Bong pounders of the world rejoice!
Yesterday was the day that the heavily hyped entry of Robert “Beto” O’Rourke into the arena as a contestant to win the Democrat nomination and take on President Trump has become a reality and the media is predictably gushing over the eccentric Texan.
The 46-year-old was an unknown before his underdog campaign to unseat Republican incumbent Ted Cruz that was heavily backed by deep-pocketed California activists made him into a national name and with the support of Hollywood, O’Rourke gave Cruz a serious scare before narrowly losing in the deeply conservative state.
But the establishment left had big plans for Beto (a nickname that he adopted to appeal to Hispanics) who has been described in such glowing terms as “Kennedyesque” and “the white Obama” and after a quirky series of publicity stunts, Thursday is the day when O’Rourke made it official.
O’Rourke’s entry was preceded by the premiere of the HBO documentary Running With Beto at the SWSX festival as well as a sloppy love fest profile that was published in Vanity Fair.
“Man, I’m just born to be in it.” Beto O’Rourke seemed to come from nowhere to the brink of a presidential candidacy—but he’s been on this journey for his whole life. O’Rourke spoke with Joe Hagan. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz. https://t.co/WhmQGZnbUg pic.twitter.com/a7DCoaZdtd
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) March 13, 2019
Via The Associated Press, “Beto O’Rourke announces 2020 Democratic presidential bid”:
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke formally announced Thursday that he’ll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, ending months of intense speculation over whether he’d try to translate his newfound political celebrity into a White House bid.
Until he challenged Republican Sen. Ted Cruz last year, O’Rourke was little known outside his hometown of El Paso. But the Spanish-speaking 46-year-old former punk rocker became a sensation during a campaign that used grassroots organizing and social media savvy to mobilize young voters and minorities. He got within 3 percentage points of upsetting Cruz in the nation’s largest red state — and shattered national fundraising records in the process — immediately fueling chatter that he could have higher ambitions.
Now O’Rourke must prove whether the energy he brought to the Texas campaign will resonate on a much larger stage. For all the buzz associated with his candidacy, the former three-term congressman hasn’t demonstrated much skill in domestic or foreign policy. And, as a white man, he’s entering a field that has been celebrated for its diverse roster of women and people and color.
“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 said in a video announcement with his wife on a couch. “We saw the power of this in Texas.”
Like Obama before him, Beto is more of a brand than a candidate but despite being an empty suit with little charisma, he is adored by celebs like NBA superstar and Twitter civil rights hero LeBron James.
LeBron James dons Beto O'Rourke hat to game in San Antonio https://t.co/m7HlK33sLy pic.twitter.com/IMwrblwGNT
— The Hill (@thehill) October 28, 2018
As the latest attraction in the circus of the 2020 Democratic party’s version of Survivor, Beto may be well positioned to take advantage of the candidates who have already committed to such crackpot ideas as socialism, reparations, and impeachment which may fire up the base but are guaranteed poison with moderates.
While Beto’s arrival as the latest savior from Trump will make him a constant presence on the talk show circuit, others are not impressed.
You know Dems are in trouble when their biggest star is someone whose biggest accomplishment is losing.
Beto O’Rourke wants govt-run health care, open borders & even decriminalization of illegal border crossings.@realDonaldTrump has made us stronger. Beto would be a disaster.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) March 14, 2019
Can someone please explain how losing to Ted Cruz qualifies one for a presidential run
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) March 14, 2019
At this rate the Dems are going to need to trade in the clown car for a clown bus.