Trump is no longer in office. Pete is. It’s about moving forward, not repeating the same mistakes of previous administrations.

[Quote]How many men in this country can afford fucking paternity leave besides white affluent men?

Paternity leave is paid leave, racist moron.

People don’t seem to understand. The issue isn’t a man taking paternity leave. The issue is a Cabinet Secretary taking paternity leave. It is not the same as a civil servant taking leave.

And as for him setting a good example for taking paternity leave? Sorry but he has more important things to do than set examples.

Maybe he and the DOT can help solve this issue. Maybe they cannot. However, what I can say is that many people have jobs and lives that depend on getting this shit sorted out and he needs to be trying.

I work for a government agency. Trust me when I say not having the Secretary around does create issues.

R163 you don't get paid paternity leave when you've only been in a job for 6 months. Not even in allegedly progressive Europe. You get fired if you pull the shit Pete did.

R159 It isn’t a few weeks. Its two months!

R160, Mental Health Hotline - 1-800-950-6264

Pete's arrogance and narcissism are truly shocking. He thinks people are idiots and everybody's supposed to indulge him. He's in the wrong profession. He should go back to McKinsey, he's a typical slimey, dishonest McKinsey drone.

This is not about Tucker Carlson or Sunny Hostin's torn placenta or breastfeeding but about a man who 7 months into a cabinet position paid for with our tax dollars took an unnecessary leave of absence at the wrong time.

R150 It’s total bullshit.

You know what these guys in offices do with their paternity leave? They go out and fucking golf for 3 months.

Human nature dynamics don’t need 2 parents at home for babies and children. Someone always goes out and hunts. Even lesbians, you’ve got the breast feeder and the bread winner who goes out and does their job.

Like this is a very new concept that isn’t necessary.

[quote] And no one comments on Tucker Carlson's cunty and homophobic crack about Pete "learning how to breastfeed?"

How is it homophobic to point out that a man doesn't lactate?

R171 They / them must have been confused. It’s not homophobic it’s transphobic and literal violence.

R172 Chasten has transitioned?

R173, Yes, from F to M.

Pete needs to keep his nose clean for when he runs for POTUS again in 2024.

before biden was elected, we all knew the supply chain was gonna get hit. doesn't anyone remember the big toilet paper panic? but today, does buttigieg have any solutions? other than defending gay parenthood?

Pete's hair looked exceptionally dark on Meet the Press this morning.

Grecian Formula?

The toilet paper panic was easily explained in that the manufacturers had to quickly retool their process to produce more home use product. Whether that was the truth or not, people believed it.

The other day, Pete said there were supply chain issues because Biden brought us out of a recession. People may be gullible but they aren’t that stupid.

Why has Biden yet to give Beto a role in his administration like he said he would during the 2020 campaign?

All that they have are lies and twisted interpretations of the truth, r153.

You sound like a whiny, entitled, narcissistic CRYBABY R160.

Just like Pete.

[quote] Why has Biden yet to give Beto a role in his administration like he said he would during the 2020 campaign?

Good question.

Here’s a solution: replace Pete with Beto. Pete can hang out with Chasten and his twins all day, everyday. He seems to want to do this more than his job as cabinet secretary of the Department of Transportation.

Anyone on Twitter?

#ReplaceButtigiegwithBeto

Win/Win for all!

Wow. How did so many freepers find there way over here this morning?

Guys, if you want to troll properly you have to act like you'r not a ravingly mad right winger right from the start. Ease into it.

R160 All gay men here. There are no straight men coming to this site, you paranoid freak. The Breitbart crowd doesn’t even know this website exists. Death wishes right back at ya’, you entitled little bitch!

R184 Breathe. Let it go. Your happiness is in direct correlation with your ability to let this shit go.

R183 why are you DISCOUNTING the legitimate feelings and criticisms of DEMOCRATS who have every right to complain about this?

You seem to think that every single Democrat, Progressive, Biden voter should absolutely and unequivocally agree that it's perfectly fine for Pete - the United States Transportation Secretary and member of the President's Cabinet - to take TWO MONTHS off, during a transportation supply crisis in the United States.

We're all supposed to indulge him in his mommy daycare fantasies, and pretend that it's all fine for him to be absent from his job for two months, while the US Department of Transportation just "makes due" without him??

You are a fucking despicable cunt. Oh sorry, ENABLER cunt.

[quote] Wow. How did so many freepers find there way over here this morning?

That’s just it, R183. We are not “freepers”.

[quote]Guys, if you want to troll properly you have to act like you'r not a ravingly mad right winger right from the start. Ease into it.

Just because we don’t support a fellow Democrat who won’t do his job because “parenting is hard work!”.....”I need TWO MONTHS off for paternal leave (while I’ve been in the job only 7 months”) doesn’t constitute “trolling”.

Many of us have worked tirelessly during the pandemic and have no time for lazy, entitled “freepers”: regardless of what party they align with.

Pete should have borrowed Kayleigh's "hot economy" catchphrase while answering Tapper.

Bringing your home life To the office is usually frowned upon, whether female or male. Pete is a man; 2 weeks off to show Chasten some support and spend time getting to know the kids would have sufficed. It’s what straight men usually do, not 2 fucking months and certainly not after 7 fucking months on the job and definitely not if you’re the breadwinner. I don’t recognize his choices; but to each their own.

Pete is laying the groundwork for his 2024 campaign for POTUS.

By then, the twins will be adorably photogenic for all the "at home" profiles the family will appear in, cover of PEOPLE, 60 Minutes, etc.

Unlike 2020, Pete will be husband and father.

I liked Pete, despite his insane call to pack the Supreme Court, until this. I am disappointed at how stupid and privileged he sounds.

Pete is reading this whole situation wrong. Biden is Old School. You do your job and you keep your nose to the grindstone. Biden is not going to take kindly to showboating Documentaries and public feuds. You think Biden is watching Petes antics and thinking "thatta boy"?....Hell No..

Here we go...Little Gay Petey is too stupid to realize he has given Tucker exactly what Tucker wanted = a punching bag. I would have publicly said "Fuck Tucker. I refuse to engage this loser or comment on anything he has to say".....But not Smarty Pants Pete, who is in for a whole new round of insults this week and he brought it all on himself. I seriously wonder if Pete doesn't still smoke weed. Something is off with this guy. Saying you are "PROUD" of taking paid leave when so many Americans don't get it? This guy is all amateur..

R183 trolling also involves robotically, repeatedly invoking Boris, Klan grannies, Nazi's, Repugs, ant-vaxers, flyover stans, FOX/OAN watchers . . .

Tucker Carlson is a fat, sell-out cunt

This is in the same category of Kamala being the border czar, yet she is everywhere but at the border.

R190 he's wasting his time. He'll never be President

He won't be anything if he keeps this shit up. But at the rate things are going Republicans will be in power for 20 years after 2024.

Even if he can't fix the problem, he needs to be the face of Administration showing they're working at it. He needs to be holding press conferences, he needs to be on the Sunday morning shows, and cable news talking about it. Not appearing to be hiding out at home playing house.

Yesterday I was reading some of the tweeting Right Wingers comments on Buttigieg. They are just shredding him on every level. I would have posted a link but God Forbid I would have been called a Fox Trump Cult Member.

Why the fuck is he inside a studio in Traverse City? What an idiot!

FF R193 who is a straight fuckhead

I am beginning to think Chasten is a Nagger and Pete is his doormat. "You aren't leaving me here with TWO kids to take care of all by myself. I gave up my teaching for you. Why can't you be more supportive? I never asked for any of this. You love your job more than you love me"...

R85 are you forgetting Trump?

Pete had the media slobbering all over him during the primary. He's a genius! He speaks 8 languages! None of which is true. I could only think it was because he sucked up massively to every media type he ever met. Interesting that one of the reasons he claimed he was qualified to be President was because he was a Rhodes Scholar.So was Cory Booker but he also had a law degree.

