Pete Buttigieg on 2024 and the ‘Crank Realignment’

Episode Overview

• The episode explores the erosion of political trust in America, examining why the Democratic party has lost the confidence of many voters and how figures like Pete Buttigieg are trying to win it back.
• Buttigieg outlines his vision for an "opportunity economy," emphasizing public investment in infrastructure and education as the key to reversing the decline in social mobility.
• The conversation delves into the practical challenges of implementing progressive policies, particularly the difficulty of building new housing and clean energy infrastructure despite intellectual agreement on its importance.
• Buttigieg critiques the Republican party's economic policies, such as universal tariffs, and its shift towards isolationism, contrasting it with the Biden administration's focus on a rules-based international order.

Key Concepts

• Erosion of Political Trust: The central theme is the decline of trust in American institutions, leading to a political landscape where voters are sorted by their level of trust in the system.
• Buttigieg's Role as a Communicator: He is positioned as the Democratic party's premier communicator, tasked with engaging a skeptical public and appearing on conservative media to counter misinformation.
• The "Build More" Dilemma: A core tension within the Democratic party is identified: the intellectual desire to build more housing and green infrastructure is often blocked by an institutional fear of deregulation and local opposition.
• The "Opportunity Economy": This concept is defined not just by deregulation but by large-scale public investment in foundational needs (infrastructure, education) to create a more level playing field.
• Declining Social Mobility: Buttigieg uses the fact that Americans' chances of earning more than their parents have dropped from 90% to 50% as the key metric for judging economic policy success.
• Local vs. Federal Solutions: The conversation highlights the effectiveness and pragmatism of local governments, suggesting they are a crucial, and sometimes overlooked, avenue for policy salvation.
• Hatch Act Limitations: The interview is constrained by a federal law preventing Buttigieg from discussing his work as Transportation Secretary in a political or campaign context.

Quotes

• At 0:37 - "[He is] the Democratic Party's acknowledged best of class communicator." - Ezra Klein, describing Pete Buttigieg's current role and reputation within his party.
• At 1:30 - "The Democratic Party has lost the trust of a lot of people who once supported it... Donald Trump's Republican Party is a party full of people who don't trust the system." - Ezra Klein, outlining the political sorting that has occurred around the issue of trust.
• At 23:38 - "This seems like a thing that is sort of winning intellectually much more than it is winning at a policy level." - Ezra Klein on the difficulty of passing policies that would make it easier to build housing and clean energy, despite growing consensus on the need for them.
• At 24:32 - "Democrats have sometimes been a little quick to look at a federal solution when we really need to recognize that a lot of our salvation, socially and policy-wise, I think will come from the local." - Pete Buttigieg arguing for the importance of empowering local governments to solve problems.
• At 27:57 - "The yardstick I would use to see if we're getting to the thing... is social mobility." - Pete Buttigieg explaining that the ultimate goal of an "opportunity economy" is to restore the American Dream, where children are likely to be better off than their parents.
• At 28:57 - "A real level of investment, recognizing that opportunity isn't just about deregulating some space where you're hoping to open a small business, but also making sure... you're doing it on a foundation of education, the infrastructure, and whatever else you needed in life to get to that point." - Pete Buttigieg defining the Biden-Harris administration's approach to creating an "opportunity economy" through public investment.
• At 34:04 - "We were told, 'Look, just go along with all of these things that are positive-sum... The pie will get bigger. Don't worry about your slice, it'll definitely be bigger'... And only half of that promise came true. The pie got bigger, but a lot of people's slices... didn't." - Pete Buttigieg explaining why voters in the industrial Midwest are receptive to zero-sum economic arguments after feeling left behind by globalization.
• At 39:00 - "What you didn't hear from J.D. Vance is what I think an earnest politician would do, which is to say, 'People where I live... have this problem, so I went and got them help.'" - Pete Buttigieg criticizing J.D. Vance for using local problems for political gain rather than seeking federal solutions for his constituents.
• At 40:26 - "Have you no decency? And the whole thing fell apart. I don't know whether that day is 10 years away or whether the fact that this Ohio narrative coincides with Trump and Vance slipping in the polls this week means that it's sooner than we think." - Pete Buttigieg expressing hope that a "breaking point" will come for the current style of Republican politics.

Takeaways

• To rebuild trust, focus on empowering local governments, which can be more pragmatic and responsive to community needs than distant federal agencies.
• Frame economic policy around the goal of increasing social mobility, as it provides a clear and relatable measure of whether the economy is working for ordinary people.
• Bridge the gap between policy goals and real-world results by addressing the institutional and political barriers that prevent the building of necessary infrastructure.
• Counter populist economic arguments by acknowledging past policy failures and clearly articulating the direct costs of proposals like universal tariffs on American families.
• Effective political leadership involves not just identifying problems but actively working to secure solutions and deliver resources to affected communities.