# Does Beto O'Rourke have a chance to oust Ted Cruz? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 2, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987 "2018-02-02T00:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/581 "2018-09-22T19:23:36Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > In the words of one of the replies: The reply thread is full of gems. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/582 "2018-09-22T20:17:59Z")
I wonder how Rafael would feel about paying police officers a living wage and not sticking them with fourteen fucking hour shifts. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/583 "2018-09-23T20:39:04Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I wonder how Rafael would feel about paying police officers a living wage and not sticking them with fourteen fucking hour shifts. Just Ted being true to form . ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/584 "2018-09-23T21:25:53Z")
**Sam Lowry** , thanks for your perspective. It’s really hard to gauge how Texans themselves are perceiving Beto from my western Oregonian perch. He makes complete sense to me – I particularly appreciate his unifying, aspirational tone, as you also noted. And as I previously mentioned, I have a visceral reaction of revulsion to Ted Cruz. To call him reptilian is an insult to reptiles, in my opinion. So I’m hardly objective. That said, I’ve never understood those who claim Cruz possesses a towering intellect. He seems intellectual to me only in the sense of playing Jenga. You really have to balance those crazy foundational assertions carefully to make his “logic” stand up. I didn’t note anything in his debate performance to persuade me otherwise. He seems to employ the standard Republican playbook: Attack, attack, attack, and hope something wounds. I don’t think it worked very well. I do think the entire key to a blue tsunami in November is the previously-haven’t-voted vote. There are lots and lots of those. I believe it’s going to be the Dems’ secret weapon. Assuming we have a fair, untainted election, that is. I foresee many challenges to close races in key districts. Cruz/O’Rourke is one of them. I hope the vote is decisive in favor of Beto. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/585 "2018-09-24T11:33:07Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > He says “BEH-to” to English speakers. > > To Spanish speakers, he uses the Spanish “e,” which doesn’t exist in English. It’s between that same “eh” and the vowel in English “say” (but without the “ee” that English speakers stick on the end of that vowel sound). _¡Gracias, gracias, gracias, gracias!_ for the part in the () 😃 > [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > I apologize if it’s been addressed in this thread already (I’m late to the party), but how is O’Rourke’s Spanish? I see an ad where he speaks Spanish, and I see that he challenged Cruz to a debate in Spanish, but as someone who doesn’t speak the language myself, I don’t know if he’s fluent or just competent. > [@andros](#): > > He has a noticeable (to my _nuevomexicano_ ears) Gringo accent, and he does not speak as quickly as a native speaker. But he is most certainly fluent, if [this interview](https://www.facebook.com/betoorourke/videos/entrevista-con-jorge-ramos/1641502012566169/)is an appropriate representation. He clearly has no problem following the _presentador_’s more rapid Spanish; that alone puts him over many people who have it as second language. To me he does sound like it’s clearly his second language, but there is equal value in “his” and in “second”. I wonder how much does he improve depending on how much Spanish he’s been speaking and how much he’s been speaking it during the town meetings. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/586 "2018-09-24T11:45:30Z")
Many Texans I’ve known have an odd quirk about Spanish, its not only that they don’t speak Spanish, its that they are proud of that ignorance! Some words in Spanish are just lovely in themselves, like “Guadalupe”. When I was in Austin, that was the main street, and a Texan might say he was headed down to a bar on “Gwadaloop”. I’m not particularly ashamed of being a _gringo_, but _damn_! ---
**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:** [September 24, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/587 "2018-09-24T13:22:37Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Texas hippies: “Peace and love, or I’ll kick your ass and _then_ it will be peace and love!” Mom? Is that you? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/588 "2018-09-24T19:44:41Z")
I bet Canadian Rafael doesn’t speak Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/589 "2018-09-24T20:20:26Z")
Beto, you’re wonderful, but your campaign does not need to send me 3 fundraising emails per day. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/590 "2018-09-25T00:58:26Z")
I watched about a third of Rafael v. Robert, until I had to go clear the sluices from listening to Senator Unctious. I got the impression that Beto was allowing himself to play defense, which wins football games but is often a losing strategy for elections and debate. He was a little short on the carriage. You know, bearing. Remember when Barack spoke to Willard as though he were an unruly teenager? Beto needs to find that. To really act like he is the superior man, as he apparently has been throughout the campaign. And I swear I heard one of the moderators address Beto as “senator”, but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/591 "2018-09-25T14:57:41Z")
