Beto O'Rourke is a dream candidate for the Democratic Party. We all need to help this guy win. Sign up for updates on his website. Donate to his campaign. Share his videos on social media. And if you live in Texas, help get out the vote!
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o'rourke brings common sense
back into the political arena.
[stay healthy & fit.] keep going.
THANK YOU!
55
If I were a Texan, I'd run to the polls to vote for this man. If I were a US citizen, I'd open my pocketbook and give what I could afford. If I lived in America, I'd go to Texas and pitch in however I could. As I am none of these things, all I can do is implore others to do what I cannot. Beto O Rourke has all the appearance of a once-in-a-generation political leader ... America, don't squander this opportunity!
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Beto O'Rourke. So refreshing, he brings tears to my eyes.
I also think he would be a Senator in the mold of a McCain - ready to work across the aisle and ready to allow his sense of humor to surface. I think he would be well liked and respected.
Yes, wouldn't that be nice for a Senator from Texas? Not the most hated man in the chamber, wouldn't that be refreshing?
Best of luck, Beto.
76
So Cruz wants Trump to come campaign for him. Turns out that he is "a servile puppy dog", after all.
56
Sure, if every two years you claim “this is the one!” you’ll eventually be right. I’m not holding my breath, though. Liberal Texans have been doing this since 2008.
8
Yes, this thing about Texan sterotypes. One thing is for sure. If someone had called a Texan's wife ugly or insulted her in other ways he would have dueled or beaten up this guy badly and certainly not ask him for help to get re-elected. This proves that Cruz is either no Texan or has no character or both.
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Beto O'Rourke, who culturally appropriated his name and used his white privilege to escape two separate criminal charges, one a DWI when he was 26 and in which he was speeding in a seventy five mile per hour zone, hit another vehicle, and tried to flee the scene. All reported in the Houston Chronicle. Now he wants to represent Texas. Oh, yeah.
12
This is a free political ad for Beto.
8
Yes, Texas is Texas, but Ted Cruz is still Ted Cruz, and that's not such a great selling point in a red wave. A lot of my coastal friends are retiring in Texas, and just as conservative retirees turned Arizona red in the 1960's so will west and east coast retirees turn Texas Blue. -with a lot of help from hispanics sick of seeing their families torn apart by bigotry and xenophobia.
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I just made a campaign contribution to Beto. Not a lot, $10 is all I can afford. If just ten of you fellow readers match my contribution that is $100. Please accept my contribution challenge. We’ve got you TEXAS!!
69
Enjoy it while it lasts, 'Beto' mania ends Nov. 6th. Texas isn't a 'Red' state. It's a 'Blood Red' state. And close in the polls is the best he gets this time around.
6
My main takeaway from this = moderates are roadkill. Great. Wake me up when this country grows up.
12
I’m thrilled about Beto and hope he changed his mind about a presidential run some day.
P.S. I’m disgusted that you included a photo of a dead armadillo. It was bad enough reading about it, and worse seeing the photo.
14
Lordamighty, how we wish we had Beto O'Rourke running for Florida Senator in 2 months instead of Governor Rick Scott (bigly health-care-for-profit millionaire and Trump pal) and Bill Nelson, 17 years as our Astronaut/Senator fighting for another 6 years (he'd be 81 at the end of that term). Rubio has a safe perch till 2022, and Texas's colossal GAIN (Beto replacing "Lyin' Ted Cruz" (h/t Trump) is our state of Florida's awful loss!
9
Ted Cruz - smart, focused on self - or others?
Ted Cruz - are you merely unwilling or incapable of using your considerable intellectual gifts to stand against the dangerous malignant narcissism of Trump as he corrosively decays our American justice and freedom for which so many brave REAL patriots have sacrificed?
Ted Cruz - History will remember you for what you do - or fail to do - w/ the opportunity & power to do it.
Ted Cruz - Your silence enables Trump's poisonous treachery to further permeate our country's foundation - gravely eroding the values and tools which gave you the position you now hold.
Ted Cruz - Be A Hero, and stand for America - honor what you know is right! We know you understand!
Ted Cruz - Be a SIGNAL in the Republican Party. Signal above the cowardly background-noise of the "I'm-gonna-shut-up-&-go-along-w-Trump-so-he-doesn't-Tweet-attack-me-for-steppin'-outta-line". Moral, ethical, constitutional choices are required of you.
Ted Cruz - Your Country, Legacy, & children's children will remember and honor you for stepping up - to show real LEADERSHIP in this tipping-point moment. You KNOW the COURAGE called for.
Ted Cruz - This is your MOMENT to DELIVER thru the fearsome worry of your own Party criticism.
Ted Cruz - Be the LEADER you've always wanted to be - with REAL COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP. Point your Party & Texas & America into the right, bright future. You'll be remembered, revered and thanked. Do it. Please!
Otherwise, Beto will.
21
I can see it now...during a debate...Beto engages Cruz in perfect Spanish about immigration policy...watching him stumble all over the place as he tries to keep up.
It would be the equivalent of JFK vs Nixon in the first ever televised debate, with the later sweating bullets under the TV lights that emphasized his 5 o'clock shadow.
19
The NYT does no one but its power constituency a favor by perpetuating a definition of liberalism the rest of the world does not buy. Liberalism is elsewhere seen as a philosophy based oon the individual and her rights. Progressivism emphasizes collective government and community action as the best way to improve society. To describe O'rourke's platform as one of "authentic liberalism" is an absurd distortion.
The Enlightenment taught us that accurate classification does matter.
17
The view from Texas: yes Texas will become a blue state at some point. The Jury decision patterns are already changing, and Plaintiffs attorneys are funding Democratic campaigns full steam waiting to eliminate tort reform with baited breathe. With regards to Beto O-Rourke, he does have significant momentum for sure. I see it everywhere. His underlying anti-Israeli sentiment is stronger than his dedication to American National Security as an FYI based on his voting record and careful avoidance responses on this issue. I do agree that decriminalization of marijuana possession should be looked at. A $15 minimum wage for Texas is too high, but makes total sense in more expensive areas of the country. But objectively, Texas is heading blue unless the trajectory changes. Reality is reality.
15
Texas deserves better than the most unpopular, most disliked, even despised person in the Senate. AL Franken summed it up when he said, "I like Ted Cruz more than anyone else in the Senate does, and I hate him!" That "Lyin' Ted" is now "Cryin' Ted" for help from Donald Trump shows how much character and principle he has. If Beto can really turn out the vote and Republicans are turned off to Ted, it could be very interesting this November.
36
I don't live in Texas, but I just made me second contribution to his campaign. He is what's needed.
29
@Anne With no out of state money Beto would be back in El Paso. Look for your Senate vote elsewhere.
6
I think that Beto has a passing resemblance to Robert F. Kenedy
14
My husband and I are pulling so much for Beto, even our retired hearse has a campaign sticker in the window. Bodies for Beto!!
28
Cruz is an insulated insider who ignores a large portion of his constituents. Anyone who has ever written to him to try and express an opposing opinion receives a boilerplate letter mansplaining why he is right and why he will continue to ignore you and all others who disagree with him. He runs away from his constituents, evades questions, yet mocks and patronizes those who disagree with him in a most childlike and spiteful manner.
Beto, on the other hand, is an open and friendly guy. He will talk to anyone, answer anyone's question thoughtfully and with respect, and you never get the sense that he is condescending or talking down to anyone. He genuinely wants to do right by the people of Texas, and we would be lucky to have him representing us in Congress.
Let us hope Texas voters choose the better man.
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Unfortunately, the policies of Obama has galvanized the two leading parties in Texas and they are as divisive as ever. The new emigrants sweeping Texas are lower class, come from the south and don't speak English. I was raised Democrat, I was a DEM, but over time, as the DEM platform moved hard left, they fell out of touch with the common folks here in Texas and they left us behind for the politics of the east and west coast. Socialism, still, is not a strong word here in Texas, and it appears, O'Rourke is aligned strongly with that theme. For the first time in my 65 years on this earth, I will pull the ALL Republican lever in the voting booth. The DEM party has failed me and has left me behind to eat dust.
7
Dems make mistakes.
Republicans lie. Are u rich enough to benefit from their policies?
31
Socialism is the only answer. The country is doing terribly. The economy is in shambles. We need to emulate Venezuela and Cuba.
3
We all know where Ted Cruz stands....right with Trump after has been defamed, insulted and beaten by a Bully. Cruz has nothing to offer Texas....he doesn't even have the respect of his GOP colleagues in the Senate.
17
I challenge this:
Four of the nation’s 11 largest cities are now in Texas. Houston, the biggest, is considered the most diverse major city in America. Its last two mayors are a black man and a lesbian. Its most famous politician in office is Mr. Cruz.
Queens NY is more diverse than any city in the world.
Rest of the column is spot on.
3
Speaking of Andrew Gillum ...
From the article:
"Most recently, Andrew Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, Fla., won an upset victory in that state's Democratic primary for governor ..."
Just when I was starting to think polls were reliable again ...
The final poll of the FL gubernatorial Democratic primary, which polled only "likely voters" and was taken just a few days before the election, showed Andrew Gillum in fourth place, a whopping 10 points behind the leader (Graham). The "margin of error" was 4.3%.
I understand that polling is an art rather than a science, and all that, but shouldn't the pollsters have come just a bit closer? This is what they do for a living, after all.
2
Beto O’Rourke has a good chance to unseat Ted Cruz. Under Trump’s leadership, the Republican brand isn’t getting better between now and Election Day. Trump is increasingly unhinged as Mueller closes in and more top associates are convicted, plead guilty, or cop a plea and turn state’s evidence.
Congressional Republicans hope Trump can hold it together until after the midterms. Then, apparently, he’s free to obstruct justice to his hearts content.
They also hope Mueller doesn’t drop another bombshell indictment in the near future. Like indicting Don Junior and Jared Kushner for conspiring with Russians in the Trump Tower meeting. Or Roger Stone for conspiring with the GRU and Wikileaks. Or dropping a preliminary report detailing in great detail the case for obstruction of justice by the president.
