The historic nature of Pete Buttigieg’s presidential candidacy has, to some extent, fallen under the radar during the election to date. Yes, the fact that the 38-year-old former South Bend, Indiana, mayor is the first gay man to run a serious presidential bid and win a nomination contest has certainly been noted. Still the full significance of his trailblazing has yet to be fully appreciated.
Perhaps this is due to the Democratic field, including many other “firsts” and the history-making nature of the Trump era. Or, it might have something to do with the fact that mainstream anti-gay bigotry feels like old news (even though it isn’t.) Either way, after the candidate announced the end of his campaign and dropped out of the race Sunday evening, it’s time to earnestly consider the fact that his candidacy shows that the era of gay victimhood and oppression is largely over.
Remember, less than five years ago, it was still illegal for gay people to marry in 13 states. Heck, the Supreme Court only struck down anti-sodomy laws that made gay sex illegal in 2003 — not exactly ancient history. Even in 2012, it would have been out of the question that an openly gay, married man could run for president, and basically no one would care.
That’s what’s really so remarkable here.
Yes, it’s an important landmark that a gay person could launch a serious presidential bid. Representation matters in a representative democracy, and it’s not identity politics to acknowledge that. What would be identity politics is voting for a candidate just because of his or her sexuality to check off an identity box in the history books. I never even considered voting for Buttigieg given our profound policy differences, and in fact, criticized him at almost every turn during his campaign.
But most remarkable is the fact that Buttigieg’s sexuality was largely, if not totally, a nonissue during his bid. Heck, President Trump said it’s “great” that a gay man could run for president, remarking that he “ha[s] no problem with it whatsoever.” Trump later said he would personally vote for a gay candidate. (Could you imagine Mitt Romney saying that? I sure can’t.)
To have that kind of acceptance coming from the leader of the GOP really shows just how far we’ve progressed toward being a society where public figures are not judged on who they love or how they structure their family life.
Sure, there were a handful of conservatives here and there who made homophobic remarks about Buttigieg or were otherwise bothered by his sexuality. But by and large, most Republicans didn’t care and made substantive criticisms and arguments against the mayor instead.
If anything, the most virulent intolerance toward Buttigieg during this campaign cycle probably came from the woke Left.
Left-wing journalists wrote nasty screeds and social media diatribes about how Buttigieg “wasn’t gay enough,” because he wasn’t super effeminate or a black transgender woman or something. Some radical activists even dubbed Buttigieg a gay traitor for not being a socialist. But even these voices were fringe, not mainstream.
As pundits opine on what Buttigieg’s exit means for the state of the 2020 race, we shouldn’t forget that it says a lot that a gay man can run for president and be welcomed into the political arena, regardless of his sexuality, by the mainstream of both parties.
