Beto O'Rourke

Robert Francis “Beto” O'Rourke (1972–) is a Democrat who ran against incumbent Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 midterm elections. Cruz won, though it was closer than usual for statewide races in Texas (as well as closer than most polls had suggested it would be);[1][2] he had won more votes than any other Democrat had in that state in its entire history for any office. O'Rourke had previously represented Texas's 16th Congressional District in the House of Representatives for six years.[3] He ran a (very) unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination in 2020.[4]

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Presidential candidacy
“”I want to be in it. Man, I’m just born to be in it, and want to do everything I humanly can for this country at this moment.
—O'Rourke announcing his Presidential run in an interview with Vanity Fair.[5]

Biden and O’Rourke are very different candidates, but man the one-month O'Rourke media journey — from New Bobby Kennedy to Apologizing Guy Who Stands on Tables — should give the Bidenverse some shivers. — Dave Weigel[6]

He entered the race for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination on March 14, 2019. Almost immediately, he was criticized for his lack of a clear legislative track record or distinctive policy platform.[7] Thus far his candidacy has largely attracted media attention for him standing on tables all the time[8] and apologizing for myriad past statements (including an awkward joke about his wife raising their kids "sometimes with my help").[9] His initial campaign rollout was rather bumpy, failing to give clear answers to many questions and often being light on policy specifics. In May, he tried to re-launch his campaign to offset its initial disappointing launch which had led to his poll numbers and media attention dwindling.[10]

RFK Conspiracy

Several kooks from the clogosphere have noticed the coincidental similarities between O’Rourke and Robert Kennedy. For one the both are Democrats of Irish descent named “Robert Francis” with respective presidential campaigns, and objectively similar looks.[11] Obviously, all the insinuation that all that holds a secret meaning is bullshit, so seriously don’t get any ideas... about Foss being on par with the Dead Kennedys.

Punk Lifestyle

Beto has a punk band called Foss.[12]

gollark: Anyway, you *should* have read the privacy policy, it's in the licenses document.
gollark: What? No, it's just a polite greeting.
gollark: Oh dear, 6_4 has a sandbox exploit.
gollark: Happy chicken, yes.
gollark: Happy chicken, Jcodefox1!

References
  1. Ted Cruz’s margin of victory over Beto O’Rourke was even slimmer than we thought, Houston Chronicle, Jeremy Wallace, December 6, 2018
  2. Ted Cruz wins reelection over Beto O’Rourke, Politico, Darius Dixon, November 6, 2018
  3. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Govtrack
  4. What Does Beto O’Rourke Believe?, FiveThirtyEight, Perry Bacon Jr., March 19, 2019
  5. Beto O’Rourke, as He Comes to Terms with a Presidential Run: “I’m Just Born to Do This” Vanity Fair. March 13th, 2019.
  6. https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1120663557421633536?lang=en
  7. Beto O’Rourke Enters the 2020 Presidential Campaign, The New York Times, Matt Flegenheimer and Jonathan Martin, March 14, 2019
  8. Beto O’Rourke standing on countertops, explained, Vox, Matthew Yglesias, March 22, 2019
  9. Beto O'Rourke apologizes for jokes about wife, says he has benefited from 'white privilege', CNN, Eric Bradner, March 17, 2019
  10. Beto O’Rourke Tries to Hone His Delivery: ‘I Have My Work Cut Out for Me’, The New York Times, Lisa Lerer, May 14, 2019
  11. https://www.google.com/amp/s/thebulwark.com/beto-and-the-ghost-of-rfk/%3famp
  12. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/59nm98/watch-beto-orourke-talk-about-his-band-foss
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