Cruz can still campaign on the massive tax cuts he gave to the rich and corporations. Or his opposition to efforts to mitigate climate change. Or his opposition to measures to control gun violence. Or his support for the family separation of asylum seekers. Or his support for challenging the birth certificates of Mexican Americans along the border.
Ted can also campaign on his longstanding affection for Donald Trump. And Trump can vouch for Ted's veracity.
15
One of my favorite pastimes is reading stories written by non - Texans about Texas politics. My city is somewhere between 30,000 and 35,000 people, 65 miles north of Dallas. We voted to allow in liquor stores sometime recently, and are proud of our 20 to 1 ratio of churches to same. We transitioned from Democrat to Republican, like the rest of the Deep South, with the ease of necessity, back in the day.
But this summer there is a strange phenomenon happening in my little city. All across town, from the modest neighborhoods to the most opulent, BETO signs are sprouting curbside... six or eight to a block.
Let the pundits pund and the odds makers make. Texans I know are calling this game for themselves, quietly, brilliantly, right out in the open. It doesn't look from the signs to be about politics and parties. It looks to be about hope for a better man in office, finally.
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Maybe I’m wrong (or just early) in thinking that all of these GOP candidates trying to imitate Trump (DeSantes in FL) or clinging to Trump for support (Cruz) are making a fatal, fatal mistake.
I suppose they’re thinking they can’t win without Trump’s “base”, and so they must be Trump-like. I question the strategy. Trump’s base, which I also believe has shrunk in size, will NEVER vote for a Dem. So a smart GOP candidate would avoid Trump, assume he or she will get that base vote, and put much more effort into wooing independents or Dem fence-sitters.
This isn’t happening in just Texas, it’s nationwide. The GOP strategy almost guarantees the so-called blue wave. I like to think that the majority of Americans find Trump appalling.
So then the challenge is getting people out to vote. There are a lot of people angry and disgusted with our president. They’re motivated. They’re likely to vote in higher numbers. My advice to Dems - give them a push, as O’Rourke is doing.
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What positive accomplishments for his Texas constituents can the hyper-verbose Cruz point to after his years in the Senate? From this article it seems that the incumbent is back on his heals, playing defensive ball to the hard charging O’Rourke. With his persistent but unfulfilled dream of becoming President Cruz, perhaps the Texas voters are tired of him using their state mere stepping stone.
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"Here's the thing you have to understand about Ted Cruz, I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz." – Al Franken
Sadly, we can only imagine what Molly Ivins would have to say.
: ) L
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Hopefully the Democrat will prevail. But honestly - tall, good-looking, rangy guy, shirt-sleeves rolled up, engaging grin, electric guitar...maybe politics was always showbiz on some level but what are the odds an exemplary public servant looks like this. Yeah, Obama did, but hopefully we're not stuck with that criterion from now on. Civics class, anybody?
6
TEXANS: Please help your fellow Democrats and other Beto-voters get to the polls. Join an organization that is providing rides to those who don't have cars, or whose polling place is far-flung.
Voter turnout is key. Do whatever you can now!
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Here in Texas, I could go on and on about Mr. Cruz' lack of interest in representing Texans. But he has one big thing going for him, an "R" next to his name. A recent analysis regarding the US Representative from my district, a member of the Republican Freedom Caucus, concluded that, due to gerrymandering, the name after the "R" was irrelevant (thank you, Mr. Tom Delay). Yes, the Senate race is statewide, but the "R" still rules in many, many areas. Demagoguery can work where gerrymandering fails.
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My kids and I are enjoying a new game—counting who has more lawn signs, Cruz or Beto. If only the result translated into electoral victory! Beto signs outnumber Cruz ones by about ten to one in our Southwest Houston neighborhood.
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@Sarah - sounds like a fun game! I haven't even seen any Cruz signs as of yet. Tons of Beto signs, yes. Go, Beto!
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I know who I’m voting for.
.
Beto O’Rourke.
.
Beto is everything the Democrats didn’t have in 2016. He is young. He is likeable. He doesn’t kowtow to big corporate interests. He’s the kind of person we need more of in the halls of our Capitol.
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We'll see whether O'Rourke's way works in November. However, I think the very fact he has made it this far in such a famously conservative state, against conventional wisdom, shows that the way forward for Democrats is to let local leaders lead. These local leaders like O'Rourke know how to appeal to their own communities, whether a state or a district. The Democratic Party should stop obsessing over a one-size-fits-all message. Let local leaders speak for the party, because they know how to communicate with their own communities a lot better than some central brain trust.
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No one, and I mean no one seems as much like John McCaine in his beliefs about America than Beto. I so very much hope to be able to be led by his principles and also hope to be able to vote for him as President. We need leaders who can bring us together based on good values and principles. Please vote for him if you’re a Texan and be proud.
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Yes I am and working hard to get other Texans to vote for him too
9
I hope Beto wins in November, but if he loses in a close race, there is an encouraging precedent in our history that he might want to study.
In 1858 in Illinois, a former one-term congressman, Abraham Lincoln, ran against the Democratic incumbent U.S. senator, Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas was far better known than Lincoln, and narrowly defeated him in the contest.
But here’s the point: political strategists understood that if Lincoln could do well against Douglas in Illinois, he could beat him elsewhere. They were correct. Two years later, Lincoln was elected president. Applying that logic to 2020, if Beto O’Rourke can come close this year to defeating Cruz in Texas, still a very red state, how well might he do in 2020 against Trump in states not nearly so red (which is most of them)?
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Cruz doesn't dream about Texas. Cruz has no vision for Texas. Cruz is just running for president.
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This article inspired me. While I have given humble donations to Beto’s campaign, tomorrow I will help him in Georgetown, working the phones.
GO BETO
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I ordered my Beto yard sign the other day. I voted for Obama and Clinton knowing they would lose Texas. I voted for Wendy Davis feeling pretty sure she would lose. I will vote for Beto in November no matter what the polls and the past indicate.
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"Creeping cosmopolitanism?" Another example, in an otherwise fine article about up and coming political star Beto O'Roarke, of the New York Times' continuing provincialism when it comes to anything regarding the vast area between the Hudson River and Los Angeles. Three of the ten largest cities in this country are in Texas, and the 11th is Austin. Houston and Dallas both have (and have had for decades) major symphonies, Opera and Ballet companies and world renown art galleries. Cosmopolitanism came to Texas a long time ago. It says more about the Times than it does Texas that you are only noticing it now.
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@REL I read it as the cosmopolitanism was creeping outward from the big cities into the exurbs and suburbs more substantially than before, not that was suddenly noticed out of nothing. Austin is well known as a liberal haven and artistic center. The annual SXSW festival is HUGE and always makes national headlines. Dallas and Houston are large, rich cities. The more widespread the wealth, the more cosmopolitan a place tends to become.
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As Ted Cruz is an incredibly weak candidate, there is blood in the political waters in Texas.
Go get ‘em, Beto.
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I live in Cleveland, Ohio and will be sending Beto a contribution! I encourage others to do the same. We need to send Cruz on a cruise!!! You go, Beto!
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As a Texan, I thank you
9
Beto is from my home town. I wish him the best and hope he wins! I would watch Cruz's concession speech just to see that slimy, arrogant smirk wiped off his face. A delicious side benefit of a Beto victory!
50
Could be worse, Texas. At least you’re not Oklahoma. Or even Kansas. Seriously.
29
“The extreme left, they’re energized,” Mr. Cruz told supporters at a bar in Brenham, where a floorboard splinter stuck to one of his ostrich boots. “They’re filled with rage and fury.”
Actually Ted I'm not extreme left and I hope everyone comes for you. You are definitely part of the problem!
67
Texas...please for the love of God...please remove that man from the senate... for all of us, please.
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May the force be with you Beto. Texas needs you!
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Ted Cruz has never done a darn thing for the people of Texas, only his big wig cronies.
40
If only.
If only Molly Ivins and Ann Richards were alive and doing what they did best. This would be wildest, funniest and funnest election in decades if not ever.
And Cruz would be campaigning from a bunker. In Pennsylvania or someplace else several zip codes distant.
34
The only Texas Cruz sees is the Texas that supports him. He doesn't reach out to all. He's an extreme ideologue only interested in furthering his own political fortunes.
I am a Texan, and I will be voting in the 2018 general election for Beto O'Rourke for the U.S. Senate.
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Texas is far more complex than the stereotype swirling around in the minds of many people in the Northeast and elsewhere. I cringe when people who've never lived in Texas broad-brush the Lone Star State and the people there. If there's one thing I learned when I lived in Texas is that your word matters -- immensely. It's like gold. People will respect you based on it, give you the benefit of the doubt until shown otherwise. Cruz has lost that. He went back on his own words about Donald Trump. No courage. He'll lose this election because of it. O'Rourke is the real deal.
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Ted Cruz is only 47? 2 years older than Beto O'Rourke.
Honestly, I thought Cruz was much older. He reminds me of when people my grand parents age used to rant about things like the dangers of rock and roll , and I'm 59 years old.
50
This is no time for framing our choicesin terms of left or right. It it about integrity and vision vs. serving special interests at any cost to remain the incumbent. Beto's viral answer to the question about kneeling showed the type of courage and spine that the bulk of the GOP's members of congress have lacked in their continued betrayal of their public service oaths.
32
Maybe it's just me, but I'm thinking "it's Texas" combined with a few lies about your opponent and some weak comments about his hamburger preferences isn't an effective strategy when your opponent has visited literally every corner of the state and showed the people there that he wants to represent them.
Beto's strategy of not engaging in negative campaigning, despite all the opportunities in the world to do that, will split a lot of ballots. Sticking to positivity about his own views and talking directly to people will split a lot of ballots. Actually visiting the child internment camps rather than pretending you were about to write a bill to close them will split a lot of ballots.
