We talked a bit about Beto O’Rourke in this week’s Gossip With Celebitchy podcast, and how there seems to be an undercurrent of discomfort among some Democratic voters that “oh, yay, a white guy is here so let’s stop paying attention to all of the other candidates!” It bugs. It also bugs me that Beto is already getting away with saying inane sh-t like “I’m just born to be in it.” Beto was in Iowa this weekend, like many presidential hopefuls hoping to get anointed by the Iowa caucus system. While in Iowa, he did try to clarify that whole “I’m just born to be in it” thing, saying:
“When I saw the cover with that quote … I was like, ‘Man, I hope I didn’t say that.’ … I think the context of that which makes sense and is the way that I feel, is that I’m born to serve, I’m born to try to help bring people together. … So I don’t know if anyone is born for an office or position, and I certainly am not. But I do think that I find my purpose and function in life in doing this kind of work. And I’m very grateful to be able to do that.”
That’s a better answer with less male privilege. Again, I like Beto and I wish he had decided to run against John Cornyn for Senate next year. Again, Beto has never won statewide office. He’s just a nice-looking, charismatic guy who… is raising money hand over fist:
Beto O’Rourke raised more than $6 million online in the first 24 hours after announcing his presidential campaign last week, according to his campaign, outpacing his rivals for the Democratic nomination and making an emphatic statement about his grass-roots financial strength. Mr. O’Rourke brought in $6,136,736 after declaring his long-anticipated bid with a web video and trip to Iowa on Thursday morning, raising the sum entirely online and from all 50 states, the campaign said.
He narrowly beat the first-day haul of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who raised $5.9 million after announcing his bid last month and who would go on to raise $10 million before his first week was over.
Here’s the breakdown of how Beto’s fundraising compares to other candidates already in the race (hint: people are super-excited for Beto):
Beto O'Rourke's camp said he raised $6.1M in his first 24 hours as a candidate.
By comparison:
– Bernie raised $5.9M in first 24hrs
— Harris raised $1.5M in first 24hrs
— Klobuchar, Hickenlooper raised $1M in first 48hrs
— Inslee raised $1M in first 72hrs— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) March 18, 2019
So… I get that. I’ve always gotten the appeal of Beto. Other people find him appealing too, and they’re donating money at a steady clip. Is this just the way the river is flowing and I need to jump in? Ugh, I can’t. I just can’t. I don’t think Beto is ready.
One interesting thing is that Donald Trump seems sort of obsessed with Beto. Vanity Fair’s sources suggest that Trump is trying to knock down or knock out Beto early because he knows Beto would put Texas in play in the general election. Except… again, Beto never won statewide office in Texas (congressional districts are not statewide offices). Why would Texas be in play? Isn’t it possible that Trump is already obsessed with Beto because Trump is just a big dumb bully?
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Thank u, next.
I felt this way too until this morning when a woman I follow on twitter named Natalie Weaver came out as a big Beto supporter. She’s the mother of a daughter with complex health issues and facial deformities who’s had to fight for healthcare for her daughter since birth but it’s become much worse since Trump was elected. Since then, she’s been a fierce advocate for children’s healthcare in North Carolina specifically but across the country too. She supports Beto after meeting and talking with him about children’s healthcare and Medicaid support. So now, because of her support and knowing how passionately she supports healthcare for kids, I’m curious to see what it is about him specifically that she feels is so helpful to her cause.
His voting record is a good indicator of his positions on issues that democrats care about.
He does not support Medicare for all.
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/12/what-does-beto-orourke-actually-stand-for
@Syd, thanks for posting this. I didn’t know much about Beto other than his Senate bid against Cruz. I definitely want to support a candidate who advocates for Medicare for all. I wonder what it is about him that she feels supports her cause of children’s healthcare more than the other candidates? I certainly didn’t see anything like that in that very informative article you posted which listed all his accomplishments and policies he supports.
I started out a fan but the more I read about his voting record and his actual policy proposals, which you have to dig to find, the more I think he’s riding the woke train.
He simultaneously benefits from white male privelege while decrying it. I mean, he’s inexperienced, lost the senate race, has a voting record that many Republicans would be comfortable with, and relies on platitudes over articulating policy and he just raised $6 million dollars. Oh wait… It’s the 6 million dollar man, a real throwback to the times when white men were in charge.
I’ve sat in plenty of meetings with political consultants. I’m sure he is surrounded by men (yes, men) telling him exactly what they told Obama. Your time is now. You have to seize the moment while you can. Waiting may mean you miss your turn. The only difference is Obama was more experienced, a lot smarter, and had a much better voting record. Beto is looking at all of the favorable comparisons while missing the ones that matter.
Seriously. He’s over doing it and he’s going to be one of the first knocked out. The only one who really stands a chance is Biden. Everyone else is just either too liberal or not liberal enough.
Biden is carrying lots of baggage and gaffes from the last 40 years in public life. When he starts running they will bring everything out. Don the Con called him “IQ” joe already. He’s just waiting for him to announce to pounce with all his nasty 🤢 lies and half truths.
A semi-attractive nothing burger. The end.
Yeah, ok, so I was TOTALLY for him in his race against Ted Cruz (I live in TX). I donated to his campaign, volunteered for his campaign, voted for him. He’s a good guy, truly. He’s smart and compassionate and has great ideas.
But against Kamala Harris, et al? No. Sorry, dude, but no. He’s still young–I think he needs to sit down and I said it.
