Changes

===Campaign and position developments===

===Campaign and position developments===

*In a new advertisement available December 2, Buttigieg once again abused the Bible as being in support of his planned policies, stating  “In our White House, you won’t have to shake your head and ask yourself, ‘Whatever happened to I was hungry and you fed me, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” However, as one commenter expressed, texts such as this are not speaking about wealthy leaders, who, rather than using their own wealth (or much of it) to help the poor, instead take the money of those who earned it in order to "buy" votes of those in whom they inculcated the demonic "victim-entitlement mentality, which they appeal to. And that contrary to the charge of liberals, evangelicals have been and are at the forefront (possible the foremost) providers of humanitarian aid thru private charity.<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3797876/posts#34 [Pro-Abortion Pete Buttigieg Quotes Jesus Christ In First SC TV Ad Of His Campaign]</ref><ref>Olsen, Andrew (May 2016) [https://gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2019/04/USMissionsSurvey_FINALReport.pdf Evangelicals and International Aid Insights from a landscape survey of U.S. churches] Gordon Conwell. Retrieved 12/04/19</ref>

*In a new advertisement available December 2, Buttigieg once again abused the Bible as being in support of his planned policies, stating  "In our White House, you won't have to shake your head and ask yourself, 'Whatever happened to I was hungry and you fed me, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.'" However, as one commenter expressed, texts such as this are not speaking about wealthy leaders, who, rather than using their own wealth (or much of it) to help the poor, instead take the money of those who earned it in order to "buy" votes of those in whom they inculcated the demonic "victim-entitlement mentality, which they appeal to. And that contrary to the charge of liberals, evangelicals have been and are at the forefront (possible the foremost) providers of humanitarian aid thru private charity.<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3797876/posts#34 [Pro-Abortion Pete Buttigieg Quotes Jesus Christ In First SC TV Ad Of His Campaign]</ref><ref>Olsen, Andrew (May 2016) [https://gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2019/04/USMissionsSurvey_FINALReport.pdf Evangelicals and International Aid Insights from a landscape survey of U.S. churches] Gordon Conwell. Retrieved 12/04/19</ref>

*In early December Buttigieg also promised easier access to abortion (under the rubric of "reproductive care") for women in the military, under the premise that easier access to abortion is necessary to overcome one of the "barriers to women’s success in the armed forces," thereby inferring to women that part of being a "success" is killing your very own child, and not just enemy soldiers.<ref>Nancy Flanders (December 2, 2019). [https://www.liveaction.org/news/military-women-abortion-soldiers-pete-buttigieg Military women are expected to be ‘good soldiers’ and have abortions] LIVE ACTION NEWS Retrieved 12/04/19</ref>

*In early December Buttigieg also promised easier access to abortion (under the rubric of "reproductive care") for women in the military, under the premise that easier access to abortion is necessary to overcome one of the "barriers to women’s success in the armed forces," thereby inferring to women that part of being a "success" is killing your very own child, and not just enemy soldiers.<ref>Nancy Flanders (December 2, 2019). [https://www.liveaction.org/news/military-women-abortion-soldiers-pete-buttigieg Military women are expected to be ‘good soldiers’ and have abortions] LIVE ACTION NEWS Retrieved 12/04/19</ref>

*On December 2, the Republican National Committee Research Team published a video clip of a video Buttigieg telling a women in Spanish that under his proposed "Medicare for All" government health plan, the opportunity to buy this subsidized plan would be for everyone regardless of their immigration status.<ref>[https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/02/in-spanish-mayor-pete-buttigieg-promises-government-health-care-for-illegal-immigrants/ Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Sunday told a Hispanic worker in South Carolina that illegal immigrants would have access to government-funded health care if he was elected president.] Breitbart News, Retrieved 12/04/19</ref>

*On December 2, the Republican National Committee Research Team published a video clip of a video Buttigieg telling a women in Spanish that under his proposed "Medicare for All" government health plan, the opportunity to buy this subsidized plan would be for everyone regardless of their immigration status.<ref>[https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/02/in-spanish-mayor-pete-buttigieg-promises-government-health-care-for-illegal-immigrants/ Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Sunday told a Hispanic worker in South Carolina that illegal immigrants would have access to government-funded health care if he was elected president.] Breitbart News, Retrieved 12/04/19</ref>

*Buttigieg has proposed an aging and retirement plan, termed "Long-Term Care America."  Under which spending plan benefits worth $90 per day would be provided for seniors over age 65 who require assistance for two or more activities of daily living, and would continue for as long they needed care. The plan would require massive amounts of new entitlement spending and is criticized as being akin to Title VIII of Obamacare, which established the "Community Living Assistance Services and Supports" (CLASS) program.   

