Beto O’Rourke 2020 campaign megathread

[Progressive Pessimist]

I think I have finally found my candidate! It may be contrary to popular opinion, but I think he has more to gain by running for President, even if he loses, than by losing two Senate runs in a row.

[Progressive Pessimist]

This primary is going to be a frigging clusterf***. I cannot wait for it to be over...

[Progressive Pessimist]

Uh... why exactly does him attending a Metallica concert make you less likely to support him?

Metallica sucks.

Is this a joke?

I can't imagine anyone seriously reconsidering their support for a candidate just because they don't like a band whose concert said candidate attended. it's just bizarre.

Welcome to America!

[Progressive Pessimist]

Must I remind everyone that it's extremely early? Beto has plenty of time to work out his stances on issues, some of which I've seen and am fine with. He is the pragmatic sort of politician that I like, even if he is being somewhat overly conciliatory to the GOP.

He especially can use his campaigning ability to his advantage. Don't count him out yet. Granted, it remains to be seen whether he may be capable of toppling Biden and Sanders, which no one seems to be able to yet, but that's what we'll have the debates for, which he will definitely qualify for. This primary will get really interesting when that time comes. I've said it a lot, but Beto is a wild card, he definitely makes this primary more interesting than it already was.

Also, I'm sure he gave it a lot of thought as to what office he should run for, to those of you disappointed that he won't run for the Senate...which he would likely have lost again anyway. I think he made the right move. Even if he loses the nomination, he can still remain a running mate pick or possible future Cabinet member. There are more doors left open for him losing here than losing in the Senate again.

So yeah, I'm still probably going to support him. Honestly, I'm not sure who else there is I would even want to support, even with this wide field. My criteria is who can beat Trump. And with how our political system works now, campaigning and likability are more important than anything it seems, and Beto definitely has both of those qualities. Unless Steve Bullock runs and appears to beat Beto in that regard, there aren't even any prospective would-be candidates that I would even want to support at this point. It's all probably for naught though because I live in New Jersey and probably won't have a choice between anyone except the very last candidates left when my state's primary comes around.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Must I remind everyone that it's extremely early? Beto has plenty of time to work out his stances on issues, some of which I've seen and am fine with. He is the pragmatic sort of politician that I like, even if he is being somewhat overly conciliatory to the GOP.

It's that latter part that worries me.

I'm perfectly willing to support any D candidate moving away from Trump's and the GOP's toxic ideology, even if I disagree with many of their specific policy positions. I understand and accept that I'm very unlikely to get the approaches I would prefer on the military industrial complex, economic inequality, global warming, health care, our growing police state, corporate capture of the government, etc.

But to look at the last ten years and say we need more bipartisanship, or any other nonsense along those lines? Stuff that. I will walk away from the presidential ballot, even if it means letting Trump win, before I will support the dangerous nonsense that Republicans are legitimate participants in our government. The Republicans participate in our democracy in bad faith. Any Dem nominee who does not understand that is worse than useless.

You're not wrong. I'm wondering if Beto simply doesn't want to alienate the relationships he may have made with House Republicans during his time in the House.

[Progressive Pessimist]

The party of inclusivity.

https://twitter.com/GOP/status/1107314663023353864

Attacking Beto and his drunk driving issues is fine, but bringing his heritage into it, not so much. Very typical, GOP party leadership continuing to be gutter garbage as usual.

His Irish heritage wouldn't be notable if he didn't try to pass himself off as Hispanic via a nickname which was intentionally contrived to make him more electable in El Paso:

In the backdrop of the city's multicultural community, his father, Pat O'Rourke, a consummate politician, once explained why he nicknamed his son Beto: Nicknames are common in Mexico and along the border, and if he ever ran for office in El Paso, the odds of being elected in this mostly Mexican-American city were far greater with a name like Beto than Robert Francis O'Rourke.