If you've ever known any Rhodes Scholars, their major quality is the ability to suck up to whomever has power over them. They're desperately ambitious types like Pete, Cory and Bill Clinton.

R89 no one said the props are causing anyone to starve. Yet, even Andy Cohen, Neil Patrick Harris and Anderson Cooper didn't take time off when their props arrived.

It's totally cool to question Pete's decision to stay at home and be with his newborns. But it's another thing to act like he killed every puppy on earth in the process. The punishment doesn't fit the crime.

Let me guess: Most of you angry "Democrats" also think Biden is senile and Kamala is the actual president, right?

No, R207, I desperately want Biden and Co. to succeed. Being aware of the optics of a situation is critical.

R207 No one thinks Kamala is or could be the actual President except Biden perhaps.

"Who's angry", R209? Um.

Have you read the thread?

I could be reading it wrong. It could just be gays being jealous of Pete or something like that. Who knows?

I guess I don't see a person staying at home with his two premature newborns as the worst thing since Hitler.

[quote] No, [R207], I desperately want Biden and Co. to succeed. Being aware of the optics of a situation is critical.

Second that, R208. After the trauma of the Trump years, the US has a great deal to deal with. Biden needs all the help he can get, and frankly it’s shocking that Buttigieg is lollygagging around when a great deal is at stake.

He’s adopted. Okay. But frankly, that’s irrelevant. What is relevant is that he does his job: especially when the Department of Transportation needs all hands on deck.

This is a distraction from the Dem agenda and the last thing Biden needs. He and his administration have tons (of cargo issues and [bold] other [/bold] issues to deal with.

Buttigieg is thus far not living up to his end of the bargain.

His actions have shown that it’s farcical he was even considered presidential material.

Pete has always been incompetent. I knew he would fail as Transportation Secretary. But taking on FOX?. They have an entire network to attack him 24-7!! From morning till night they are going piss all over Mayor Pete. And Pete is going to war over "paternity leave" when you have only been on the job for 28 weeks? Idiot!!

R210 and no one is comparing what Pete to Hitler but those who see nothing the matter with Pete taking a leave of absence often compare posters who disagree to Nazis. Who's angry?

R210 look, Chasten, get off the DL. The nanny can't do it all.

#TeplaceButtigiegwithBeto

#REPLACEButtigiegwithBeto

Serious Question = WHAT has Buttigieg ever done for the gay community? Does he look like an ally or does he look like the guy who ridicules the average LGBTQ person? If you don't recognize a snobby queen like Pete you really need to get around more. Pete is not a leader, he is an Opportunist who only cares about himself.

It's not like Transportation Secretary requires any great skills or knowledge. Let's not forget that Mitch McCuntbag's corrupt and completely unqualified wife previously held this position just prior to Pete.

The hyperbolic hallelujah chorus of PR flacks for this Administration must think we're all idiots. It's become as obvious as a flashing neon sign in the sky that this is the worst Cabinet of any President in memory. None of the Cabinet Secretaries seem to be doing a competent job, and most are nowhere to be found (unless self-promotion is involved). They need to put up a Missing Person's poster for this Cabinet. I think they'll find Brian Laundrie before they'll find a competent Cabinet Secretary in this Administration.

Oh, bless your heart, r219.

A gay man in the Cabinet and a woman of color as VP. Not the most important qualifications

R218 sounds like a waste of tax payer dollars from what you believe and perhaps Buttplug is proving how unnecessary and wasteful he and the Cabinet position are.

Biden's cabinet is a problem. Garland, Blinken, Mayorkas and now Pete are all useless, scoring own goals. The problem must reside with Biden: he couldn't bear to have somebody in the cabinet who might challenge him. He must love suck-ups. Sign of a mediocrity.

And in 2024 unless he gets his act together fast and cleans up his cabinet, we're going to have the Dimestore Mussolini back and the end of democracy.

Pete has no idea what he has done. The Right Wing now have their token gay to rip to shreds. Examples of what they are saying ==== "It’s clear Pete Buttigieg was hired because he’s gay. After 6 months on the job he takes 2 months off?!"======="If two months of inactivity could slip by the reporters who cover DOT without notice, Buttigieg probably wasn’t doing much of anything in the time period between taking office and starting his paternity leave."======"And despite the mainstream media’s claims, Buttigieg wasn’t the first openly gay man to serve in a cabinet-level position, Richard Grenell was"====Biden has 100 headaches and watching Pete trade girly insults with Tucker is not going to go over well.

R224 copy and pasted the troll points from the email he received from this right wing group.

I wonder if Pete realizes that President Biden can fire him at any time?

He sure is acting high-and-mighty, for a person in an appointed position.

I thought the Trump Cult was bad. Turns out the Petey Posse is not that great either.

Premature? Do you get a cash back if the breed mare doesn't carry them to full term?

I don't trust Pete any more after this. His inability to see that the country is in crisis and that he should be busting his ass to do something about it is a let down. He sounds like some fucking frau in Walmart rather than a trusted civil servant .

Alright you big baby, [bold]I’ll[/bold] apologize to Tucker Carlson.

Tucker, I apologize. I apologize for thinking, quite correctly, that you’re a rightwing shitbag propagandist who’s helping overthrow democracy in America.

R217 I'll have to circle back on that question

R123 = Candace Owens called Pete a BOY!!!.....BWAH hahahahaha!!!......I called this yesterday!!....Pete should have said "I will not dignify Tucker with a response"....But Amateur Pete stepped right into and now he has 500 Fox Loons taking him down at once!!!....Biden, Kamala and Biden Chief of Staff Klain cannot be happy about Buttigieg right now. Look for "staffing changes" coming Buttigiegs way sooner than later..Another Pete failure.

Pete was not ready for a Cabinet position and neither is Marty Walsh, the Secretary of Labor and former Mayor of Boston. Most fellow Massachusetts residents would agree with me.

[quote] I don't trust Pete any more after this. His inability to see that the country is in crisis and that he should be busting his ass to do something about it is a let down. He sounds like some fucking frau in Walmart rather than a trusted civil servant .

Same here.

I think Pete over played his hand.

He was banking on the Wokesters, the SJWs and the PC police to come to his rescue and defend his decision to stay home for two months, so he can be a good and nurturing "mommy" frau.

Little did he expect that absolutely no one is coming to his defense.

Because his stance is INDEFENSIBLE.

At least Jake Tapper had the balls to give Pete a slight knife twist at the end of their interview, which appeared to surprise him.

Yeah this isn't Pete's fault and he can't do anything about it. I don't know why he would be blamed either, he doesn't have that much power anyways. He can't control when he becomes a parent via adoption as well as others would think. I mean, two months is long for paternity leave, especially considering he has a cabinet position, I will give you guys that. I think conservatives saw the photo of him and Chasten in the hospital and now that made him a target. So they will nitpick and obsess over everything he does, same way with AOC, Bernie, or Pelosi.

What did Tapper say?

I mean why be so open about being on a leave? People are working from home now.

He could have been at home these last two months and still overseeing his job with a baby in his arm on zoom. Even if some assistant is doing all the real work. Why say you've been gone at just the time his job seems important. I mean when else did anyone ever pay attention to secretary of the treasury?

^^ stopped reading r236 after 'anyways.'

R236, the point is that even if he CAN'T do anything he can at least try to LOOK LIKE he's doing something.

Can you understand that?

But right now, he is digging in and being a bitch about it, when what he SHOULD be doing is going back to Washington and saying how he's trying to make things better. ' Even if he has to lie about it.

[quote] Premature? Do you get a cash back if the breed mare doesn't carry them to full term?

