The left nukes Buttigieg over McKinsey work

[JoeOtterbein]

[link:https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/11/pete-buttigieg-mckinsey-progressives-083038|

The attacks signal the degree to which progressives view Mayor Pete as a threat to the most ambitious parts of their agenda.

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN and ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN

12/11/2019 08:11 PM EST

Updated: 12/11/2019 09:40 PM EST

Hours after Pete Buttigieg released his list of clients at McKinsey, the left already had a nickname teed up for him: “Pete Romney.”

For months, progressive activists and operatives have been itching to take down the mayor of South Bend, who has risen in early-state polls as he’s slammed Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders’ plans for single-payer health care and free college, and pushed a more moderate agenda. There have long been whispers about Buttigieg’s past work for the behemoth business consultant, which has recently come under fire for allegedly helping boost OxyContin sales and supporting authoritarian regimes in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and China.

But it wasn’t until Buttigieg unveiled details this week about the clients he served that progressives pounced. Warren and Sanders’ allies are seizing on the fact that he did work for the health insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which laid off hundreds of workers after retaining McKinsey, to paint Buttigieg as unelectable.

“He’s not going to win Michigan,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Detroit-born member of Congress’ so-called “Squad” who has endorsed Sanders. “Michigan wants someone who doesn't take corporate money and isn't bowing to corporations. Somebody who comes from corporate industry in that way, I'm not sure they're going to understand the impact of some of those policies they advocated for in the past.”

snip

more at link

(Disclaimer: the article was co-written by this DU poster's daughter)

[cwydro]

1. Meh.

I hate the silly word nothingburger, but that's all this is.

[Lithos]

5. To be honest

It's something - but not what people think it means...

I worked for one of the Big 5 and worked with those who did similar work.

What it means is that people who do this can compartmentalize. Ie, from a very non-emotional and pragmatic basis. This means you have to watch what is said very carefully to understand context and intent much more than someone who is speaking from more of an emotional frame.

Working for a Big 5 (or other consultancy such as Towers-Perrin) in this type of mode, is very emotionally killing work. You know you're trading off pain of individuals for maximizing money somewhere. How you justify this is very important and needs to be discussed.

TL;DR - This is opposite of representing individuals wronged by a corporation - such as helping asbestos victims who were wronged by a corporation to helping a corporation advance it's cause at the expense of the individual.

Yes, I do understand that sometimes keeping a corporate entity in existence can help many at the loss of a few, nowhere has this been brought up.

[highplainsdem]

2. More National Enquirer style hyperbole from Politico. OMG, the left NUKES

Mayor Pete! OMG, they have a new nickname for him! Wow, they've been "itching" to take him down, and there have been "whispers" about his past work!

And now they've POUNCED!!!

OMG OMG OMG the excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[groundloop]

3. Yes, agree..... I'm interested in policy positions, not this silly crap.

[Hoyt]

4. Buttigieg gets skewered because BCBS laid off a couple hundred workers, yet Warren/Sanders would put

them ALL out of work. Christ, that's damn idiotic. (Not commenting on the desirability of MFA, just the criticism of Buttigieg by the left on this.)

[Lithos]

6. Not really

It's more than that - The discussion concerns changing the policy of BCBS which impacts not only the workers, but also how BCBS responds to it's claimants.

[Hoyt]

10. It's BS, and Buttigieg was just a data analyst.

[The Valley Below]

12. His campaign would do well to take note of this defense...

it would be quite a debate comeback. A couple hundred jobs vs 2 million.

Ouch!

[MBS]

34. He has already been doing so. n/t

[R B Garr]

15. Exactly, M4all wipes out millions in jobs, so where is

the morality in that, since they want to attack Pete for a job he had in his twenties. It’s absurd.

[Politicub]

41. This. I support single payer and also recognize that the insurance industry will shrink.

And you stated it so clearly -- it makes this line of attack about layoffs damn idiotic. And I say this as a Warren supporter.

[msongs]

7. maybe some day pete will link up with lockheed to bring military gravy to Vermont lol nt

[billpolonsky]

8. Well....

"Buttigieg helped an insurance giant increase profits at the expense of workers. Now he's in trouble for it and he's frantically tossing out insurance industry talking points against Medicare for All."

"Buttigieg's work for McKinsey almost certainly led to downsizing at Blue Cross, but he's firing back by saying that Medicare for All will destroy all insurance jobs—without mentioning that Bernie's bill contains a provision for compensation and retraining,"

[link:https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/11/questioned-about-role-blue-cross-layoffs-buttigieg-deflects-incredibly-dishonest?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3MOS_DaamjpNDzM7iJ9Nv3Hna9kOBe7qvShYWuTIjjDSOdSDswPWsqnYA|

[OldRed2450]

14. He didn't have that kind of Power.

Lol, This is insane. I suppose just not work and let the mother of your kids go on welfare. I suppose that's the better option.