I wonder if the fact that even the _Washington Post_ mentions that [O’Rourke lied about his drunk driving](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/25/beto-orourkes-false-claim-he-did-not-try-leave-scene-dwi/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7bc4a129af9e) will make any difference to the race. Given how concerned they are about [del]Republicans[/del] people drink in high school, no doubt they are equally concerned about when it happens to a 26 year old, and is actually definitely proved to have happened. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/592 "2018-09-25T15:05:44Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I wonder if the fact that even the _Washington Post_ mentions that [O’Rourke lied about his drunk driving](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/25/beto-orourkes-false-claim-he-did-not-try-leave-scene-dwi/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7bc4a129af9e) will make any difference to the race. Given how concerned they are about [del]Republicans[/del] people drink in high school, no doubt they are equally concerned about when it happens to a 26 year old, and is actually definitely proved to have happened. > > Regards, > Shodan Weak. Someone claimed he tried to leave the scene, but he was there when the cops showed up. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/593 "2018-09-25T15:09:17Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > Weak. Someone claimed he tried to leave the scene, but he was there when the cops showed up. And admitted drinking and causing the accident. Clearly guilty, but hardly a hit and run. What the ambulance driver might have interpreted as “trying to leave the scene” could have been almost anything. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/594 "2018-09-25T15:20:16Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I wonder if the fact that even the _Washington Post_ mentions that [O’Rourke lied about his drunk driving](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/25/beto-orourkes-false-claim-he-did-not-try-leave-scene-dwi/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7bc4a129af9e) will make any difference to the race. Given how concerned they are about [del]Republicans[/del] people drink in high school, You’re really dragging this whataboutism bullshit into this thread? AND you really think the Kavanaugh thing is about his fucking _drinking_? Pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/595 "2018-09-25T15:23:37Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I wonder if the fact that even the _Washington Post_ mentions that [O’Rourke lied about his drunk driving](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/25/beto-orourkes-false-claim-he-did-not-try-leave-scene-dwi/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7bc4a129af9e) will make any difference to the race. Given how concerned they are about [del]Republicans[/del] people drink in high school, no doubt they are equally concerned about when it happens to a 26 year old, and is actually definitely proved to have happened. Wow, that’s some serious Kessler bullshit that you bought into, **Shodan**. Sure, the person reporting the accident says that Beto tried to leave the scene. But when the cop got there, Beto couldn’t get out of his car without falling over. What did the witness mean, he tried to leave the scene? From the police report, it hardly sounds like he was capable of doing so. And how did the witness know Beto wasn’t just looking for a place to pee? No question, Beto was **way** too drunk to drive. Hammer him on that all you want. But this sounds like weapons-grade bothsidesism from Kessler. Gotta hang _something_ on those libruls, just so he doesn’t look biased. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/596 "2018-09-25T15:27:58Z")
@Procrustus: Where are you getting ambulance driver from? The article said it was an unidentified witness and personally “overhead lights” on the witness’ vehicle makes me think it was NOT an emergency vehicle as I would think they’d call those “emergency lights” or something. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/597 "2018-09-25T15:37:19Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > @Procrustus: > Where are you getting ambulance driver from? The article said it was an unidentified witness and personally “overhead lights” on the witness’ vehicle makes me think it was NOT an emergency vehicle as I would think they’d call those “emergency lights” or something. It says “I met with the reporter and driver of American Medical Ambulance.” It’s unclear if that’s a description of one person or two. (Cops write funny). I concluded (perhaps mistakenly) that the reference to turning on overhead lights to warn traffic and try to get defendant to stop was the ambulance emergency lights. What vehicles have overhead lights? Either way, the “reporter” would have been identified by name in all the police reports I have reviewed over the years. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/598 "2018-09-25T15:44:47Z")
@ **Shodan** : True to form. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/599 "2018-09-25T15:47:34Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > It says “I met with the reporter and driver of American Medical Ambulance.” It’s unclear if that’s a description of one person or two. (Cops write funny). > > I concluded (perhaps mistakenly) that the reference to turning on overhead lights to warn traffic and try to get defendant to stop was the ambulance emergency lights. > > What vehicles have overhead lights? > > Either way, the “reporter” would have been identified by name in all the police reports I have reviewed over the years. Are you reading a different article? The one in Shodan’s link doesn’t include the word ambulance. It specifically states that the witness is unidentified in the records. Lots of pickup trucks have overhead lights. Tow trucks and construction vehicles have rooftop hazzard lights. And generally ime, “overhead light” refers to the interior overhead lights ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987/600 "2018-09-25T15:58:19Z")
Eta: I see you reading one of the initial reports. Yes, it does look like he was an EMT but not the driver. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-beto-orourke-have-a-chance-to-oust-ted-cruz/807987.md?page=31)