Dem Hopeful Warns Against ‘Virtue Signaling’ Around a Chicken Sandwich

For many, there is a distinct caricature invoked in our heads when imagining your average “liberal”.

For me, it’s a beanie-wearing millennial with a $7 cup of coffee in their hand, wearing some sort of recycled material and thick framed glasses.

And, for the sake of honesty and transparency, my vision of a bleed-red republican is a retiree with white tennis sneakers and a nice yard.

Of course, with these generalized stereotypes come the assumed typical behaviors of these distinct, political entities.  One is fiscally responsible, and the other is drinking a $7 cup of coffee.  One remembers the “old days” when people weren’t so offended, and the other practices the idea of “safe spaces”.

But, every now and again, someone on either side of the aisle surprises us.  Such is the case this week with 2020 democratic candidate for president Pete Buttigieg, who this week warned his audience about the practice of “virtue signaling”.

Pete Buttigieg — the first openly gay presidential candidate from a major party — worries those who boycott Chick-fil-A because of its executives’ long opposition to gay marriage are inconsistent and “too sanctimonious” in their attempts to make a political point.

“I just want to make sure we don’t overrate ourselves in terms of our ability to be pure in this regard,” Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said Wednesday during an interview with BuzzFeed News’ AM to DM.

Buttigieg clarified:

“If you’re turned off, as I am, by the political behavior of Chick-fil-A or their executives — if that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, so to speak, and you decide not to shop there, I’d certainly get it and I’d support that. But the reality is, we, I think, sometimes slip into a sort of virtue signaling in some cases where we’re not really being consistent. I mean, what about all the other places we get our chicken from?”

The 2020 democratic hopeful admitted that, while he doesn’t approve of the politics of Chick-fil-A, he does “kinda approve of their chicken”.

Buttigieg is one of nearly 20 democrats currently in the race for the Oval Office in 2020.