They're milking this. They're twins - that's not uncommon. They were probably a but small nd a bit early but didn't we see them holding them at the hospital posing for the press. So not like they were in NICU in danger or something.

These 2 are total drama queens. We have no time for that shit. And women who have had to bear this burden from the beginning of time do not need to hear this pathetic whining.

Do you know how long it took us to get MATERNITY leave? Fuck these appropriators.

It was also so odd that they posed in a hospital bed in that photo. Like they were pretending they gave birth.

In politics one never accepts that nothing can be done in crisis. This is a crazy notion that nothing can be done. It's lazy and thoughtless. Great leaders find a way to at the very least improve conditions until a solution can be achieved

[quote] It was also so odd that they posed in a hospital bed in that photo. Like they were pretending they gave birth.

Isn't that odd?

Someone mentioned it in the Lance Bass twins thread, how gays have been domesticated into "pretend" straight people. It's really pathetic.

As if they're playing house.

God, this thread is troll central. Gay couples have been parents for at least the past 40 years. There are hundreds of youtube videos of gay men taking care of children they have adopted. People criticizing gay men as parents are probably NOT GAY!

Trump had 40 Cabinets members who were either criminally indicted or had to resign in disgrace. It takes a lot of nerve to say that Biden's cabinet is more incompetent. Does anyone remember who was Transportation Secretary under Trump? I'll refresh memories. It was Elaine Chao, who steered federal transportation projects to her husband's state and TO HER OWN FAMILY BUSINESS.

Every article has mentioned that Buttigieg has been responding to emails and phone calls related to his job. That's a far cry from being on full parental leave. Premature babies do more than eat and sleep. They scream......ENDLESSLY. - because their digestive systems are not fully developed and they are hungry 24/7. (Nutrients not retained and absorbed)..

According to a friend of mine who is in the trucking business, it has been short of truckers for the past 8 years or so. Even though the pay is pretty good, it's not a "prestige" job, so kids don't think of doing it right out of high school, as they did in the past. The problem with importing stuff from Asia, is that the West Coast only has 5 ports. San Diego (small), Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay, Portland, and Seattle. That's it. That's why any bottleneck at any point on the West Coast is a huge deal, especially now that we have outsourced so many manufactured products to China. If the goods were rerouted to East Coast or Gulf Coast ports, that would add days or weeks to the journey, a ton of money for additional fuel, and the facilities in those ports would not have the ancillary transportation in place to get those goods to their proper destinations.

^^ Now tell us more of what we already know.

r244, Buttigieg needs to be working on the problem and to stop making excuses.

[quote] I’ve said this before, this is why I can’t identify as a liberal anymore and sadly, this is why the rednecks hate them. You’ve got 2 fucking men in the household and they both have to stay at home and watch one fucking baby? What kind of bullshit is that.

Spending your time self hating is a waste of a life. Yeah, Pete Buttigieg is why your not liberal anymore. Uh huh.

R244, Your defense of Pete is weaker than a bamboo footbridge.

After Pete delivered a laughable, pearl clutching response to Tucker Carlson's remarks, Jake hit him with an obvious question @ 8:13.

[quote] Every article has mentioned that Buttigieg has been responding to emails and phone calls related to his job. That's a far cry from being on full parental leave. Premature babies do more than eat and sleep. They scream......ENDLESSLY. - because their digestive systems are not fully developed and they are hungry 24/7. (Nutrients not retained and absorbed)..

These newborns already have a stay-at-home parent and likely hired or family assistance.

It’s not as if Pete is a single parent with limited means juggling twins.

Also, as the newborns are well enough to be discharged from the hospital, their digestive systems can adequately absorb nutrients which, once again, can be dealt with by a full-time-stay-at-home parent.

Two months off in the middle of issues in the department that Buttigieg oversees is excessive.

As the poster above mentioned, your defense of Buttigieg’s suspect personal choices is flimsy.

Guess who's back at work today? Petey got shamed into understanding that his obligation to 300,000 million Americans is more important than sitting home with the babies, especially since Chasten is there to cuddle the babies

When is Pete going to be outted about the surrogate? nobody believes he adopted those kids. A narcissist like Pete would insist his genius DNA be perpetuated. Wonder where he got the eggs.

[quote] Wonder where he got the eggs.

Chasten’s really a woman. They’re posing as a gay couple to get diversity points.

R248 And yet a bamboo footbridge is still stronger than your bitchy, spineless, online worm self.

Well I guess the people defending Pete's two month leave were wrong about it.

He went back to work. That speaks volumes.

Going back to work in the middle of his leave is a tacit acknowledgement that he was neglecting urgent issues. His return just happens to coincide with rising criticism? Seems things weren't that intense/urgent at home after all. He should have stayed at home, to "prove" how serious things were at home.

Tucker Carlson engaged in gaybaiting. It is disgusting. Good for Buttigieg.

Nero: . . . while Rome burned

Pete: . . . while babies slept

[quote] He went back to work. That speaks volumes.

He started the leave in August so he probably only had about two weeks left on it.

R84 that is a good damn point. Pete abs Chasten, mainly Chasten, were talking about how hard it was to find decent sized apartment in DC. Despite Pete’s six figure salary, million dollar net worth from his book sales, and Chasten choosing to stat home. Well, Chastens aid that they are too high profile for him to find a job. Jill Biden probably wanted to slap him for that bullshit.

These two are tone deaf. We already knew Pete would use those children as a political shield. I have parents that work in shipping and in the airline industry. Both worked, in person, throughout the pandemic putting their health at risk because they need the money and the country needed their services (well maybe not the airline).

For Pete to take this much time when he has a spouse sitting at home is ridiculous. But what’s worse is that he didn’t want to come back when he saw his nation struggle under his department’s responsibilities. I want as President that doesn’t mind getting into the weeds. Biden stuck his knock out for that OSHA mandate and especially with Afghanistan. But he’s doing what needs to be done for the nation, not his personal gain. That’s a leader.

Pete has time to course correct, and he might not have made a difference if he was on leave (taking some calls and meetings) or in the office, but the captain man’s the ship when the going gets tough.

Pete, cut the leave “short” and get back into the office.

[quot]For Pete to take this much time when he has a spouse sitting at home is ridiculous.

Who the fuck are you?

It vaguely reminds me of the wine cave stuff. Just elite lifestyle problems, unconcerned with the little people things like the availability of goods at Walmart. It's like taking time off to coordinate the redecoration of one's summer home: it's very senatorial.

All the Democratic primary candidates at one point went to Homestead in Florida to see the facilities where migrant kids were being kept. Pete showed up with some media. But unlike the other candidates, when he was asked by the organizers to go speak to the kids (especially as he claims he speaks Spanish), he refused saying he didn't have time he needed to go to some TV studios for an interview. So it was just a Pete photo op. He's such a phony.

The person who pays his fucking salary, R261.

I really want to know what he did with all his time free time. Did he spend hours cooing into this babies' ears? Did he write lullabies on his guitar? Annoying them while they tried to sleep? Sleep - one of the prime jobs of a baby apart from eating and pooping.

Maybe he spent time in the kitchen with Chasten concocting home made gourmet baby food since they weren't being breast fed. Chasten can become an influencer on SM as the Baby Chef.

Here's a tip. This is not really a bonding time for a father/non-biological parent. The baby is barely aware of its surroundings. if you wanted to take time off to "bond" then take it when the baby is older and recognizes you and can truly engage. Otherwise there is enough time on a daily basis while you live your normal life (working etc) for the baby to get used to you - your smell, your voice, your face.

Lol.

Pete is getting dragged by everyone. Left and right.

He really miscalculated.

Biden to Pete: "Theater owners voted you box office poison."

R261 a working taxpayer that's who the fuck I am! A leave of absence after 7 months on the job to watch 2 newborns sleep? WTF!

r264 just proved he knows absolutely nothing about child development.

