Beto O’Rourke 2020 campaign megathread

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Hmmmm....im listening Beto

https://mobile.twitter.com/eschor/status/1106261014914453507

Trust his conservative record, not his liberal promises. Let's not fall into this trap again.

This. Beto is Obama 2.0.

Sounds great to me.  I'd take Obama back in a heartbeat.  

The problem is Obama’s presidency led to the rise of Trump. Another Obama will lead to another Trump and will not address the fundamental problems of the country.

I honestly disagree. Trump would have happened either with or without Obama (or maybe not if Clinton became president in 2008 simply because the Dems wouldn't have had a candidate as weak as Clinton in 2016) in the race. But that's not the point. I think many people like Obama, even a lot of Obama - Trump voters.

I think America's media culture made the rise of Trump possible. In some way, he was always a cult figure in America's media. I think he is the first thing that came in your mind when you think about America's culture, and the sensational media helped him put his name onto the table. "Politics is entertainment". I don't think it has something to do with anti-Obama sentiment, because if that was the case, he would have lost in 2012.

[Farmlands]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet, and who the people would put their whole faith on, only to be sorely disappointed in the vein of Trudeau or Macron.

[Former Crackhead Mike Lindell]

Beto is an over-privileged waffler, trying to get in on charm and charisma alone - on which he's deeply overrated, by the way - he's a moderate empty suit at a time when the base is craving the opposite. His demeanor is better suited to a bygone era, awkward dental livestreams notwithstanding, he's just plain old fashioned, he's not a candidate that'll connect with the folks who'll be driving the 2020 primaries. He's the John Edwards 2008 of this cycle. Will he go far? Yeah. Probably make it into the top four. Will the media make him a frontrunner? Absolutely. Will he win? Not even close.

The 2020 Democratic nominee is not going to be a multimillionaire white man whose biggest achievement was almost winning a senate race.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet, and who the people would put their whole faith on, only to be sorely disappointed in the vein of Trudeau or Macron.

True, he's like an upgraded version of Jon Ossoff.

[OneJ]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet, and who the people would put their whole faith on, only to be sorely disappointed in the vein of Trudeau or Macron.

True, he's like an upgraded version of Jon Ossoff.

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was thinking this.

[Roll Roons]

Yeah maybe he has a little bit of work to do:
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/434173-orourke-cites-tinder-in-call-for-better-rural-broadband?fbclid=IwAR0U_D6eEJ6KzZZ5-cxYXYHjui7XWFf5yzfzhGIPx37zc55g4nuC6Gc7uiE

[The Free North]

Yeah maybe he has a little bit of work to do:
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/434173-orourke-cites-tinder-in-call-for-better-rural-broadband?fbclid=IwAR0U_D6eEJ6KzZZ5-cxYXYHjui7XWFf5yzfzhGIPx37zc55g4nuC6Gc7uiE

Thats hilarious.

Endorsed 10/10, Beto 2020

[YE]

Hmmmm....im listening Beto

https://mobile.twitter.com/eschor/status/1106261014914453507

Trust his conservative record, not his liberal promises. Let's not fall into this trap again.

This. Beto is Obama 2.0.

Sounds great to me.  I'd take Obama back in a heartbeat.  

The problem is Obama’s presidency led to the rise of Trump. Another Obama will lead to another Trump and will not address the fundamental problems of the country.

I honestly disagree. Trump would have happened either with or without Obama (or maybe not if Clinton became president in 2008 simply because the Dems wouldn't have had a candidate as weak as Clinton in 2016) in the race. But that's not the point. I think many people like Obama, even a lot of Obama - Trump voters.

I think America's media culture made the rise of Trump possible. In some way, he was always a cult figure in America's media. I think he is the first thing that came in your mind when you think about America's culture, and the sensational media helped him put his name onto the table. "Politics is entertainment". I don't think it has something to do with anti-Obama sentiment, because if that was the case, he would have lost in 2012.

It depends on who’s elected instead of Obama. Someone like Bernie Sanders I think would have done more with a supermajority and be more likely to be the re-aligning figure that many hoped Obama would have been, or more realistically, negating the initial disappointment from swing voters who voted for him due to muh hope and change, and in turn reducing the odds of a Rust Belt backlash.

Just to be clear, Obama (and his post-1980 predecessors for that matter) only is responsible for Trump in the sense that he didn’t address the fundamental problems in terms of income inequality and his efforts at healing the cultural divisions were not successful

[Grassroots]

The problem is Obama’s presidency led to the rise of Trump. Another Obama will lead to another Trump and will not address the fundamental problems of the country.