Abbott is going to walk the Gubernatorial election. Cruz's best hope is to scare non-whites away from voting. Oh look, right on cue...
20
I watched his answer to the person who asked his position on kneeling in the NFL. It was remarkable and if this is indicative of the way he speaks and thinks through issues he needs to be elected. I just sent his campaign $100.
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If Texas turns progressive, then and only then will California see real competition and watch out.
Texas has a better cost of living, lots of untapped opportunity in tech fields and other non-oil and ag industries, and will enjoy a closer trading partnership with Mexico. All that will translate into a robust business environment and higher tax coffers.
Electing narrow-minded, status-quo guys like Cruz will keep Texas a distant competitor behind other rising states, foremost the queen of them, California.
19
Maybe my 5th great-grandfather’s 1836 death at the Alamo was a needless and foolish personal sacrifice. Maybe Beto’s campaign is just as quixotic. I’ve followed him on social media for months as he sweats through his shirts at steamy town halls all over the state. He engages Texans with energy, respect, compassion, and vision. He inspires both first-time and jaded voters. My money is (literally) on the man who represents what an independent-thinking Texas can be. Texans lost the battle of the Alamo, alright, but they won independence. Go Beto!
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Beto O'Rourke is quite literally the antidote to Ted Cruz and his ilk.
Beto has visited all 254 counties in Texas, and has held 259 town halls. Cruz crowed that he had held 17 town halls in 2017. Many Texas counties that Beto has visited haven't seen a Senate candidate since LBJ was campaigning for Senate!
Beto talks to anyone who approaches him. Cruz talks to big donors and curated questioners.
Beto's support comes from small donations, Cruz's from big donors.
Beto listens, Cruz speaks.
Beto engages in thoughtful, nuanced dialogue, Cruz speaks in soundbites.
Beto wants to represent all Texans, Cruz is an ideologue.
Beto wants to hear voters' concerns, Cruz wants to dictate voters' concerns.
Beto conveys optimism, Cruz conveys cynicism.
Beto is focused on the future, Cruz the past.
See a pattern here?
Our politics is gravely ill, and Beto, and his brand of politician, is the antidote we desperately need.
Godspeed, Texas.
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We need real, honest to *goodness* leaders. I gotta believe there are enough Texans who think the same way and will elect Beto O'Rourke in November. Please vote for him if you are a registered voter in Texas. We all need him.
109
The Dems finally figured it out. Might as well run as a Democrat, as long as you are the Democratic nominee. Nothing else seems to be working.
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The NYT, in its zeal to present an even picture of the US Senate race in Texas, struggled to paint Senator Ted Cruz in the best possible light. I say "struggled" because anyone who has paid the least bit of attention to the campaigns has witnessed the usual foaming-at-the-mouth rhetoric from the right. Cruz and his cabal of the rich incessantly smear Beto with every awful name in the standard Republican playbook, ranging from making fun of his name to calling him a far-left liberal to calling him a Nancy Pelosi clone.
What's startling is that Beto has stuck to the high road, and it's working. More and more Texans are fed up with Cruz and his nasty wild bunch. If all the pro-Beto folks show up at the polls this November, we will win. And a Beto win will be a win for ALL Texans, not just the rich few.
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Cruz in ostrich boots? Does he do his shopping with Paul Mannafort?
78
O'Rourke is what America should be; kind and human. Cruz is the Republican party; selfish; racist and greedy. Vote out Republicans for jobs; health care and a living wage. Ray Sipe
106
I recently moved to Texas from California. Texas is too red and California is too blue. I am looking for moderation in Texas. I do not want another California. More blue and less Red on the Red River State would be ideal.
13
O’Rourke wants to legalize all of the people who have come here illegally. This would encourage many more to illegally move here. When Senator Schumer crafted an amnesty for 3 million migrants in 1986, he promised it would end illegal migration. It did the opposite. It encouraged over 11 million people to move here, on the bet that they, too, would be granted an amnesty. If Beto O’Rourke and like minded politicians are able to do this, then even more migrants will feel empowered to move here, without documentation.
The illegal migrants who receive an amnesty will be able to legally petition for their relatives to receive green cards.
Our country is already the third most populous one in the world. Much of the West is arid. Climate change is making drought more common. We do not have the land or resources for more people.
Virtually all of the illegal migrants have little education and few skills. They are heavily dependent on government services and subsidies.
Many illegal migrants get modern forms of welfare such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit by using ITINs to file federal income tax forms. Even though most do not earn enough to pay income taxes, they apply for the tax credits. Back in 2010, the Postmaster General for the Treasury Department discovered the IRS was paying $4.2 billion a year to illegal migrants. The payments continue.
Legalization would make the migrants eligible for many more government benefits.
14
@ann In1986 Ronald Reagan was President and it should be best remember as the Ronald Reagan Amnesty Program.
And if any illegal immigrant is collecting money from the US Government, George H. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald J. Trump are just as responsible, if, in fact, there is fraud going on, but I tend to doubt it.
As to the fact that there are too many people here in the US and the in the world, I concur. But, the Republicans (Mormons, Catholics and Evangelicals) don't want to make birth control universally available. So let's have some more unwanted, unintentional pregnancies.
19
@annThe Dallas Morning News says you're fibbing:
Far apart on immigration, Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke both use the issue to woo voters
O'Rourke: No one is proposing amnesty, the congressman replied, explaining that he wants a three- to five-year process for immigrants to obtain green cards.
13
@ann
Fine. Keep that necessary labor out of Texas and see how businesses respond. Oh, that's right they just move their factories over the border. Wouldn't Texas rather have the taxes those folks pay? Wouldn't the local economies profit from their spending? If the Treasury Dept is paying funds on illegal applications, then maybe that's a system problem, maybe even a Texas problem. Out here in California, it is a very difficult and lengthy process, even for legal citizens.
9
No surprise at Cruz's position. Simple wedge issues are so quaint... the GOP is all in on their Trumpian divide and conquer strategy.
24
The mention of Sissy Farenthold in this article reminded me of my youth in Texas and gave me nostalgia for some of the great progressives the state has produced, like Ann Richards, Barbara Jordan, and Molly Ivins (interesting how the names that first come to mind are women). With a big Texas accent on the L-I-B, my mother once lamented how liberal I became as I matured. She blamed it on my University of Texas at Austin education. There is a feisty liberal contingent in Texas that mostly sees success in the large urban areas, but it is there, defying the stereotypes.
33
@JC
In recognition that illegal migrants and unskilled legal immigrants displace many lower income citizens, including many Blacks, from the workplace, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan called for an end to both illegal immigration and unskilled legal immigration. The following is from the Wikipedia page titled "Barbara Jordan".
"From 1994 until her death, Jordan chaired the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. The commission recommended that total immigration be cut be by one-third to around 550,000 per year. The commission supported increasing enforcement against illegal immigrants and their employers, eliminating visa preferences for siblings and adult children of U.S. citizens, and ending unskilled immigration except for refugees and nuclear families. The commission's report to Congress said that it was "a right and responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest", ...."
In contrast to Jordan, O’Rourke wants to offer amnesty to illegal immigrants, which besides allowing them to remain here, would allow them to legally bring in their equally unskilled relatives.
We have been spending so much on the undocumented and on low skilled legal immigrants that we have not been able to focus on our own citizens. Many of them, including many Black Americans, are being left further and further behind.
3
@JC
Agreed - great memories....
My intro to politics came in a campaign speech by Sissy Farenthold at a Houston high school assembly, shortly after the passage of the 26th amendment. Ms. Faremthold's vision of a social democracy created at least one life long Democrat that day.
And check out Barbara Jordan's keynote speech at the 1976 Democratic convention on YouTube. It sounds as relevant and timely today as it did 42 years ago.
There was tremendous enthusiasm at Beto's rally in Austin last Monday - enthusiasm that this will be the race that sparks voter turn out. Let's hope we can defy the stereotypes.
6
@ann. You have two points, both of them false.
3
Beto has well reasoned, well articulated positions that I cannot and will not accept.
First: He accepts disrespecting the flag as an acceptable form of protest. Yes, SCOTUS ruled flag burning as legal -- by a 5-4 vote -- when desecrating or disrespecting the flag was illegal at the federal level and in 48 of the 50 states. It is still on the books in 40 states. I am a legal immigrant, and now a proud citizen. An old Lefty-- but one that knows the difference between being unhappy with an administration and condemning a country. The flag is My Country.
The second is his apparent willingness to rule as legal residents, with paths to citizenship, millions of illegal aliens.
The third is his approval of sanctuary cities and his condemnation of Texas bill SB 4. He claimed it requires local LEO to "enforce" the law. That's a lie. It does require them to honor detainers and, if a suspect is taken into custody and there is reason for the LEO to believe the suspect is here illegally, inform the appropriate federal office. It specifically prohibits a LEO from inquiring into, or reporting, the status of victims.
Beto: Tell it like it is. I won't vote for a candidate that dissembles. Cruz's positions on multiple topics are despicable, but they are so far out in right field, there is no chance they will become enshrined in law, and so pose no threat. Your proposals do.
9
@Texas Liberal
Not sure why you wouldn't want to legalize a swath of the population that contributes labor and pays taxes and spends money in Texas. Out here in California, our economy wouldn't last a week without those aliens working in the low-paying jobs that other legal citizens won't take. How are those folks different than the other foreigners we've exploited throughout our history who helped establish our agrarian powerhouses? Our railroads? Our shipping and construction industries? And our hotel and tourist industries that help the mighty frolic in their spare time? The titans of the American economy, including Trump, benefitted from those laborers and now we want to deny them citizenship? Get your head out of the hot Texas sand and realize that immigrant labor is and always has been one of the cornerstones of our booming economy.
17
@Texas Liberal: I've got to ask -- in what universe is silently taking a knee to protest an intolerable series of civil rights abuses disrespectful of anything -- other than the actual abuse? And somehow drawing an analogy between the protests in question and an actual flag burning is disingenuous, at best. The two have absolutely nothing in common.