:"Still, the first few days of life are believed to offer an optimum opportunity for bonding to take place. Standard practice in most U.S. hospitals allows mothers and babies as much time as possible together after birth. Even when babies are born ill or premature, the importance of bonding is recognized. Whenever possible, health care providers in intensive care units try to create opportunities for parents to spend time holding and caring for their babies.

Dads and siblings, too Babies who are held and comforted when they need it during the first six months of life tend to be more secure and confident as toddlers and older children. Is it important for fathers to bond with their babies? Absolutely. New fathers often feel less confident than new mothers around a baby, and may feel excluded in the close relationship that develops between the mother and baby. If a baby is breastfed, fathers may be uncertain about what activities they can engage in with the new baby.

Like mothers, fathers need quiet time to spend holding their new babies close, gazing into their eyes, talking to them and comforting them when distressed. Fathers may wish to take walks with their babies tucked into a Snugli-type carrier or simply hold a quiet baby while reading or watching TV."

Please. R268. What does that prove? Of course they tell fathers that now. But it's not for the baby. That's to get the father engaged. The baby doesn't know who's holding it or comforting it. It does know who's nursing it. But again babies sleep much of the time as you may know since you went scurrying off to find some claptrap to defend Pete with. LOL!

Notice what's missing in your finding: nowhere does it say this is an all day continual thing. This is all pretty well known and common sense. It is also common sense that you do not need 2 parents full time taking care of babies.

Have you never taken care of small babies yourself? If you have been around babies and toddlers in any meaningful way then you'd know I was right to begin with.

r269 Sorry, idiot. I have 11 nieces and nephews and I have been involved in all of their lives since their births. I have rocked and held and hugged and changed more diapers than you could ever dream of.

Some here didn't get enough hugs as kids.

Approach With Caution....Exploding Heads

He answered back at Franklin Graham when he was running to president. Franklin isn't a troll like Fucker Carlson.

R270 = Were you always Hetero-Normative? Also 11 nephews and nieces? I'm no expert--and correct me if I'm wrong--but those sound like Trailer Park numbers..

R264 child rearing isn't no joke. You need more than one person with that. There's a raison SAHM are often overwhelmed. Especially in the toddler years

"child rearing isn't no joke."

Oh, dear!

I wish Pete (or somebody!) would kick Tucker’s ass.

This idiot above with his 11 child army doesn't address the main issue here: do you need 2 parents full time around infants and small babies?

"You need more than one person" - well, duh! Chasten is';t a single parent. There ARE 2 parents. They just don't need to both be home 24/7 making intense eye contact and swaddling their spawn. LOL!

[quote] Lol.

[quote] Pete is getting dragged by everyone. Left and right.

Deservedly so.

[quote] He really miscalculated.

This should be a no brainer. If Buttigieg chooses to adopt children I n his highest profile role amidst national troubles, and then [bold] chooses [/bold] to prioritize his personal life over his professional one, that is fine. That being the case, he should [bold] relinquish [/bold] the role to someone who will give it everything they have. I am am confident someone (whether female or male) could step up to the plate to actually work rather than demanding two months off a few months into their tenure.

I know we thought Buttigieg could be a serious potential politician for the US, but this clearly demonstrates he does not have what it takes.

This, his controversial tenure as a small town mayor, PR films, “wine cave” fêtes, promoting publicity over caged children and his questionable McKinsey history add up to a very disconcerting profile.

Buttigieg is a Log Cabin Republican.

R270 sorry idiot, but I don't believe your BS. I'm 1 of 4 children whose dad worked full time and my mother was able to care for my 2 younger siblings who were 15 months apart just fine and my dad was home after work and on weekends to engage with us. Besides infants mostly sleep anyway. Neighbors had 8 children and if it was so tough I think they would have opted to have fewer children.

I'll bet Biden called him up and told him he has to come back to work.

The bad optics of this affected Biden, as much as it affected Pete.

He needed a glorified vacation. A break.

Who thought his experience filling potholes in South Bend qualified him to be a Cabinet secretary? That person should be let go.

R284 'his experience filling potholes'

well it has something vaguely to do with transportation I suppose

R280 = "Buttigieg is a Log Cabin Republican"......YEP.....LINK......btw = It is sad Petes record in South Bend was widely ignored by the fawning Left Wing. Why didn't we hear CNN talking about Dominos fixing South Bend roads---during the primaries?.

Booty-pig is all self-promotion and it's back firing.

So to sum things up:

Last Friday, Tucker Carlson does a snarky piece about Pete's paternity leave.

5 days later Pete cuts his paternity leave short and gets back to work.

My employer offers paternity leave. Many guys do take it, and it's usually 2 WEEKS MAX. 2 months is ridiculous.

Pete's collapse is complete.

He will never be President.

If the flash of ones eyes could ignite the nylon strands of an antagonists hairpiece!

Joy Behar:

[quote]I’d like to just say that Pete Buttigieg served six years in the Navy Reserve and was deployed in Afghanistan. Tucker Carlson was booted off [italic]Dancing with the Stars[/italic] after he couldn’t even do the Cha Cha.

If it were up to Joy, Pete would still be home.

That's how out of touch she is.

Pete served in the naval reserves like the saintly Beau Biden served in the National Guard. Both of them had planned on being President since 6th grade and an (undangerous) military record was strictly to spruce up their resume to run for office.

R288 you summation suggest a limited purview. As restaurants are closing due to lack of help and stores are finding themselves with empty shelves and rising inflation Biden's poll numbers, no matter the poll, are all poor and the Biden appointed Secretary of Transportation makes a show of taking a leave of absence after 7 months on the JOB Old Joe decided. . .it's not like Chastain had a C-section or is experiencing post partum depression Pete comes off as insensitive, entitled and tone-deaf.

R295 Yes, and finally a cable new host exposes it and calls him out over it. Jim Acosta et al. certainly would not have.

'I'm not going to apologize to Tucker Carlson'! Well, in substance he did, by getting back to work.

I found it hilarious that Pete felt it necessary to clarify to Jake Tapper that he and Chasten are bottle feeding the babies in response to Tucker Carlson's "breastfeeding" remark.

Fuck Tucker Carlson, the little "gay panic" faking, fat whore.

Pete can have his "It's Premie Twins!" parental leave and not take any shit for it. Nobody's spouse should be left to deal with premie twins by himself. Pete should have stayed home and phoned it in.

And fuck Jake Tapper. I often like him but he's acting like a dick about this.

As most simple housewife of Indianas I no understand why two men must care for the babies. Babies no want two men, they want the mama. Is most confuse.

I was libreals just like yous until the homos they start grabbing up all the babies. Is not good thing for to do.

R297 are Pete and Chasten so out of touch with modern mothering/fathering that they do not know nothing replaces breast milk. Why haven't they hired a wet nurse?

Apologize NOW you filthy, little bitch!!!

Formula is fine for the kids. If they had a problem tolerating formula they'd hire a wet-nurse, they're fine with it.

[quote] Formula is fine for the kids . . . they're fine with it.

Formula is just not ideal. Breast milk is. Not just the milk but the act of lactation bonding with the child. The release of chemicals in the mother is one of the biological events that bond a mother to a child in a way I am afraid no piece of paper can.

But hey we can't have just one parent be a stay at home, they can't be fine with that rather normal life structure that many people grew up with.

I wonder how the surrogate feels about Pete using her uterus so he has an excuse to take a 3 month Paternity Leave?

Pete will be on The View to curb stomp right wing talking points into the ground.

^I forgot to say he's on tomorrow and Condi Rice as guest co-host as well.

Pete's whole idea of "work" is going on TV. He's basically the less rightwing version of Ted Cruz.

[quote] Pete will be on The View to curb stomp right wing talking points into the ground.

For fuck's sake, does this guy EVER work?

