Buttigieg pledges fight against ‘systemic racism’
CHICAGO — Looking to improve his standing with black voters, Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg pitched a plan Tuesday to tackle “systemic racism” that he said exists in housing, health care, education, policing and other aspects of American life.
The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, told a predominantly black audience at a Chicago meeting of Rainbow PUSH, the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s civil rights organization, that his plan includes providing more opportunity for minority businesses, strengthening voting rights and reforming the criminal justice system.
He said he would cut incarceration numbers in half by legalizing marijuana and eliminating prison time for simple drug possession. He wants to restore voting rights for some 6 million Americans with felony convictions and supports “bold and meaningful action” on reparations for the descendants of slaves.
Buttigieg’s speech followed the June 16 fatal shooting of a black man by a white South Bend police officer, which he said re-exposed a “racial chasm” between black and white residents in the racially diverse community of roughly 100,000 people. The shooting has threatened to erode the already marginal backing he’s received from black voters for his 2020 bid.
“This is not just a political problem, and it is not just a police problem, and it is not just my problem or my city’s problem,” he said Tuesday. “And it is certainly not just a black problem. This is an American problem. And it requires nationwide American solutions.”
In other political news Tuesday:
• Cory Booker has rolled out an immigration agenda composed of changes he said he could make without relying on Congress, including a shift away from criminal prosecution of border-crossers and a new mandate for migrant detention facilities to meet minimum standards.
Booker’s immigration plan, unveiled Tuesday, is one of the most detailed among Democratic White House hopefuls. His proposal focuses entirely on executive orders that a future president could pursue without relying on a legislative deal.
For instance, if elected, Booker would use his presidential powers to orient the Department of Homeland Security away from raids that target migrants at locations such as schools or churches while adding courthouses to that list, according to a summary released by the New Jersey senator’s campaign. Booker also vows to end President Donald Trump’s ban on travel to the U.S. by residents of certain majoritymuslim nations, the Trump administration’s use of quotas in immigration courts and multiple other policy changes that Trump has used to reshape immigration policy.
• Democrat John Hickenlooper has rebuffed entreaties from his campaign staff to drop his White House bid and consider running for a Senate seat in Colorado, insisting he still has a path to win the Democratic presidential nomination, Democrats said Tuesday.
The former two-term Colorado governor is in the bottom tier of polling, hasn’t generated significant fundraising and is at risk of being eliminated from the fall debates.
But that’s not persuading him to drop out. He insists he still has a chance, a belief that triggered the departure of four top aides, ranging from his campaign manager to his digital director.
The discussion about Hickenlooper potentially exiting the race was first reported by Politico.
Hickenlooper on Monday night announced he has hired a new campaign manager, M.E. Smith, who worked on Hickenlooper’s successful reelection in 2014 and last year ran Sen. Bob Casey’s winning campaign in Pennsylvania.
• President Trump’s reelection campaign says it raised $105 million during the second fundraising quarter.
Campaign manager Brad Parscale said none of the Democrats who are running against Trump can match the president’s fundraising prowess or the level of enthusiasm for him.
Campaigns have until July 15 to report their fundraising totals to the Federal Election Commission, but many will release their endof-quarter totals if the numbers are especially good.
The Democratic campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders raised $18 million during the second fundraising quarter, it said Tuesday.