Normon Solomon: The Creation Myth of the Buttigieg Campaign

This is an excellent article by Norman Solomon. It is so vital to vet candidates, to know the facts of their records and values and ideology; to follow the money and discern corporate ties; and to be united in electing those who are fiercely committed to economic, racial, social, and environmental justice. This will only occur by electing those who are grounded in integrity, truth, and consciousness of the highest good for us all. AND this will only happen by building grassroots movements where we are all dedicated to taking on and dismantling the whole deadly predatory capitalist system that is utterly destroying our country, other nations, and the Earth. The extreme greed and pervasive propaganda of the .1% — and their poisonous influence on our political systems of government and elections, on our corporate media and predatory capitalist economy, on our minds and harmful belief systems, and which now threaten life on Earth — must be seen for the deadly poison it is and stopped. May we all dedicate ourselves to working together to build a New World — of justice and sustainability, of integrity and truth, of deeply rooted ethics and values of caring, and of peace and compassion and love — that our children and grandchildren are counting on us to fight for. Everything we love and cherish is at stake. — Molly

The deft spin from the Buttigieg apparatus and the huge media hype about him have obscured the significance of his deep-pocketed backers.

By

Norman Solomon

This weekend, Pete Buttigieg told supporters that he became a viable candidate for president “on the strength of our vision” and “the urgency of our convictions.” Such rhetoric fits snugly into a creation myth about his campaign that Buttigieg has been promoting since early 2019.

Summing up the gist of that myth, Buttigieg began this year by standing at a whiteboard and looking into a camera while he talked about the genesis of his run for the presidency. “We launched as an exploratory committee, not even a full year ago, with a few volunteers, zero dollars in the bank,” he said—and “without the personal wealth of a millionaire or a billionaire.”

And Buttigieg offered reassurance to those concerned about big money in politics, saying: “What we built in 2019 we were able to put together without any contributions from federal lobbyists, or from fossil-fuel executives, and not one dollar from corporate PACs.” But, as Aldous Huxley wrote in the introduction to his classic novel of dystopian technocracy, Brave New World, “the greatest triumphs of propaganda” are accomplished by maintaining “silence about truth.”

Buttigieg has remained silent about what made the ascent of his campaign possible—the early, major and continuing support from extremely rich people enmeshed with powerful and destructive corporate interests—enabling the Pete for America campaign to get off the ground and gain altitude. Buttigieg’s rise was propelled by the rocket fuel of funding from—and bonding with—wealthy corporate operators, who bundled big checks from other donors and provided an establishment seal of approval that resonated with mainstream media.

The deft spin from the Buttigieg apparatus and the huge media hype about him have obscured the significance of his deep-pocketed backers. Key information about those ties has rarely gotten into the mass-media echo chamber. Yet, occasional reports have offered a window into the big-money support for Buttigieg that he is eager to leave unmentioned.

Buttigieg may have started his presidential campaign a year ago “with a few volunteers” and “zero dollars in the bank” -- but it wasn’t long before plenty of millionaires and billionaires flocked to back him with their own money and piles of checks from wealthy associates.

“Pete Buttigieg Is the Only Top 2020 Democrat Taking Money from Lobbyists,” HuffPost reported in April. “Buttigieg’s campaign said the donations wouldn’t influence his policy positions and noted he isn’t taking donations from corporate PACs or fossil fuel interests.” Later, the Center for Public Integrity explained in mid-summer, Buttigieg “reversed his stance and refunded more than $30,000 from federal lobbyists. . . . But Buttigieg has nonetheless continued to rely on wealthy and well-connected ‘bundlers’ to help him fundraise -- and to great effect, raising more money of late than most other 2020 presidential candidates.”

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