He just returned to Washington and now he's doing a talk show??

Pete is fucking CLUELESS.

He seems to be more concerned with his image, than doing the actual job he was appointed to do.

Pete is going on The View to promote his ShitTabulous Documentary. And give Tucker some new material. Prepare to see Buttigiegs Victim Act. Hey Obese Whoopie = Ask Pete about Dominos Pizza. Hey Joy = Ask Pete why he is lying about adoption when he clearly used a surrogate.

R298 and how do you feel about single mothers?

Katie Couric is also booked to be on "The View" soon to promote her book.

R310, Pete's main focus now is damage control.

our favourite gay rodent

It seems Pete has no problem leaving Chasten and the preemies behind to attend the climate change meeting in Scotland.

R315 c'mon, Pete's gotta meet the Queen for that chapter in the 31st volume of his memoirs.

"favourite"

I am so over this cunt.

We need a new out, gay Democratic politician to support.

I can't support this asshole.

I've been chuckling about those here claiming that Pete Buttigieg was '"forced to end his paternal leave and to go back to work prematurely" by Tucker Carlson's assholery. Those are math-challenged individuals. The Buttegiegs announced their adoption on August 17, 2021. Counting forward from that date, 8 weeks would have been October 9, about the time that Buttigieg resumed full-time work.

To answer someone above about my trailer park upbringing, I was a child of the 50s baby boom, born into a large Catholic family (in a stick-built house) with 7 sibilings. Not uncommon at the time, although now it's considered very unusual. Most of those siblings had 2 children - hence the 11 nieces and nephews. However, there are only 7 great nieces and nephews coming from those 11, and many are aging out of their maternity or paternity possibilities. So my large and close-knit family is shrinking rapidly as the generations move forward. To reiterate, I know ALL about babies, and don't accept lectures about what's normal and healthy for babies from people who haven't revealed anything about their OWN experience with children. Babies who have the maximum love and support around them in their earliest days simply do better on a wide variety of measures, including health, intelligence, emotional growth, etc. Who wouldn't want that for his/her child IF given a choice? To say otherwise is STUPID.

I was never personally interested in any sort of hetero-normative child-rearing or marriage-imitating life. But I don't see the value of trying to shame gay people who are interested in those things.

R319 nobody truly believes Pete is vaguely interested in child-rearing. All he's interested in was acquiring some photogenic tykes to get publicity to run for President again.

R319, and once again none of that necessitates two grown ass men staying home full time to care for 2 sleeping infants. For 2 months.

The question remains: wtf did they do for those 2 months with all that time?

R321 they could only tweet using their burner accounts

‘Newborn, infant twins’ from a surrogate! When he he acknowledge the real mother?

Thank you, r319.

R323 Pete claimed he only found out the day before that he was going to 'adopt' twins. Yeah, sure. Lying about the surrogate is what is going to be his downfall. There are NO newborn infants available for adoption - particularly male/female twins which are obviously the result of IVF..

Tucker Carlson is an asshole. Always has been, always will be, until his last miserable breath. Just like Trump.

R326 Ditto Booty-pig.

[quote] Pete claimed he only found out the day before that he was going to 'adopt' twins.

Did Chasten forget to tell him?

[quote] Pete claimed he only found out the day before that he was going to 'adopt' twins.

Caveat Emptor.

I like Pete, I've always liked him and he's definitely got a big future in the Democratic Party.

That's why the redneck Nazis are all over him now.

R330, Hi, Chasten!

[quote]That's why the redneck Nazis are all over him now.

They're certainly all over this thread. They just needed an excuse to release their vitriol.

R109 so clever, so unqualified Gotcha moments aren't really what the job requires

Peter could go back to Washington, Chasten is breast feeding.

R330 hey Chastain your wrong no one cared for him when he tried to run for President in 2019 and he was appointed by Biden whose poll numbers in every poll are low and Booty-pig will never be elected to another office not even Mayor of Provincetown. Reality bites.

[quote] Pete claimed he only found out the day before that he was going to 'adopt' twins. Yeah, sure. Lying about the surrogate is what is going to be his downfall.

This is why I do not believe Pete and Chasten met on Hinge. I think they met at a gay park or a bathhouse. I really do. If you ever watched HBO Game Change you know Candidates and their staff make up stories about themselves and their family. That's how Bristol revealed she was "engaged" at the same time they revealed she was knocked up--the McCain staff came up with that. Petes Staff came up with the Hinge lie....

In 2019 Pete describe himself as 'a laidback, intellectual, young, gay Mayor from the Midwest' on Real Time with Bill Maher

[quote] Tucker Carlson is an asshole. Always has been, always will be, until his last miserable breath.

Who cares? He's right about this.

If we find out that Paul Revere was a sexist salve owner would it change the reality of what he did? Should they just have ignored his warnings?

The Buttigiegs just need to shut the fuck up and do their jobs. This coming on the heels of Chasten's press remarks about how hard it is to live on Pete's salary!

I was a Pete defender for a long time.

What is funny is Pete is acting "offended" by Tucker. Look at ANY right wing sight that allows comments...LINK = Yes it is Brietbart but those comments posters are way off the charts compared to Tucker....You thought WE talked about Pete being a top or bottom? You thought WE made fun of Chasten?...We are saints compared to those crazies.

eply − Avatar SLC-MSY-KRK Cindy 4 days ago Because BummBoy Pete and his loving "husband" Little AnalTimmy are being groomed to be the USA's first ever gay couple in the White House, and their handlers want the perfect photo op, and infants make better optics (props) than older kids would.

My favorite comment from the Breitbart article. Savage.

R340, the thing I always noticed was they are looking at each other and not at the babies. Says a lot to me. A parent would naturally be drawn to the babies.

Now you're just getting silly.

They're such phonies.

Whoa! R343, you really don't get it do you?

It's all about laying the groundwork for 2024.

Gavin Newsom did it, as well . . . To overcome the scandal of sleeping with his campaign manager's wife and his rehab stay, he found a bride and began pumping out cute kids one after another.

This thread is like one big pathetic Buttigieg hating circle jerk. I am enjoying it though. Continue on…

[quote] Chasten is breast feeding.

She certainly has the tits for it!

Quite nice tits.

R239 he should not have made such a show of the props and his taking off after only 6 months on the job.

R347 so am I. I can't stand the little Pinnochio-faced freak!

Fresh Batch of Pete Comments from Right Wing site..These people make DL look like Lightweights....LoL ---->>"Mayor Pete lives by the soldiers creed of never leave your buddy’s behind"------>Pete's too busy playing Barbie Dolls with his husband"------>>"The only thing worse than a reacharound king is a reacharound king that is lazy AF."---------->>"2 month of paid stay at home leave; was it the trauma of child birth; learning to breast feed; learning to be a Mom?"----------->>"And neither of these men is recovering from pregnancy and giving birth. They are rich men who bought themselves a couple of babies and want to stay home with them for a while at taxpayers' expense."............Whoo Boy....Tuckers got nothing on the Trump Cult Commenters...

And the difference between a rabid right-wing site and the DL gets smaller every day.

R353 or maybe the current administration is just a such a disorganized, unfocused dementia-laced disaster that it can no longer be ignored and even if they inherited problems from the previous administration that need fixing, they are only creating more problems.

who asked sugar tits to apologize?

[quote] "And neither of these men is recovering from pregnancy and giving birth. They are rich men who bought themselves a couple of babies and want to stay home with them for a while at taxpayers' expense."

There is nothing wrong with making an accurate statement like that.

The worst thing for Buttigieg is still the fact that no one noticed that he was gone for two months. That’s everything you need to know about how effective he is.

We need their nanny, or nannies, to rat them out to the Daily Mail with embarrassing behind the scenes details like Katie Couric's nanny did after excerpts from her book were leaked.

