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Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Former Buffalo Grove Mayor Elliott Hartstein

The Case for Pete Buttigieg

The time is closing in on the need to zero in and support Pete Buttigieg, as the strongest nominee to take on and take down Donald Trump in November, and who has the ability to lead our nation forward and implement bold progressive change and reform. Pete can energize and inspire support for change and reforms that can be embraced throughout the country. He has the ability , skills, intellect , demeanor and policy chops to bring people together and unite our nation to demand and implement action. He is a special and unique candidate who stands out in the crowded field of worthy Democratic candidates and is a sharp contrast to Donald Trump who he can deftly debate and defeat.

We need a leader like Mayor Pete. He represents a much needed new generational perspective with a keen understanding of the challenges and needs for a new era. His vision is grounded through a different prism for decision making from beyond the beltway and from outside of Washington. He has a grasp of issues facing our nation from real on the ground experience as a Mayor, which has exposed him to a diverse groups of people and problems that face many Americans and communities throughout the country . This is a positive contrast to Washington insiders with different types of experience who though often well intentioned, are too often are stymied by partisan wrangling and gridlock on many issues that need serious attention. He has had to deal with the need to find the best and the brightest with special expertise to lead Departments and agencies much like he will need to do when he needs to make appointments in the oval office to lead Executive branch Departments, when for example he will pick an Education Secretary who really believes in support for public education and an Environmental Protection Agency head who believes in Climate change and really protecting our environment and Judges who will support and not diminish equal rights for all Americans and freedom of Choice . He has emphasized he does not want to be the smartest person in the room when making decisions that need and demand diverse viewpoints and expertise much unlike our current president who wrongfully and unwisely always seems to think he knows more than anyone in the room. Pete has not been afraid to admit when he has not been as successful as he would have liked, but more importantly has shown a commitment to learning from his experiences to fashion solutions as he moves forward. Unlike Washington which can print money and create huge deficit burdens for our children and grandchildren, at the local level Mayor Pete has had to have balanced budgets and knows the importance of having to have revenue to be able to pay for programs. His proposals for reform are fiscally sound, since he does not want to make promises he cannot keep. Similarly his experiences as an Intelligence officer in Afghanistan gives him an insight to be a commander in chief who understands the challenges and tragedy of foreign conflicts and the importance of alliances and coalitions with allies who must be able to trust us. He has this important military experience unlike his top Democratic opponents and Donald Trump and most recent occupants of the oval office who have not served on active duty in our armed forces. That is why he understands the importance of alliances and coalitions with allies and why he thinks that actions like the President Trump’s pulling the rug out from the Kurds was a catastrophic error that affects our countries credibility and security . That is why he is also committed to getting us out of Afghanistan in a smart and strategic way to avoid needless loss of lives of our troops or our allies. Even his campaign has shown his prowess as a leader as he shrewdly and effectively raised the needed funds to run an effective campaign with over 600,000 donors, and spent them wisely and organized a ground game to get out voters to support his candidacy, which bodes well for beating Donald Trump in the fall of 2020. Yes ,Mayor Pete has the type of experience and perspective that makes him the candidate we need to win and to lead our nation for a new era

As a candidate, Mayor Pete’s substance, style ,demeanor, and pragmatic progressive positions bolsters his stature as a candidate . He has demonstrated his intelligence on the debate stage time and again.. His approach is always sure footed , steady and consistently solid as he articulates thoughtful positions and solutions .Unlike some others, he does not lecture nor yell nor stumble nor reflect anger, nor does he demonize his opponents nor segments of our nation. His strong moral compass and his youthful energy along with his confident, calm , intelligent, articulate approach is inspirational and makes him stand out. His approach seeks not to divide us but to unite us. I suspect that his approach accounts for the fact that the percentage of voters who expressed an unfavorable opinion of Pete Buttigieg was about 15 to 20 points lower than the percentage who expressed unfavorable opinions of his top competitors. We all know that from 2016 stats that large numbers of Americans disliked both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. That is a problem that Mayor Pete does not have. Moreover in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire where the voters have really kicked the tires of all candidates and know Mayor Pete the best, he is at the top of the polls. His gradual rise in the polls to currently lead the pack in Iowa and New Hampshire is a testament to the fact that when voters get to know Mayor Pete they rally behind him. As voters around the nation continue to get to know Mayor Pete even better they assuredly will likewise be inspired to support him. Yes Mayor Pete’s substance and approach make him a the candidate who can win.

