Virtue signal, thy name is Boot-edge-edge.
Rumors that Mayor Pete is returning campaign donations from two lawyers who defended Brett Kavanaugh during his brutal nomination fight appear to be true. The Buttigieg campaign told The Guardian that the contributions had somehow slipped through the cracks and that Mayor Pete would not accept money from anyone who supported the judge. This should be a major scandal – but probably not in the way Buttigieg and his staffers think.
“With nearly 700,000 donors, a contribution we would otherwise refuse sometimes gets through,” the campaign said. “We believe the women who have courageously spoken out about Brett Kavanaugh’s assault and misconduct, and we thank the Guardian for bringing this contribution to our attention.”
Mayor Pete returns donations from Kavanaugh lawyers
The two donors, Alexandra Walsh and Beth Wilkinson, donated $7,200 and $2,800 respectively. The Guardian brought the donations to the campaign’s attention – at least according to the campaign – prompting Buttigieg to disavow the donors and their money.
“[Kavanaugh] should have never been put on the supreme court and this campaign will not accept donations from those who played a role in making that happen,” the campaign said. “Accordingly, we will be returning this contribution and others from this firm.”
Kavanaugh hired the lawyers through the Washington firm Wilkinson Walsh Eskovitz after his nomination was nearly railroaded by an allegation of sexual assault from a former high school classmate. The embattled judge was narrowly confirmed to the Supreme Court last October after a few bone-scraping few weeks of national outrage that almost tore the country apart.
Despite their legal work for the conservative Kavanaugh, the two women have donated extensively to Democratic candidates. Wilkinson has donated to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Ca.), Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Co.) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-Ny.), who dropped out after failing to gain traction. Walsh has also donated to Democratic candidates.
The Guardian noted that Buttigieg’s campaign returned $3,150 that went over the limit to Walsh.
Pete on the rise
More than a year since Kavanaugh rose to the Supreme Court, his confirmation remains a bitter point of contention between Democrats and Republicans. Progressives have never forgiven Republicans for confirming him, whereas many Republicans consider Kavanaugh an innocent man blackballed in a smear operation that has no parallel for its depravity in the annals of American history.
In September, Buttigieg was among the 2020 Democrats who called for Kavanaugh to be impeached after the New York Times forwarded a new allegation of misconduct against him. The story was later walked back after the Times admitted that it was not backed up by the anonymous, alleged victim or her friends.
Buttigieg has been closely watched amid favorable poll numbers nationally and in Iowa, where he has recently taken the lead. The Midwestern mayor is being seen as an alternative moderate candidate to Joe Biden, whose campaign has failed to inspire confidence despite his de facto frontrunner status.
A challenge for Buttigieg is considered to be his lack of support with black voters, a problem that Biden does not share. But Buttigieg is widely seen as a top-four candidate.
Buttigieg’s disavowal is in line with the kind of purity tests that have come to characterize the modern Democratic party. As Democrats push far to the left, the party has made so much as appearing on Fox News into a virtual sin.
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