I wouldn’t mind seeing clandestine photos of their hidden trove of sex toys, as long as the toys are clean.

Is Chasten a D-cup or a DD-cup?

Tucker Carlson is a vile piece of shit, but I can’t stand when people say, “I’m not going to apologize for [insert comment implying moral superiority here].” Carlson’s whole schtick is getting Democrats riled up…I’m not sure why Buttigieg thinks that cunt is worth the effort.

Pete loves publicity! He's the Chrissy Teighen of the Biden admin.

Pete's an idiot. He leapt to the bait and instead of using it as an opportunity to discuss what he's been doing to solve the crisis he talks about being a father and parental leave which makes it sound like he's has done nothing about the transportation problem.

[quote] Pete loves publicity! He's the Chrissy Teighen of the Biden admin

Too true, R362!

GREAT analogy.

Goodbye to the 3 B's Baldwin, Biden, Buttigieg

Biden is really fucking up fast. The Obama quote comes to mind. "Never underestimate Joe's ability to fuck things up."

There will not be a second term.

Him being 80 years old or something in 2024 will not help. There is a limit.

[quote]Premature? Do you get a cash back if the breed mare doesn't carry them to full term?

R228 here's a brief biology lesson: Most twin births are premature and occur before 37 weeks.

Biden and Harris are massive disappointments. In any other period of history, it would be like 'hope they get primaried'. But with Trump looming on the 2024 horizon, their incompetence could result in the end of our democracy. If Trump gets back in, we've got Putin.

I hate to say this but I think many independents are now thinking of voting for Trump over Biden, R368.

At a Chinese carryout I go to, there’s a sign on the overhead menu that says all prices are now $2.00 more than what is displayed due to rising food costs. It’s going to get worse without a reduction in spending to match the reduction in goods. We’ll need higher interest rates and a reduction in the amount of money the government pumps into the economy.

We are not even a year from the 2020 election. In October 2017, no one could have predicted that a pandemic would make Biden the most viable option to beat Trump. A lot can happen.

The DNC forced Biden and Buttigieg on Democrats - two safe suck-ups - and promoted them relentlessly. The DNC is why the GOP wins. They're pathetic.

Smell her!

Buttigieg is a hard-ass when it comes to stale Republican talking points, R372. He shuts that bullshit down immediately and is able to succinctly present his point of view. Makes them look like the fools they are. I agree that DNC generally does suck and needs to learn from the shameless repub playbook, but they made no mistake with Buttigieg. We need more like him.

R374 I bet he shuts you down too, Chasten.

Buttigieg is fucking gawd.

Don’t apologize! He had every right to take parental leave. You are comparing them to straight couples and lesbians, but it’s not the same. Because with straights and lesbians there is a mother, a woman, and Chasten is a guy, it’s not easy for him to take care of the newborn babies, particularly twins, all by himself. So Pete was needed there. Having newborns is particular moment in life, so people should have some time off with their family, even secretaries.

[quote] Buttigieg is a hard-ass when it comes to stale Republican talking points, [R372]. He shuts that bullshit down immediately and is able to succinctly present his point of view.

Agree, R374. He has the gift of gab. You know it, he knows it, and everyone knows it.

But what has he done in his political career except gab?

r337 if chasten can't care for the kids, as a non-working adult/former teacher, then what the fuck is he doing with them now that Pete's back at work? I worked in pediatric nursing. I know damn well that there are single parents holding it down with newborn twins, twins with medical issues. These are two healthy children, this shit isn't that deep that Chasten can't manage some babies.

Some of you are really stretching here. He was a damn teacher and had a year to prepare for this moment as he sat on his ass eating and waiting for these kids to come along.

R379 How do single mothers manage? Especially those who can't afford nannies and nurses And since Chastain didn't have a C-section, isn't nursing or suffering from post partum depression . . .WTF!

R380 But have some compassion. Single mothers are women, they are naturally better in taking care of kids then poor Chasten. Buttigiegs may play somehow heteronormative roles, but Chasten is a man after all. He needed some help in beginning when he was adjusting to new circumstances. And he is not a single parent he’s got a husband that should help.

r380 the one's I saw were sadly young mothers. They might live with family or live in government housing. One parent worked and had home =-health nurses come in for overnights from 3rd-1st shift because both twins were on ventilators. That family was allowed 24-hour care that the state would pay for but finding 6 nurses to cover 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shit in a rural part of my state was damn near impossible. Legally, only one nurse could care for one child. So when we had a call out, the nurse would have to wake up the mother if anything needed to be done (outside of a medical emergency) for child #2. So that parents and all parents of special needs children live a life full of disruption, last mine call-outs from work, and non-stop anxiety to care for their children.

I don't want the Buttigieg's or their children to suffer, but the typical setup is for their mothers to come visit and assist with the children to get Chasten and Pete up to speed if they needed the help. Pete deserved 2 months of paternity leave, BUT as the transportation secretary during a transportation crisis, it's terrible that he and Chasten didn't make arrangements for his early return.

They sure as shit made sure Pete would be available for that Climate summit that the Queen was set to attend. These are two college-educated millionaires, they had options. Pete did not need to be home for 2 months. Chasten can't be so dense that feeding, cleaning, and watching his children for 8 hours a day solo is some impossible burden.

Thise two really need to learn some perspective. We have female congress members giving birth and still showing up to work. If they can do it, then Pete's househusband can make it work.

R381 Have some compassion for the mothers and fathers who were working at Walgreens, Whole Foods, Walmart. . .in trucking and delivery services during the height of the pandemic while so many were quarantining or working from home they were helping us get the the things we needed and stocking shelves and many of them had school age children at home being schooled remotely. And the men and women serving our country who are missing their children's graduations, birthdays and even the birth of their children who don't have the luxury of taking a leave of absence.

You always find an excuse for hating on Pete and Chasten. Now is the paternity leave. Before you thought he should dump Chasten and find himself some porn star. You are never satisfied, whatever they do.

And they are such sweet guys.

R377, you're an idiot.

There was absolutely no reason for Pete to take paternity leave. Maybe a week or 2 to get a schedule going but any more time was just sheer selfish self-indulgence.

Keep excusing this nonsense. Can you imagine what most people think of this. And about a family that can afford help with pretty much everything: cleaning, shopping, setting up the nursery, etc.

Completely tone-deaf on Pete’s part.

Two months off when he’s only been in his job a few months?!

What does Pete do besides talk and act as the media whore that he is?

Seriously, what are his accomplishments in the political arena?

R387 No one ever bought it except the media who heralded the first known gay candidate for President. He didn't last long and dropped out of the race in March 2020. He was appointed to the Cabinet position by Biden and I suspect he'll never be elected to anything in the future.

How dare that supply chain break down when Pete has to publicize his new documentary about how wonderful he is!

Buttigieg is as relevant in the Gay Community as Lindsay Graham....Neither have ever lifted a finger to help the LGBTQ community. And Chasten is the stereotypical lazy gay.

Yes, it was a tone-deaf blunder, but it's OVER now. It's not a career-killer and he can still dig in and do a good job. It's certainly far better than having the previous grifter in that role.

The continuing hate on Pete is way out of proportion.

Pete should send Alec Baldwin flowers for taking him off the front pages.

I hope Pete is saving and investing well cause in 3 and a half years we will never hear from him again. This is his last big job.

A newborn sleeps 14 to 17 hours a day---and Pete wanted 3 months vacation (not just the two he took), so he can watch his brats sleep?...What kind of entitlement is that?...After reading thru this thread, I am so thankful for so many of you on DL. Instead of idolizing Pete, so many of you looked at his RECORD. Has Pete ever even donated 100 dollars to ANY LGBTQ Organization? Has he ever had a black person in his WHITE neighborhood home? Pete looks like the guy who is disgusted by drag, and those who do it.