*Buttigieg has proposed an aging and retirement plan, termed "Long-Term Care America."  Under which spending plan benefits worth $90 per day would be provided for seniors over age 65 who require assistance for two or more activities of daily living, and would continue for as long they needed care. The plan would require massive amounts of new entitlement spending and is criticized as being akin to Title VIII of Obamacare, which established the "Community Living Assistance Services and Supports" (CLASS) program.   

Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) referred to this as a “Ponzi scheme of the first order, and which the Obama administration had to shelve as unworkable as self-sustaining.  Since this Obamacare plan only required individuals to pay into the CLASS program for five years to qualify for benefits, then actuaries believed that those enrolled would pay a few thousand dollars in premiums over five years, and then collect benefits totaling tens of thousands of dollars or more.  While those enrolled in CLASS would have received a $50 per day benefit, under Buttigieg's plan recipients would receive a $90 daily benefit, 80 percent richer than that of the CLASS Act.  

Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) referred to this as a “Ponzi scheme of the first order, and which the Obama administration had to shelve as unworkable as self-sustaining.  Since this Obamacare plan only required individuals to pay into the CLASS program for five years to qualify for benefits, then actuaries believed that those enrolled would pay a few thousand dollars in premiums over five years, and then collect benefits totaling tens of thousands of dollars or more.  While those enrolled in CLASS would have received a $50 per day benefit, under Buttigieg's plan recipients would receive a $90 daily benefit, 80 percent richer than that of the CLASS Act.  

Buttigieg's Long-Term Care America plan also plans to end the two-year waiting period presently needed for individuals receiving Social Security disability benefits to qualify for Medicare coverage.  

Buttigieg's Long-Term Care America plan also plans to end the two-year waiting period presently needed for individuals receiving Social Security disability benefits to qualify for Medicare coverage.  

In addition, it proposes an expansion of Social Security benefits funded by higher taxes on individuals earning above $250,000, which benefits include raising Medicaid’s asset limit for people who need long term care to $10,000 from about $2,000 in assets and increasing the income limit by 300 percent, or $2,313 per month for an individual in 2019. This government plan would also provide a new credit and provision for caregivers, including making it easier for individuals to hire neighbors or family members as caregivers.  

In addition, it proposes an expansion of Social Security benefits funded by higher taxes on individuals earning above $250,000, which benefits include raising Medicaid’s asset limit for people who need long term care to $10,000 from about $2,000 in assets and increasing the income limit by 300 percent, or $2,313 per month for an individual in 2019. This government plan would also provide a new credit and provision for caregivers, including making it easier for individuals to hire neighbors or family members as caregivers.  

The plan would further institute new staffing requirements for nursing homes (requiring geriatric mental health expertise in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and Medicare Advantage networks) while increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. An enhanced version of the FAMILY Act is also envisioned which will create a national paid family and medical leave fund to care for family members by providing at least 12 weeks of paid family leave per year as a portable benefit.  

The plan would further institute new staffing requirements for nursing homes (requiring geriatric mental health expertise in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and Medicare Advantage networks) while increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. An enhanced version of the FAMILY Act is also envisioned which will create a national paid family and medical leave fund to care for family members by providing at least 12 weeks of paid family leave per year as a portable benefit.  

More tax-funded provisions are proposed, all of which would significantly raise costs to the Medicaid program.<ref>Christopher Jacobs (December 5, 2019) [https://thefederalist.com/2019/12/05/ponzi-pete-buttigieg-proposes-even-more-unsustainable-federal-entitlements ‘Ponzi Pete’ Buttigieg Proposes Even More Unsustainable Federal Entitlements] The Federalist, Retrieved 12/06/19</ref><ref>[https://storage.googleapis.com/pfa-webapp/documents/PFA_Retirement_White_Paper.pdf Dignity and Security in Retirement] Retrieved 12/06/19</ref>

