Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) is restarting his 2020 presidential campaign Thursday after spending time in his hometown of El Paso in the wake of the mass shooting, and plans to unveil a change in tactic.
Beto’s presidential campaign reminds me of a Richard Belzer joke about Keith Richards:
“Hey Keith!”
“Huuuhhh?”
“Lie down!”
“Whaaaa?”
“You’re DEAD!”
We need to take the senate, Beto. You can help. Run against that do-nothing jackass, Cornyn. Time is running out in a very real sense.
He said that he came to the new way of doing things after declining an invitation to the Iowa State Fair right after the El Paso massacre, saying that that kind of politicking didn’t match the “urgency” of the moment.
Oh my fucking god! He declined an invitation to the Iowa motherfucking State Fair! Oh the humanity! Where else can he jam a foot long hotdog down his gullet!
Hopefully this is the start of Beto running for Senate. Does anyone know the TX deadline to file for the TX Senate race in 2020?
Get ready for a restarted campaign consisting of a noun, a verb, and “El Paso.”
This is disappointing. O’Rourke could mount a credible challenge to Cornyn. And if he dropped out of the Presidential race he’d be flooded with cash and praise from the Dem establishment. Even if he lost to Cornyn he’d still be a viable political presence in both Texas as well as nationwide. Instead he is going to be out of the race by March, and then permanently out of the picture for Dem politics.
Only way this decision makes sense is if his real goal is to get a job on television.
This is disappointing. I was really hoping he’d do the right thing and take the Houston Chronicle’s editorial plea to heart: Drop out of the presidential race and run against Cornhole.
“Texas needs you,” it wrote. The country needs him more — in the US Senate!
@choska It appears I’m not the only one disappointed.
What? No Nancy Pelosi rant? You’re slipping.
Now there’s one freakazoid I’m surprised hasn’t gotten an “acting” position in this maladministration.
I was just thinking that what I pulled up that pic.
Funny, I thought that picture was her audition shot to show Putin how she could fill in for Hair Cockholster.
Welp, there’s my nightmares sorted for the next month or two.
No Pelosi rant, no georgeh rejoinder
Some people pay money to see that. Or so I’ve heard.
Extremely mean and shallow , but likely
I hope this means he is planning for his shift to a Senate race. A lot of people are complaining that he should be focusing on the Senate, and I generally agree. But he has until December 9th to decide. Running for president until then may be a good way to stay in the news and could help him in his eventual Senate run.
If I were him, I’d probably understand the Presidential election is a long shot bid. I’d stay in it with the plan to switch to the Senate in November or December. Keeps him in the news. Not focusing on early primary states is consistent with this. I’m not saying Beto doesn’t want to be president. If he kills in the debates and becomes a top contender he’ll probably forego that Senate run and keep at it. But he knows that probably won’t happen. I’d put my money on him dropping out of the presidential race and running for Senate in Texas some time between the next round of debates and the December filing deadline.
I don’t know what happened to Beto when he went national. He was the only candidate in my memory who could quote a serious history book–Taylor Branch’s Parting the Waters–off the top of his head in a town hall. He also gave a brilliant, perspective-filled, measured response to a constituent disturbed by Kaepernick’s kneeling. I agree he should run for Senate, but I regret that he lost his mojo on the bigger stage…
Beto, do the right thing and just drop out and run for Senate like Hickenlooper is going to do. If you want to change gun policy, run for Senate. If you want to change the fact there are kids in cages, run for Senate. Your campaign isn’t likely going to get momentum any time soon so just run for Senate.
Beto,
You can make a difference in the Senate. You can continue to get under Trump’s skin by holding border rallies and drawing bigger crowds. Ted Cruz has not be a rock solid GOP vote which means your presence in the Senate may actually bring 2 votes on major issues and not just one.
Give it a thought.