What Pete Buttigieg Meant to Me

The surprising success of Mayor Pete’s candidacy — and the backlash against it — has made me reassess my political affiliations.

It was the spring of 2005, and I was sitting at the monthly Democratic Women’s Luncheon. I’d made rather a habit of going to these gatherings, as they were a good chance for Young Democrats to meet with and network with local Democratic politicians. A lot of us were still rather glum from the losses that we’d encountered that past November, when George W. Bush had beaten John Kerry in the general. We’d also lost several seats in the state house and senate.

When that luncheon’s guest got up to speak, I was reminded at once of James Carville. He had that sort of wild southern charm, although in his case it was probably more Appalachian than Cajun. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take him long to get to the crux of his talk. “Three things lost us this past election,” he declaimed in that unique southern West Virginia accent. “God, guns, and gays.”

I honestly don’t remember much of the rest of that speech, though I do seem to remember one of my friends giving me awkward glances at this brazen blaming of queer people for our electoral loss. I also remember my feeling of helpless, seething rage at this casual abandonment of queer people by…