More tax-funded provisions are proposed, all of which would significantly raise costs to the Medicaid program.<ref>Christopher Jacobs (December 5, 2019) [https://thefederalist.com/2019/12/05/ponzi-pete-buttigieg-proposes-even-more-unsustainable-federal-entitlements ‘Ponzi Pete’ Buttigieg Proposes Even More Unsustainable Federal Entitlements] The Federalist, Retrieved 12/06/19</ref><ref>[https://storage.googleapis.com/pfa-webapp/documents/PFA_Retirement_White_Paper.pdf Dignity and Security in Retirement] Retrieved 12/06/19</ref>

*On December 2, the Washington Post’s awarded Buttigieg “Three Pinocchios” (the highest bluff rating on its Fact Checker scale) after finding Buttigieg's claim that he had “cut the black poverty rate by more than half” in South Bend, Ind., since he became mayor there in 2012, to be false. The Post said that the actual figure was a 6 percent reduction, rather more than half. What Buttigieg’s campaign left out was data from 2018, which shows the African-American poverty rate in South Bend rose 8 percent in one year, to 32 percent.<ref> Danielle Wallace (December 11) [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-three-pinocchios-cut-black-poverty-more-than-half-south-bend-indiana-washington-post Pete Buttigieg earns 3 'Pinocchios' over claim he slashed black poverty] Fox news. (Retrieved 12/12/19) </ref> The national poverty rate for African-Americans in 2018 was 21 percent,<ref>https://www.povertyusa.org/facts</ref> down from 26 percent in 2011.<ref>https://www.povertyusa.org/data/2011</ref>  During the 2011-2017 period, the national poverty rate of black families decreased 6 percent, from 24 percent in 2011 to 18 percent in 2017 (in round figures).<ref>https://www.statista.com/statistics/205059/percentage-of-poor-black-families--in-the-us/</ref>

*On December 2, ''The Washington Post'' awarded Buttigieg "Three Pinocchios" (the highest bluff rating on its Fact Checker scale) after finding Buttigieg's claim that he had “cut the black poverty rate by more than half” in South Bend, Ind., since he became mayor there in 2012, to be false. The Post said that the actual figure was a 6 percent reduction, rather more than half. What Buttigieg’s campaign left out was data from 2018, which shows the African-American poverty rate in South Bend rose 8 percent in one year, to 32 percent.<ref> Danielle Wallace (December 11) [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-three-pinocchios-cut-black-poverty-more-than-half-south-bend-indiana-washington-post Pete Buttigieg earns 3 'Pinocchios' over claim he slashed black poverty] Fox news. (Retrieved 12/12/19)</ref> The national poverty rate for African-Americans in 2018 was 21 percent,<ref>https://www.povertyusa.org/facts</ref> down from 26 percent in 2011.<ref>https://www.povertyusa.org/data/2011</ref>  During the 2011-2017 period, the national poverty rate of black families decreased 6 percent, from 24 percent in 2011 to 18 percent in 2017 (in round figures).<ref>https://www.statista.com/statistics/205059/percentage-of-poor-black-families--in-the-us/</ref>

*On December 15, Buttigieg condemned a decision by the Hallmark Channel’s to pull four TV ads celebrating a lesbian couple kissing in response to a petition by a conservative group against it. In response, Buttigieg argued that being "family friendly means honoring love,"<ref>Rebecca Klar (12/15/19). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/474653-buttigieg-warns-against-censoring-difference-after-hallmark-channel-pulls] </ref> which is a recourse to the fallacious "love justifies sin" rational often used by other pro-homosexual advocates.<ref>[http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/Homosex_versus_the_Bible.html#Silence] Love Hermeneutic The Hill (Retrieved 12/15/19)</ref> On the same day Hallmark's parent company, Crown Media Family Networks, reversed the ban, stating they are "truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused" (while doing so to Christians) and promised to "look for ways to be more inclusive."<ref>Aris Folley (12/15/19). [https://thehill.com/homenews/media/474672-hallmark-channel-reverses-decision-to-pull-ads-featuring-same-sex-couples] The Hill (Retrieved 12/15/19)</ref></ref>

*On December 15, Buttigieg condemned a decision by the Hallmark Channel's to pull four TV ads celebrating a lesbian couple kissing in response to a petition by a conservative group against it. In response, Buttigieg argued that being "family friendly means honoring love,"<ref>Rebecca Klar (12/15/19). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/474653-buttigieg-warns-against-censoring-difference-after-hallmark-channel-pulls] </ref> which is a recourse to the fallacious "love justifies sin" rational often used by other pro-homosexual advocates.<ref>[http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/Homosex_versus_the_Bible.html#Silence] Love Hermeneutic The Hill (Retrieved 12/15/19)</ref> On the same day Hallmark's parent company, Crown Media Family Networks, reversed the ban, stating they are "truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused" (while doing so to Christians) and promised to "look for ways to be more inclusive."<ref>Aris Folley (12/15/19). [https://thehill.com/homenews/media/474672-hallmark-channel-reverses-decision-to-pull-ads-featuring-same-sex-couples] The Hill (Retrieved 12/15/19)</ref></ref>

