Ready or not, here he comes.
Beto O’Rourke
After months of intense speculation, Beto O’Rourke is entering the presidential race Thursday, marking an extraordinary rise from little-known El Paso congressman a few years ago to potentially formidable White House contender.
“Amy and I are happy to share with you that I’m running to serve you as the next president of the United States of America,” O’Rourke says in a video with his wife released Thursday morning. “This is a defining moment of truth for this country and for every single one of us.”
O’Rourke is making the announcement ahead of a three-day trip to Iowa that begins Thursday afternoon. In the video, O’Rourke says he will travel the country before returning to El Paso on March 30 for a kickoff rally.
“This is going to be a positive campaign that seeks to bring out the very best from every single one of us, that seeks to unite a very divided country,” O’Rourke says in the announcement. “We saw the power of this in Texas.”
My position has not changed. If it had been up to me, Beto would be running for Senate again, which is what national Dems would have preferred as well. It’s clear by now that we’ll have a good Dem running against John Cornyn, which makes this easier to accept, but it’s hard to argue at this time (though we will revisit that question later) that anyone would have been a stronger challenger to Cornyn than Beto. That said, I’m putting a lot of value in the question of how much each Democratic Presidential wannabe will contest Texas in 2020 as I make up my mind who to vote for in the primary. Beto – who, like basically every other Dem, should beat Trump like a drum if he gets nominated – puts extra pressure on the non-Julian Castro parts of the field to make that kind of commitment. Everything else I’ll sort out later. For now, what I want to know is what these candidates are going to do to turn Texas blue in 2020.
For more reactions on Beto for President, see the Chron, Mother Jones, Texas Monthly, Slate, Daily Kos, Decision Desk, TPM, and the Observer. You tell me, what do you think of this?
Never under estimate how low the Republican Party will go as evidenced by North Carolina. Trump is a crook and will work with anyone to win, including the Russians like he did in the first election.
“who, like basically every other Dem, should beat Trump like a drum if he gets nominated”
I remember reading a biography of George McGovern. He was certain that whoever was nominated by the Democratic Party for President in 1972 would thrash Nixon.
Notice Kuff uses the key word “should”.
It’s always been about the economy.
Dems best chance is to get their Fed partners to keep on raising interest rates, like they have done 8 times already. It is clear Trump won’t take the war bait by now, and the muh kuhloozion narrative is about tapped out for all but the most gullible, like Manny. Sinking the economy is the best way to beat Trump.
Agree with Bill
Trump has erased the election playbook, and whatever will replace it is still in rough-draft form, or maybe just scribbles on a thousand napkins. O’Rourke will be rolling out his plan for its first nationwide test run. I’m an independent and don’t participate in primaries, so from the standpoint of an observer this is going to be beyond interesting. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/02/22/beto-orourke-campaign-strategy-2020-225193
Trump will lose Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and probably Texas.
Trump ain’t winning another term, he will spend a few years behind bars, behind big beautiful walls designed to keep people in.
But then again he could do a Ken Lay.
Just noticed you took a swipe at me, Bill did I call Harris County right?
The only think that is helping Trump some is the economy, but he somehow is managing to screw that up also. But I understand why racist supporters of Trump want to blame others for the Russian’s Cheeto defeat in 2020. Is that how you are leaving an out, Bill for Trump corrupt, crooked, dealings?
By the way Trump has very little to do with the economy, and you better hope that the economy does not tank because right not there is almost nothing they can do help it. We are bleeding dollars in deficits, and interest rates are to low to manipulate the economy.
Civil rights matter too Bill, and that is why the GOP is a hard sell for minorities, women, LGBT people, young people, and educated people. Trickle down is a farce and if everyone’s civil rights aren’t safe, ultimately no one’s are.
P.S. the Fed’s job isn’t to make re-election easier or harder for Trump or any other politician.
Saw them take a swipe at Beto on Deface the Nation. They said he didn’t have substance and was just a pretty face. They also criticised him because his wife stayed home with the kids and didn’t speak at something they were at or in a commercial. I didn’t catch where it was but I did catch that she didn’t speak.
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