Beto O’Rourke drinking and driving, then getting arrested is not ok either. But it has nothing to do with why the tweet is offensive. Slam the man, slam his actions, regardless of what he did, even if he did the same thing, it still does not make it ok to bring his heritage into it. Pointing at someone else for one’s own actions is sh!tty and lame. This tweet is offensive, and nothing Beto or his dad or Clifford the big red dog’s fifth cousin makes it ok.

Exactly. Unfortunately, Realistic Idealist has probably laid out the GOP attack playbook that will be hammered home ad nauseum against O'Rourke. They'll focus on his drunk driving incident, which is a legitimate criticism (even as they ignore George Bush); and his name, which is not a legitimate criticism at all, especially when one of his opponents was Rafael Cruz.

[Progressive Pessimist]

There are already O'Rourke signs around campus, which is, frankly, amazing given how far we are from even the first primaries.

Same with mine.

Its happening.

Several of my friends who were big Sanders supporters back in 2016 appear to have been converted into being Beto supporters. Make of that what you will. Frankly, I was surprised by it.

[Progressive Pessimist]

There are already O'Rourke signs around campus, which is, frankly, amazing given how far we are from even the first primaries.

Same with mine.

Its happening.

Several of my friends who were big Sanders supporters back in 2016 appear to have been converted into being Beto supporters. Make of that what you will. Frankly, I was surprised by it.

Although this is Anecdotal and I take it with a large grain of salt



ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT the average Sanders supporter in 2016 just voted for whoever was the coolest D and not the most liberal as most democrats agree on atleast 80% of the issues.

It is definitely anecdotal, but I keep hearing about how Sanders' support is unflappable from those he won over in 2016. Clearly, that isn't going to be the case in this wider field. But, these friends of mine in particular seemed to be the type that would support him again, and I'm just surprised that they've embraced Beto so easily. Yes, it probably isn't out of some sense of purity like we see on the internet.

[Progressive Pessimist]

The one thing with Beto is he certainly isn't low energy. My god, the amount of rallies and stops - he really does love campaigning and meeting people. I'm not sure who I support at the moment but I'm definitely impressed by his energy so far.

This is the kind of thing that matters in a general election. That's why he has my support. No voter has the "he's so uninspiring" excuse, like they use with other candidates, whether justified or not.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Calling Beto O'Rourke "Robert O'Rourke" is going to be the new version of calling the Democratic Party "the Democrat Party," isn't it? 

Don't forget "libtards." Conservatives are horrible at being clever with insults. And no Trump isn't good at it either, maybe like one out of every 10 are somewhat amusing.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Calling Beto O'Rourke "Robert O'Rourke" is going to be the new version of calling the Democratic Party "the Democrat Party," isn't it? 

Conservatives are horrible at being clever with insults.

Says the people that came up with "drumpf".

That's not an insult though, it was his family name and it sounds silly.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Calling Beto O'Rourke "Robert O'Rourke" is going to be the new version of calling the Democratic Party "the Democrat Party," isn't it? 

Conservatives are horrible at being clever with insults.

Says the people that came up with "drumpf".

That's not an insult though, it was his family name and it sounds silly.

You're defending someone complaining about literally using O'Rourke's given name.

Yeah but using it as an insult is just stupid and it doesn't even at least sound weird like "Drumpf" does. If Trump ends up debating O'Rourke and calls him Robert in hopes of getting applause, he'll be met with crickets and bewilderment instead by anyone who isn't already one of his sycophants.

[Progressive Pessimist]

https://twitter.com/patricksvitek/status/1112781526809313280?s=21

This is a really bad idea

I think I have to agree with you on this.

Yeah, I appreciate the transparency angle of it, but this could end up backfiring really hard.

[Progressive Pessimist]

That makes 3 Democrats who have called out Netanyahu(the 3 being Beto, Sanders, and Buttigieg, BTW). Good for them.

Going to alienate the Jewish vote that way.

LOL what American Jews who aren't already voting Republican actually care about Netanyahu?