20
The *law* accepts burning the flag. The principles of the constitution accept it. That doesn’t mean that Beto likes it or encourages it, so I don’t think you need to worry about that topic any more.
10
November 2018 will be a fascinating test of whether pushing to extremes (a poor word, I know) helps or hurts candidates in general elections. On the right, candidates have been falling over themselves to embrace Trump and on the right Beto et al are gambling they can galvanise non-voters to turn out in high enough numbers to win votes. The conventional wisdom and history suggest this is wrong and so did Conor Lamb.
But who knows these days? No one expected Brexit or Trump, so anything is possible.
But if the extremists are right, expect an even more polarised Congress next January.
1
Great article but lacks understanding of one key point. There is not a sudden and dramatic philosophical shift in Texas, but rather, there is a underestimated local disgust with Ted Cruz. Many who support Beto, are voting against a man who they feel represents a sinister, malign and ruthless politician who must be stopped.
Ted Cruz does not represent Texas, he stands for for one thing only - namely, Ted Cruz. Go Beto!
89
You have nailed this one, Keli. Ted Cruz is to many Texas Republicans as Hillary Clinton was to many Democrats in 2016. The only poll that we need to pay attention to is the one on Nov. 6, the only one that counts.
28
@Keli well said! That is in addition to demographic shifts that are affecting the big cities in Texas.
3
I was so hopeful a Rep would challenge him to a primary race.
1
If I were a Republican in Texas and Ted Cruz was asking Trump to campaign for him, I would either vote for Beto or stay home. How Cruz can ask for Trump's help after the horrible things that Trump said and did about Cruz's family shows exactly how craven Cruz is and why he should be sleeping on a sofa and not in bed with wife.
59
Mr. O'Rourke is a total breath of fresh air; authentic with a genuine sense of public service as opposed to his opponent who prescribes to the current Republican mantra of self-service above everything. I hope we see a LOT more folks like Mr. O'Rourke winning this November...the people and our Democracy need it!
62
As a congressman for two terms, Beto has kept a promise to his constituents to hold a town hall every month. Today he is holding his monthly town hall in his district. Cruz proposed a debate for today knowing full well that the town hall was scheduled. Now Cruz is telling his base that Beto cancelled the debate. This is typical of how Cruz is conducting his campaign of lies and misinformation about Beto.
117
Beto should have cancelled his town hall and debated Cruz. Instead, he gave Ted Cruz a fantastic opportunity to weaponize the narrative. This was an unnecessary own goal.
Senate seats, unlike house seats, are not impacted by gerrymandering. A good voter turnout in Houston and cities of Texas, plus suburbs, can make Beto in Senate a reality. I am quite optimistic!
56
@Max4 actually, the senate is outrageously gerrymandered. Any system that makes 600,000 people from the middle of nowhere the same as 40 million who live elsewhere, you have an abomination in the eyes of democracy.
5
Cruz, and those like him, thrive on division whether it be racial,political or which is smarter, dogs or cats. He is a result of what ails us, not the cause.
31
How can you have 'one Texas' if an entire segment of the population is exempt from laws and collective responsibilities?
When there is disparate law enforcement according to political advantage?
How does a minimum wage mean anything if there is a free flow of illegal labor?
No country; no state can act in the best interests of its people if its laws and communal responsibilities are only enforced for some while others are purposefully exempt.
5
@CNNNNC. Well, maybe Beto will do something about how rich white people always get a pass on everything
5
When I was much younger, I worked for the Robert Kennedy campaign in Indiana and then returned to my Michigan home where my sister awakened me one morning to tell me he had been assassinated in California. I was devastated. For decades I could never find a candidate that made me feel like I did for RFK. Until Beto O'Rourke. His crowds in Texas remind me of the ones I saw in Indianapolis --spellbound and adoring. He is a bright light in all the darkness while advocating values that are core democratic ones--his American vision is on display in Texas and the other one is too, formed with a partnership of hate and distrust which is intended to snare votes, not to improve the lives of Americans.
70
@James Allen ah James, what a lucky young man you were to have such an experience. I see RFK in Beto, and I hope he does well.
10
@James Allen as posted @Bruce you have captured what I hope most Americans will see in O'Rourke and other younger Dem candidates.
We need a generational changing of the guard. We had hoped we had that with Obama but sadly not.
As long as the Dems let campaign and policy be driven locally we have a really good chance of taking back Congress. And candidates like O'Rourke are the key.
His principled pragmatism is what I like the most. For the first time since November 2016 I am feeling the hope. For me O'Rourke is channeling the best of Bobby Kennedy .
4
After reading this article, I donated to Beto's campaign, again! You should too!
https://betofortexas.com/
66
And let's not forget Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's famous quote about his fellow senator: "If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you." Texas, with a population of 29 million people, still gets only two senators. We need someone who the other senators respect and want to work with. Beto O'Rourke is the real deal.
170
Texas voters have been electing the Republicans for last 4 decades. Now they have to think what they got from those leaders? What Ted Cruz did for them? Ted Cruz is disliked by his own party leaders because he was fighting with most of them. Being a son of Cuban refugee, he hates his own kind , the Cubans and the Hispanics. Trump thinks that Ted Cruz's father involved in JFK assassination. Trump also thinks his wife is ugly that is really silly and stupid. Ted Cruz can not get along with both the Republican and the Democratic leaders. He is not fit to serve in 100 senators body. Why the Texans will vote for Ted Cruz ? He failed the test in last six years.
35
Cruz declares Beto out of touch with Texans while standing there in his ostrich boots?
97
From calling trump a "pathological liar" to I need your help shows that the incumbent may fear what is coming. Beto has shown that answers, plans a vision are things that Americans want from their elected officials. This idea that you can run on trashing your opponent has hopefully run its course. Americans for the most part are tired of the name calling and want someone who sees a bright future and hope. Ms. Davis learned this too late, but Beto and all of the current progressives seem to come to it naturally. That our best days are ahead that they have a plan to cure our ills. Young voters seem to want the same, as it will be their country sooner rather than later and they want it to be standing when they get there. I would rather vote for hope than for someone who keeps yelling lock her up.
60
He invokes Robert Kennedy to me. I hope he wins. We need him in the Senate.
46
A couple anecdotes about the hurdles imposed by voting regs and routines in TX.
1) I moved within Houston last October 1 and began efforts to change address in the early September. Online drivers license change of address is supposedly linked to voter registration. It is not. State call-in support says nothing can be done. Country write-in system did not respond. Call in to county registrar—numerous roadblocks, provide proof of residency (I’ve been legally reg in same county for years). All hurdles overcome, reg card mailed to me weeks later, after November 2017 Election Day. Why so difficult?
2) recent Houston bond vote scheduled on sat aug 25, with little publicity and no other items on ballot. 5% turnout. How is this democracy?
3). College aged child, who finally completed his change of address in July 2018 (he’s slow) and whose new county voter reg card arrived early Aug., goes to vote Aug24. Turned away. Voter reg card not valid until September 9. (Month after issue date). He has been legally reg for 4 years previously at old address. Why post-date a voter reg card?
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@Average Joe
I definitely get your frustration. In Texas voting registration is done at the county level. Please Google your county and elections. Your last day to register is Oct. 6th. Don't count on the DMV. Things here move like molasses on purpose if you don't take charge of it.
12
@Average Joe: Good grief, that's bad. But it sure sounds like Texas! The Republicans grudgingly run the state government as if were a cart horse they're trying to beat to death. Starvation budgets, top-heavy bureaucracy, and no "boots on the ground" to actually serve the public. They're busy breaking off bits and pieces of state government and turning them over to private, for-profit companies (generally run by themselves or their cronies), selling off state land to developers, and passing laws to prevent Democratic Texas cities from enacting their own local laws and ordinances. And we have a governor who loves to insult the capital city, and complains about the "stink" of Austin liberals. Why Texans put up with that kind of arrogance is a mystery.
And then there are the myriad arcane regulations that Republicans love to dream up to make it as hard as possible for ordinary folks to do their civic duty and vote, like the ones you just described.
5
@Joes That is blatant corruption.
2
While driving home last night, I happened to catch Ted Cruz being interviewed on one of our local Hate Radio stations. After the perfunctory softballs were tossed his way, Cruz spewed the same lame attacks on Beto that we too often are exposed to from right-wingers talking about anyone who doesn't subscribe to their dogma. This drivel is tiring.
Beto has awoken the sleeping giant of progressives and independents in our state and he will be our next senator, particularly if two groups show up to the polls and vote for him: young adults and Hispanics. Otherwise, the only thing I will have to look forward to for the next six years is late night comedians making jokes at the expense of our current joke of a senator.
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Beto's shoe leather and tire rubber tour of Texas is paying off. He strikes a nerve saying he wouldn't vote for someone who won't come to his home county. Lots of people feel that way. Here, in the small city hard on the Red River where Jim Hightower's parents ran a newsstand when I firs arrived 37 years ago, I have yet to see a Cruz campaign sign. Beto's are everywhere, including my front yard. And, yes, Ted Cruz has never set foot in Grayson County. But he did go to Kentucky a couple of years ago, racing to beat Mike Huckabee, for a photo-op with a county clerk jailed for refusing to do her job and issue a marriage license to a gay couple. Much more important than meeting with Texas voters.
Health care for all. Legalized marijuana and erasure of past marijuana possession offenses from the records. These are bad things? Cruz would have it so.
Beto wears Levis and work shirts easily and naturally. Cruz looks like he can't get out them soon enough. Cruz wears multi-hundred dollar ostrich skin, pointy-toed cowboy boots when in costume. Beto's footwear, an unassuming brown leather derby, is more comfortable and much, much less costly. He drives his own pickup. Cruz is chauffeured in black SUV's.
Cruz is 99% dependent on PAC money; Beto takes none.
The question that also must worry the Republican establishment in Texas is: How long are Beto O'Rourke's coattails?
