Mayor Pete Calls for Major Structural Reform. So Should We.

‘It’s time to think big,’ says Buttigieg (Happy Fathers' Day)

Jun 21, 2026

History must guide the reform of our magnificent democracy

Pete Buttigieg was recently interviewed by Yusef Jackson, son of Jesse Jackson, at the annual Rainbow PUSH Coalition conference in Chicago.

And, let me tell you, the 5-foot-8 mayor from South Bend has become one of the most formidable political talents of our age. Now 44 years old with gray whiskers, Mayor Pete doesn’t talk about cosmetic reforms and marginal adjustments.

Instead, he speaks of deep political reform, including constitutional amendments, wisely confronting the biggest problem we’ve got: the fear, apathy, and defeatism that keep leaders and citizens from believing in themselves, believing in reform, and therefore shifting into high gear now.

Voting is essential, but democracy is a two-part enterprise. We’ve got to vote and enact deep structural reform.

His central message is PUSH—PUSH now.

If you’re inclined to say, “Constitutional amendments are a pipe dream,” Pete has an answer for you.

“First of all,” he says in the interview, “we have to recognize that if something is going to take a long time, that’s all the more reason to do it now. If it’s going to take 10 or 20 years to do an amendment, then we should’ve been on our way yesterday.”

Buttigieg advocates for “big structural change” in all branches of government as well as in our electoral systems, from the Electoral College to our gerrymandered congressional and presidential primaries. The imperial presidency? Restore a functioning Congress. Citizens United? Knock it down. Gerrymandering? Impose fair maps. A hyperpartisan Supreme Court? Expand and enact term limits.

What’s your reform? What part of our broken system do you most want to repair?

Regarding gerrymandering and primaries, Mayor Pete connects these systemic flaws to the great danger of an imperial presidency and a Congress impotent to restrain him. Therefore, he says:

The time has come to make it impossible to manipulate the map for any reason—and just have fair maps. Fair maps bring us the opportunity to have representatives be more representative, and have them be more willing to stand up to a president—any president—who gets out of hand.
Right now, only one out of ten House races is actually competitive. So in nine out of ten House races, all anybody has to worry about is their own flank, which means a lot of representatives, the only thing they got to worry about is, will this president come after them by running somebody to their right? Which is why, even on things that they know are wrong, they almost never stand up to him.

I encourage you to watch the 45-minute interview—Yusef Jackson is also wicked smart—but even more important, now’s the time for every American to consider their role.

Voting is essential, but democracy is a two-part enterprise. We’ve got to vote and enact deep structural reform.

If you agree with Buttigieg, join the reform train. The question of post-Trump is not whether America will reform itself. It will not. The question is whether we will.

American Commonwealth is a reader-supported publication

Support for $50/year

*******

Eli Merritt is a political historian at Vanderbilt University and the author Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution