Beto had a lot of potential

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

His anti-gun stance would lose anyone slightly pro-gun.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

You gotta have a few screws loose to think he was anything resembling charismatic. And deciding to make gun control his sticking point was a big mistake.

Thanks for the username idea!

You're welcome, lemme know I can expect the royalty checks.

As soon as I get my checks for shilling from George Soros. The Republicans promised that they’d be mailed soon.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I agree with the take that the biggest issue was how badly he ran his presidential campaign.

I mean, just look at Pete! You can definitely argue that "House rep who came close to being a US senator" beats "mayor of South Bend" in terms of relevant experience for the presidency. And while Pete didn't win either he managed a strong run including (sort of) winning Iowa and almost winning New Hampshire. That in turn propelled him to a national figure and generated speculation about a cabinet post etc.

The Pete result doesn't feel like it would have been impossible for Beto to achieve and on paper before he started it must have seemed like a very plausible outcome. 

Pete did well. Winning Iowa, almost winning New Hampshire, all for someone whose highest elected office was...a kinda-small-ish-town-mayoralty.
Never thought of it that way back then, but Pete's performance was kind of what a stronger, more competent Beto would have looked like.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Beto should not have run for anything in 2020 imo probably, but if he had to run in 2020, President was his best bet. Just not like this.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

I agree with the take that the biggest issue was how badly he ran his presidential campaign.

I mean, just look at Pete! You can definitely argue that "House rep who came close to being a US senator" beats "mayor of South Bend" in terms of relevant experience for the presidency. And while Pete didn't win either he managed a strong run including (sort of) winning Iowa and almost winning New Hampshire. That in turn propelled him to a national figure and generated speculation about a cabinet post etc.

The Pete result doesn't feel like it would have been impossible for Beto to achieve and on paper before he started it must have seemed like a very plausible outcome. 

Pete did well. Winning Iowa, almost winning New Hampshire, all for someone whose highest elected office was...a kinda-small-ish-town-mayoralty.
Never thought of it that way back then, but Pete's performance was kind of what a stronger, more competent Beto would have looked like.

Yeah, as much as it drove me nuts that Pete basically took Beto’s lane, it was Beto’s fault that he failed compared to Pete.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I agree with the take that the biggest issue was how badly he ran his presidential campaign.

I mean, just look at Pete! You can definitely argue that "House rep who came close to being a US senator" beats "mayor of South Bend" in terms of relevant experience for the presidency. And while Pete didn't win either he managed a strong run including (sort of) winning Iowa and almost winning New Hampshire. That in turn propelled him to a national figure and generated speculation about a cabinet post etc.

The Pete result doesn't feel like it would have been impossible for Beto to achieve and on paper before he started it must have seemed like a very plausible outcome. 

Pete did well. Winning Iowa, almost winning New Hampshire, all for someone whose highest elected office was...a kinda-small-ish-town-mayoralty.
Never thought of it that way back then, but Pete's performance was kind of what a stronger, more competent Beto would have looked like.

Yeah, as much as it drove me nuts that Pete basically took Beto’s lane, it was Beto’s fault that he failed compared to Pete.

Beto overextended himself. He extended his hand farther than it likely could have reached.
Granted, it was an imperfect situation. And if he didn't run in 2020, he might have been overlooked and passed over.
We can fault his decisions too much. He certainly had courage and bravery.
But he had difficulty sustaining a presidential campaign, that much is clear.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

I agree with the take that the biggest issue was how badly he ran his presidential campaign.

I mean, just look at Pete! You can definitely argue that "House rep who came close to being a US senator" beats "mayor of South Bend" in terms of relevant experience for the presidency. And while Pete didn't win either he managed a strong run including (sort of) winning Iowa and almost winning New Hampshire. That in turn propelled him to a national figure and generated speculation about a cabinet post etc.

The Pete result doesn't feel like it would have been impossible for Beto to achieve and on paper before he started it must have seemed like a very plausible outcome. 

Pete did well. Winning Iowa, almost winning New Hampshire, all for someone whose highest elected office was...a kinda-small-ish-town-mayoralty.
Never thought of it that way back then, but Pete's performance was kind of what a stronger, more competent Beto would have looked like.

Yeah, as much as it drove me nuts that Pete basically took Beto’s lane, it was Beto’s fault that he failed compared to Pete.

Beto overextended himself. He extended his hand farther than it likely could have reached.
Granted, it was an imperfect situation. And if he didn't run in 2020, he might have been overlooked and passed over.
We can fault his decisions too much. He certainly had courage and bravery.
But he had difficulty sustaining a presidential campaign, that much is clear.

Yeah, 2020 was his year to run since he lost TX-Sen. I’m not sure that he really wanted to run for President tbh. His heart wasn’t quite in it imo. I think that’s why there was the delay that allowed Pete to take that lane instead.