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Freedom is NOT a fake populist politician who says guns and barbecue are all low income people care about, while you struggle to make ends meet and they fly on planes with gold plated toilets. Freedom IS a career with a middle class or better living wage, and a strong education and healthcare system to get you there.
Strength is NOT kowtowing to a man who calls your wife a pig and your father a criminal. Strength IS voting for the person who genuinely wants - and, more importantly, works for - you and your family to have a better life.
The Texas I know is far too smart to believe lame 'basketball ring' lies from a man who has voted over and over again against the success of 90% of its people. The Texas I know believes in the power of its people - EVERY ONE of its people - to live a great, powerful, life filled with the freedoms that come from greater income equality, not greater hatred.
And, in case I sound like a lefty instead of the economic pragmatist I've always been, the rich I know in Texas who are long-term economic stakeholders and not short-term raiders understand that when low income and middle-class people have more disposable income, the economy flourishes because of money being spent on far more goods and services being bought and sold. Long-term economic stakeholders know that the economy in Democratic administrations since World War II has far outperformed Republican administrations.
VOTE for a better life.
VOTE BETO.
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"Vote for a better life" This should be the Democrats' rallying cry!
8
Beto O'Rourke gave one of the most inspiring speeches, off the cuff, that I have ever heard, offering tolerance to the critic and support for the real ideal of patriotism: the right of free speech and the need to stand up for what is right in the face of oppression. Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGWmh-maevk
Please listen to it before you judge!
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It's not just the "extreme left" that's energized, Sen. Cruz; it's every decent and sentient human being, all of whom want to put an end to your career in politics as a warm-up to 2020. Why not explain to your wife and your father why you continue to pledge your allegiance to a man who insulted and defamed them and you?
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@stu freeman
He might reply that he understands that's "just politics" -- he understands how things work at that level, being at the same vantage point.
2
@Marian: Ridiculing the appearance of your opponent's wife and libeling his father are not politics as usual, unless you're the sort of candidate who best resembles the sole of your shoe after you've walked through a cow pasture.
18
Yellow lines and dead Armadillos pretty well sums up why voters are turned off and only show up to the polls in dismal numbers. Perhaps the tide is finally changing. It has been too easy for scam artists like Cruz to falsely define Democrats, who have been afraid to take an honest stand on issues local voters are most concerned about.
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@LH Cruz depends heavily on voters who vote straight party line and give no thought to anything else. Many political observers feel it is not a matter of if but when this state turns blue.
Last time I saw a dead armadillo it was in a bar stuffed, upside down and drinking a Lone Star...ah the good ole days!
6
I 've got to send Beto some bucks .. so should you ...
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@Doctor Woo
I live nowhere near Texas and sent him $50 last night. Took 30 seconds online and felt pretty good.
45
I did the same from California
13
For years, Republicans in Texas have been getting elected by bad-mouthing the bad ol' fed'l gummint. That 's great, until a hurricane hits and Texas needs those fed'l tax dollars. Ted Cruz voted against federal relief for Hurricane Sandy up north. No wonder he was MIA when Harvey hit Houston. If he'd opened his mouth, Texas would have gotten zilch.
Rep. Culberson actually voted against federal transportation funds for his district, where the traffic has gone from awful to horrendous, and "rush hour" lasts 12 hours.
Maybe (just maybe) Texans are realizing just what you get with "tax cuts for the rich, zippo for you", and see through the scam.
138
The only truthful words to come from Ted Cruz's mouth was at a May 2016 press conference when he said then candidate Donald Trump was "pathological liar," "utterly amoral," "a narcissist at a level I don't think this country's ever seen" and "a serial philanderer."
Not to long after that, he endorsed Trump for President. And now he wants his help for this year's general election. Can you say "zero character."
806
There are many reasons why Beto O'Rourke is going to beat Ted Cruz this November. The principal one is that Beto focuses on his excellent, multifacted social/economic message for Texans -- and doesn't interrupt it by bashing Cruz.
Cruz deserves to be bashed: He's a lying, greedy GOP prima donna. Ignorant gunslinging outback Texans love him. But informed, civic-minded, socially conscious urban/suburban Texans -- a burgeoning majority -- want Cruz like a hole in the head. To quote Trump (that other hole in the head), to level-headed Texans, Cruz is Fake.
Young voters (the 18-35 set) are setting Texas's agenda now, and it's a good one, with little room for the snobbish, exclusionary likes of Cruz. Start in Austin -- one of America's demographically youngest (progressive) cities -- and spread out toward Dallas, Houston, and all points around. There you'll see miles and miles of floral meadows for Beto O'Rourke.
And only tumbleweeds and dead armadillos for Cruz.
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@Ken
I don't know if I'd "start" in Austin. I agree with your sentiments, but at least in terms of diversity Houston is light years ahead. Just look at the local leaders...
P.S. I live in and grew up in Austin and I'm shocked how on one hand we are seen as so progressive and on the other we have a highway that divides the city by races and have many many issues with police abuse.
4
@Joe, good points. And may Houstonians' support for Beto O'Rourke come crashing down on Cruz as a Blue Tsunami Wave....
3
Ted Cruz is overlooking one very important point about his election chances: No one likes Ted Cruz. They might agree with his politics. On a personal level though, everyone is kind of saying "Can you believe that guy? He’s got horns holding up his halo." The opinion is shared even by his co-workers. His election bid made the fact generally known. That's not a very good reputation to have.
As for Texas and what Texas might be, it might be time to rewrite a little Texas history. You do realize the "Lone" part of the "Lone Star" state isn't actually so lonely. Vermont was the first independent republic to become a US state. They declared independence in 1777 but couldn't become a state until 1791 because the US didn't have a government capable of admitting states.
There's also the California Republic, the State of Franklin, the Republic of West Florida, the Republic of Indian Stream, the State of Deseret, the State of Winston, the State of Scott, the Republic of Hawaii, and the Free State of Jones to name a few. Texas is most notable for forcing the US to fight a war in order to prevent the territory from being annexed by Mexico. The Lone Star state, for all intents and purposes, should be part of Mexico. The federal government was kind enough to save their hides in the national interest.
Texas: big hat, no cattle.
20
@Andy
I thought it's called the Lone Star state because if the single star in its flag.
8
@Andy
By that same logic, much of the US should belong to Mexico. However, wars were fought and this is where we are today.
2
Vermont declared independence from New York and New Hampshire and didn't become a state immediately because New York blocked it. Texas is the Lone Star State because it was an undivided republic, not the only republic to become a state. And with a population of a little over 100k at the time Texas didn't force anyone into a war. The U. S. provoked its war with Mexico by sending troops into a disputed border region.
3
Republican party had its chances to improve the quality of life for the majority. What I see is the confrontation, chaos, disorder in society, and loss of presidential credibility and dignity in the WH. This time I will vote for Beto, not Ted.
84
When I listened to Beto, really listened, I was absolutely impressed. This is the type of person we need. Not the run of the mill career politician with all negative all the time messages. I hope Texas sends him to the Senate. If they don't, I for one would love to see him run in 2020. This is exactly the refreshing type we need.
95
I am not sure what percentage of Texans realize that Ted Cruz doesn’t represent Texans. First and foremost Ted represents himself. Ted will say and do anything - anything - to stay in D.C.
One only needs to look at Mr. Cruz’s reputation as seen by his fellow peers in Congress. He is widely despised as being a self serving politician, rather like Donald Trump. Many of the descriptions his Republican peers have made about him aren’t suitable to print in a family newspaper.
Texas deserves better than Ted. Texans deserve Beto, who will serve his constituents in ways Ted never considered or imagined.
68
Things are changing - On Wednesday, in tiny little Hamilton, Texas, 300 people showed up to hear and talk to Beto. I can't think of a time when 1) a major candidate would stop in Hamilton or 2) people would show up to see them.
120
Anything that diverts limited republican resources to defend seats they normally would easily win is a great accomplishment. He might just pull it off too! Even if he doesn’t win it all today, Beto seems like he’d be more than worthy of investing in for a few more tries.
35
I admire Beto O'Rourke. He brings a smile to my face every time I read about him because he is a big hearted, unflappable candidate who doesn't try to hide what he believes. He doesn't play zero sum politics where certain groups can be written off or played for votes. He is unafraid to walk into the lions den and hold forth on any issue that people want to talk about. Beyond the specific campaign issues of Beto O'Rourke, he exemplifies a way to do politics, a political style that is open and refreshing. I hope his style of politicking ripples across the country and poses a much needed counterpoint to bitter division, name-calling, and mean-spirited rhetoric that is currently in fashion. If every action has an opposite and equal reaction, then Beto is the reaction to the current Trump fueled action.
73
@Dan
I agree. This is voice we need and we need more voices like it. Get on board now, because I think and hope this is where we are going. We may have to wait, but hopefully not!
11
I can see the building housing Ted Cruz's Dallas office from my office window, and I have run outside to participate in some of the protests.
People here can't stand that guy. The people driving by in cars roll down their windows to cheer us on. Beto is likeable and Cruz can't even smile like a normal human being.
Dallas is blue, and we are so sick of the rest of the State foisting horrible politicians on us. There really have been a parade of horribles -- know-nothings, like Governor Oops, and money launderers like Tom DeLay. The sitting Republican AG has been indicted for fraud. And the Hispanic population -- which the Republicans have now permanently alienated -- is growing.
When there is a blue wave here, it is going to be massive. The Democrats have so much energy, and the Republicans can't seriously defend the crooks and creeps holding office here.
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@Ann
Agreed and you can see that in Austin, Houston, and the suburbs as well.
4
Ted Cruz is an awful human being. Despite having the privilege of attending two of the most prestigious universities on the planet, his worldview hasn't changed since junior high school. My wife knew him in college, and said he was an insufferable windbag even back then.
