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The Christmas travel nightmare involving Southwest Airlines left a wide trail of destruction with long-term implications. From frustrated travelers to the nearly 16,000 canceled flights to the once-famous airline’s reputation to Pete Buttigieg’s political future – it’s been a tough week for everyone involved.
Americans’ memories tend to be short, but this fiasco will leave some serious scar tissue behind. Those passengers who missed family gatherings will always remember this episode, especially since the last two holiday seasons were curtailed by the pandemic.
Southwest and its leadership will face tough questions about their outdated technology and misplaced priorities. At the top of that list is their obsession with going green and shoveling millions of dollars toward “carbon neutrality” to appease the smart crowd. There is still no word on how many emissions were saved this week amid the massive flight ban.
For Transportation Secretary Buttigieg, the headaches are just beginning. Critics are questioning the credentials of a 40-year-old former mayor of a city of 100,000 to oversee an agency with nearly 60,000 employees.
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Now, he has become a pinata within his party. For an ambitious and talented politician with an eye on higher office, this spells trouble. The wing of the party associated with Bernie Sanders has been particularly vocal. Nina Turner, who co-chaired Sanders’ 2020 campaign, accused Buttigieg of “failure.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., another co-chair, accused Buttigieg of ignoring his warnings, tweeting, “this mess with Southwest could have been avoided.”
Some Republicans have piled in with their own criticism — centered mostly on the $7 billion Southwest received from taxpayers in COVID aid — but the most vocal criticism has come from Buttigieg’s left, which makes sense.
Exceeding all expectations in 2020, Buttigieg is seen as a rising star, a name to watch in the coming years. His move from deep red Indiana, where Democrats are disappearing, to neighboring blue Michigan only fueled this speculation.
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Initially, Buttigieg’s cabinet position was seen as a stepping stone to a higher post. Like Vice President Kamala Harris, she has become a major political balloon.
The Southwest fiasco wasn’t the first blemish on his resume. It was the latest episode in an escalating pattern of events. In 2021, the term “supply chain” went from an esoteric term in a textbook to real pain for frustrated consumers waiting for goods that were once readily available. This year Buttigieg was revealed to be holidaying in Portugal as heated rail contract negotiations at home turned towards a strike.
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Meanwhile, the Democratic Party’s incumbent, an 80-year-old Joe Biden, faces persistent questions about his ability to mount another national campaign. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found that only 8% of respondents called 66-80 an ideal age for a president.
The Southwest fiasco wasn’t the first blemish on Buttigieg’s resume. It was the latest episode in an escalating pattern of events.
Yes, Biden’s Democrats had a much more successful midterm election than anyone expected, but his approval rating remains closer to 40 than 50. If he runs again, Biden won’t have the COVID cover to keep him. that out of sight.
Of course, Buttigieg remains a talented politician in a political party with an extremely shallow bench that desperately needs some younger faces. It’s not out of the question that he turns this whole episode into a net positive.
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But one thing is clear: he will have to take it head on. For almost every Democrat (and sadly many Republicans), the federal government is the immediate head of every problem under the sun – even in the private sector. Gone are the days of free markets and allowing consumers to punish Southwest by choosing other airlines.
For a Democratic Party soon in search of its next leader, Christmas 2022 could be a flashback moment for one of the potential contenders.
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