Agreed, but Beto has the best chance of any Texas Democrat at the moment. Plus, he has his pro-Republican pro-fossil fuel voting record to help him.
Winning a nationwide race for a statewide loser like Beto is an even taller hill.
I still don’t blame him for taking a shot at POTUS. Coming as close as he did in a statewide race in Texas in a midterm is one thing. Coming that close or winning in a statewide race in Texas in a Presidential election year is another thing altogether.
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Dillon told the Times that she was not planning to jump into the race this early, but was compelled to by O’Rourke’s message.
Message? What message? That he’s a giant, Obama-like cypher who allows everyone to project their own beliefs upon him, only to disappoint once elected?
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I don’t like your attitude, no candidate of yours will ever win
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It’s just GeorgeH Jake
Forget it
Our Nattering Nabob of Negativism
Got a parade , He’ll rain on it
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I wouldn’t compare him to Palin.
Nor would I call him “uber-wealthy” – and even if he were … well … was Ted Kennedy “uber-wealthy”? I don’t see an argument here.
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Me, too.
Well, stranger things have happened!
Yes, you may be right.
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Apparently David Sirota doesn’t like him. Which is a plus for me. Probably because he’s competing with Bernie for the white punk skateboarder vote. Much more to be discussed, though.
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Both are utterly unqualified to be President.
Beto’s net worth of about $9 million is uber-wealthy, in my opinion. His father-in-law’s net worth is about $500 million.
$9 million is uber-wealthy compared to 99% of the rest of America, again, in my opinion.
And maybe we should not bring up Ted Kennedy because that just leads to Mary Jo…
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I agree. A lot of people I know (and myself) gladly contributed small contributions to Beto (and Doug Jones) this year because of their notorious vitriolic and awful adversaries.
I don’t think that means that all those people think he should run for president. And if you ask me, that is sort of the siren song that he and his enthusiasts are heeding, that the large nationwide donor base (and their contact information) are going to signify a huge nationwide movement for his presidential candidacy.
Besides, my fascination with boyish white men with bushy hair and rolled up sleeves, talking on a bullhorn from the top of station wagons, ended on a sad morning in June, 1968 when a motorist stopped me as I pedalled on my Bayamon, PR, morning paper route, and asked me to sell him a paper because he had just heard on the radio that RFK had been assassinated late last night. The paper of course did not have the story yet. .
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It’s easier for a Democrat to win the presidency than a senate seat in Texas. Obama lost Texas twice.
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“Let’s own the Left” is a great way to make political decisions. It’s been working so well!
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Abraham Lincoln served only one term in the House before he became president. We place too much importance on experience. Character is what matters.
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That’s a slightly different statement.
Yes, I can see why one might argue that O’Rourke is unqualified.
Wealthy, sure, but maybe not in the “uber” sense.
Yes, what he did and did not do at Chappaquiddick was at best a serious mistake but you’re evading the point: If you’re suggesting that O’Rourke’s wealth somehow deforms his politics, then (1) Was Ted wealthy? and (2) If so, how did his wealth affect his political views and policy positions?
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Obama actually won a Senate seat in his home state. What has Beto won?
Why should we skip over all the intermediate steps that show political ability? How about actual accomplishments?
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i guess according to some right wing democrats beto is qualified because he lost a senate race in texas.
sound reasoning and what is to be expected from those who still believe obama was a progressive.
well…the country is moving left not right and while beto is seen by the power structure of the democratic party to be a reliable repiglicon …based on his voting record and his support for other repiglicons in races where he refused to support democrats…the voters do not share in that illusion/deception.
put aside that appeal…and coming in a close second is his sociopathic personality complete with the exaggerated hand movements…sorta like a bad magic act…as his only explanation of why he is qualified…being he “was born to run for president”…and you have everything he offers as a candidate.
hardly the stuff that should impress true progressives or anyone but a reader of brietbart…
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If you want, take wealth out of the equation and compare Ted Kennedy’s résume´when he ran for President with O’Rourke’s current résume´. See my point?
O’Rourke is a very wealthy white man who has no experience that qualifies him to be president. None.
But his wealth combined with white male privilege are the only reasons he is where he is, doing what he is doing.
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It’s important for the party that Beto run a good campaign. Glad he got this person. Hope he does polling too. Having looked at the TX-Sen results multiple times, I think the election was decided in the suburbs/exurbs of Houston as that was the one area where he did not improve as much over the standard Dem baseline, and I think having a pollster could’ve fixed that for him in real time.
In terms of who is running the best campaigns, I think Harris, Warren and Beto are doing the best jobs so far. I think Klobuchar and Gillibrand are still mired a bit. Klobuchar’s approach and agenda are too conservative and restrained though I do agree with a lot of her basic policy points. Gillibrand hasn’t gotten away from the Franken stuff. I really like both so I hope they can pick it up.
Bernie is doing a good job of connecting with his base, but he hasn’t been expanding much outwards. He is also getting a lot more scrutiny and it has kept him from the cameras. If Biden doesn’t run, however, Bernie will be an immediate beneficiary (having my doubts as to whether Biden will actually run).
Then there’s the Buttigieg phenomenon. He has really gotten excellent, if not fawning media coverage but has used it well. I have been a bit put off by his rather divisive rhetoric which soothes the feelings of the Trump voter and tells blue state voters that we’re the problem, and so he is not in my top 5, but one can’t deny that he’s making an impression. However, it’s also true that the white male candidates are getting a disproportionate amount of media attention to the female candidates and the female candidates are tearing it up as well or better than the male candidates. Media bias based on gender is pretty bad this election cycle so far.
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Well, I’m not the one who put wealth in the equation to begin with!
O’Rourke is a very wealthy white man who has no experience that qualifies him to be president. None.
As I agreed above, one can make a plausible argument – but I’ve also seen counter-arguments.
At this moment, if O’Rourke wants to run, then voters have more rather than fewer options to consider – which is a good thing, I suppose you agree.
Wealth is part of the equation. You put Ted Kennedy in the discussion, who is not part of the current equation.
In general, I agree completely; in particular, I disagree because I think it costs the Democrats their best shot at beating Cornyn and gaining a D-seat in the Senate. It is a selfish and ego-driven decision for Beto to run when there are already so many highly- qualified candidates in the race.
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