And sorry (not sorry) but this also applies to every other white man in the race. They could be the greatest guy ever (Mayor Pete is so awesome), but now is NOT the time.
But what if it’s a Harris/O’Rourke ticket with him as VP, which I think he’d take. That’s a winning ticket IMO and I’m here for it all day long.
YES! He needs to run to be considered for VP, and whether all of you like it or not, putting him on the ticket with Harris is a winning ticket. Quit trying to knock him down just bc he’s a white male. Run who will win. They ran Hilary when they shouldn’t have and what happened? Trump won. Never make that mistake again.
Literally my dream ticket too. And why I gave him $10, because I want him to be VP.
Why not Harris/Buttigieg? That guy is stupid smart. (Frankly I wish Stacey Abrams would jump in – talk about stupid smart).
I disagree in that now is definitely the time – primaries. This is the time when all the ideas are thrown into the ring, and debates happen, and people can get behind a candidate they love and be part of the process. People with ideas you love getting to be part of the conversation and contribute to the national dialogue.
That’s a little yucky if you’re going to write off any candidate JUST because they’re a white male. In a different universe that would mean a vote for Sarah Palin? Ben Carson? Bold strategy, Cotton.
Cotton?
And no, I’d never vote for a Republican. Never have, never will. White men run everything, and they always have. I’m sick of it.
“Bold strategy, Cotton” is a quote from the movie Dodgeball, I didn’t mean anything by it.
And fair enough, you do you.
I would echo every single thing you just said. I voted for him and campaigned for him and I think he has a lot to offer but he’s way too inexperienced and I don’t really think he’s ready for prime time. I would love to see a Kamala ticket with Booker as the VP. I would really like Biden to go away. And Bernie needs to go far, far away. Much as I like me some Beto, this is not his year and it feels tone deaf of him not to see that.
Didn’t Biden say he’s not running? And can we dump Bernie on an island somewhere with no wifi?
“I would love to see a Kamala ticket with Booker as the VP.” LOL!!! After Obama, it will be a long time before you see another black POTUS and you will never see a black duo. I am black and I wouldn’t vote for Harris; Cory is too corny to work at a circus.
Tabitha, you might be right about not seeing a black ticket for a long time (but I hope you’re not, honestly, and that it’s more just a matter of waiting out the boomers).
I think Harris is problematic for some important reasons and I get what you’re saying about Booker being corny, but he articulates something I think is really important: the importance of empathy and love in the political space. People think of those things as private virtues we exercise as individuals, not as virtues that exist in the public square (like justice). But the reality is that you can’t get to real justice without love and empathy. Building concrete policies and legislating with empathy as the foundation are things that matter a lot, I think. For me, Booker is the only candidate I’ve heard who gets that.
I just can’t get behind Beto for this election. It really does feel like we’ve had white men (and privileged white women to a lesser extent) running the show for too long. That hasn’t worked out too well.
You do realize that Cory Booker is the biggest phony in the District, and that is really saying something. Years ago I saw a video of him helping a older woman across the street – after he spotted a camera, of course. He has a reputation in D.C. as a huge seeker of the video – Spartacus moment – but doesn’t like to do a lot of real work.
Seeking a ‘non-privileged’ individual to run this country will lead only to failure simply because most members of Congress are privileged people. They got to where they are because of who they are related to – Lynn Cheney/Dick Cheney, the Kennedy family, the Bush family and on and on. Rinse, wash, repeat. This is why I am an advocate for TERM LIMITS and limited financial assistance for contenders once they get to a serious level. Robert O’Rourke collected millions of dollars from donors which he would not share with other Democrats running for office. He has no choice but to run because I don’t think he can keep that money.
Tabitha Stevens, who is your candidate? We will have a women and person of color as president very soon. Demographics of this country are changing rapidly and much of trump’s white nationalism popularity is based on old white people understanding that and being afraid. Also there is no one perfect candidate, but I’m excited about all the women running. We don’t need another Jill Stein situation where people vote for a 3rd party and in doing so, completely ruin the country by giving us trump and ruining the courts for the next decade or so.
@Tabitha – Since Beto was pretty much never less than six points behind Cruz it would have been crazy to give away his campaign money. He needed every penny he could get to try to close the gap. His Senate campaign has about $400,000 cash on hand and, based on my experience as a political fundraiser, there are still a bunch of bills to pay. There is no money to keep. He is running purely for his ego and an over inflated sense of entitlement.
Oh I so agree. We’ve had male presidents for over 250 years. Enough already. Beto was great running for statewide office in a red state, but as president I don’t think so. The Democratic Party needs have a female and/or person of color as the nominee to show the world we are better than trump and his racist, sexist moronic world view. Kamala 2020 right now (I will vote for whoever is the nominee but will work during the primaries for Harris).
I am a hundred percent behind term limits, shortening the campaign season to three months, and giving candidates the same amount of money to run. Eliminating PAC contributions and dark money. Massive voter registration drives and getting rid of voter purging.
He also wrote a sick story fantasizing about killing little kids. Hard pass on this fool
Citation, please. I’ve never heard this.
@Anatasia look over here for the explanation and context: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/15/orourke-not-proud-writing-1223903
This is a very weak argument. And now being a white man is not a good candidate even though they have a great credentials. Isn’t this reversed racism?
Ana – there is no such thing as reversed racism. I believe many Democrats (myself included) are interested in candidates who are POC because they bring a different perspective to the job. Obama is so loved by the base, in part, because he did not bring to the office the toxic white privilege that got us into two unending wars and nearly destroyed the American economy.