*On December 23 Buttigieg told the Des Moines Register that incarceration should not even be a response to illegal possession of any drug, yet also stating that those in the drug pushing business should be targeted by law enforcement.  He characterized drug addicts as victims, nor criminals, for which he advocated rehabilitation and (more) federal money being spent toward that instead of being incarcerated for crimes. Buttigieg stated that he did not mean legalization of everything although he supported the legalization of marijuana.<ref>Pam Key, 25 Dec 2019. [https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/12/25/buttigieg-no-jail-time-for-possession-of-any-drug-including-meth-cocaine/ "Buttigieg: No Jail Time for Possession of Any Drug — Including Meth, Cocaine"] The Heritage Foundation (Retrieved 12/27/19)</ref>

*On December 23 Buttigieg told the Des Moines Register that incarceration should not even be a response to illegal possession of any drug, yet also stating that those in the drug pushing business should be targeted by law enforcement.  He characterized drug addicts as victims, nor criminals, for which he advocated rehabilitation and (more) federal money being spent toward that instead of being incarcerated for crimes. Buttigieg stated that he did not mean legalization of everything although he supported the legalization of marijuana.<ref>Pam Key, 25 Dec 2019. [https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2019/12/25/buttigieg-no-jail-time-for-possession-of-any-drug-including-meth-cocaine/ "Buttigieg: No Jail Time for Possession of Any Drug — Including Meth, Cocaine"] The Heritage Foundation (Retrieved 12/27/19)</ref>

Federal money for rehabilitation has been part of the Federal budget for many years. By 1991, Federal expenditures for drug treatment had risen by 341 percent since 1986 -- 20 percent faster than the total drug budget, 30 percent faster than spending for drug law enforcement and 700 percent faster than overall federal spending.<ref>Jeffrey Eisenach and Andrew Cowin, May 17, 1991. [https://thecrimereport.org/2018/06/08/why-arent-we-spending-more-on-prisoner-education "The Case Against More Funds for Drug Treatment"] The Heritage Foundation (Retrieved 12/27/19)</ref> In 2015, Federal Block Grant funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (one program among others addressing this need) was $1.819 billion. This goes toward supporting employment, housing, rehabilitation services, crisis stabilization, peer specialist and consumer-directed services, wraparound services for children and families, jail diversion programs, and services for special populations. <ref>Shelley Starkey, June 27, 2019. [https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/topics/federal-budget/ "Federal Budget for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment"] National Council for Behavioral Health (Retrieved 12/27/19)</ref>  Funding for this administration for fiscal year 2020 was $5.9 billion. In addition to other programs, block grant funding for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment was $1.8 billion, and $1.5 billion for State Opioid Response (SOR) Grants.<ref>Malka Berro, December 20, 2019. [https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/capitol-connector/2019/12/congress-passes-fy-2020-funding/ "Congress Passes FY 2020 Funding"] National Council for Behavioral Health (Retrieved 12/27/19)</ref>

Federal money for rehabilitation has been part of the Federal budget for many years. By 1991, Federal expenditures for drug treatment had risen by 341 percent since 1986 -- 20 percent faster than the total drug budget, 30 percent faster than spending for drug law enforcement and 700 percent faster than overall federal spending.<ref>Jeffrey Eisenach and Andrew Cowin, May 17, 1991. [https://thecrimereport.org/2018/06/08/why-arent-we-spending-more-on-prisoner-education "The Case Against More Funds for Drug Treatment"] The Heritage Foundation (Retrieved 12/27/19)</ref> In 2015, Federal Block Grant funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (one program among others addressing this need) was $1.819 billion. This goes toward supporting employment, housing, rehabilitation services, crisis stabilization, peer specialist and consumer-directed services, wraparound services for children and families, jail diversion programs, and services for special populations.<ref>Shelley Starkey, June 27, 2019. [https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/topics/federal-budget/ "Federal Budget for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment"] National Council for Behavioral Health (Retrieved 12/27/19)</ref>  Funding for this administration for fiscal year 2020 was $5.9 billion. In addition to other programs, block grant funding for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment was $1.8 billion, and $1.5 billion for State Opioid Response (SOR) Grants.<ref>Malka Berro, December 20, 2019. [https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/capitol-connector/2019/12/congress-passes-fy-2020-funding/ "Congress Passes FY 2020 Funding"] National Council for Behavioral Health (Retrieved 12/27/19)</ref>

*On December 25, he tweeted a Christmas greeting "celebrating the arrival of divinity on earth, who came into this world not in riches but in poverty, not as a citizen but as a refugee."

