SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg answers questions at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Iowa Starting Line forum on December 6, 2019 in Waterloo, Iowa. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
#RefundPete Trends as Early Backers Request Donations Back After Learning Buttigieg Not So Progressive After All
"The honeymoon is over."
Dec 11, 2019
Though they initially viewed South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg as an intriguing and progressive newcomer when he began his presidential campaign early this year, the #RefundPete hashtag began trending Thursday morning on social media as a growing number of former donors started requesting their donations back in the wake of recent revelations about the 2020 Democratic candidate.
Kristen Hill, a volunteer community leader for the presidential primary campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in North Carolina, was one of the first voters to kick off the viral hashtag #RefundPete.
"If Pete Buttigieg fooled you into thinking he was a progressive at the beginning of his campaign and you donated what he thinks is pocket change, you can ask for a refund by emailing your receipt to info@peteforamerica.com," Hill tweeted.
In October, Buttigieg criticized his progressive opponents, Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for running their campaigns on "pocket change" by accepting mostly small donations of under $200.
Buttigieg has raised 52% of his $50 million campaign dollars through large contributions, and has so far been outraised by both Sanders and Warren.
"Just got my refund from Pete's campaign," wrote one social media user as the #RefundPete hashtag took off. "It was just pocket change so he won't miss it."
Another shared the email they sent to the campaign as the hashtag took off.
"On March 19th of 2019 I made a ten-dollar donation to your campaign," wrote Quinn Rattan. "I was thrilled to donate to him alongside a few other candidates I determined were progressive and trying to restructure our broken political system."
"In the passing months, Mayer Buttigieg has repeatedly run disinformation campaigns about his opponents' plans for improving healthcare and public college...I also found his answer on big money in politics to be borderline disqualifying," Rattan added.
According to testimonials by other former donors, the campaign has agreed to refund requests.
Progressives have denounced the mayor in recent weeks over what many have viewed as his disingenuous attacks on Medicare for All and universal tuition-free public college. Under pressure from progressive critics concerned about his lack of transparency regarding high-dollar fundraisers, Buttigieg finally announced Monday that he'd open the events to reporters.
Buttigieg's increasing attacks on Medicare for All presented a sharp contrast to his early campaign, when he urged the Democratic field to push for bold, far-reaching changes to the U.S. political and economic system. During the Democratic debate in July, he said, "It's time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say...Let's stand up for the right policy, go up there and defend it."
Buttigieg also said early in the campaign that he was open to packing the Supreme Court and lower courts and abolishing the Electoral College.
But since then, a number of critics have in recent months pointed to Buttigieg's alignment with corporate interests as evidence that he will do little to further progressive goals.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee highlighted the viral #RefundPete trend on Thursday.
"The honeymoon is over," wrote the committee.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Though they initially viewed South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg as an intriguing and progressive newcomer when he began his presidential campaign early this year, the #RefundPete hashtag began trending Thursday morning on social media as a growing number of former donors started requesting their donations back in the wake of recent revelations about the 2020 Democratic candidate.
Kristen Hill, a volunteer community leader for the presidential primary campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in North Carolina, was one of the first voters to kick off the viral hashtag #RefundPete.
"If Pete Buttigieg fooled you into thinking he was a progressive at the beginning of his campaign and you donated what he thinks is pocket change, you can ask for a refund by emailing your receipt to info@peteforamerica.com," Hill tweeted.
In October, Buttigieg criticized his progressive opponents, Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for running their campaigns on "pocket change" by accepting mostly small donations of under $200.
Buttigieg has raised 52% of his $50 million campaign dollars through large contributions, and has so far been outraised by both Sanders and Warren.
"Just got my refund from Pete's campaign," wrote one social media user as the #RefundPete hashtag took off. "It was just pocket change so he won't miss it."
Another shared the email they sent to the campaign as the hashtag took off.
"On March 19th of 2019 I made a ten-dollar donation to your campaign," wrote Quinn Rattan. "I was thrilled to donate to him alongside a few other candidates I determined were progressive and trying to restructure our broken political system."
"In the passing months, Mayer Buttigieg has repeatedly run disinformation campaigns about his opponents' plans for improving healthcare and public college...I also found his answer on big money in politics to be borderline disqualifying," Rattan added.
According to testimonials by other former donors, the campaign has agreed to refund requests.
Progressives have denounced the mayor in recent weeks over what many have viewed as his disingenuous attacks on Medicare for All and universal tuition-free public college. Under pressure from progressive critics concerned about his lack of transparency regarding high-dollar fundraisers, Buttigieg finally announced Monday that he'd open the events to reporters.
Buttigieg's increasing attacks on Medicare for All presented a sharp contrast to his early campaign, when he urged the Democratic field to push for bold, far-reaching changes to the U.S. political and economic system. During the Democratic debate in July, he said, "It's time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say...Let's stand up for the right policy, go up there and defend it."
Buttigieg also said early in the campaign that he was open to packing the Supreme Court and lower courts and abolishing the Electoral College.
But since then, a number of critics have in recent months pointed to Buttigieg's alignment with corporate interests as evidence that he will do little to further progressive goals.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee highlighted the viral #RefundPete trend on Thursday.
"The honeymoon is over," wrote the committee.
Though they initially viewed South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg as an intriguing and progressive newcomer when he began his presidential campaign early this year, the #RefundPete hashtag began trending Thursday morning on social media as a growing number of former donors started requesting their donations back in the wake of recent revelations about the 2020 Democratic candidate.
Kristen Hill, a volunteer community leader for the presidential primary campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in North Carolina, was one of the first voters to kick off the viral hashtag #RefundPete.
"If Pete Buttigieg fooled you into thinking he was a progressive at the beginning of his campaign and you donated what he thinks is pocket change, you can ask for a refund by emailing your receipt to info@peteforamerica.com," Hill tweeted.
In October, Buttigieg criticized his progressive opponents, Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for running their campaigns on "pocket change" by accepting mostly small donations of under $200.
Buttigieg has raised 52% of his $50 million campaign dollars through large contributions, and has so far been outraised by both Sanders and Warren.
"Just got my refund from Pete's campaign," wrote one social media user as the #RefundPete hashtag took off. "It was just pocket change so he won't miss it."
Another shared the email they sent to the campaign as the hashtag took off.
"On March 19th of 2019 I made a ten-dollar donation to your campaign," wrote Quinn Rattan. "I was thrilled to donate to him alongside a few other candidates I determined were progressive and trying to restructure our broken political system."
"In the passing months, Mayer Buttigieg has repeatedly run disinformation campaigns about his opponents' plans for improving healthcare and public college...I also found his answer on big money in politics to be borderline disqualifying," Rattan added.
According to testimonials by other former donors, the campaign has agreed to refund requests.
Progressives have denounced the mayor in recent weeks over what many have viewed as his disingenuous attacks on Medicare for All and universal tuition-free public college. Under pressure from progressive critics concerned about his lack of transparency regarding high-dollar fundraisers, Buttigieg finally announced Monday that he'd open the events to reporters.
Buttigieg's increasing attacks on Medicare for All presented a sharp contrast to his early campaign, when he urged the Democratic field to push for bold, far-reaching changes to the U.S. political and economic system. During the Democratic debate in July, he said, "It's time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say...Let's stand up for the right policy, go up there and defend it."
Buttigieg also said early in the campaign that he was open to packing the Supreme Court and lower courts and abolishing the Electoral College.
But since then, a number of critics have in recent months pointed to Buttigieg's alignment with corporate interests as evidence that he will do little to further progressive goals.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee highlighted the viral #RefundPete trend on Thursday.
"The honeymoon is over," wrote the committee.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.