Oh Jack, what a pathetic attempt at a takedown. His essay was something any teenager would’ve written in creative writing class,. And he’s addressed it but I guess you’re choosing to ignore his response right?
Anastasia, he used to be a member of a hacking group when he was a teenager and one of the group’s requirements was creating TLs (short stories). He wrote one that is definitely cringe worthy but it happened when he was 19 years old. This is nowhere near recent.
OMG. I did the same in high school/college in my creative writing classes. One of them was HORRIBLE! It was called Rock A Bye Baby and it was about a guy who lost custody of his two year old son, so he broke into his ex-wife’s house one night and killed the boy then himself by lethal injection while singing a lullaby! The teacher sent me to the counselor. They quickly deduced I was not at all homicidal, just had a twisted imagination and had seen too many horror movies. (I still love horror.)
Lol Anastasia, I can’t believe they sent you to the counselor. I guess so they could say they didn’t ignore any warning signs! That is so funny though.
Don’t forget the DUI and something about credit card fraud. Some will say he was a teenager but everyone is having their past presented front and center and Robert Francis should not be treated differently.
It’s really hard for me to take people seriously when they throw out the “hey he’s pretending to be hispanic with his nickname” as the critique.
He’s addresses the DUI, etc so many times.
I would rather hear people critique his platform, policies and all the other important things.
Being from TX and having volunteered a lot for his campaign, the only people I heard call him “Robert Francis” were trolls and Tea Party Republicans.
exactly hmmmom. I’m from Texas too, and I’m completely over it.
Robert Francis is his name. If everyone else must eat they past mess-ups then so should he. DUI is not a good look for anyone.
@TabithaStevens-Except everybody DOESN’T “eat their past mess-ups”, do they? How many Republican candidates have had to atone for their mistakes? Did it stop Trump from winning the nomination and later the presidency? No, so miss me with that sh*t.
A DUI guilty plea didn’t prevent W from winning the primary and two generals. Anyone inclined to vote for Beto doesn’t care and anyone not inclined to vote for him doesn’t care, either.
Texan here. Beto wouldn’t put Texas in play IMO. But he certainly could win states (Wisconsin, Indiana, etc) that won Trump the election. He came very close to winning Texas (closer than he should have) and a lot of that was energizing and getting Democrat’s out to vote and swaying moderates. If that happens in those purple states, Trump is screwed.
Yes. I admit I’m not as keen on him now as I was when he was closing in on Cruz. I thought maybe he’d lost some momentum since so many people jumped into the race ahead of him but it seems he hasn’t. I’ll support him, as I’ll support anyone who gets the nom.
I agree!! This article reminded me to donate to his campaign. I find him so exciting. Haven’t been this excited about a candidate since Obama! Obviously will support any of the candidates who win the democratic nominee. There is an intangible, genuine quality about Beto. I hope he goes far!
I like Beto too. Of all the candidates so far I like him best. As a WOC, I really want a woman and preferably one of color, but can’t get behind Kamala. I’m in the Bay Area and I work in SF. I don’t like her record. Never did.
Sunnee, Beto has a pretty conservative voting record. He voted with trump and the republicans 30% of the time, casting votes that aided big banks, chipped away at the ACA and boosted fossil fuel industry and bolstered trump’s immigration policy. Yeah, I’m sticking with Kamala.
I like him and I support all of the Democratic candidates at this point in time – except Gabbard.
The (3) states that you mentioned that Trump won…won by election fraud…all (3) states have gone Blue as of the last mid-terms…so…that changes everything…
And as part of the Democratic Base…I’m not voting for Beto in the primaries…no way…no how
Not saying you have to or even should. Just offering a possible reason why Trump is fixated on him. Obama-Trump voters do exists. People stayed home instead of voting for Hillary or voted 3rd party. These things did happen. And if someone can reach those people Trump should be scared.
I was about to ask how he’s qualified to be president if he’s never won a statewide office, but then I remembered our current situation. :/
I’m really pulling for Kamala. I’ll put all my support behind whoever the Democratic nominee is, but I just really like her.
Honestly, I just want a candidate who can beat Trump. Any one of them, unless it was Gabbard, would be fine.
He was a national level State Representative for 3 terms. He has PLENTY of experience.
“This is the fight of our lives,” he continues, “not the fight-of-my-political-life kind of crap.
But, like, this is the fight of our lives as Americans, and as humans, I’d argue.”
The more he talks, the more he likes the sound of what he’s saying. “I want to be in it,” he says, now leaning forward. “Man, I’m just born to be in it, and want to do everything I humanly can for this country at this moment.”
A month later he announced his run for the White House.
Read the whole article and take quotes in context.
gotta wonder how much came from republicons — who apparently were instrumental in earlier campaigns.
he’s the current darling of the political media, who have been pushing his name for months. I also don’t buy for a second the republicon claim of how unnerved they are by his ‘popularity’ and possible anointment by democrats. he’s exactly who dotard would love to run against — easy to mock and diminish for an easily swayed and uninformed voting population.
just another note — there was an actual reporter on morningbro today who’d spent time in Wisconsin recently talking to voters. when photos of the democratic candidates without their names was offered, they couldn’t even identify any of them — including joe biden.
It’s hilarious that people donated to guy who’s site has no policy section yet Elizabeth Warren and others have advanced detailed proposals and w/e and since people go for empty platitude guy. Cool, cool, bro.