Mayor Pete’s positions on issues likewise makes him the candidate that can best unify rather than divide our nation , and work to eliminate the economic inequality and other inequalities in our nation and someone who can deliver on issues people care about . A few issues standout in that regard. On Health care he believes that health care is a right that all Americans are entitled to . His Medicare for all who want it provides a public option for all to get health care but respects the right of individual choice so that Americans who want to keep their individual private insurance can do so. His approach does not wipe out the entire private health insurance industry, as the Medicare for all proposals do in a few years . His proposal provides subsidies for those that cannot afford insurance and creates competition which should drive down the costs of health care coverage. The cost of the Medicare for all who want it program proposed by Mayor Pete is projected to be under a couple trillion dollars over the next decade compared to the off the charts double digit trillions for the Medicare for all approach. This a pragmatic approach of Mayor Pete's can realistically be embraced and implemented in a fiscally responsible manner. Another important contrast is in the important College education arena. Mayor Pete does not agree with Free College for all but believes in support for free College for those that cannot afford it since he believes that free college educations should not be provided to those than can afford it since he believes that said money can be best used for many other needs and challenges facing our country. In terms helping to pay for the costs of many needed programs Mayor Pete supports a roll back of the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy and believes our taxes should reflect fairness so those with the greatest ability to pay including billionaires and millionaires and big corporations shoulder the revenue burden, with more tax relief for the middle class and working families.He strongly believes that we need to reverse the pervasive economic inequality . Mayor Pete’s Douglas plan is a powerful proposal to reverse the long standing systemic racism, neglect and discrimination in black communities and provide needed investment and support. Yes,Mayor Pete’s pragmatic progressivism makes him the candidate who can really get things done.

In terms of unification of our nation for our future Mayor Pete is committed to working to strengthen our Democracy by making sure everyone’s vote is counted and eliminating wrongful voter suppression efforts, undemocratic gerrymandering where politicians choose their voters rather than the other way around and diminishing a partisan approach to our Judicial system and reducing the influence of big money in our elections including a constitutional amendment if needed to undo the Citizens United case.Mayor Pete will work to make our Criminal justice system fair for all and will work to sign into law Gun safety legislation that is long overdue and supported by an extraordinary majority of Americans. In addition Mayor Pete is committed to long overdue implementation of fair and equitable immigration reform with security at our borders and fair treatment to all who come to the border and a path to citizenship, and making our nation once again a welcoming place and a beacon of hope for all . Yes, Mayor Pete is the candidate who can strengthen our Democracy for our future

On the world stage Mayor Pete will restore our nation’s leadership and respect and work with our allies to protect our security and honor our commitments He has made clear he sees Climate change as an existential threat and will rejoin the Paris accords to work cooperatively and provide needed American leadership at home and abroad on this critical issue for our country and the entire world. He is committed to diplomacy as the first line of addressing threats around the world and will not needlessly put American lives in jeopardy nor get us into conflicts without clear security needs and objectives , will higher the standard for deployment of military force and will seek Congress approval for the continued commitment of American involvement in any protracted conflicts. He understands the need to address cybersecurity and other threats in light to the challenges of a new era. He believes in fair trade and will not get us into trade wars or trade agreements which will damage segments of our economy and hurt American consumers and jobs. He will not set our foreign policy by tweets but will formulate policy after consultation and deliberation. It is significant that recently over 200 foreign policy experts including veterans of the Obama administration have endorsed Pete Buttigieg for President.Yes, under a President Buttigieg the United States will once again be a respected and trusted leader throughout the world.

When you cast your votes and express your candidate preference to your friends and neighbors in the weeks ahead, please consider and understand that this coming presidential election is one of the most important elections in our lifetime. Having the best and strongest candidate to stand up to Donald Trump to win and to lead us forward is critical. I believe that candidate is Pete Buttigieg. I shared many of the reasons, but urge you to go to peteforamerica.com if you want to learn more about Pete Buttigieg and his campaign. I urge you to join me in supporting Mayor Pete. For President. If you agree , I of course would urge that you vote and urge your fiends and neighbors to vote for Pete, and Pete delegates, but because this election is so important, I would urge you to go beyond that and I urge you to hopefully get engaged in this process and volunteer to help Pete, make a contribution, make calls , knock on doors, think about going to other states to help and continuing to bring people together to support him. The time is now to get revved up and help me elect a President of whom I know we will be quite proud. Yes, together we can do this and hopefully wake up on November 4 2020 knowing that a President elect Buttigieg will soon be sitting in the oval office to lead our nation forward to a new era .

Elliott Hartstein

Former 3 term Mayor of Buffalo Grove Illinois

Candidate for Delegate to the Democratic National convention

elliotthartstein@gmail.com Email me if you want to get involved in the Buttigieg Campaign