Monday, February 27, 2023

There's a Problem With Buttigieg's Latest Photo Op





After being notably absent from East Palestine, Ohio for weeks after a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals, Biden's Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is now apparently done taking some "personal" time, the excuse he used to avoid answering questions from a reporter about the Ohio mess last week.

Now, Buttigieg has surfaced in Kansas City, Missouri, at the invitation of local leaders (how long did the residents of East Palestine ask Buttigieg to visit before he actually did?) to help unveil a shiny new airport terminal at KCI and likely try to polish the turd that is the Biden administration's transportation policy. But there's a significant problem with Buttigieg swooping in (will he be wearing a reflective vest again?) to appear as the hero of America's transportation system.

I am delighted @SecretaryPete accepted our offer to return to Kansas City tomorrow to celebrate the completion of the new KCI terminal along with numerous dignitaries and many who helped build our new airport terminal. An important day in Kansas City history ahead. pic.twitter.com/B7tB0GH3oG— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) February 26, 2023

You see, neither President Biden nor Secretary Buttigieg had anything to do with approving the new and improved single terminal at KCI — and Buttigieg is about to take a victory lap on former President Donald Trump and former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao's behalf.

That's because, in 2017, 76 percent of voters in Kansas City approved construction of a new, single terminal at KCI. Subsequently, the Trump administration — FAA, DOT, et al. — approved plans for the new terminal and even prioritized the project as part of a larger $1.2 billion investment in America's air transportation system. Out of a list of 50 "priority" transportation projects, KCI was put at number 26 by the Trump administration.

In addition to being prioritized as a project site, Secretary Chao announced in 2020 that KCI would receive a grant of more than $7.9 million for "taxiway rehabilitation" as part of the larger investment designed to "improve our nation's airport infrastructure, enhance safety, and strengthen growth in local communities," an effort Chao said was "especially important as the economy recovers from COVID-19."

Within one year, Biden had taken office, Buttigieg had been named Transportation Secretary, and they were off to ruining both any chance of an economic recovery and the effectiveness of the U.S. transportation system. On Biden and Buttigieg's watch, the economy is sliding into a worsening recession, unemployment is expected to spike, and there have been more transportation crises — including a complete outage of the FAA's NOTAM system — than can be quickly listed.

All the while, Buttigieg has been focused on making the "Notice to Airmen" system more equitable by renaming it "Notice to Air Missions" system...before it then crashed and brought the entire U.S. air transportation system grinding to a halt.

And now, Buttigieg is in Kansas City to wax poetic about the importance of eliminating racist bridges and gendered air terminology in a building for which he can't actually take credit. Will he thank President Trump and Secretary Chao for making sure the project was well-funded and completed? Unlikely. But they're the ones to actually deserve the credit, not Buttigieg or Biden.

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‘No longer the party ofObama also discouraged President Joe Biden from running for president in 2016, preferring instead eventual nominee Hillary Clinton, whom Obama defeated in the 2008 primary. Biden, who has complained that Obama did not defend him more this summer as Democrats mounted pressure on him to suspend his 2024 campaign after his career-ending debate against Trump, has maintained he could have won that election, considering his connection with blue-collar workers, a connection neither Clinton nor Harris had. “The answer is that I had planned on running for president, and although it would’ve been a difficult primary, I think I could’ve won,” Biden said in 2017. Obama’s WHCA dinner lives in infamy Obama’s 2011 White House Correspondents’s Dinner address has been scrutinized, too, for creating the pretense for Trump running for president himself in 2016, with Obama mocking him while he was in the room. “We all know about your credentials and breadth of experience,” Obama said at the time. “Just recently, in an episode of Celebrity Apprentice at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team cooking did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks, and there was a lot of blame to go around.” He added: “But you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership and so ultimately, you didn’t blame Lil’ Jon or Meatloaf. You fired Gary Busey. And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night.” Obama’s quips were in response to Trump’s peddling of birther conspiracy theories about him. The morning after Obama announced the death of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden during a raid in Pakistan. FIVE DEMOCRATS IN PRIME POSITION TO BE FACE OF THE PARTY IN 2028 A spokesman for Obama did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment. Regardless, Democratic strategist and host of the Aggressive Progressive podcast Christopher Hahn stood by Obama’s campaigning for Harris, even though his message, including concerning the economy, did not resonate. “Obama is the most popular political figure in the nation, but popularity is not transferable,” Hahn, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), told the Washington Examiner. “Whoever emerges as the Democratic standard bearer will need to connect with voters the way Obama did.” Obama was the second most popular Democrat between July and September, with 59% of respondents telling YouGov pollsters for their third quarter survey that they had a positive opinion of the former president. Former President Jimmy Carter was No. 1, with 61% having a positive opinion, and Harris was No. 3, with 54% having the same opinion of her. All other party members polled at less than 50%. Democratic strategist Garry South argued that Obama “is one of the most compelling voices we have in the party,” comparing Obama’s endorsement of Harris to George W. Bush’s non-endorsement of Trump. “No one can blame him for Harris’ loss, that’s on her,” South told the Washington Examiner. “He went beyond the call of duty in campaigning for her, but voters don’t base their vote on surrogates in a presidential campaign.” But as Democrats look back on 2024 and Harris finds her political footing after the election, as Clinton, former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Vice President Al Gore, and other nominees did before her, the party, “once again,” will “find new standard-bearers going forward,” one Senate Democrat told the Washington Examiner. HOW ELON MUSK HELPED WILL TRUMP BACK TO THE WHITE HOUSE Blame game Aspersions have been cast on Biden for deciding to seek reelection in the first place, in addition to sexism and racism toward Harris. Others attribute blame to global political conditions after the COVID-19 pandemic, while Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Harris’s vice presidential nominee, was named as another contributing factor in comparison to Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), a popular Democrat in his own right from the important battleground state of Pennsylvania, as a hypothetical running mate. One more problem was third parties amid anger over how Biden and Harris have approached the Israel–Hamas war in Gaza and Lebanon. Democrats, including former Secretary Johnson and Hahn, the strategist, have apportioned responsibility to the party’s lack of appeal among blue-collar workers, who, for example, do not approve of diversity, equity, and inclusion and other social policies, such as transgender issues. For Johnson, a current partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Democrats are “letting slip away the so-called working class, of all colors.” “It’s more cultural than political,” he said. “We are perceived to be the party of coastal elites, chardonnay, and political correctness. I have thought for some time that perhaps we need to become the party of John Fetterman. Go for the hoody and crocs.” CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER At the same time, Hahn was adamant Democrats are not codependent on Obama, contending that is “more of a conservative meme than a real thing.” “Democrats clearly need to figure out how to reach working class voters,” he said. “The party will have a robust primary in 2028.” Obama’: Democrats search for answers as standard-bearer’s influence wanes

  President-elect   Donald Trump   not only defeated Vice President   Kamala Harris   last week, he also defeated former President   Barack ...