As I’ve said before, Warren is my choice at this stage. My BF and I spent yesterday morning watching videos of her speeches, some that are from 2014 and earlier. I absolutely love what she has to say about the intersection of economic inequality and systemic social inequality and her policy ideas are built around those issues. She’s also the only candidate thus far that I trust to actually implement her thoughtful and bold policies. I’m not saying that it will easy but I believe that she will push hard to get things done. One thing I’ve learned from having her as a senator is that she is good on her word. She’s a fighter.
As far as Beto is concerned, I’ve been warning everyone that the persistent Sanders-supporters and GOP attacks on him will have quite the unintended backlash in that they will HELP Beto rather than hurt him.
I think that his first 24 hr window of fundraising reflects that. Hell, he’s not even my candidate but I was tempted to donate to him just because the attacks were so extreme. But mark my words, the more the GOP & Sanders folks target him, the more popular he will become.
Just what I was about to say. People really will go out of their way NOT to elect a woman.
That angers me, too.
It’s just, sad. Like are we going to stop talking about de-privatizing prisons. Are we going to elect another dem who is run by corporations, why? Which country’s children is he going to kill with drones?
“…David Sirota, a left-leaning journalist who once worked for Bernie Sanders, announced that he had uncovered something while mining campaign-finance data: “Beto O’Rourke is the #2 recipient of oil/gas industry campaign cash in the entire Congress.” …”
Are we just going to close this chapter of history? We have people talking about the Green New Deal and we’re going to take this guy instead? No, thank you.
Beto supports the Green New Deal, he said as much in Iowa and Wisconsin over the weekend.
As to Sirota, that was disengenous at best. First, of course Beto supported limited fracking when he represented a conservative district. Sirota is taking campaign finance reports and massaging the numbers to create a message that is less than honest.
If you don’t know how finance reports work, when you donate you have to put your occupation and employer. Those stats are then culled for the reports and lumped together. So for example I work in banking and donated to Beto. When the reports come out, all of us individual donors in our industry and lumped together and reported as “donations from financial services”. it doesn’t mean he’s beholden to bankers, it means tons of individual donors who work in our sector support him. Same with oil and gas, same with service industry, and every other industry. Sirota is reaching hard because he is realizing his precious Bernie might actually be threatened by Beto’s ability to capture lightning in a bottle.
Bottom line, Beto doesn’t take PAC money or corporate donations. Nobody can claim he’s beholden to one industry or another.
I’m holding off on donating until the field is narrowed. I will vote for any of these people over Trump, so I’m going to save my time and money until we’re in that fight, and to help support various House and Senate races.
I’m fine with a lot of people running, if they are positive and have ideas, and don’t spend the primaries tearing each other down. This needs to be a joint effort, and they need to be inclusive, not promote division.
It’s a great selection of candidates, no doubt. The primaries are gonna be really exciting 🙂
I say let everyone run who wants to. The best person (hopefully) will win at the end of the day and send Trump packing. I don’t think we should dismiss people just because of their youth or color of their skin. I want to hear from everyone.
Oh but he’s just another mediocre white man who lost a Senate race, right??
FWIW, I like Harris and Booker, and that’s where I’ve donated so far. But Beto’s … Beto’s fine, whatever. If people are that enthusiastic about him, fine, he’s better than Bernie. Bottom line, I’m voting blue regardless.
I’m here.
I think it was always going to be an uphill battle for him here in Texas. But he surely did make that race much closer than anyone thought it would turn out to be. Beto has an appeal nationwide, and I think this beginning fundraising effort shows that. That said, Sen. Harris continues to be a force to be reckoned with.
People always underestimate the power of inspiration. Beto may not have won his senate race but he inspired so many people, even non-voters and young people who may have never voted in an election before. I get it–I love listening to him speak. He really does remind me of Obama in a way. He needs to work on that platform though..he needs REAL ideas not just platitudes and rhetoric. Also, his foreign policy is abysmal. Still early but he really needs to start NOW if he wants to compete with the other candidates.
I agree with you kitten about the “power of inspiration.” I really like Warren, Mayor Pete and Beto. I’m not picking anyone to follow and support monetary until I see some debates. I’m not crossing anyone off at this time.
I read someone saying Beto getting a DUI at 28 was a non starter for him/her. But, W Bush got a DUI at 30 and was elected President twice. Laura Bush killed someone while drunk driving and the Republicans never talk about but they are picking Beto apart.
@ kitten Please stop with the Obama comparison it’s delusional and it’s creating a false narrative. This is a rich guy from a politically well connected family who went to boarding school in Virginia who had his rich daddy bail him out when he got in trouble.Whose billionaire father in law sponsored his first campaign and got him his start in politics. And who says things like I was born to be president. He’s dripping with white privilege.
Whatever charisma he may have doesn’t make him Obama. Obama was a historical candidate he was also significantly better educated and more impressive intellectually despite being from a much less fortunate background A better comparison is probably the kennedys or something, scion of a political family, well connected etc.
Also he isn’t the only one that inspires people, especially women and POC.
@B nA
Yes rich white guys can become presidents with records. Obama would not have been president with W or Betos criminal record.
Please just have your opinion and let me have my own opinion. I voted for BO twice. I will vote for the next democratic nominee, if it’s Beto, Elizabeth, Mayor Pete ect. I’m not going to tear down anyone on the democratic ticket. People voted for the lying, racist Con man we now and never talk about his father was arrested with a k k k hood on. They don’t talk about him not showing his income taxes for the past three years. They don’t talk about him not paying taxes for over 10 years, saying “that makes me smart”. They don’t talk about him saying
“I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the bikers for trump — I have the tough people but they don’t play tough — until they go to a certain point and then it could be very bad, very bad.”
