How Mike Pence and Pete Buttigieg are more alike than you …
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg responds to anti-gay hecklers at a rally in Iowa. USA TODAY
WASHINGTON There are more similarities between Vice President Mike Pence and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg than you might think.
And its not just that theyre both from Indiana.
Sure, Buttigieg may be the first openly-gay Democrat to run for president while Pences Biblically based views on homosexuality have made him the boogeyman for the LGBTQ community.
But while theyre polar opposites on many policies, and havepublicly debatedeach other on how their strong Christian faiths differently inform their views, they share temperaments, some family traits and even some approaches to religion.
There are all these weird parallels, Buttigieg told New York Magazine in February.
Heres a look at theparallels.
For years, Pence has been the conservative who delivers his message with a smile.
Lets be cheerful partisans and happy warriors, he said in a 2015 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Buttigieg offered the same advice when he ran unsuccessfully to head the Democratic National Committee in 2017.
We want to make sure were not only raising our voices in opposition but also establishing a movement that people would want to be proud of, he said of what he also called his happy warrior approach.
As Buttigieg has continued that style in his presidential campaign, the similarities caught the attention of Mitch Harper, a member of the Indiana GOPs leadership.
He seems to have something in common with Mike Pence. And its the flipside, Harper said. You know how Mike Pence says, 'Im a conservative, but Im not mad about it? I think Pete Buttigieg can say, `Im a progressive, but Im not mad about it.
In this April 1, 2013 photo, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, left, speaks to South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg following a Dyngus Day event in South Bend, Ind.(Photo: Robert Franklin, AP)
Pence, who is extremely proud of his Irish roots, frequently talks about his maternal grandfathers immigration to the United States in 1919. If his grandfather could see him now, Pence likes to say, he would not only be very surprised, but would know he was right to come.
This is a country where anybody can be anybody, Pence told a group of Hispanic business owners in March. If you work hard and play by the rules, and keep your promises, you can live the American Dream.
As much as Pence wears his Irish heritage on his sleeve, Buttigiegs unusual name immediately raises the question of his genealogy. As hard as it is for many Americans to pronounce, Buttigieg is one of the most common last names in Malta, where his father was from. Joseph Buttigieg, who died in January,came to the United States in the 1970s to pursue his doctorate and later became an English professor at the University of Notre Dame.
My father chose to become an American, after immigrating here because of the educational opportunities no other countries could provide, Buttigieg wrote to his supporters after his dads death. He loved this country but also hated to see it fall short of its values and wanted it to constantly become better than it was.
Vice President Mike Pence and his mother Nancy Pence Fritsch, right, wave while walking in the St. Patrick's Day parade Saturday, March 17, 2018, in Savannah, Ga. Crowds behind barricades across the street cheered and chanted "U-S-A" as Pence waved and gave a thumbs up sign. There were also a few protesters who followed Pence throughout the parade.(Photo: Stephen B. Morton, AP)
Both also got the same start in religion as baptized Catholics. But both now practice other faiths. Buttigieg is Episcopalian. Pence is an evangelical Christian.
Pence, a former altar boy and parish youth minister, has said that his Catholic upbringing helped shape him and continues to serve me.
During his eight years of parochial school, Sister Sharon Bierman encouraged Pence to enter speech competitions, developing early the public speaking skills that would be part of the foundation of his public and political life. And throughout his political career, Pence has been outspoken on some issues important to the Catholic Church, particularly his opposition to abortion.
Buttigieg went to a Catholic high school where he said was taught not only church doctrine on matters like sexuality and abortion, but also to understand the history of the Church as a voice for the oppressed and downtrodden. He headed the schools small chapter of Amnesty International, an experience that contributed to his wanting to get involved in politics more directly.
What really happened in high school was just a formation in social conscious, he told IndyStar in 2017.
Vice President Mike Pence, center, holds the hand of his wife, Karen, as they are joined by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other leader in a prayer during a stop at the First Baptist Church, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Rockport, Texas, as they tour areas effected by Hurricane Harvey.(Photo: Eric Gay/AP)
Both men studied history in college and were intrigued by the intersection of religion and politics.
At Hanover College, Pence wrote his senior thesis on The Religious Expressions of Abraham Lincoln.
Pence admired Lincolns presidency but was curious about why the sixteenth president, a man raised in a log cabin in Southern Indiana, was never baptized, never received communion, and never joined a church, wrote biographer Andrea Neal in Pence: The Path to Power.
Majoring in Harvard Universitys program in History and Literature, Buttigieg wrote his thesis on a speech by a Puritan minister. Samuel Danforth spoke about Americas civilizing missions to make the wild and savage lands of the New World more like the image of heaven on earth.
In his memoir, Buttigieg describes his thesis as drawing a line from Danforths thinking to Americas Cold War insistence on invading Vietnam to save it from godless Communism.
In this July 3, 2013, file photo, then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, center, talks with South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, right, as they cross the Jefferson Boulevard bridge during a fitness walk along the St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend, Ind.(Photo: James Brosher, AP)
The idea that the first shall be last and the last shall be first is central to how both men say their faith should be put into practice.
Pence has spread the servant leader philosophy when hes spoken to young people over the years, including in commencement addresses since becoming vice president.
Servant leadership, not selfish ambition, must be the animating force of the career that lies before you, Pence told the 2017 graduates of Pennsylvanias Grove City College. For its written, whoever would be first of all must be servant of all.
Buttigieg has questioned whether Pence has a different understanding of Christianity than I do because of Pences support for what Buttigieg has called the porn star presidency.
Yet, Buttigieg also uses the term servant leadership to describe his philosophy of trying to follow Christs example of humble service, epitomized by Christs washing the feet of his apostles.
To me, faith is largely about humility, its about humbling yourself in the service of others, Buttigieg told ABCs The View. And thats a sense of servant leadership. I think its something we need a lot more of."
2020 Democratic presidential candidate South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a town hall meeting, Tuesday, April 16, 2019, in Fort Dodge, Iowa.(Photo: Charlie Neibergall, AP)
Buttigiegs father died of cancer just as his son was launching an exploratory presidential bid.
He was proud. It was one of the last things we talked about, Buttigieg said on The View days later. Im here because I knew he would want me to be.
Pences father, who was vice president of Keil Brothers Oil and ran a string of gas stations, died of a cardiac arrest during his sons first congressional campaign in 1988. His dad had grilled Pence about why, at age 29, he was taking on an established incumbent. But Ed Pence eventually became a big supporter, and helped introduce Pence to people in the business community.
After his fathers untimely death at 58, Pence was asked by his campaign treasurer if he wanted to drop out of the longshot race which he ultimately did not win.
Pence slowly looked up at his old friend, his jaw tight with determination, Neal wrote in her biography. `Dad didnt raise a quitter.
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg with his husband Chasten Buttigieg in South Bend, Indiana, on April 14, 2019.(Photo: Joshua Lott/AFP/Getty Images)
Pences wife, Karen, is a teacher as is Buttigiegs husband, Chasten.
Karen Pence teaches art at a Christian school in Virginia, the same school where she taught when her husband served in Congress. (Her return this year drew criticism because of the schools policy of not allowing gay students or teachers.)
Chasten Buttigieg taught humanities and drama at a private Montessori school in Indiana before taking a leave to join his husband on the campaign trail.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence holding their pet rabbit Marlon Bundo in Washington, May 9, 2017. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)
At times, both families have nearly been upstaged by their pets. The Buttigiegs have two rescue dogs, Buddy and Truman, who have a heavy social media presence. Two of the colors in Buttigiegs online design logo kit which supporters are invited to customize are inspired by the dogs: Buddy Gold and Truman Brown.
The Pences have a dog, Harley, and a cat, Hazel, names that both start with the letter H because the Secret Service code name for the vice president is Hoosier and his wifes is Hummingbird.
Were just pet people, Karen Pence told USA TODAY in a 2018 an interview as Hazel, prowled around the sunroom of the Queen Anne-style house located on the grounds of the Naval Observatory. Well always have some kind of pet.
The pet thats gotten the most attention is their daughter Charlottes rabbit, Marlon Bundo, otherwise known as BOTUS for Bunny of the United States. In addition to having his own Instagram account, Marlon Bundo is the star of childrens books written by Charlotte and illustrated by Karen.
Autoplay
Show Thumbnails
Show Captions
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/04/21/how-mike-pence-and-pete-buttigieg-more-alike-than-you-think/3451334002/
Go here to see the original:
How Mike Pence and Pete Buttigieg are more alike than you ...