[Hav]

36. "Almost certainly" is code for

I have no effing clue, cannot prove anything but I still want to make wild accusations and thankfully for me, enough people will regard it as fact instead of thinking for themselves.

[Politicub]

42. This kind of garbage is not reporting. It's akin to opinion masquerading as news.

Actually, it's below an opinion since the article is built on a false narrative. The author and person quoted are using hyperbole that Buttigieg's work led to layoffs. That's an absurd assumption to make based on his junior-level status at the firm.

[George II]

9. They're attacking Buttigieg for a mere 2-1/2 years of work at McKinsey as his first job....

....out of college.

Give us a break, I'd like what some of his attackers did right after college and for how long. Some I suspect didn't even go to work right after graduating, or for how long.

This whole scandal is ridiculous and divisive. People should just let it go, there are a lot more important things to worry about, not the least of which is getting rid of trump next year. As Jesus said (paraphrasing), "let those who live in glass houses cast the first stone"!

[UniteFightBack]

13. And some were not even Democrats !!!!!!!!!!!! nt

[radical noodle]

16. Some (or one) didn't go to work for years n/t

[betsuni]

11. Typical. Saying it's about policy while going after character, corrupt forever because of paling

around with a corporation once. The ignorance of some of those comments in the article is frightening. Have people forgotten what the economy was like when those lay-offs happened in 2009? If Pete does well he'll be personally responsible for everything bad in the country. I hope he never gave a paid speech!

[radical noodle]

17. God forbid if he wrote emails

[radical noodle]

18. Let's be honest

about exactly who is trying to nuke Pete.

[OKNancy]

21. +1

[betsuni]

22. +1

[R B Garr]

23. +1

We’ve seen this movie before....

[PhoenixDem]

27. There you have it!!

[The Valley Below]

19. This is a big mistake.

These sorts of cheap smears will backfire in a huge way.

And didn't someone sign a pledge?

[OKNancy]

20. Isn't Blue Cross a non-profit?

I know it used to be. In Oklahoma BCBS is not a publicly traded company and doesn't have any investors

--
Oh as I wrote before on one of these Pete threads. Chelsea Clinton worked for McKinsey. It's where the best and brightest all wanted to go. I had a friend in that category many years ago who worked there after Harvard.

[TidalWave46]

24. I'm not sure this is from the left.

“Hours after Pete Buttigieg released his list of clients at McKinsey, the left already had a nickname teed up for him: “Pete Romney.” “

I don’t trust anyone from Politico telling me where these attacks are coming from. They are the kings and queens of dividing us and claiming the message is from others on the left. It’s a cornerstone of that shifty operations model.

Cheap smears by a right wing outlet.

[PhoenixDem]

29. Please read the byline ... n/t

[Squinch]

33. I'm still not sure this is from the left.

[TidalWave46]

38. I don't see the significance in that.

A Politico "Sanders supporter" trashing other democrats with nothing real to back up their argument. Sounds to be exactly as I outlined above.

[PhoenixDem]

45. I was actually supporting your position n/t

[NYMinute]

25. From the BS Bible ...

"And then David Sirota said, let there be ratfucking and gaslighting of Democrats polling higher. The obedient faithful immediately started writing stories and then spreading them far and wide to serve the lord." Vlad 3:12

[PhoenixDem]

30. ...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-men !!

[TidalWave46]

39. .

[empedocles]

26. Dems who attack Dems - eh

[Amimnoch]

28. In other news the door greeter at Walmart in Hillsview South Dakota

Is now directly responsible for every mom and pop store closure Walmart has effected throughout the US!!

That Fry guy at McDonalds in Minowi, Nebraska is directly responsible for Americas obesity problem.

What absolutely ridiculous BS.

[PhoenixDem]

31. Par for the source n/t

[StarfishSaver]

44. I wonder how many of the people going after Pete on this get their income from corporate sources

But I guess that's different.

[Squinch]

32. I can't help but notice that "this DU poster's daughter" seems to specialize in negative

articles about Democratic candidates.

[BannonsLiver]

46. Absolutely

And “dad” enjoys finding other material just like it and posting it. The content is almost at never about Sanders.

[LanternWaste]

35. Small potatoes in the back forty of actual issues.

But I get it... that's what you do.

(this post was written by this poster)

[comradebillyboy]

37. Is all work in the private sector now unacceptable to "progressives"?

It sure looks that way to me.

[Politicub]

40. Consultants are not CEOs.

They make recommendations and do not run a client company. When a company hires a consulting firm, the firm is given an assignment that they use to model scenarios and make plans. Buttigieg was a new employee at McKinsey, and would have been working on a team. As a junior employee, he would most likely be crunching numbers or conducting research that people senior to him would use for planning.

The operatives who are using the list of his clients to bash him are craven opportunists. Lazy, too. I'm not surprised at their behavior, but I'm disappointed by it.

[StarfishSaver]

43. Stupid

[kacekwl]

47. I didn't know that Pete was a

managing partner or CEO when he was employed there.