If you can say anything about Pete Buttigieg, it’s that he’s ambitious. After all, what other human being would think that a stint as mayor of a small city like South Bend, Ind., qualifies him to run for president?
What Buttigieg really wants more than anything else is to occupy the Oval Office. He’s chomping at the bit to become the FIRST GAY PRESIDENT (James Buchanan notwithstanding) because these days, everything for the Democrats has to be a first.
The problem is that Buttigieg’s ambition outweighs his competence. After all, during his tenure as secretary of Transportation, he went on paternity leave as the nation dealt with the supply chain crisis, his department issued a meme that was terribly unfunny and may have violated the Hatch Act, and he embarked on a crusade to rid the world of “racist infrastructure.” Let’s not forget about how he flies private jets yet thinks it’s so simple for everyone to buy an expensive electric vehicle.
The latest problem in the Buttigieg era of transportation is the computer failure at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that grounded flights all across the country, coupled with an Amtrak train that remained stopped in rural South Carolina for over 24 hours.
PJ Media’s very own Vodkapundit points out that the FAA outage is proof positive that the Buttigieg Department of Transportation (DOT) doesn’t have its priorities straight:
While the FAA’s vital computer system went down — perhaps due to external attack, but I’ll get to that in a moment — Transportation was focused on “Racial equity,” “inclusion,” “income inequality,” “environmental justice,” and “climate change.”
It’s one small step between preening about racist highways and suffering a systems failure producing the same result as a terror attack.
Regardless of the cause of the FAA computer failure, the debacle exposed the weaknesses in our transportation system, something that Buttigieg has done nothing to combat, despite Congress throwing billions of dollars at infrastructure.
Related: FAA Grounds Flights Nationwide After Computer System Failure
Over at National Review, Dan McLaughlin explains that the FAA’s computer system has been the target of complaints for some time now, but Buttigieg has fixed other problems than the software itself.
In the case of the latest FAA failure, which grounded more than 10,000 flights, there were complaints for years about the FAA’s creaky, outdated Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) system. (The complaints had even prompted Representative Pete Stauber (R., Minn.) to propose reforms before any of this happened.) Yet the only discernable step taken by Buttigieg was to rename NOTAM in December 2021 from its original name, Notice to Airmen, which was deemed insufficiently gender-inclusive. It speaks volumes about Buttigieg’s values, and the depth of his understanding of DOT’s responsibilities, that this was a higher priority for him than making sure the planes would not get grounded.
So what will this latest failure of the DOT do to Mr. Ambitious and his plans to seek higher office? Republicans have taken the FAA failure as an opportunity to blast Buttigieg — and rightly so.
The past year has made clear that significant improvements across the aviation system are needed. We will aggressively pursue accountability and craft reforms that focus on enhancing the passenger experience. (2/2)
— Rep. Garret Graves (@RepGarretGraves) January 11, 2023
The Hill reports Buttigieg as saying that his department “directed an after-action process to determine root causes and recommend next steps,” which PJ Media’s Paula Bolyard refers to as “corporate-speak for ‘we’ll make a good show of trying to get to the bottom of this.’”
Buttigieg has also allowed others in the administration to do his heavy lifting, relying on Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to handle the rail strike threats while, as McLaughlin puts it, Buttigieg “was doing public appearances at the Detroit Auto Show, appearing on late-night talk shows, and pushing Democratic talking points about inflation, climate, and race.”
Even though conservatives have pointed out Buttigieg’s missteps and outright failures, it’s not as clear whether Democrats have seen through “Mayor Pete” as he phones it in as transportation secretary. He’s counting on nobody noticing the terrible job he’s done.
“When Buttigieg inevitably seeks higher office, or even a promotion to a better slot in this administration, he will be betting that nobody looks too closely at his record as secretary of transportation,” McLaughlin concludes. “But he may find that in taking the post, he bought a non-refundable ticket.”
We can only watch and wait as Buttigieg stumbles and bumbles in a Cabinet position and hope that it derails his ambition for higher office.
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