# And in goes Beto **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 14, 2019, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119 "2019-03-14T11:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/1 "2019-03-14T11:42:00Z")
> **[Beto O'Rourke Announces His Run For President In 2020](https://www.npr.org/2019/03/14/676803365/beto-orourke-announces-his-run-for-president-in-2020)** > > The former Texas congressman raised a national profile, and a lot of campaign money, in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018. He has been touring the country since. I figure this isn’t a real surprise, though honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t and shot for something else. His profile is certainly high enough after his Senate run. Still, what’s his angle here? I have trouble imagining he can really get enough traction to win. Is he angling for a VP slot if he does well? Or another Texas spot? Can’t be governor as that election was last year and he’d have to wait another four years. I guess Cornyn’s up in 2020 but that doesn’t work time-wise, either. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/2 "2019-03-14T11:50:03Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > [Beto O'Rourke Running For President In 2020 Race : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2019/03/14/676803365/beto-orourke-announces-his-run-for-president-in-2020) > > I figure this isn’t a real surprise, though honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t and shot for something else. His profile is certainly high enough after his Senate run. > > Still, what’s his angle here? I have trouble imagining he can really get enough traction to win. Is he angling for a VP slot if he does well? Or another Texas spot? Can’t be governor as that election was last year and he’d have to wait another four years. I guess Cornyn’s up in 2020 but that doesn’t work time-wise, either. I’m a huge Beto fan and this news put a spring in my step this morning. As far as his angle, here’s what Clare Malone from 538 thinks is his likely plan. > [@Clare Malone from 538](#): > > O’Rourke’s background also may endear him to Latino voters. He is a Spanish-speaker (with a Spanish nickname) who represented a heavily Latino district and who beat out a Latino incumbent to win his first term in Congress. O’Rourke performed well with Latino voters in Texas in 2018, winning 64 percent of their votes (while competing against a Latino Republican candidate), compared with Texas Democrats’ 2014 Senate nominee, who won only 47 percent. > > O’Rourke’s national appeal to Democrats might be that he could push progressive boundaries and motivate a minority community without alienating independent white suburban voters. This “woke whiteness” factor — the idea that progressive white men in particular might be able to say and do things that minority candidates couldn’t get away with — certainly seems to be an implicit part of O’Rourke’s appeal. Here’s a link to the full article. > **[How Beto O’Rourke Could Win The 2020 Democratic Primary](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-beto-orourke-could-win-the-2020-democratic-primary/)** > > Where O’Rourke performed well in Texas may tell us a lot about who his core base might be in the 2020 primaries ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/3 "2019-03-14T11:58:20Z")
Beto has a certain RFK kind of appeal. I’m excited he’s in, though that doesn’t necessarily mean I believe he’s my favorite candidate. Time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/4 "2019-03-14T12:05:13Z")
I’m not excited by this. We need a president who’s got some years under their belt as a politician. But I think he’d be a fine veep, assuming that the actual president survives four years. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/5 "2019-03-14T12:20:11Z")
I think Beto can definitely win. His poll numbers start out high enough so if he has a good rollout and good debate performances and good money raising he can definitely win it. As for VP, not gonna happen unless a non-white is the nominee. There will be enormous pressure on a white nominee to select a PoC for VP. Beto either wins or he goes for governor in 2022. To me, Beto’s problem is similar to Gillibrand’s. His voting record is the most conservative in the field. When I ask Beto supporters if he’s a progressive or moderate, the answer i get is whatever they are, moderate or progressive, 100% of the time. When you start out being all things to all people, you can only go down from there. He’s got an Obama team that is probably going to try to have him fake his way through it all and rely on personality. But with the progressives so demanding, it’ll be impossible for him to avoid questions about his record. If he owns his record, he can transform himself from JFK/Obama to Bill Clinton, which is fine. If he disowns past votes, he’ll quickly go in the Gillibrand bucket. And despite a lot of people being high on Gillibrand, no one seems fooled by her. No principles whatsoever. Beto must avoid that trap. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/6 "2019-03-14T12:31:47Z")
I’m lukewarm at this point. I assume he’s angling for VP, as I don’t see a real path to the nomination right now. He’s stuck since I don’t think he can win a statewide election in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/7 "2019-03-14T12:53:30Z")
I really don’t care that he didn’t beat Cruz. He came very close and for a Texas Democrat, that’s something special. Is he the most conservative? Maybe. But voters don’t care about issues, they vote on charisma. The 3 Democrats that have it are the 3 Bs- Biden, Beto, Bernie. I would prefer a ticket of Biden-Beto but if Beto winds up on top it’s all good. Just don’t give me a second incarnation of Hillary which is what I fear from a screechy-preachy Warren. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/8 "2019-03-14T12:55:49Z")
To Warren’s credit, she has two things Clinton does not: authenticity and only one stupid scandal that is not even close to disqualifying unless you really already hate her. And it’s very unlikely there are other scandals waiting to pop up. Warren is clean as a sheet. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/9 "2019-03-14T12:56:03Z")