Why is he threatening the people who don’t support him. I’m just sick 😷 of all the threats from this Con man.
Now they are tearing down Beto because he said he was “born to run” without writing the entire quote and put in in context. W Bush had a DUI and HE became president, give me a break with the nick picking.
@ Isa-NO. It’s my opinion and NO I won’t stop just because you disagree.
I never said Beto was the SAME as Obama, I simply said they SHARE A SINGULAR QUALITY that inspires hope in people. They are both charismatic speakers and both speak eloquently and passionately about issues I care about. You don’t have to agree with me about (again) the ONE parallel that I drew between the two but don’t insinuate that I’m somehow cheapening Obama’s legacy by comparing him to Beto SMDH. Obama was one of a kind, but Beto has something unique that people gravitate towards much like people gravitated towards Obama.
@B n A Fan- Agree that wasting time tearing down other candidates is useless and self-defeating and yes, the Right has put a bull’s eye on Beto’s back. I hope that he continues to stay above the fray.
As I said above he has a pretty conservative voting record (voted with republicans 30% of time in his 6 years in office). I understand he was a good candidate running in a red state against the second most unpleasant politician in the country, but I’m not sold on him as a presidential candidate. And I will be voting for anyone who gets the dem nomination, so this is about the primaries for me right now.
@kitten
The whole white Obama thing is a marketing ploy invented by democratic strategists and his own team.
As for liking him to BO speaking gifts.. bizarre. He’s not an eloquent speaker at all. I thought he was because everyone said he was such a good speaker after his senate run. Not impressed at all, nowhere near Obama. Betos passionate and earnest but having listening to his speeches over the last week they are full of platitudes and cliches. He sounds more like a motivational speaker than anything. No policy specifics or anything.The funny thing is he keeps bragging he writes them himself and how he doesn’t plan speeches and it badly shows.
Generally he seems to be the dem candidate for people who secretly aren’t comfortable with POC and women candidates and they hide behind the excuse that only white men can beat trump.
B n A fan
What are you even talking about? I haven’t told you what to think. I simply pointed out that no women or POC could get away with his record. That’s a fact wether you want to admit it or not
And for the both of you WOC are the backbone of party don’t tell WOC we can’t critise a 1% guy , he’s got plenty of problematic things on his record and is far from progressive on economic justice and he’s literally out doing the whole Biden/ Bernie thing.
I don’t think I can do another awful election cycle, emotionally and mentally. I’m still traumatized from 2015-16 and the recent Florida Governor’s race + Bill Nelson’s fiasco. The worry, the anxiety, the helpless rage, the feeling that even though I donated and volunteered, none of it made a difference for any campaign that I supported and it was all for nothing…
I think I’m going to check out and just vote Democrat when the day comes. Straight D, all the way down the ballot. I’m trying hard not to be fatalistic, but it’s been difficult.
I feel you, I hear you… but I hate it. 🙁 I’m considering doing the same.
The entire GOP, not just Trump, is obsessed with this guy.
Yesterday, in honor of St Patrick’s Day, the GOP tweeted Beto’s mug shot from a DUI with added Irish cartoon stuff and a reminder to drink responsibly. The GOP and Ronna Romney McDaniel thought it was a good time to attack a candidate based on his ethnicity and enforce bigoted ethnic stereotypes. They got hammered for it but the offensive tweet is still up.
Trump fears a Beto, younger better looking and has charisma. Trump is shallow so he thinks very shallow. Why do you think Trump has egged on ernie as being somewhat OK and a thumbs up at some points?
The mummy of an Egyptian pharao is better looking and has more charisma than Trump. If only he realized that.
I saw that. It is disgusting.
eh lets face it part of Obama’s big appeal he was young and highly charismatic. Hilary was way more qualified than Obama. When are liberal voters going to wake up to realize most Americans vote on shallow reasons and rarely if ever have voted because the candidate is actually qualified. He is still better than Bernie IMO. America at this point is way to sexist to elect a woman President. Its reality and many don’t want to face it. If the pool was mostly women and like 2 or 3 men, those men would be ahead.
There are a lot of candidates w/ concrete policies ,some I don’t wholly agree w/ but policy. Beto is like “I just think it’s time I entered the race. I was meant to be here.” Ok, sir but what about…
Beto: “I just feel things about things on subjects at times when it occurs”
Ok, what about medicaid for all.
Beto: lol no. Free market, options. But maybe.
lololollolollol
The Obama comparison is off. Obama was more than just charisma he actually had substance and was a lot more intellectually impressive. He was also calm and well spoken. He also didn’t have white privilege..
Hillary could run rings around everyone in the race now. She was more qualified than Barack but BO had that “it” factor and he went on. I believe we can’t count out Beto there is something about him. Look 👀 what we have now. Anyone of the Dems are more qualified than he is, jmo.
Yes, I still mourn that Hillary isn’t our president. Every. Single. Day.
The Onion is sharing an article title “Beto O’Rourke Announces He Starting Obama Cover Campaign.”
“I’ve always loved Barack’s early stuff from back in ’08, even ’04, and I think diehard fans will go crazy when I cover all his greatest hits,” said the 46-year-old White House hopeful, clarifying that he and his campaign aides had spent several months “just going through Barack’s catalog” to memorize the former president’s platform.
