# Is O'Rourke deliberately sabotaging the Dems? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 11, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637 "2019-10-11T16:33:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/41 "2019-10-12T12:22:39Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I am not even lying, when I saw the thread title, I was wondering what PJ was up to, and then I thought, maybe there’s some other O’Rourke in politics I don’t know about? I had to click through the link before I remembered Beto was in the race. Ha! I thought it was PJ, too! He’s definitely more in my consciousness than Beto is – I’ve heard him on Wait Wait and I even have a book he wrote way back that I thought was pretty funny at the time, A Parliament of Whores. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/42 "2019-10-12T12:38:42Z")
I just introduced my 13-year old niece to the original “Poltergeist.” I thought at first we were talking about [Heather O’Rourke](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001576/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1). God, I need to quit mixing Ambien and Jim Beam. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/43 "2019-10-12T12:44:11Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > [Here he is](https://mobile.twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1182478492614742018), giving the Republicans more ammunition for the general election. At this point, I’m starting to wonder if this is intentional. > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Me? I’m not feeling “concern”, and nothing I’ve written in this thread was intended to suggest that I do. Frankly, I’m delighted that asshat is running. Let’s suppose you’re right. What do you think his motives might be in wanting to sabotage his own party? ---
**Author:** ![Annoyed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Annoyed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoyed)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/44 "2019-10-12T14:02:33Z")
I don’t know what the hell hes thinking but it’s fantastic for the right, so keep it up, Francis. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/45 "2019-10-12T14:08:38Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Let’s suppose you’re right. What do you think his motives might be in wanting to sabotage his own party? I don’t know, maybe: Make sure they don’t win in 2020, so he can try again in 2024, as the darling of the Left. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/46 "2019-10-12T14:13:27Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I don’t know, maybe: Make sure they don’t win in 2020, so he can try again in 2024, as the darling of the Left. I hope you remember this moment next time you’re tempted to mock liberals for their political fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/47 "2019-10-12T14:24:37Z")
I don’t think he’s engaging in deliberate sabotage, but he’s desperate. He doesn’t have his house seat any longer and doesn’t really have a path forward in TX. Buttigieg has picked up a lot of the moderate but not Biden vote that I’m sure Beto was hoping for. He kinda reminds me of this campaign’s Marco Rubio, not able to handle the national spotlight after being a state wide media darling. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/48 "2019-10-12T14:25:48Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I don’t think he’s engaging in deliberate sabotage, but he’s desperate. He doesn’t have his house seat any longer and doesn’t really have a path forward in TX. Buttigieg has picked up a lot of the moderate but not Biden vote that I’m sure Beto was hoping for. He kinda reminds me of this campaign’s Marco Rubio, not able to handle the national spotlight after being a state wide media darling. I could see maybe a cabinet seat, but I’m not sure he’ll get one prestigious enough to help him further his political ambitions. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/49 "2019-10-12T14:33:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I hope you remember this moment next time you’re tempted to mock liberals for their political fantasies. Oh, I don’t know. This seems a good bit more plausible to me than “President Pelosi”. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/50 "2019-10-12T14:34:16Z")
He’s young enough that just about any posting in a Dem administration will add a line to his resume and won’t really hurt going forward. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/51 "2019-10-12T14:36:09Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Oh, I don’t know. This seems a good bit more plausible to me than “President Pelosi”. YMMV. Gosh, I wonder why it’d seem plausible to you. Wonder wonder wonder. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/52 "2019-10-12T14:46:59Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Oh, I don’t know. This seems a good bit more plausible to me than “President Pelosi”. YMMV. Speaking of plausibilities, had Paul Ryan been a strong, honest man, it could’ve been “President Ryan”. But he wasn’t, so it won’t be. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/53 "2019-10-12T14:48:09Z")
Beto is just staking out the centrist vote for 2036. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/54 "2019-10-12T18:09:17Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I don’t know, maybe: Make sure they don’t win in 2020, so he can try again in 2024, as the darling of the Left. So he’s going to undermine his own party, just so he will be rewarded in the next election, by the same people he jacked up in the previous election. That’s your hypothesis? My hypothesis is that he’s just not a very good candidate, and upon realizing he’s not going to win, he’s making stupid mistakes in a last ditch attempt to garner attention to a dying campaign. But lets just roll with ‘deliberate election sabotage’; it’s so much more intriguing. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/55 "2019-10-12T18:25:37Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > My hypothesis is that he’s just not a very good candidate, and upon realizing he’s not going to win, he’s making stupid mistakes in a last ditch attempt to garner attention to a dying campaign. But he’s getting THREE PERCENT! Answer for that, libs!! ---
**Author:** ![Annoyed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Annoyed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoyed)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/56 "2019-10-13T00:51:56Z")
Beto has also sabotaged his chances in Texas in the future as well, which is cool. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/57 "2019-10-13T01:03:10Z")
Beto is responsible for the [Texas Lunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=883547&page=2). Damn him to hell. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/58 "2019-10-13T01:03:27Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > … My hypothesis is that he’s just not a very good candidate, and upon realizing he’s not going to win, he’s making stupid mistakes in a last ditch attempt to garner attention to a dying campaign. … It’s certainly a plausible one. Probably the most likely. “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” ---
**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:** [October 13, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/59 "2019-10-13T01:11:09Z")
We wouldn’t even be mentioning Beto’s name had he not run against Ted Cruz, and in a more normal era, we wouldn’t even be talking about Senator Ted Cruz. Fringe politics begets fringe politics. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637/60 "2019-10-13T02:44:03Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > We wouldn’t even be mentioning Beto’s name had he not run against Ted Cruz, and in a more normal era, we wouldn’t even be talking about Senator Ted Cruz. Fringe politics begets fringe politics. Honest question: what makes Beto a fringe politician? (Other than his “I know Im gone, better go out with a bang!” stunt with guns recently) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-orourke-deliberately-sabotaging-the-dems/841637.md?page=4)