Beto O'rourke is not Wendy Davis. Wendy was an awful choice for governor. Her supporters tried to ride a minor moment in legislative history (a single filibuster) into the governor's mansion of the second-most populated state in the country. Aside from that one moment, she had very little else to offer.
Beto has one thing going for him: no one likes Ted Cruz. In Texas, it is possible to click a button to have all of your votes go to one party or the other, and many will hit the "R" automatically, giving Ted his votes. But let's not forget Ted only backed his way into the Senate in the first place. Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst actually had more votes than Ted Cruz in the primary. Due to a crowded field, however, Ted's second-place status managed to get him into a runoff. Dewhurst's hilariously bad attack ads, blaming Cruz for everything including running over a neighbor's dog, secured Ted the job.
Ted embarrassed the state constantly during his arrogant first year in office, then played defense to try a presidential bid. Now he just hides and hopes for reelection. Play defense, and hope the "R" is good enough. Hopefully it is not.
58
@Steve Acho Thanks for sharing this info...Because of the article and people like you who expressed himself in this space, I'm rooting for O'Rourke. And just might send the guy some money.
37
Trump and his party seem to have boxed themselves into a corner. They work tirelessly at dividing the country and tribalism. They seem to forget that the other tribes out there that they revile are Americans as well. Two years later chanting "lock her up" does not resonate with the majority of Americans.
44
Cruz was recently in San Antonio and was asked if he would support legislation that would limit the rate payday lenders could charge. He said no, that other sources might be worse.
21
I guess this is a good story, in the sense that Flegenheimer is trying to write something in the vein of Ted White and Richard Ben Cramer and other great storytellers of American politics. It gives a sense of the two candidates and the landscape in which they're competing.
But it misses the most important aspect--a dynamic that's playing out in just about every race this year.
The Democrat, in this case O'Rourke, is trying hard to make the contest about issues. Medicare expansion, criminal justice reform, a higher minimum wage. He's also not taking corporate money.
The Republican, Cruz, is trying to win on a campaign of division and demonizing the Other. He's also taking enormous sums of corporate money. This drives his agenda--and he knows he can't win on it, because few voters are keen to support policies that make the already-rich that much richer.
This race, along with the gubernatorial contests in Georgia and Florida, will be a telling test of whether our politics are still responsive to values, or whether we're nothing more than irreconcilable, competing tribes.
211
“‘Do you want me to tell him the airport story?’
They decided no.”
Beto O’Rourke, don’t listen to your communications director (Wendy Davis listened to her communications director and handlers when she lost by 20 points to Greg Abbott in the Texas gubernatorial race; Hillary Clinton listened to her communications director and handlers when she won the popular vote and lost the Presidential election).
Tell the airport story. Destroy Ted Cruz in every way that you can.
Go for the jugular.
Ted Cruz will. He will destroy Beto O’Rourke in every possible way that he can.
All Republicans go for the jugular.
Trump lives to go for the jugular - to lie, cheat, con, demagogue, hate and fear monger to the voters and to destroy his opponents.
Republicans are a minority in this country, but they control most State Houses/Senates, Governorships; they control Presidency (though they lost popular vote - like they have in last 6 of 7 Presidential elections going back to 1992), US Senate (thanks to small, rural states getting undemocratic 2 Senators from each state; CA and ND both get 2 US Senators), US House (gerrymandering), US Supreme Court (cheating with illegitimate Gorsuch over Garland).
Republicans lie and cheat - anything to win.
They pick Trump over McCain.
I loved Michelle Obama’s “When they go low, we go high” from when America was last truly Great - 2008 to 2016. But we keep losing.
We are fighting for the survival of our democracy, for the soul of our country.
Don’t hold back.
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@MC
Agree. American voters want to see strength and intelligence in their candidates...No more Mr. Nice Guy. That's simply over.
Avenatti had it right. "When they go low, hit them harder."
17
@MC Excellent point--but tragic. Maybe some day the American public will again be able to deal in issues and not sound bytes...
but maybe not if the Republicans continue to defund education. It's their perfect crime. Talk soundbytes of division, hate, and personality to a sick and un-educated populace. And win. Again.
5
@MC
While I understand why you'd believe this, Beto is doing great with his positive messaging. Wendy Davis lost hugely and a big part of that was her negative messaging. We don't need to stoop to this. Obama won by being and staying positive. This is what energizes the base, particularly younger and minority voters, and causes us to turn out in droves.
8
I was so impressed with Beto that I sent his campaign a donation last week. I don't live anywhere near Texas, but boy, am I rooting for him.
192
Texas is so America. Texas is so alien. Texas is so cosmopolitan. Texas is so country. Texas is so urbane. Texas is so rural. Texas is so...teasingly Texas.
I haven’t been there recently after visiting often in the ‘70’s. The politics seems like changing but I suspect that Beto O’Rourke is one senatorial election short this time.
I hope that Texans will eventually come to embrace new ideas—not fear—which is all that’s in Ted Cruz’s six-shooter.
28
@Soxared, '04, '07, '13
I think we are on the cusp. Age demographics and religious dogma have held us back. Side note, your team (Sox) scares me. -Astros fan
7
Beto is the most refreshing political candidate to come along in a long, long time. He and those like him that he will encourage to jump into the fray, here in Texas and throughout the country, is the antidote to the cancer that has infected our political process. I would invite and encourage individual Texans and non-Texans alike to make a contribution to offset the massive PAC money Cruz will see - and has seen - coming his way.
This race is important to all states and you can help us in Texas make this a reality. The incredible hard work that Beto has done to bring his message to the entire state deserves to be rewarded and acknowledged. Take a moment away from the Trump swamp and visit https://betofortexas.com and see what this is all about and join those of us who are engaged for the good of our state.
131
>
The false hope that once the Dems get back into the game, we can return to some normality takes a greater leap of faith than kidding yourself that Jesus really came back from the dead.
The only thing worse than having the GOP rule over you is having them out of power, where they really go crazy.
It's over for this country.
DJT makes proof unnecessary.
Man hands on misery to man
It deepens like a coastal shelf
Get out as early as you can
And don't have any kids yourself
Philip Larkin, from "This Be The Verse" from High Windows
7
Based upon past experience I really don't think that Texas will ever become civilized (with a few exceptions in Blue areas).
O'Rourke would do all Texans a great service if he could unite them, redirect their attention to things that really matter and restore civility to a terminally fragmented state.
Texas has always has such potential but, like Brazil, has never realized it. The old bigoted South still lives there, having been hiding under the sand for so many years, just as in many other Southern states (including Arkansas). TIME TO END THAT ONCE AND FOR ALL. Really, for ALL.
They need a flash of color-blindness and a mass lobotomy of anti-prejudice coupled with an infusion of intelligence and fairness. Not likely. Take Trump, the rest of the Trumplicans, build your wall around the state and secede. Do us all a favor.
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@RealTRUTH
I think the age and race demographics and religious dogma are changing here. I've been waiting on my wife to finish here degree to move to the west coast, but I'm almost worried that Texas will start to be the place I've always wished it would be the day I leave. Oh well, the bay is nice anyways and I can always come back.
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@Joe
I hope for your sake that the remaining majority of yahoos and "good ol' boys" magically wake up, but I certainly wouldn't waste the rest of your life waiting for this miracle. Trump has legitimized all types of hatred and criminality and your companions there have taken the bait.
1
Someone needs to run an ad about Ted Cruz's lack of character. No need to even mention another candidate. Simply remind everyone how another man called Cruz's wife ugly and implied that his father helped assassinate JFK. Then remind everyone how, after initially issuing an eloquent denunciation of this person, Cruz eventually ended up phone banking for him and is now begging for his endorsement. Character should matter in Texas, or at the very least Texans should pretend that it does. Self-respect should matter too.
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Beto O'Rourke is an authentic candidate with views that are respectful of others, from enormously well-paid athletes who have lots of economic power and kneel, an issue that has been so overplayed as to be ridiculous. More to the point is that Beto will bring new ideas to old issues, from immigration to economics. It's amusing that Beto and Ted are Ivy Leaguers after seeing the race in Florida where Gillum, the son or a bus driver, will run against DeSantos/Santis(?), an Ivy Leaguer. New winds are blowing. Beto's visited all 254 counties, and that's not just impressive, it's important to note, for instance, the differences in the photo of the crowds at Beto's rallies and those at Ted's. I've met Beto, and read his comments and believe that this election signals a new trend in not only this state, but our beat-up-by-Trump country. GO BETO GO.
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As often happens, I'll find myself voting for the lesser of two evils.
One day I hope to see a candidate who is FOR abortion rights, the Second Amendment, secure borders (but not a stupid wall), decriminalizing drugs, physician assisted suicide, support of Israel, and less government in our lives.
Not either of these two, regrettably.
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@usarmycwo If that is your dream, run for office. Any office. As president Obama said, "We are the change we seek."
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@usarmycwo
Our borders are secure, I haven't seen any hostile foreign military in our territory. Perhaps I'm mistaken. The Second Amendment does not mean what you think it does and you don't need a tool designed for the specific purpose of killing other humans. Israel's military is heavily supported by the US. We shouldn't be doing that. I don't care about the Jewish history of suffering. When Bebe came to the US and bypassed the president to talk to Congress I was done. Israel gives us nothing but hypocrisy and disrespect. They can go to blazes for all I care.
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We moved from a very progressive area of Dallas back to the family home an hour south of Longview where this article was written just in time for Trump's election. Suddenly, the place that I called home seemed alien to me.
There are many good people here but for some, attitudes are stuck in another century and a time when East Texas was part of the old south. Many take their cues from their conservative pastor or Rush-like radio host.
What I like about Beto's approach is that he is not asking to change anyone's mind, he is simply asking people to vote. There are enough Democrats and Independents in Texas to win this election...all that is needed is to let go of 25 years of apathy and get out the vote!
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The need for Beto to carry South Texas brings new perspective to the current policy, of the administration, attempting to deny citizenship to people, born in south TX, of Mexican heritage...Playing a bit of voter purging I think. Trump and his enforcers will stop at nothing to consolidate their power any way they can. Notice, Cruz is now cozying up and asking for help. Denying citizens their citizenship is one way he is helping.
