# Beto O'Rourke's running for Governor **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 15, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourkes-running-for-governor/954382 "2021-11-15T14:20:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourkes-running-for-governor/954382/61 "2021-12-11T18:12:22Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Open immigration doesn’t exist in the US… Not only does it not exist in the US but I’m not aware of any Democrat who has campaigned in favor of it or suggested it should be implemented. And yet those facts have done nothing to stop the spread of this lie. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourkes-running-for-governor/954382/62 "2021-12-14T18:06:04Z")
Candidate filing in Texas closed on Monday, and to the surprise of many political observers Rick Perry filed to challenge Greg Abbott in the Republican primary for Governor. Only – not that Rick Perry. It’s a man of the same name who’s apparently a “senior desktop technician” from Parker County with no previous political experience. However, his paperwork was notarized by a political operative with ties to one of Abbott’s other primary challengers. I gotta say, as a political junkie, I love this kind of shit. I doubt it’ll make any kind of difference to Abbott’s chances but Texas politics never cases to entertain. > **[A Rick Perry — no, not that Rick Perry — files to run for Texas governor](https://www.texastribune.org/2021/12/13/rick-perry-texas-governor-springtown/)** > > A Springtown man with the same name as the former governor filed Monday to run for the state's top post against Gov. Greg Abbott, raising the prospect of dirty political tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourkes-running-for-governor/954382/63 "2021-12-14T18:26:55Z")
Oh but I’m sure this one also has quite sharp-looking glasses. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourkes-running-for-governor/954382/64 "2021-12-14T22:12:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Open immigration doesn’t exist in the US, so your entire argument here fails at the first step. Even the ~~Republican propaganda arm~~ “conservative” news only ever argues that Democrats **want** open immigration, as a boogeyman. Where are you getting the idea that it was ever enacted? There is close to a de facto open southern border. US customs and border patrol say that ‘enounters’ on the southwestern border jumped from 50,000 in August 2019 and 2020 to over 200,000 in August of 2021. In total, 1.7 million people crossed the border in 2021. Of that number, only about a third were returned. The rest were either not caught, or caught and bused/flown around the country and dropped off in various cities. > **[Number of migrants stopped trying to cross southern U.S. border drops](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/number-migrants-stopped-trying-cross-southern-u-s-border-drops-n1279012)** > > In most years, the number of immigrants encountered has increased slightly between August and September, as cooler weather allows for safer passage. > [@](#): > > As of Friday, the 21-day average of immigrants stopped crossing the U.S.-Mexico border by Customs and Border Protection was 6,177 per day, down from 7,275 in mid-August. > … > Even as the total number of migrants stopped at the border has decreased, the daily number of those expelled has increased slightly — from 2,550 on Aug. 11, to 2,733 on Sept. 10. These are unvetted people, of unknown but unlikely vax status. To allow 3,000 to 4500 people crash your border every day and be allowed to stay with no processing is insanity, especially during a pandemic. but that’s what’s been going on. People get caught and are given a piece of paper saying to check in with customs and border enforcement once they are settled, and then bused/flown around the country and released into the population. Given that these are poor people from 3rd world countries, the odds are high that they are not vaxxed. Some are bound to have Covid. And given that they are illegal, have no identification and may be worried about being deported, it’s likely they aren’t going to get vaxxed, either. > **[WH defends not requiring negative COVID test from illegal migrants](https://nypost.com/2021/09/20/wh-defends-not-requiring-neg-covid-test-from-illegal-migrants/)** > > Jen Psaki defended the Biden administration’s decision not to require coronavirus vaccines or negative COVID-19 tests for people illegally crossing the border seeking asylum. Quarantining traveling citizens and making children get vaccinated while intentionally allowing millions of untested, likely unvaccinated people flood into and be distributed around the country is a level of crazy I can’t comprehend. If you don’t want to call it an ‘open border’ for technical reasons, great. It doesn’t change the facts. And the caravans of people still heading for the US apparently don’t think the border is closed. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourkes-running-for-governor/954382/65 "2021-12-14T23:16:02Z")
From your cite: > “As individuals come across the border, and they are both assessed for whether they have any symptoms, if they have symptoms they are,” Psaki said. **\> “The intention is for them to be quarantined. That is our process, they’re not intending to stay here for a lengthy period of time, I don’t think it’s the same thing. It’s not the same thing.”** > “We are expelling individuals based on Title 42 specifically because of COVID because we want to prevent a scenario where large numbers of people are gathering posing a threat to the community and also to the migrants themselves,” she added. This does not sound like “intentionally allowing millions of untested, likely unvaccinated people flood into and be distributed around the country” [your words]. It sounds like they have a workable solution to an unfortunate situation. Comment? ETA: Also, from your other cite: > The number of undocumented immigrants apprehended trying to [cross the southern border](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/18-percent-migrant-families-leaving-border-patrol-custody-tested-positive-n1276244) is **down slightly compared to this time last month** , when crossings were at [a 21-year high](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/number-attempted-crossings-southern-u-s-border-hits-21-year-n1274230), according to data obtained by NBC News. > > As of Friday, the 21-day average of immigrants stopped crossing the U.S.-Mexico border by Customs and Border Protection was 6,177 per day, down from 7,275 in mid-August. > > In most years, the number of immigrants encountered has increased slightly between August and September, as cooler weather patterns allow for a safer passage. > > **The decrease is largely due to increased enforcement by Mexico along its southern [border](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/all/ice-begin-processing-migrant-families-relieve-overcrowded-border-patrol-stations-n1275618) and newly started flights from the U.S. that expel immigrants to Mexico and Guatemala before they can claim asylum, according to one former and two current senior Department of Homeland Security officials.** Looks like Mexico is getting the job done before we even get a chance to jump in. Again, your take? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourkes-running-for-governor/954382/66 "2022-07-20T13:14:27Z")
Bumping this thread to note that, during the last (Feb-June) reporting period, O’Rourke raised the most money of any candidate for Texas statewide office ever. He outraised Abbott by about $4 million, and got that money from three times as many donors. Abbott still has a big cash-on-hand advantage, however. Abbott has still got to be heavily favored, but recent polling has shown him up by only about 4-5 percentage points over Beto. At least Beto will have the money to be competitive. > **[Here’s how much Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke have raised in the race for...](https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/19/abbott-beto-fundraising-governor-2022/)** > > Democratic gubernatorial candidate O’Rourke is taking on incumbent Abbott in the November general election. Both have raised millions of dollars so far. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourkes-running-for-governor/954382.md?page=3)