Beto is generating some of the excitement Obama had early on, but it’s yet to be seen if he flames out. Obama had substance and experience behind the cool factor.
Jump in. The water’s fine.
PS — Texas will definitely be in play if Beto is on the ticket.
I’m voting for whomever seems to have the best chance to beat Drumph.
I’m trying to stay open, read about all the candidates and learn the most I can about them. I have some favorites… I love the idea of Kamala/Beto ticket. I’m not that concerned about their lack of experience… they have way more knowledge, common sense and heart than the current president!
Warren is so qualified, but too polarizing. I’m afraid the same thing will happen to her that happened to Hillary. I think the same might be true for Bernie.
Honestly though, I will end up supporting the democrat who has the best chance to win. We can’t let the madman stay in the Whitehouse another 4 years.
Yay for Beto!!! I donated twice in the first 24 hours and will definitely donate again!!
I knew trump would be driven insane by Beto! Younger, hotter, more charisma, loved by the media and celebs. Everything trump wishes he could be! Muahahaha
👍👍
If today’s tweets are any indication, someone in the White House is rattled by Biden
They should be rattled by pretty much any of the Dem contenders.
I believe he can go far if he finds a platform and states clearly what he’s for and if it’s what the majority of the voters agrees with.
Biden/Harris or Biden/Warren.
No one else has the experience or political popularity to go up against Trump.
@jennifer, it’s to early to say what the voters will like or not like imo. I remember Bill Clinton was like 2% in the early primaries before he started moving up and eventually became President. Don the Con was a bully and lied, and cheated his way with the help of the media, Comey, and the Russians, so who knows at this point.
Oh lord. Spare us Biden, please.
Of course Bernie and Beto raised big money that fast! Chrissakes, they both have donor lists from previous major campaigns and positive news coverage to back them. If there’s anybody impressive in there, it’s Kamala Harris, who raised a million plus despite lacking the major media profile of those two.
I’m not excited by Beto, but I will vote for him. I think he better learn how to firmly push back because if he goes all kumbaya–he will lose. Republicans are not going to play fair, their smear book is already in play, and this is just the beginning. Fox News is ramping up to give him the Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez treatment any minute now. If he runs around going, “Well, that’s just not nice. . .” We are going to lose again. Fact.
I’m sorry I’ve found Beto’s roll out hella annoying and artificial.it seems more about him than his policies,that said my #1 Is still Kamala,should Beto be the one in the primary I will absolutely vote for him,just NOT TRUMP!
I have a feeling he knows he won’t get the nomination however being able to show what he can pull in fundraising wise will be a big draw to be a VP. I could see Booker or Harris offering it to him to easily. Then he spends 8 years as VP and then can turn around and run for president. For someone his age 8 years will be nothing.
The more I see of him the more he comes across as the Democratic poster boy for white male privilege. It’s not only that he says he was born for the presidency he also says stuff like “I never prepare” …imagine warren bragging that she never prepares or booker running for president with a dui and a burglary record. None of them would even be in the senate. But for a white guy what would make a POC branded a thug makes him merely relatable or cool..
And this weekend he said he’s the one who has the best understanding of immigration issues completely ignoring the excistence of at least two second generation immigrants ( Castro and Harris). Castro who has roiled out the most extensive immigration reform policy in the 2020 field and Harris who immigration activists say is the leader on immigration reform in DC and who was who was the dissenting voice who voted against the party (angering Schumer and the rest of the establishment) when they tried to broker a deal with GOP for the wall
I think this was extremely disrespectful to both especially to Castro who literally campaigned for Beto in the Hispanic community.
I mean I wanted to like him but he just seems out of touch at best or arrogant at worst.
I am not inspired by booker in the least either but at this point I don’t see any difference between them, both are emotive speakers who uses a lot of platitudes and are pretty fiscally conservative. Both are wannabe Obama’s none of them are anywhere near as intellectually impressive as Obama.The only difference I see is the media is obsessed with Beto. And of course the media pays not anywhere near the same attention to the real game changer from the 2018 elections, Stacey Abrams….
I’m just so tired of nearly every white dude in this race. Beto is all charisma and no substance. Dude can’t get through a coherent interview without “aw-shucks”-ing himself. If a woman was as rambly as he is and had a DUI like he does, she wouldn’t have made it a quarter as far. And Bernie doesn’t even have the charisma, just vague shouty demands and exactly zero tax returns released to the public. Plus Bernie’s wife Jane has shady ties to Russia. Let’s not even talk about his dumpster fire of a fan base. It’s only white men who could lose their respective elections but be championed as great victors anyway.
Pete Buttegieg might be the only white dude who has me intrigued (a gay Rhodes scholar vet who speaks seven languages seems like an SNL character). But I am so ready for a woman president.
Kamala Harris 2020.
Kamala Harris with Pete Buttegieg as VP. That’s my hope. At the moment anyway. Mayor Pete can be POTUS Pete in 2028.
Beto is all flashy and whatever but so far he doesn’t have much to back it up. And man did he fumble the ball when asked about having a female VP on his ticket.
Not that my opinion matters. Canadian and all.
Definitely time for a female President. America is behind the rest of the world in that regard.
I like him, but I don’t think he should get the nomination. He may have good intentions, but he has had many gaffes that would have never been forgiven if he had been a woman, or a poc. However, he seems the most obvious choice to be vp for a more progressive candidate (Kamala?) and win all the moderate votes out there.