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Reading here on young liberal Democratic Senate candidate, Beto O'Rourke, immediately reflected the similarities and differences with our Maine Democratic Senate candidate, Zak Ringelstein, who I'm supporting in a more liberal democratic New England state.
The similarities: Beto and Zak are both young (Zak only 32), both went to Columbia, both country western singers, and both confronting popular and entrenched sitting Senators; Ted Cruz and Angus King.
The differences:
O'Rouke's opponent differs in being a radically right Republican who says, “The ethos of our state (and country?) is, ‘Give me a horse, a gun, and an open plain and we can conquer the world’”, is requesting help from Emperor Trump who is actually trying to "Make America an Empire" and 'conquer' the world, and equally funded: Cruz by big corporate money, and O'Rourke by small donation people money.
Ringelstein's opponent differs by being an IINO (Independent In Name Only), so middle-of-the-road (voting 47% with Trump) that Hightower's "yellow stripes and dead armadillos" quote applies perfectly to A. King, and vastly 'unequal' funding with King having millions and Ringelstein having so little that neither the Maine Democratic party nor any corporate money backs Zak --- which is why I'm pleading with Bernie Sanders (who I was a delegate for) to back Zak.
But the biggest difference is that Zak's race will show whether Bernie progressives can beat not only right Republicans but faux-independents.
7
@Alan MacDonald Beto was into punk rock, back in the day. But he is open to all kinds of music and ideas, as seen in his cross-country trip with Rep. Mike Hurd last year. A couple readons why he's got my vote and some of my money.
5
What shocking ideas. Consistently saying what you actually think about real issues, regardless of whom you are speaking to. Respecting the voter enough to assume they can handle a reasoned and well-defended message. Demonstrating the energizing humility to visit ALL of the voters, even those -- maybe especially those -- that you have every reason to believe will think you are wrong. As though the reddest red voter was still a human being worthy of his respect and leadership, and not just a deplorable vote to be humiliated and vanquished. I like this guy.
I'd almost forgotten what a leader looks like.
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Also, read that Beto will be appearing on the Ellen DeGeneris show on Wednesday, September 5th in part because of his stand on athletes taking a knee. And, I don't usually send money to political campaigns; my last contribution was to Al Gore and we know how that worked out but that's not the reason -- I just don't think that money should have such an outsized role in our political process and I understand the naivete of that belief. That said, I did send money to Beto's campaign and would suggest that a small contribution showing support is not necessarily a contradiction.
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One would hope Texans see through the ridiculousness of Ted Cruz and vote for O'Rourke, who offers common sense and decency for Texas citizens. Cruz has long worn out his welcome in Washington.
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Been following Beto for about a year. This is a remarkable person, especially given he's a politician. Why? He walks the talk!
No PAC money (and so far he's out-raised Cruz (23MM to 15MM)
doesn't care if the DNC gets involved (he has said "Republican, Democrat, I could care less"),
he's a confident communicator; not afraid to take risks - check out his 30-hour Facebook travelogue with Republlcan congressman Will Hull - watched by 20 MM people.
he's issues and solutions-oriented. You may not like his solutions, but there's no doubt what he's fighting for,
and he understands democracy runs on principled compromise - getting as close to win-win as possible.
But watch him and you'll see his most notable characteristics: optimism, fearlessness and passion.
My God, we need these things in our country's leaders - NOW.
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@Bruce you have captured what I hope most Americans will see in O'Rourke and other younger Dem candidates.
We need a generational changing of the guard. We had hoped we had that with Obama but sadly not.
As long as the Dems let campaign and policy be driven locally we have a really good chance of taking back Congress. And candidates like O'Rourke are the key.
His principled pragmatism is what I like the most. For the first time since November 2016 I am feeling the hope. For me O'Rourke is channeling the best of Bobby Kennedy .
3
Voter participation. That's what this will come down to. Texas isn't so much a red state as it is a non-voting state, ranking 49th in midterm election turnout. Beto is a great candidate. Having met him twice; I was impressed not just with his responses, but his ability to truly listen to people. Having travelled to each of the 254 counties in Texas, holding multiple town halls in cities from Houston to Odessa, he often begins his speeches with reassuring attendees that whether they are democrats, republicans, or independent, "You are in the right place." He talks about what we can do together, how we, the least insured state in the union, with the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, can lead the conversation on health care. While Ted Cruz is focused on throwing dirt and misinformation, Beto is talking about solutions and building bridges. This race matters. If we turn Texas, we turn the country.
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Win or lose it's still a win for Texas and, in another 7-12 years Beto for President? (That is, if the US is still a semi-democracy.)
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I live in Lubbock now which is redder than red. Last month, Beto was in town for a town hall. This was schedule 11am-1pm on a Tuesday at the Cactus Theater. I got there about 11:45am and the theater was completely full including the balcony and isles, the lobby was full and the sidewalk was full. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen this with my own eyes. I had no idea there were this many democrats in Lubbock. There are Beto signs everywhere in Lubbock. I think the wind is changing in more than just the large blue cities.
Texans are tired of being represented by a Senator that is more interested in running for President than being the Senator from Texas. Beto is proud of Texas and wants to be our representative plus he takes no PAC money!
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Matt.
A well written piece.
Fingers crossed for Beto.
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While I can readily understand that some Texans are resistant to change, it is almost incomprehensible that anybody could find anything to cheer about a man as smarmy as Ted Cruz.
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>
I hope he beats Cruz, but this is just Dem political optimism. It feels greats until the day after election.
There is no way Beto O’Rourke will win. This is TX we are talking about, yes? But thanks for playing.
But should he win, Cruz is the canary in the mine. The GOP will be slaughtered.
Just note a few things:
1] DJT has the power of the Presidency. He can bomb another country in the next hour if he wants to. He controls the federal police force etc....;
2] It should be clear by now that he has no inhibitions as to using that power, no limits; and,
3] He is not going to get on the wrong side of "you are fired" and is prepared to see that to the very, very end, no matter the consequences. For that to happen would be world wide public humiliation and a complete rejection of his entire life.
Here is something you should ask yourself: when you get a badger cornered who has the problem? The badge or you.
And for good measure, let's not forget his hillbilly supporters armed to the teeth, more than a few cards short a full deck, with an army of pick up trucks to boot.
Can you say Iraq.
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@Prometheus
I fear that Trump will start a civil war. Too many of his devoted followers appear to be as unhinged as he is and he is riling them up for violence daily.
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@Prometheus: uh...thanks for calling 63 million VOTERS (i.e., those invested enough in our democracy to REGISTER and VOTE)..."hillbillies armed to the teeth".
I guess I find that surprising, as I am a woman and live in a urban area, and have a college degree and work in tech.
But I guess now I am an "armed hillbilly".
The left -- back to doubling down on Hillary's "deplorables" namecalling -- then wondering "why do we keep losing"?
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Republicans, who are the minority party, shifted more and more to the right using vote suppression as a means to win because their policies were so unpopular. The Democrats who have shifted right with them have made it possible for Republicans to chip away our country piece by piece.
The majority of citizens are democrats, and they are not interested in the compromised with a right wing party that has gone off the rails. Instead they are waiting for someone to represent their ideals. The old guard who were lured by Clinton's "triangulation" have got to step down, as Republicans are leading us into an abyss, and the middle of the road ( now far right of the yellow line) has helped to entrech this bizarre minority in power.
Time for our Democratic leaders to let go, and allow true progressives to remind us what we stand for.
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@Al Not sure what you mean by "the majority of citizens are democrats." It's certainly not literally true. It certainly is true that the majority of citizens are not conservatives, in the current or prior uses of the term. And that bodes well for Beto.
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@Al Democrats have repeatedly moved to the right in vain hopes of achieving compromise solutions with Republicans who back away just as fast only to find themselves alone in the center right and at some distance from what used to be the core ideals of the Democratic Party. It's refreshing to see people like O'Rourke, and Gillum unapologetically lead us back to those ideals. Done playing the armadillo in the middle of the road.
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@Al
Al, Yes! Beto in Texas and Zak in Maine are both going to show how strongly the gen Xers, millennials, and younger are going to save America from Emperor Trump's dangerous path of following another leader ('Fuhrer' in German) into what all our older founding-fathers knew from their deep understanding of the classics and Roman history, that:
"the disease of Republics is Empire"
And this younger generation, perhaps in some tiny, magical bit of their own DNA, from Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Paine, sense that:
"We can't be an Empire"
3
NYT: are there observers from all salient political parties intently observing the voting processes in every precinct in Texas and Florida? Florida, because reps gained experience rigging some sleepy precincts in 2018. Texas because it is essential that they not lose their death grip on power in the state. (I have lived in both in the last 18 years.)
34
@Suzanne You called it. Not only is gerrymandering a significant issue in Texas, the GOP is actively working to challenge the voter registration status of thousands of voters in predominately black and brown neighborhoods. More on this as reported locally here in Houston https://www.houstonpress.com/news/republican-official-outlines-voter-cha...
27
"The only thing you’ll find in the middle of the road,” Mr. O’Rourke said in Houston recently, “are yellow lines and dead armadillos.”
I love Beto O'Rourke. He is such a breath of fresh air. He is not one of those gutter rats who will stoop to name calling and taking personal potshots at an opponent just to get the votes needed to win an election. This guy is as welcome as a cool breeze on a warm summer day.
Beto O'Rourke is the real deal and no longer Texas's best kept secret. I have not felt this positive, encouraged or optimistic about a Democrat for a long time. Whew! Finally something to shout about and to be hopeful about.
My only regret is that I don't live in Texas for if I did, I would certainly be campaigning for him and punching his name on the November ballot.
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@Marge Keller
Short of going door to door, you can put your money on Beto.
15
@Marge Keller - you can send his campaign money! He is refusing to accept funding from PACs, unlike Cruz who depends on them.