*On December 25, he tweeted a Christmas greeting "celebrating the arrival of divinity on earth, who came into this world not in riches but in poverty, not as a citizen but as a refugee."

This is not the first time liberals have sought to misappropriate the authority of Scripture with this analogy, and which is criticized on factual grounds since Christ certainly did not come to earth as a refugee fleeing Heaven, thus not being born a refugee, while Joseph was a self-employed carpenter, a legal tax-paying citizen of Rome and there is no reason to think that he was particularly poor, nor did he flee to Egypt for economic reasons.  Instead, Joseph fled to Egypt, which had been folded into the Roman Empire, to escape Herod who would have murdered Christ, like as abortionists do to innocents under their local jurisdiction. Thus if anything, Joseph’s flight to Egypt would be more akin to fleeing mandated abortion in California for Texas rather than fleeing South America to the U.S. for government economic assistance, which is what Buttigieg promotes.<ref>Sam Dorman December 27, 2019. [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-backlash-refugee-jesus "Pete Buttigieg faces criticism for calling Jesus a refugee"] FOX News Network (Retrieved 12/28/19)</ref><ref> Brandon Morse, October 22, 2018. [https://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2018/10/22/no-jesus-not-refugee-illegal-immigrant/] RedState.com/Salem Media (Retrieved 12/28/19)</ref><ref>Daniel1212, 12/28/19 [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3803612/posts?page=65#65] Freerepublic.com (Retrieved 12/28/19)</ref>

This is not the first time liberals have sought to misappropriate the authority of Scripture with this analogy, and which is criticized on factual grounds since Christ certainly did not come to earth as a refugee fleeing Heaven, thus not being born a refugee, while Joseph was a self-employed carpenter, a legal tax-paying citizen of Rome and there is no reason to think that he was particularly poor, nor did he flee to Egypt for economic reasons.  Instead, Joseph fled to Egypt, which had been folded into the Roman Empire, to escape Herod who would have murdered Christ, like as abortionists do to innocents under their local jurisdiction. Thus if anything, Joseph’s flight to Egypt would be more akin to fleeing mandated abortion in California for Texas rather than fleeing South America to the U.S. for government economic assistance, which is what Buttigieg promotes.<ref>Sam Dorman December 27, 2019. [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-backlash-refugee-jesus "Pete Buttigieg faces criticism for calling Jesus a refugee"] FOX News Network (Retrieved 12/28/19)</ref><ref> Brandon Morse, October 22, 2018. [https://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2018/10/22/no-jesus-not-refugee-illegal-immigrant/] RedState.com/Salem Media (Retrieved 12/28/19)</ref><ref>Daniel1212, 12/28/19 [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3803612/posts?page=65#65] Freerepublic.com (Retrieved 12/28/19)</ref>

Meanwhile, it was under then-President Obama that only 53 Syrian Christian refugees of Syria’s civil war were admitted into the United States over the course of 5 years, due to American reliance on a United Nations refugee-resettlement program that disproportionately excluded them.<ref>Nina Shea, November 2, 2015. [https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/11/christian-refugees-syria-religious-minorities-united-states-resettlement-policy/ "The State Department Turns Its Back on Syrian Christians and Other Non-Muslim Refugees"] National Review (Retrieved 12/28/19)</ref>

Meanwhile, it was under then-President Obama that only 53 Syrian Christian refugees of Syria’s civil war were admitted into the United States over the course of 5 years, due to American reliance on a United Nations refugee-resettlement program that disproportionately excluded them.<ref>Nina Shea, November 2, 2015. [https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/11/christian-refugees-syria-religious-minorities-united-states-resettlement-policy/ "The State Department Turns Its Back on Syrian Christians and Other Non-Muslim Refugees"] National Review (Retrieved 12/28/19)</ref>