I've met more than my share of Liberal (Trump hating Jews) who also support Bibi. Not saying they'd vote Trump - because they won't - but they also might sit home if a candidate who has attacked Bibi and seems to be "anti-Israel" is the nominee.

If we're going to go off of people we've met. I live in Northern New Jersey. Most Jews, myself included, absolutely care about Israel, but that support doesn't necessarily translate to their leader. Most Jews I know don't particularly care for Netanyahu, of course most Jews (like in general) are Democrats. And the ones that do support Netanyahu are already Republicans. Really it's a litmus test that tells you more about one's American party than their support for Israel. So not too many Jews will even be blinking an eye at a Democratic candidate's criticism of Bibi.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Most Jews support Israel, not the racist demogogue currently serving as its Prime Minister.

I'd say they support the idea of Israel, but not what it's becoming.

Again, it's really important for goyem to understand the distinction between Netanyahu and Israel, especially when trying to assess the issue's effect on Jewish-American voters.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Beto is done, he didn't do any Town Halls, he just did campaigning. He needed more exposure than that.

There are still the debates, and he will definitely be in them. Though I agree that he should still do some media outreach like town halls in addition to his usual tactic of talking directly to voters.

[Progressive Pessimist]

The two most important states in 2020 will be Florida & Wisconsin. Amendment 4 (Voting Rights Restoration) having been passed and now implemented in Florida.

Maybe I spoke too soon. YIKES!

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2019/03/19/felon-vote-sparks-battle-for-florida-as-gop-moves-to-define-rights-921875

The upcoming s**tshow of 2020.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/25/18277470/amendment-4-florida-felon-voting-rights-fees-legislation

"In a 71-45 vote Wednesday evening, legislators voted to require people with felony records to pay restitution, as well as all court fines and fees — including fees that have been converted to a civil judgment — before regaining their voting rights. " aka a modern POLL TAX

My signature continues to be accurate.

[Progressive Pessimist]

The two most important states in 2020 will be Florida & Wisconsin. Amendment 4 (Voting Rights Restoration) having been passed and now implemented in Florida.

Maybe I spoke too soon. YIKES!

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2019/03/19/felon-vote-sparks-battle-for-florida-as-gop-moves-to-define-rights-921875

The upcoming s**tshow of 2020.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/25/18277470/amendment-4-florida-felon-voting-rights-fees-legislation

"In a 71-45 vote Wednesday evening, legislators voted to require people with felony records to pay restitution, as well as all court fines and fees — including fees that have been converted to a civil judgment — before regaining their voting rights. " aka a modern POLL TAX

The Florida Legislature approves a bill requiring former felons to pay fines and fees before voting. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/3/18528564/amendment-4-florida-felon-voting-rights-fees

Florida voters overwhelmingly approved restoring voting rights to felons who have served their time.  Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis and Republicans are ignoring the voters and continuing to suppress votes, ignoring the mandate of the people. This is outrageous and is a modern-day POLL TAX. Republicans only have a chance in 2020 by CHEATING!

It's pretty typical Republican Party politics. Especially for the Florida Republican Party.

[Progressive Pessimist]

He has a CNN town hall tonight. Let's see if that moves the needle again. He really needs it to.

[Progressive Pessimist]

It's sad - because he could have a nearly-safe win against Corryn - but he's shooting for an office that he's just not going to earn, yet.

I still don't think a run against Cornyn would have been as successful as his run against Cruz. Cornyn is not as scummy as Cruz is to most Texans, even those who seem to only tolerate him at best.

I don't blame O'Rourke for attempting a run for President. He just hasn't done the best job at taking advantage of the momentum he had early in the year, or with justifying his presence in the race. Which is a shame.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Beto is nothing but Jason Kander 2.0

I actually wonder if Kander hadn't sought treatment for his mental condition, how he would fare in this primary. If Buttigieg could be doing as well as he currently is, I think Kander could have possibly had a shot too.