7
@Marge Keller what a nice comment. AND you can donate to him!
3
Mr. Flegenheimer has it right, I think, that this Senate race will come down to voter turnout. We live in a very small town between Austin and San Antonio where most of the elected officials and large landowners are white, many of German American and Czech American heritage, and most workers are Mexican American. It's a dynamic that polite people don't talk about publicly but is central to what Mr. Cruz means by Texas being "America on steroids": white wealth built and maintained on the backs of brown labor.
Not mentioned in the article is public education. Historically and currently, a big part of "keeping the browns down" in Texas has been legislation denying Mexican Americans and Spanish speakers access to quality schools and the consistent underfunding of schools attended by brown children. Ted Cruz and the Texas Republican Party are all about ever-more tax cuts that keep the public schools weak. Have the finally overdone it? The Republicans have cut funding for all public schools so close to the bone that education is becoming a cross-over issue, one that may lead Republicans to vote for a Senator O'Rourke. I'm starting to see "Beto for Senate" signs and bumper stickers on the fences of ranches and cotton fields--places I never would have expected to see them. Haven't seen a single sign for Cruz. Sort of feels like driving across Pennsylvania and Ohio in the late summer of 2016.....
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@Patricioenrique: so we should spend our tax dollars educating illegal aliens, but not spend on OUR OWN CITIZENS? and of course, as we all know....white people do not need blue collar or entry levels. All white people are independently wealthy living on trust funds.
2
Beto O'Rourke's candidacy is a sure sign than Democrats are abandoning meek democrats. It is the time of aggressive progressives. Win or lose, no more GOP lite or DINO candidates. Good Luck Beto.
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@daniel wilton Please just stop. Beto is his own man, a good man. He is a good Democrat. That's who we are. Fighting with our allies and with each other only enables the opposition, who are unified.
"The right looks for converts; the left looks for traitors"
6
@daniel wilton,
That is our problem- passing some purity test- I'll take pretty much any kind of democrat, thank you very much.
8
Beto is going to win. The passion and enthusiasm that he generates is contagious. He is open, speaks straight from the heart, is witty, thoughtful, positive, idealistic and, finally, he consistently focuses on our shared visions of hope and community. We are getting bucket-fulls of the usual Ted Cruz ugly: fear-mongering. "They are out to get you, those crazed liberals. They're not real Texans." Along with the usual Ted Cruz thinly veiled hate. I cannot wait for the debate: Cuz's truly icky Tedness will be further magnified than it is by his odious self, and his nasty commercials; Beto will keep speaking to the people of Texas, and he will shine.
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Just so you liberals understand, There is no way Beto will be elected to anything in Texas because he is a Socialist and the citizens of Texas are not. Not only that he is anti-2nd amendment, for Socialized medicine, big government and all the other failed policies tried around the world during the 20th century. If he agrees to debate Cruz, he will never be heard of again and he will be defeated 75/25 for sure.
7
He's polling just a few points behind Cruz. Don't be so sure
37
@James
Beto is not against the second amendment and you would know this is you had been to any of his town hall meetings instead of getting your news second hand. His believes that military grade guns should be left to the military and that not every Texas yahoo need a military gun. He would not try to legislate other types of guns, just military style guns which only makes common sense.
Every advanced country has some type of medical coverage. Why shouldn't we? Why do we let our fellow citizens die and worry and go bankrupt over medical bills? Why do we allow insurance companies to decide our treatment based on their bottom line? Why do we saddle our small companies with providing insurance for employees? This is just another common sense area.
We Texans are tired of being represented by a Senator that is too busy running for President than he is to actually represent Texas. Beto wants to represent Texas and has not taken a dime from PACs unlike Cruz which has at least 4 PACs going full speed.
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@James If you are over 65 or on Medicare, as most common retired or disabled working class people are, you are by definition participating in socialism. This is a government program established and signed into law by perhaps our greatest President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat. A lot of Texans are practicing socialists, whether they realize it or not.
1
This guy sounds and looks a lot like Obama. We need the Barack Obama Academy of Democratic candidates. Optimistic, good contact with people, real background, and, hey, Columbia U is not bad. Good luck Beto and don't drive too fast.
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A fascinating look at Texas. Much said could also apply to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsn and maybe Michigan and N. Carolina.
Didn't Rick Perry want to secede from the Union?
23
@jhbev: Yes, and the rest of us should have let him do it.
7
Texas is a non voting state. A shockingly low number of people turn out to vote. Beto’s year long odyssey of town halls and his effort to reach every Texan is a plea to get out and vote. I hope Beto wins but it will be about the turnout as this state of more than 34 million people had fewer than 3 million vote in the primaries.
75
@Deirdre
I do not completely disagree with your assessment, but isn't low voter turnout in the primaries more the norm than the exception? In the end, it's the November election that matters the most.
I guess I am asking myself one simple question of the wonderful folks of Texas - are they happy or content or satisfied with Ted Cruz and what he's done (or not done for the state of Texas)? If they answer no to this question, then I think Ted Cruz as a real opportunity to change the Texan mindset once and for all.
13
Living history...it seems to always be with us, this constant challenge to think, be aware, be willing to change and ally with the "changers". I find myself grateful that people like Beto are willing to do the hard and sometimes messy work of running for office.
Since JFK and MLK Jr., the American people have been waking to the need to understand that the past, while holding a lot of ancestors and bravery, isn't necessarily the template for our future. I honestly don't know what America will look like in fifty years, whether it will hold a people who throw away nuclear weapons and instead embrace the rule of law, or embrace a "Boss Hogg" rule of the elite.
Hugh
30
I have lived in Texas for 30 years. During that time l have seen major shifts in state demographics and voting trends. I have also seen the drastic curbing of Democratic voting power, achieved via Republican-driven redistricting in 2010. Because Texas doesn’t have party registration, it can be hard to get a bead on how many Democrats and Republicans there are across the state. Nevertheless, it’s abundantly clear that the landscape for Cruz is not what it was 6 years ago. Part of that is Cruz himself, who is markedly out-of-touch with all but the most conservative slice of Texas voters. In-state polling has shown for a long time that Texans are more centrist on a number of issues—access to health coverage, gun safety, environmental protections, and immigration—than Cruz appears willing or able to acknowledge. He is like Trump in this way; he only seems to speak to and for one slice of voters. Cruz thinks he knows what Texans are, what they like, and what they want. Fellow Texans, if you agree with me that Cruz is wrong about Texas, then please vote this November. If you are out-of-state, please donate to Beto’s campaign. The only way we’ll know for sure how many Democrats there are in Texas is by who turns out to vote.
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So It is nice to see that Mr. O'Rourke is a regular guy. I am impressed that he has been in jail because he got a glimpse, just a glimpse as to how justice works. He got to see how " jumping a fence " can be written in a report as something more nefarious. I think it is important for people to realize how bad our law enforcement can twist facts to work in its favor.I have a big mouth and have been in his shoes more than once and it always amazed me what law will do to prove themselves rite.
61
O'Rourke is the antithesis of lunatic fringe candidates and is blessed with good looks, a great mind and boundless energy. He's a charmer on TV and on stage before crowds. He is also the face of the future for the Democratic party.
What I miss from Democrats is humor, an ability to handle interviews, debates and stump speeches by mixing in some one-liners, a few zingers that have an audience laughing at an opponent. O'Rourke masterfully delivers pokes and counter punches. No wonder Cruz is worried.
The key to success is a massive turnout in November. If enough Texans are energized by straight talk, fearless positions on genuine issues and the power of eloquence embodied in a nice young man, Mr. Cruz may well be returned to the private sector.
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@Doc
I really, really liked your comment, especially the part about the Democrats missing that much needed humor and that "ability to handle interviews, debates and stump speeches by mixing in some one-liners, a few zingers that have an audience laughing at an opponent."
One of the qualities I admired and miss the most about JFK was his keen, clever and quick wit. His humor was never mean spirited in nature, if anything, he usually poked fun at himself and his own short comings. In many ways, Mr. O'Rourke reminds me of a very young Jack Kennedy. This guy is a refreshing open book on many levels.
19
@Doc There are more registered Ds almost everywhere. The key is getting out the vote! Dems, do your job and mobilize your constituency.
More Democrats voted in the FL election than in many past years, selected a real progressive, and still less than 40% of registered Democrats voted!! Get out the vote, get out the vote, get out the voters!
8
Great article. But why are the Times' headlines so awkward? These two-sentence titles are often annoying or confusing. Whey not something like "O'Rourke and Cruz Claim Starkly Different Visions for Texas"?
34
Great political reporting!This is a gripping saga worthy of the storied political battles of the Lone Star State.Congratulations to O’Rourke for taking on this daunting challenge.Good news that he is raising so much money from small donors-they will turn out to vote for him- they have invested in him politically and financially.
247
Glad to read that there is hope for Texas. Go for it, Mr O'Rourke!
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Win or lose change is here. We are starting to see younger people with new ideas emerge. Just hope the change comes fast enough to save the country from the Trump regime.
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Sounds like Mr. O’Rourke, has managed to keep the focus on his campaign, his unique, I would say very Texas, brand and is giving Texans a reason to vote for him. That is what voters are demanding, and his sunny optimism may just get him over the finish line.
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Always good in a democracy to have open discussions and debates. Texas, however, remains a decidedly red state with blue cities. A sort of smaller version of the country. Not this year, Beto.
8
That's what I like- a guy with vision. NOT!
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@W Greene
I see you and I are neighbors. This morning I'm standing on my front lawn in Ft Worth and looking at 6 Beto yard signs and 0 Cruz signs. On my sojourns around town it's the same. For the love of God (and my native Texas) I pray that the more honorable and humble Beto wins, as his ideals and character are decidedly more consistent with the Texas of my childhood than the current Tea Party skewed parody Ted Cruz.
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@W Greene Vote for Beto anyway, regardless of what you think other Texans might do.
14