[quote] A newborn sleeps 14 to 17 hours a day-

The problem is that they tend to wake up about every other hour at this particular age. Then they constantly scream, want to be fed etc.

Babies can be a real drag, particularly in the first half year.

Tbf, I've got no idea what's so appealing about having babies.

So many gay Dr. Spocks. It's a miracle.

[quote] So many gay Dr. Spocks. It's a miracle.

We know a lazy, entitled, fame whore shyster when we see one.

You're talking about Dataloungers. We see through ALL the bullshit.

Lots of gays had younger siblings, cousins etc. Some are even parents.

I, as a not very masculine teenager was dragging around my little cousin with me and know something about kids.

Did they hire a wet nurse?

[quote] So many gay Dr. Spocks

The baby in 18 years...

Babies do sleep a lot but like kittens they need frequent feedings and diapers changed, etc. They don't lie in their cots for hours at a time, but as mentioned fuss and cry throughout the day and night.

That being said, Pete should have taken 2 weeks off and headed back to work.

my sister who lives in Europe and has 3 kids always says the mother just needs a few weeks off after the birth to physically recover and breastfeed the kid. Father doesn't need anything. They need time off when the kid hits 2, is walking around, refusing to do anything they're told to do and getting into dangerous situations. So parental leave should come 2 years after the kid's born.

Oh dear. the Democrats' spending bill has now been revised. Federal paid leave for paternity, etc., is down to 4 weeks. Pete will have to pay back 2 months' salary.

What would you say about parental leave in European countries?

Here

So Pete decided he actually lived in Sweden when he decided to take 3 months' paternity leave? And should surrogate jobs like his twins even qualify?

If Pete can afford $60K+ for a surrogate, he can afford a nanny.

The issue is not parental /family leave - everyone thinks its great, except our corporate overlords. Most Americans want it expanded to include leave for caring for parents as well.

The issue is do you accept a very important job knowing you are going to be gone for a few months after just starting it.

And Pete blew it by taking the job then bolting.

I guess the GQP aren't the party of family values anymore.

OOPS

[quote] Oh dear. the Democrats' spending bill has now been revised. Federal paid leave for paternity, etc., is down to 4 weeks. Pete will have to pay back 2 months' salary.

This will just replay every time that is mentioned. Pete will never be forgotten for this. Why do we keep handing them material like Dean Martin feeding Jerry Lewis.

God, there ae some stupid people here. Y'all (right wing trolls) are undermining my faith in the inherent intelligence of gay people. FEDERAL LAW IS ALREADY IN PLACE GRANTING UP TO 12 WEEKS PARENTAL LEAVE, AND HAS BEEN FOR A FEW YEARS. That will not be affected by the new infrastructure bill or anything else, as it was negotiated by unions and federal employers. So, no, Pete Buttegieg does not have to return his salary or do any of the other things people on here have bitched about. You might complain about it, but what he did was not only completely legal, but ratified by experts in child-rearing.

Lots of things are legal - you know like the tax breaks that giant industry and the 1%ers take and get away with paying no taxes. Doesn't make it right.

r414, so what you are saying is that paid parental leave is always and inexorably wrong. Good to know where you're coming from.

Thank you, R413. For all of you pooh-poohing him taking off more than 2 weeks, you need to check in with people who have had twins. Every woman I've known who had them was completely flattened by all of the work/attention they need. Most need have to call in relatives or hire people to help them if they can afford it. Twins are more than double the work of one baby, from what I've heard. You never get a break.

R416 if twins were too much work for perpetually unemployed Chasten, then he and Pete shouldn't have ordered IVF boy-girl twins like Neil Patrick Harris and Lance Bass did.

R374 Like Harris and Klobachur, Bootygig can strike back but they can't do shit otherwise.

You are all against this poor fellow for no reason other than your bitchiness. If he was straight you wouldn't mind his flows at all and not see them as flows. I am not from US so I didn't know a lot about him and checked him on the internet. He seems like a socially conservative guy that is so similar to an your typical center oriented straight politician with just one difference, and that is the fact he was unlucky enough to be attracted to male body. He seems to want a conventional life with monogamous marriage, kids and stay at home spouse that is the heart of the family. But he is also a modern guy enough to have wanted to spend a little time with that family and help with the newborns. So, give him the break, he doesn't seem like a bad guy for a politician, he is just different than the typical DLer. And he returned to the job.

Back here in the US, R419, antics like what Pete pulled will lead to Republican gains in Congress and Trump in 2024. It is a big price to pay for some "family time".

R419 "this poor fellow" is a careerist attention whore, a narcissistic douchebag and a Log Cabin Republican

He should have ordered ONE baby from the African Baby Catalogue.

[quote] so what you are saying is that paid parental leave is always and inexorably wrong. Good to know where you're coming from

R415, is that really what you took away? Seriously? That isn't what I said at all. Try re-reading it. Maybe use your fingers.

"Impermissible inference" is your middle name.

r423 let's recap. In the post just above yours, I referenced the government website listing the terms for parental leave, which Buttegieg followed, and your immediate rejoinder to that reference was "Lots of things are legal - you know like the tax breaks that giant industry and the 1%ers take and get away with paying no taxes. Doesn't make it right" The ONLY logical inference is that you consider the parental leave that federal employees are entitled to by law to be wrong, because the examples you referenced were people getting tax breaks (sort of entitlements for the already well-off ) that they did not deserve, but which were legal - hence you must have considered parental leave to be an undeserved entitlement. That's the way that logic works.

Let me restate because apparently you need things walked through with your fingers: I said that action A was legal and provided the government document that proved that it was You said that just because something was legal didn't make it right and you provided some examples of underserved, yet legal entitlement. I called you on it, and your response was that I was misreading your statement, even though there was really no other possible reading of it.

Not the poster you are responding to R424, but your hot air defensive rings hollow.

Multiple reasons this was a shameless exercise in taking time off: Buttigieg CHOSE to “adopt” a few months into his highest profile role. The department he oversees is currently experiencing issues that affects his employers (aka taxpayers), and parental leave is a charged subject in the USA for even birth Mothers who are breastfeeding/experiencing birth complications, etc.....and not a man who has a full time SAH partner to care for the children.

Talk to any physician familiar with obstetrics and they are well aware of the nuances involved in caring for infant twins. It’s not easy, but possible for a single mother with limited means.

Buttigieg taking off 2 months is excessive given his unique circumstances (help, financial support, challenged Department of Transportation that he heads).

There is no way to spin this as a good look and your argument comes across as foolish.

Parental leave is NOT a charged subject in the US. Parents are universally in favor of it. The only issue around it is how would it be paid for. That is a problem in some parts of the business world, although there are plenty of companies that offer it. That is NOT an issue in the federal government. Incidentally, paid leave for parents of a newborn is nearly universal across the developed world, including Russia, where most of our trolls come from. Guess which country lags in this aspect as in many others which improve quality of life and better conditions for children? We don't know that Buttegieg CHOSE this time to adopt. The usual story of adoption is that you get a call in the middle of the night saying, "we have a baby for you - you'll get it tomorrow".

Just everyone has to stop with the "single mothers raise twin children without help all the time" trope. First of all, it's not that common, and secondly it takes a terrible toll on them and on the children. It is far from an ideal option and WHY choose it if it's not necessary. In most cases, if looked at carefully, the grandparents step in and do a lot of the work if it's a single parent household, but this isn't a single parent household. .

Really reaching there, R426.

Of course new parents want parental leave in the US, but they do NOT get it: that’s. the. whole. point. Hence, it is a controversial issue when working-just-a-few-months-Buttigieg deigns to take time off (without notifying his tax paying employers). It is tone deaf for those parents WHO DO NOT GET IT..... most notably early into a few months of a new position.

Obstetricians also know that separate egg twins are rarely - if ever - put up for adoption together. The statistical likelihood of Buttigieg’s infants being “adopted” versus the result of surrogacy is very, very low. This is another example of Buttigieg likely being less than forthcoming....as this (like his 2 month sabbatical only a few months into his job), appears calculated.

🐀🧀🔨

Justice for Pete. Let the poor guy be.

Poor pathetic Pete!

[quote] The ONLY logical inference is that you consider the parental leave that federal employees are entitled to by law to be wrong, because the examples you referenced were people getting tax breaks (sort of entitlements for the already well-off ) that they did not deserve, but which were legal - hence you must have considered parental leave to be an undeserved entitlement.

No that isn't logic. It's making an impermissible inference.

I cite another legal benefit that can be legal but morally wrong. Rather I cite an example of a legal benefit that can be abused. I don't say or imply that all paternity or parental leave is wrong. I compare it to the 1%ers. Pete is a 1%er in this benefit taking.

You must have been a sociology major. That's okay. We have lots of jobs open for you responding to schizophrenic sons trying to stab their mothers to death.

You hate Pete because, although he doesn't have the looks of a movie star, he can pass for a straight guy, while you hsve gay voices and faces.

[quote]You hate Pete because, although he doesn't have the looks of a movie star, he can pass for a straight guy, while you hsve gay voices and faces.

Well, he did have a lot of practice, hiding in the closet all those years.

As a straight looking guy he must be very appealing to many DLers, so it' s the grapes are sour case.

Pete is a straight-looking guy who looks liike the spawn of Howdy Doody and Alfred E. Neuman and acts like Marie Antoinette.

I WILL NEVER APOLOGIZE BECAUSE I'M SMARTER AND BETTER THAN ALL OF OF YOU PEASANTS!!!!

r5 is a troll. Only homophobic straight men say shit like "man up"

Maybe you need to "man up" if you think gay people shouldn't stand up for themselves

R435 is Tucker. Sorry you got your feelings hurt, Doughboy

r438 is Chasten then - I hope Pete's surrogate jobs don't end up looking like him

R5 wins the thread!

Was they butt babies? Do you get time off for that?

[quote] Was they butt babies? Do you get time off for that?

Yes. Chasten popped them out of his poop chute.

And Chasten also wears the chest milk tits so that the babies can suckle off of his ample breastesses.

I wonder how the surrogate is doing….

I've always wondered about surrogates. I assume they're dirt poor women whose only chance to get a job is as an incubator. Pete won't have used the intellectually and socially inferior eggs of a poor working class woman. I wonder where he got the donor eggs from. Maybe you can buy them like you can buy sperm.

I'm still not sold on surrogates like this. It seems wrong to deliberately create a child to be motherless from the start.

r445, the children have Chasten.

[quote][R5] is a troll. Only homophobic straight men say shit like "man up"

Guess again, R437.

[quote] Maybe you need to "man up" if you think gay people shouldn't stand up for themselves

Nothing to do with orientation. But when everyone thinks Pete Buttigieg has become “Let Them Eat Cake”, Marie Antoinette, it’s pretty obvious the guy needs to Man Up.

Just calling it as we see it.

Oh, dear, the Dems' plan to get 3 months paid family leave for federal employees has been dropped. Pete will have to pay back all 3 months of his salaries.

r448 - that plan was NOT for federal employees. It was for all Americans. Federal employees will retain parental leave benefits. Plus Buttigied didn't take off 3 months, he took off two. And, according to his own records and others, he answered calls and emails from home, which doesn't count as true parental leave, where all work responsibilities are waived.

WTF. How can most businesses give people paid time off like that? It must be unpaid leave. But still they have to keep jobs open - single employees will get screwed again.

Pete comes off like some entitled idiot for doing this. Everyone knows it except those who keep their heads buried in the sand. Taking emails is not the same as working. Please get a clue. He was the fucking head.

r450. The infrastructure plan that included parental leave was NOT to be paid by the businesses but through taxes. But you probably knew that. You just wanted to stir shit.

R451, I didn't know that. It's not cool to insult people based on assumptions. But you knew that, right.

Still what about keeping a job open for 3 months? And what about us singles who will have to pick up their slack?

I am more concerned with people having to take care of ailing or dying parents and partners. Mothers need time to recover. Fathers have no need for 3 months off. Not biologically or otherwise.

How clueless are you? 181 countries (but not the US) give paid parental leave, and 41 give paternity leave. The maternal leave makes sense when the mother is in the picture, but fathers also are useful. Finland gives fathers 170 days of paid leave. Why are you putting this in terms that makes the US position seem sensible, when it is anything but?

^Point is, we are not Finland or any of the other countries you mention. We have a unique populace and a crazy, capitalistic system. Buttigieg’s leave was excessive FOR THE USA. Many MOTHERS who birthed actual babies cannot get that much time off.....it’s a huge issue as the DEMS are demonstrating now by the backing and forthing of paid parental leave.

Even medical leave of personal medical issues can be problematic in many jobs. Taking 2 months off after only a few months on the job for an adoptive father who chose to adopt in his personal life is completely unwarranted in Buttigieg’s situation: he is bloody head of a department that is undergoing significant challenges as we speak.

Not to mention that the guy was NOT transparent about the time off: it was surreptitiously taken.

The US could benefit from FAIR parental leave policies. But some politician (who talks more than he acts) is an idiot for taking MONTHS off after adopting WHILE new on the job AND the job oversees a dept. struggling at the moment. Buttigieg expects his employers - we, the taxpayers - to foot the bill for this foray into his personal life, whilst simultaneously taxpayers are impacted by the effects relating to transportation issues. That’s an unreasonable demand on Buttigieg’s part.

No excuse for his behavior. And all attempted defenses come across as weak.

I don't know why you are giving lectures about the situation in the US when you use the word "bloody" which is never used as an adjective in the US, and you used the word "whilst" which is also never used in the US. . Those are British usages. You gave yourself away as a troll. Congratulations.

You progressively reveal yourself to be even more of an idiot the more you post, menluvingguy.

I am American-born and did my medical and research training in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Practicing medicine in the USA, and a colleague recently gave birth following a 4 hour surgery. She fronted up the next morning for 6 am rounds even though she had a 6 hour labor/labour.

And no, she certainly did NOT take 2 months parental leave.

[quote]It's not cool to insult people based on assumptions.

R452, insulting people based on assumptions seems to be the modus operandi of menluvinguy.

[quote] But you knew that, right.

Don’t think he gets it. Continues down the same repetitive path and projects by accusing others of being “clueless”.

When in fact, he comes across as particularly ignorant.

I use bloody and I'm a bloody Yank.

It's a good thing he got different sex twins, because there is no love like the one girl has for her daddy. So, poor Pete will be loved by Penelope, no matter how much he is hated on DL.

450 works very well in my country, Norway.

R460, the US is not Norway. Not even close. I'm happy for you however.

It isn't really 'parental leave', it's supposed to be maternity leave as the woman has to recover from the pregnancy and the birth.

It was before. Nowadays in EU fathers are encouraged to take a part of parental leave to care for child and bond with . They can even tske it later, when the mother returns to work.

But you are strange in US. You and a few 3rd world countries are the only ones that don't guarantee niether maternity leave. Even here in poor country like Croatia women have 12 months long maternity leave, a part of which a father can use instead of mother. And father has extra 3 months, after 12 months, when mother returns to work. It is 15 months altogether.

In any country, no matter how socially advanced, you can't take 3 months' parental leave after only 6 months on the job.

R465 Of course you can. Everybody can. All employees are equal in that matter. It is true that women usually wait for some time after getting a job so the boss won’t get mad at them, but Biden wasn’t mad at Pete, as far as we know.

How do you say his last name?

Does it rhyme with Butty Plug?