So it's Obama's fault that angry white men couldn't accept the fact that a black man was elected president twice and to retaliate decided to vote for an unabashed racist and sexual predator.
That's a hot take if I ever saw one.

That's why the bros are hellbent on nominating one of the three white male nominees. So many of them believe the American electorate can't handle a WOC candidate or any sort of minority because meh white people think they're SJW'S.

No democrats are voting for white males because their white males. They're supporting them because they are good candidates, and so are a lot of women and minorities in the race. And republicans did not dislike Obama because he was black. They dislike him because he is a democrat.

Why does everything have to be about race to you people? Seriously, get a grip.

[Lognog]

Yeah maybe he has a little bit of work to do:
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/434173-orourke-cites-tinder-in-call-for-better-rural-broadband?fbclid=IwAR0U_D6eEJ6KzZZ5-cxYXYHjui7XWFf5yzfzhGIPx37zc55g4nuC6Gc7uiE

If you watch the full clip it's a joke when he is talking about a very popular issue for the Democrats, rural broadband. This is a very good in for the Democrats with rural voters. He brought up compelling reasons why it should be a focus such as for business or higher education. But, yeah, Texasman said "tinder" guess he's an idiot

[Brittain33]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet, and who the people would put their whole faith on, only to be sorely disappointed in the vein of Trudeau or Macron.

True, he's like an upgraded version of Jon Ossoff.

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was thinking this.

I understand the created-in-a-laboratory angle, but Ossoff avoided partisan or liberal comments, and Beto has staked his flag on the Democratic side on many points. Did Ossoff say anything like what Beto said about NFL protests?

[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.

[indietraveler]

Beto’s my top pick right now, but I’m gonna need to hear about some of his policy positions soon. I really want to be sure he’s not an empty suit, or I’ll have to go back to being undecided/tilt-Warren.

More or less how I feel right now. He's my top pick but definitely would jump to someone else if he doesn't find a way to communicate his positions. I have no second pick at the moment.

[RI]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet, and who the people would put their whole faith on, only to be sorely disappointed in the vein of Trudeau or Macron.

True, he's like an upgraded version of Jon Ossoff.

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was thinking this.

I understand the created-in-a-laboratory angle, but Ossoff avoided partisan or liberal comments, and Beto has staked his flag on the Democratic side on many points. Did Ossoff say anything like what Beto said about NFL protests?

NFL protests is exactly the type of vaporware issue that neoliberal stooges like Macron and Trudeau use to blind the left while screwing over the working class.

[TW]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet, and who the people would put their whole faith on, only to be sorely disappointed in the vein of Trudeau or Macron.

True, he's like an upgraded version of Jon Ossoff.

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was thinking this.

I understand the created-in-a-laboratory angle, but Ossoff avoided partisan or liberal comments, and Beto has staked his flag on the Democratic side on many points. Did Ossoff say anything like what Beto said about NFL protests?

NFL protests is exactly the type of vaporware issue that neoliberal stooges like Macron and Trudeau use to blind the left while screwing over the working class.

You make a very accurate point their, the average “Left-winger” these days, is more interested in pressuring Corporations to make “Woke” ads with Keapernick in them, then they are in making actual structural changes to the economic system in order to help the Working Class, let alone ending America’s Imperialist Foreign Policy.

[lfromnj]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet, and who the people would put their whole faith on, only to be sorely disappointed in the vein of Trudeau or Macron.

True, he's like an upgraded version of Jon Ossoff.

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was thinking this.

I understand the created-in-a-laboratory angle, but Ossoff avoided partisan or liberal comments, and Beto has staked his flag on the Democratic side on many points. Did Ossoff say anything like what Beto said about NFL protests?

NFL protests is exactly the type of vaporware issue that neoliberal stooges like Macron and Trudeau use to blind the left while screwing over the working class.

you trying to make me support him?

[Grassroots]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet, and who the people would put their whole faith on, only to be sorely disappointed in the vein of Trudeau or Macron.

True, he's like an upgraded version of Jon Ossoff.

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was thinking this.

I understand the created-in-a-laboratory angle, but Ossoff avoided partisan or liberal comments, and Beto has staked his flag on the Democratic side on many points. Did Ossoff say anything like what Beto said about NFL protests?

NFL protests is exactly the type of vaporware issue that neoliberal stooges like Macron and Trudeau use to blind the left while screwing over the working class.

You make a very accurate point their, the average “Left-winger” these days, is more interested in pressuring Corporations to make “Woke” ads with Keapernick in them, then they are in making actual structural changes to the economic system in order to help the Working Class, let alone ending America’s Emperialist Foreign Policy.

You are literally a commie.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

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.

[Panhandle Progressive]

Beto reeks of an empty suit who will try to use his good looks and charisma to propel himself to a position he has not earned yet

This quote reminds me of Trump. But to each his own.

[Mr. Illini]

https://twitter.com/VABVOX/status/1106093839486541824

I have a feeling the sentiment will be different if Stacy Abrams decides to run...

[Orwell]

If anyone in this field has earned the Presidency it is Biden. 37 years in the Senate, 5 years as the Foreign Relations Chair, 5 years as the Judiciary chair, and 8 years as Vice President. 

[Catholics vs. Convicts]

I’m hopping on the train. He is my top choice as of right now. Experience is important, but not as important as picking the right guy for the job. As of right now, he seems like the guy I want setting the course for the future.

[Woody]

If anyone in this field has earned the Presidency it is Biden. 37 years in the Senate, 5 years as the Foreign Relations Chair, 5 years as the Judiciary chair, and 8 years as Vice President. 

Just a career politician in my eyes.

[Orwell]

If anyone in this field has earned the Presidency it is Biden. 37 years in the Senate, 5 years as the Foreign Relations Chair, 5 years as the Judiciary chair, and 8 years as Vice President. 

Just a career politician in my eyes.

I was making the argument against those lambasting Beto for the lack of experience, if they were to support the most experienced person it'd be Biden by far.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

At this point, I really want to see how O'Rourke handles himself in the first few debates.  There are a number of questions that I need answered satisfactorily before I could make him a first or second choice:

1) Does he make it clearer what policies he supports or at least, what his general agenda would be?

2) Can he hold his own against folks like Biden, Warren, etc when policy comes up (I'm sure O'Rourke won't win on policy questions, but he needs to at least show that he can play at this level, if that makes sense)?  

3) Can he convincingly show that he's not a trojan horse for the Seth Moulton crowd?  

4) Does he clarify his views on healthcare and environmental regulations?  

5) Can he show that he's able to thoughtfully address foreign policy issues and does he take a more sensible approach than some of his prior concerning statements about foreign policy (ex: his past statements on providing aid to Ukraine are definitely worrisome)?    

6) Is he able to play offensive hardball when the situation demands it (b/c say what you will about Obama, he sure knew how to go for the jugular when he had to even if he did it with a smile)?

7) Finally, while all politicians inevitably pander some of the time (yes, even Sanders), some of them like Kamala Harris (and even some folks I like such as Kirsten Gillibrand) do so far more than others.  Given that we know less about what O'Rourke believes, I'm less inclined to cut him slack on that, so I'll also be watching to see if he panders more than necessary and to which groups on which issues when policy questions come up.  Is he an empty suit trying to be all things to all people or does he have some clear beliefs other than "marijuana should be completely legalized" (which O'Rourke has always argued)?  

That all being said, I do think O'Rourke brings a lot to the table as a candidate and I certainly could see myself supporting him.  Of course, it's early and there are a number of other candidates I'm also open to.  The only folks I've 100% ruled out supporting in the primaries are John Delaney (he has Seth Moulton-wing written all over him), Tulsi Gabbard (duh), Kamala Harris (she's got a lot of Hillary's problems, has pandered to the anti-Semitic left, and I honestly don't think she can beat Trump), and Cory Booker (corporate shill who has too much of a glass jaw to run against Trump and came off pretty badly during the Kavanaugh hearings).  I'm getting close to ruling out supporting Julian Castro too (empty suit with DLC leanings, the little I've heard from him on foreign policy has been bad, always considered him pretty overhyped, and as superficial as this is...his face kinda creeps me out for some reason, can't quite explain it).  I haven't ruled out Klobaucher completely, but I'm pretty disgusted by how she treats her staff and she's running as too much of a ConservaDem for my liking, so I'd put her in the same category as Castro (not completely ruled out, but highly unlikely that I'll end up voting for her in the primaries).

I'm still open to O'Rourke, Gillibrand, Sanders, Warren, Inslee, Hickenlooper, Buttigieg, Bennet, Biden, Swalwell, and Bullock.  I don't really know anything about Yang, Williamson, or Messam, so I can't comment on them.