These posts are distressing me. Division and acrimony are going to be thrown at us from the other side for the next 2 years. Why are we encouraging it ourselves? The way the stories about Beto’s past actions dropped after his candidacy announcement showed the opposition spent countless hours dreaming up attack angles and they view him as a legitimate threat. They must be gleeful that so many are taking the bait and cutting down candidates days into their races.
I worked hard for Beto here in TX. I am going to give every candidate an equal amount of consideration over the next year. I want to hear what they all have to say, I want to see how they stand up to pressure and controversy, who they surround themselves with in terms of policy and platform ideas, where they spend their campaign time and money, etc. It’s far too early in the race to be cutting candidates down and I think it’s beyond dangerous to encourage it.
Thank you, it appears the other side is nervous about Beto so they send their delegates over to tear him down. He has been in the race less than a week, why are they so 😟.
The other side doesn’t have to lift a finger with Bernie in the race. His campaign team runs on an “By any means necessary” mentality and is more than likely the reason why everyone has been hit hard after announcing. This is the same team that continued to relentlessly attack Hillary after it was clear that she had worn the primary. This is the same team that tried to rig the 2020 primary by trying to penalize states with closed primary rules that couldn’t be changed because of Republican legislators while trying to protect low turnout caucuses.
We’ve already see the classic “XYZ is taking much more money from this industry” hit that just ignores the fact that all employee donations take into account the industry they work in which is why a politician from NJ would have more pharma donations, a senator from NY would have more wall street donations, and a politician from TX would have more oil/gas donations.
I’m not super stoked about Beto running for president, I think he should go for the Senate seat up for grabs in TX first — BUT, just because people aren’t thrilled with his nomination, doesn’t mean that they won’t vote for him. Honestly, I don’t care who ends up making it on the “D” Ticket, I will vote for the Democrat NO MATTER WHO IT IS. Even if I’m not thrilled, even if it ends up being a candidate I would never pick, I WILL vote for them, because 4 more years of that orange menace is a not an option.
I agree with you 100%.
Oh, I don’t know…I don’t really see division here–just people talking about the candidates that they most prefer–and I don’t see anything wrong with that. I DO see your point about people on the left repeating RW talking points though. I think there are some valid criticisms of Beto but I also think plenty of the (unfair) criticisms are things that the GOP and their Russian army WANT us to say/think about him. I’m not anti-Beto or anti any candidate, really. I just like Warren best because to me she has a comprehensive and REALISTIC (sorry Bernie) platform for accomplishing the things I most care about. *shrugs*
I love love love Kamala. It sickens me to say this, but I don’t think she can win. All those stupid, women-hating women who voted Trump won’t vote for Harris. In my dream world, Kamala is President forever. But in 2020, I think Beto is the one who is non-threatening enough to get the middle-of-the mindless-road vote and kick trump’s ass.
I absolutely think Harris can win. Unquestionably.
As someone who is not a fan of Harris can you please tell me what it is you like about her so much? I was impressed by how she handles herself during hearings but that’s about it. I’m always kind of surprised that people on this board seem to like her so much – quite frankly I’d put her and Beto in the same boat; relatively young and charismatic but nothing that really stands out.
I’ve heard firsthand stories from a few of her constituents that her hiring practices are at best, problematic and that she ignored the issues that came from that until she couldn’t anymore.
I’m honestly fine with anybody other than Sanders or Gabbard. As for his lack of clear policy atm, meh. We have months to go until the first debate and campaign promises often have to be over-inflated anyway. Few promises reflect the reality of a Senate where Dems are in the minority or have a small majority. HRC tried to be realistic and while she won, people gave her unwarranted shit for that. I’ll give him a few months before I expect him to promise the moon to win a primary.
If Beto can siphon off some of the youth vote from that man who lost a fight with a shower door, I’d be more than happy.
This is basically my position, too. Anyone but Sanders or Gabbard. I can’t stand either of them. I’m gearing up for another round with the hipster Bernie-bros in my city. They’re terrible.
That said I’ll vote and campaign for the Dem whoever it might be. People with “purity politics” in 2020 can miss me with their bullsh!t. Do I want a true progressive and a green new deal and healthcare for all and a fair minimum wage and women’s reproductive freedom? You bet I do. Will I abstain from voting for a Democratic candidate who isn’t perfectly progressive? I will not. The only issue where I might consider sitting it out is if the Dem is an anti-abortion blue dog. That’s a potential deal breaker for me. But I’m pretty sure all except Gabbard are ok on that front.
Interesting points raised here.
I am wondering if Trump is scared of Beto. ??
Maybe?
After all Beto is a white male so he is a serious candidate to Trump. Women are nothing to Trump and I remember clearly during the debate with Hilary how he was stalking her around the stage and I was angry that Hilary did not confront him. Just my opinion.
Back to Beto. Maybe he has raised a lot of money so far because men want a male candidate. Beto is popular with women too I guess. I don’t know. I will be honest and admit Beto puts me off a bit because he looks like the womanizing Kennedys. I was not a fan of them and I’m old and remember them all clearly. I realize that is insipid of me to compare Beto with the Kennedys but there it is.
I am supposed to vote with whatever Candidate the Dems pick for their nomination because defeating Trump is all that matters. Fine. I hear conjecture that Trump will not go without force when he is defeated in 2020. I think that conjecture is true. Putin will insist on it.
I really need well meaning white people and other well meaning non black people of color to quit saying things like “we don’t need another white man” “I’ll vote for anyone except a white dude” etc. You are not doing actual candidates of color in favors and stuff like that plays into the paranoid belief that many white people that they are under attack. Whoever the Dem candidate is, they are still going to need a large percentage of white people to vote for them in order to win; they will also need to flip some of the white folks who voted for Trump. But for some reason far too many on the left cannot seem to grasp the concept of optics or politics for that matter.
I just have a sinking feeling that people on the left will cannibalize all the Dem candidates over stupid and petty stuff and then pave the way for four more years of Trump and his grifting family.
Can’t we have our own preferences and observations about the proliferance of mediocre white men in politics without being accused of cannibalizing the liberal agenda?
How on earth does my irritation as a woc never seeing a woman like me represented hold back black candidates or candidates of color? What a weird, myopic comment to make. A racist Trump voter will NEVER vote for a Harris or an Abrams or a Booker no matter how much they pander to them, no matter how they consider “the optics of the situation” or try to be politically correct. Obama was the kindest, calmest voice of reason and a majority of them believed he was a wannabe dictator from Kenya. There is nothing we can do or say that will make the majority of them accept a president of color or a female president.
And let’s remember, Hillary won anyway. She won anyway. The electoral college system is a farce.
I would be happy to see Kamala Harris or Stacey Abrams as president and will happily vote for them. But if that doesn’t happen, I will vote for the party candidate, even if it’s someone I detest like Bernie or someone I find mediocre like Beto. I will vote for the candidate because any nominee is better than Trump.
Thank you. I find arguments that we would never elect a women or person of color bizarre-Obama won twice and HRC won the popular vote. In 2008 after 8 years of republican incompetence and fiscal irresponsibility, the country yearned for something completely different. I believe that after 4 years of trump’s racism and sexism and narcissistic idiocy we will gladly vote for a women to get us back to the country we should be.
I am voting straight D down the ticket no matter who is running.
For the president I am voting for whoever is NOT Trump
It’s pretty simple, as much blue as possible and NO F#*cking Trump
People side eye Beto for taking several months off to decide if he was going to run for President. The fact is, I side-eyed it too until I remembered Colin Powell and why he didn’t run after all~he didn’t want the level of scrutiny and ugliness that was sure to come along with the campaign to impact his wife and family, so he withdrew himself. Beto has 3 young children that he had to think about making that choice for, and the level of ugliness that has ALREADY come out around him is proof that stopping to think about that decision was actually a very carefully considered subject~and I, for one, appreciate the seriousness around his decision. He CARES about what kind of planet his 3 kids will have to deal with. He CARES about what happens to this country, how we are regarded around the world, what proper statesmanship is like, and bringing civility and HOPE (real hope, not the fake Obama kind) to a country that DESPERATELY needs every little thing we can get right now. I urge you ALL to go back and visit some of his speeches~his concession speech after BARELY losing to Cruz, in a deep red state that hasn’t elected ANY Democrat to any Gubernatorial or Senatorial position in over 25 YEARS, and listen to the SUBSTANCE in his speech.
That’s it, just go and listen to what HE is saying, and not the out of context BS that the media spins. Don’t be that media that spins the BS, either~
Mayor Pete has accomplished more than Beto, is smart, inspiring, and knows public policy. He doesn’t stand on tables and offer empty, vacuous platitudes. People should consider him.
I like Beto. He is a fundraising juggernaut. He came close in TX in a midterm. GOP is terrified he will speed up the loss of TX in the red column. And he fires up young people. He has “it”. Just like Obama did. I also think Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, and Andrew Gillum have “it”. And possibly Warren.
Beto just proved his Senate campaign was no fluke. He’s just getting started.
FYI, directly because of Beto firing up the Texan population, literally HUNDREDS of positions down the ballot were WON BY DEMOCRATS because of Beto. This is the other thing that conveniently gets left out when discussing him. In Harris County, Texas, alone (my county) there were 19 African-American women that won Judge positions, and NUMEROUS other pretty big local level victories also occurred because of the Beto influence. He INSPIRES people, from every corner, and he gets them out working for him~because everyone who works towards getting him elected, knows that this is important for ALL of our collective futures.
There is not a woman in the race that would not give Trump a Mondale style win. Why do you think the GOP is already attacking Beto and doesn’t waste a second of time or money on any of the female candidates? They would love for one of them to be nominated. You could phone it in for Trump.
You need to read thus. The idea that you should go for the safe electable choice is not supported by history.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/beto-orourke-joe-biden-electability-2020-807651/
That’s absurd. Barack Obama, a young almost unknown African American beat a beloved war hero in 2008 after 8 years of republican destruction. The country is going to be yearning for change after 4 years of terrible trump.
Beto gets to work (or go tour the state or country!) just whenever. If Beto wants to “get a break from his family” as a teenager, he just heads to an elite (and racists and sexist) boarding school. Beto is a big fish in the small pond of El Paso, where his rich and powerful parents (and now in-laws) dictate to the empoverished masses. Yes, he’s kind of cute, has an adorable family, and is “nice” as far as politicians go. Until you dig deeer. Please look at his history and his voting record on the El Paso city council
He is a born narcissist ……every word out of his mouth screeches it, add to that his constant mansplaining and back peddling on issues , he would be a disaster. I’m even picking up a subtle sociopath vibe from him, he will say exactly what you want to hear as long as it gets him what he wants. Don’t fall for the cult of personality the way voters did last time.
I don’t think Beto is a sociopath, but a narcissist, yes. Everything he says is about his process, about how he feels. Not that he’d be the first narcissist running for President, of course!