Out of all 783 declared Democratic candidates thus far Beto is definitely one of them now. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/10 "2019-03-14T13:20:22Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > To Warren’s credit, she has two things Clinton does not: authenticity and only one stupid scandal that is not even close to disqualifying unless you really already hate her. And it’s very unlikely there are other scandals waiting to pop up. Warren is clean as a sheet. I’m not a Hillary enthusiast but I don’t think any of her “scandals” were genuine. There’s a whole lot of people who when you ask why they didn’t vote for her would say “duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, something something emails”. Uranium One- phony scandal. It wasn’t her deal and no uranium left the US. Benghazi- the only think I fault her for was setting up embassy and consulates prematurely in a still politically unstable country. Phony scandals all. Yes, Warren tried to exploit a minuscule amount of Native American heritage but really, who cares? As for Warren, I may agree with her but damn I can’t see her carrying the working class vote like Biden could. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/11 "2019-03-14T13:34:47Z")
Some were phony scandals. Some were not. The Clintons have a long history of carefully avoiding outright illegality but seeing their obligations as extending no further than that. Most politicians manage to not get that close to the line, and what this field lacks in experience it makes up for in how careful they’ve been to not even come close to the appearance of shadiness. Even Biden and Sanders who have been in politics forever have managed to avoid serious scandal. Obama avoided it. IT’s not actually that hard unless you’re basically the Ric Flair of politics: doing all you can to flout the rules short of getting disqualified. We can argue about this and derail this thread, or we can just acknowledge that Clinton had the appearance of shadiness and none of the current field are tarred with that, and Republicans’ ability to do so will depend a lot on how much they have to work with. Which so far is pretty much nothing except “Pocahantas” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/12 "2019-03-14T13:37:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I think Beto can definitely win. Based on what? He seems like a nice guy, but he lost to Ted Cruz, for God’s sake. Sure, it was in Texas, but Cruz is loathsome and O’Rourke is still a loser. I cannot see anything O’Rourke has that Kamala Harris doesn’t have ten times more of. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/13 "2019-03-14T13:40:42Z")
Harris is a really bad candidate and I think you’ll see that most clearly in the debates, although she’s been showing flashes of not being ready for prime time for months. Beto is as yet unproven, but if he can handle the spotlight and knows his stuff, his favorables plus his current poll standing add up to having a pretty good shot. If this is actually just a Biden vs. Sanders race, then we can forget about all the younger candidates, but if it’s not, if the voters are open to alternatives and don’t really want the old white guys, then Harris, Booker, and Beto are all quite viable. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/14 "2019-03-14T13:43:12Z")
Harris is by far the best candidate, and she’ll do great in the debates. The gap will close, though some people just will refuse to vote for a black woman. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/15 "2019-03-14T13:44:59Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > [Beto O'Rourke Running For President In 2020 Race : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2019/03/14/676803365/beto-orourke-announces-his-run-for-president-in-2020) > > I figure this isn’t a real surprise, though honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t and shot for something else. His profile is certainly high enough after his Senate run. > > Still, what’s his angle here? I have trouble imagining he can really get enough traction to win. Is he angling for a VP slot if he does well? Or another Texas spot? Can’t be governor as that election was last year and he’d have to wait another four years. I guess Cornyn’s up in 2020 but that doesn’t work time-wise, either. Having no chance at the Presidency, Beto’s true message is “I can deliver Texas”. Just like Julian Castro, but without the “… and help with the Latinx’s vote nationwide” clause. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/16 "2019-03-14T14:03:47Z")
Since it’ll be mentioned: Beto’s fundraising prowess is over-rated, imho. 2018 was a perfect storm of an unattractive (but powerful) incumbent, blue wave populism, savvy social media marketing by his team, the appeal of a goal which is attainable with great team effort (which, in fact, required little effort - “click here to donate $5!”), and national attention directed to his (possibly) non-Quixotic dream of beating Ted Cruz, all attached to an attractive candidate whom we didn’t really know all that much about, allowing us to mold “Beto O’Rourke” into whatever we wanted him to be. It won’t be the same this time. Beto might be popular and I’m seeing a lot of Twitter comments about how he does raising money, but in fact, he isn’t the fund-raising monster [Hillary Clinton was](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/campaign-finance/). And a lot of Beto’s money came outside of Texas ($55m of $80m raised), which won’t be the case this time as all the money he can get will have to come from the US and her citizens - he can’t go beyond national borders to raise money like he could go beyond state borders to raise it. :biting tongue: Anyway, I don’t see the same vibe coming from him in 2020 that we had in 2018. And if I were Biden, er, the eventual Dem nominee, I would choose Castro over O’Rourke if I had to choose a Texan. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/17 "2019-03-14T14:18:05Z")
IMHO he’ll do well if Biden doesn’t run. If Biden does run Beto will have a comparitively harder time gaining traction compared to say, Harris or Warren or Booker. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/18 "2019-03-14T14:21:46Z")
My opinion remains that Beto is the best campaigner the Democrats have right now, but not remotely the candidate who would make the best president. The problem is that I can’t decide who that latter candidate is - I’m on the record as preferring that Biden, Sanders and Warren step aside for younger blood, but I don’t yet have a preference from amongst the choices on offer. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/19 "2019-03-14T14:31:42Z")
“We” (a term I use with trepidation) should de-emphasize candidates and focus on agenda. Most practical way to do that is to let the Dems hash it out in the usual way and support whomsoever. That’s the first thing I want to hear from any and all of the candidates, that they pledge to unite behind whomsoever. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119/20 "2019-03-14T14:42:15Z")
He is very very charming, and great at retail politics. I think he took a picture with every Democrat in Texas during his senate run. I don’t know if any of the younger generation are as good at baby-kissing and hand-shaking as he is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-in-goes-beto/831119.md?page=2)