[Canis]

Beto should have challenged Cornyn I don't think he would have won but he may have helped boost turnout and helped in the state leg and house races. But hindsight is hindsight at this point he should run for texas democratic party chair and then maybe challenge Abbot He never really stood a chance in the primary in such a crowded field and he really should have run his presidential campaign like he ran his senate campaign instead of hopping on tables in Iowa and saying nothing and refusing to come out with policy stances that really hurt him I liked Beto before he ran but he lost my vote the moment he was asked about Universal Healthcare and Legal weed and took weeks before he came out with a stance on it even though he supported both those policies when he ran against Cruz if he had a strong platform I may have supported him. If he actually campaigned on issues and had a clear message about what he'd do as President instead of "I Can Win Texas" He would have got some momentum instead of flaming out immediately.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I agree with the take that the biggest issue was how badly he ran his presidential campaign.

I mean, just look at Pete! You can definitely argue that "House rep who came close to being a US senator" beats "mayor of South Bend" in terms of relevant experience for the presidency. And while Pete didn't win either he managed a strong run including (sort of) winning Iowa and almost winning New Hampshire. That in turn propelled him to a national figure and generated speculation about a cabinet post etc.

The Pete result doesn't feel like it would have been impossible for Beto to achieve and on paper before he started it must have seemed like a very plausible outcome. 

Pete did well. Winning Iowa, almost winning New Hampshire, all for someone whose highest elected office was...a kinda-small-ish-town-mayoralty.
Never thought of it that way back then, but Pete's performance was kind of what a stronger, more competent Beto would have looked like.

Yeah, as much as it drove me nuts that Pete basically took Beto’s lane, it was Beto’s fault that he failed compared to Pete.

Beto overextended himself. He extended his hand farther than it likely could have reached.
Granted, it was an imperfect situation. And if he didn't run in 2020, he might have been overlooked and passed over.
We can fault his decisions too much. He certainly had courage and bravery.
But he had difficulty sustaining a presidential campaign, that much is clear.

Yeah, 2020 was his year to run since he lost TX-Sen. I’m not sure that he really wanted to run for President tbh. His heart wasn’t quite in it imo. I think that’s why there was the delay that allowed Pete to take that lane instead.

Canis has a good point that Beto should have ran for party chair. It 1) avoids statewide losses in two consecutive election cycles, 2) gives him relevance even without a general elected office, 3) allows him to build deeper connections with the state party.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

I still like him and I initiallty supported his primary run, but he never should've run for president. He should try and get a cushy job with the Texas Democratic Party, build up an infrastructure and lay low until the season was ripe for statewide office. The big problem with that is I think Beto would rather spend the rest of his political days in the US Capitol rather than the Texas State Capitol.

Also, much has been made about his gun comments because they're the most soundbite-friendly, but I think his anti-gay tax exemption comments are what might've really halted his Texas future. I'm against tax exemptions for churches in general, but he really pigeonholed himself by limiting it to just LGBT issues. Not to mention how much of a slippery slope that could be in the long term. In my opinion, easily more foolish than the gun comments.

The only thing he accomplished by running for president was tripping his tongue on self-inflicted landmines and wasting a year he could've spent helping the TX Democratic Party. Stacy Abrams outclassed him on the latter without question. 2019 shifted the question from "What does the future hold for Beto in Texas?" to "Does Beto have a future in politics?".

At least there's Lina Hidalgo.

[ElectionsGuy]

I truly believe Beto O’Rourke could have been the next JFK or Barack Obama.

Had he jumped in the primary immediately at the height of Betomania and did more cable news appearances, he could have won the nomination. At one point he was polling in 3rd place and Obama himself said he had the most potential.

Instead he waited too long. He did weird stuff like the desert tour and going live at the dentists. And those stupid comments on guns

I don't think him joining earlier would've made him any smarter about how he ran that campaign. He just would've started even higher with more buzz and then a longer, slower fizzle out.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

I still like him and I initiallty supported his primary run, but he never should've run for president. He should try and get a cushy job with the Texas Democratic Party, build up an infrastructure and lay low until the season was ripe for statewide office. The big problem with that is I think Beto would rather spend the rest of his political days in the US Capitol rather than the Texas State Capitol.

Also, much has been made about his gun comments because they're the most soundbite-friendly, but I think his anti-gay tax exemption comments are what might've really halted his Texas future. I'm against tax exemptions for churches in general, but he really pigeonholed himself by limiting it to just LGBT issues. Not to mention how much of a slippery slope that could be in the long term. In my opinion, easily more foolish than the gun comments.

The only thing he accomplished by running for president was tripping his tongue on self-inflicted landmines and wasting a year he could've spent helping the TX Democratic Party. Stacy Abrams outclassed him on the latter without question. 2019 shifted the question from "What does the future hold for Beto in Texas?" to "Does Beto have a future in politics?".

At least there's Lina Hidalgo.

Yeah, everyone brings up the gun quote, but the church quote is really bad.