I know a ton of people love him, but I just do not feel it. I know it’s different for everyone- I was on Team Obama early and hard. I’d really rather he run against Cornyn and replace that sick bastard.
And really, without the Senate, it doesn’t matter who we elect.
PaulWartenberg
yeah. there’s a backlash now against the sizable number of Democratic candidates for the Presidency. I hope some point this summer 2019 the low-polling candidates get wise to their long shot status and redirect towards running for things that they are better equipped to campaign for (flipping the Senate or securing a Governorship).
hells littlest angel
Unless he’s really running for vice president, this is a dumb move. He needs to get more experience in office. Right now, he’s just a big fish in a small pond (Texas, the littlest big state in the union).
Anne Laurie
For once, this couldn’t have waited half an hour, dude?
Omnes Omnibus
A respectable run. Talk of being on people’s VP shortlist. Maybe a cabinet slot. His profile is raised and he has a better shot at taking down someone in the TX GOP.
Not everyone announcing a presidential run is actually running for the 2020 nomination.
Emerald
I think it’s way too soon for him but I’m pretty sure that, as somebody else said, he pretty much guts a huge portion of Wilmer’s support.
So maybe it’s good.
John Cole
@Anne Laurie: ahh shit
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Emerald: Yep – maybe makes a Biden run less likely too…
dexwood
Yeah, not feeling the Beto mania myself, or the whole Mayor Pete push, but I like what I see in them in coming years. It wouldn’t bother this old white guy if all the male candidates get shaken out of the running in the primaries.
joel hanes
I’m looking forward to a stage on which Harris, Warren, Beto, Buttigeig, and maybe now Stacey Abrams each get to take a swing at the same substantial question.
IMHO, that bids fair to be a thrilling explanation of what the Democratic Party must stand for, and provide a fascinating contrast to Biden and Klobuchar.
And Mr. Starbucks can eat a bag of salted dicks.
trollhattan
@John Cole:
You kids knock it off right now or I’m pulling this station wagon right over and giving you something to discuss.
Dad
FlyingToaster
@Anne Laurie: @John Cole: Y’all know that most of us can manage two tabs in our browsers, right?
[from the person with the rhinovirus, but at least I have a new roof]
trollhattan
@joel hanes:
Luckily Schultz has cycled about seven half-lives by now and won’t be around for the distraction (have not seen or read anything for weeks). My fear is two or three of my “likes” end up at the not-cool kids table and out of the mainstream debates. Did they not learn anything from the 2016 Republican slate?
Jay
@joel hanes:
The Cofeffe Boy’s shops dont sell salted dicks.
lamh36
Dangit Cole…I had so many good comment subject…two threads ago…way to start another one after all my greatness from before.
Ya night owl… :-P
Amir Khalid
@PaulWartenberg:
There Can Be Only One …
Seriously, a field of well-qualified candidates can only be good for the Democratic party. The Republican party in 2016 was to mind was a worst-case scenario: a rugby team’s worth of lacklustre generic politicians got outshone by an obviously unqualified playground bully, who is now befouling the Presidency and dragging the party’s reputation down.
NotMax
@Jay
However they’re overstocked with Napoleons.
;)
matt
Same for me. A white guy who’s strangely cool for being from Texas just doesn’t seem like this year’s story.
Juju
I am with you on Beto. I really wanted him to beat senator blob fish, so much so that I donated to his senatorial campaign. Now I keep getting these long winded meandering missives asking for donations. I think he’s a combination of a bit green and a bit full of himself. If he wins the nomination I will vote for him, but I am not offering financial assistance. He’s a nice person, but I’m not getting it for this upcoming election. I love Stacy Abrams as well, but I think it’s too early for her as well.
Ohio Mom
All these years I thought Cole was bigfooting Anne Laurie as a joke. I stand corrected.
Mary G
I love Beto when he was running against Ted Cruz, and he will be a huge draw for rallies and things, but I got kind of meh when he was just wandering around the country the last couple of months.
Amir Khalid
As for Beto, he’s not very likely to be the nominee. But it may be that all he is really seeking is a higher profile, to help him with whatever he does next.
Mike in NC
Lightweight? Inexperienced? Maybe he will have some potential in 10 years if he gets into the Senate.
Jay
Keep in mind, that while PAC and Campaign funding “has” to be used for Campaigning, it doesn’t have to be used for this Campaign.
cokane
He won’t win against Cornyn. Cruz is more or less the least likeable politician in the Senate. Cornyn is the freaking #2 ranking member. Even if Texas was already a legit purple state, the odds would be long.
Also, Obama worked because he seized on the big issue of the day and owned it. But that doesn’t really exist today.
Jinchi
Agreed. I don’t have anything against Beto. I just don’t know much about him. Democrats already have close to 20 candidates running, most of them quite capable. It would be nice if more of them considered picking up other offices and Texas Senate seems perfect for Beto.
debbie
Hope Miss Bianca and other Coloradans are okay. This bomb cyclone sounds like a real bitch.
Adam L Silverman
I’m rooting for the Sweet Meteor of Death/The Doomsday Machine from Star Trek the Original Series Season 2: Episode 6 2020 ticket!
hilts
Warren, Harris, Klobuchar, Gillibrand, Booker, and Inslee have far much better resumes than Beto. Unfortunately, the MSM is obsessed with bright, shiny objects so they’ll spend lots of time covering him at the expense of more qualified and capable candidates.
catclub
what about a little brexitmania? They missed voting to ALLOW a no-deal brexit by 312-308. There are just as many crazy people in UK as in US.
Still plenty of brexit hardliners who thought the deals May has negotiated are too soft.
tobie
I like him. I think he’s able to talk about issues clearly and in a broader context than most, and he’s very gifted when it comes to explaining policy as an expression of values. His defense of taking the knee in the video that went viral in 2018 was the highlight of the midterm campaigns. That he was able to come up with such a deep answer spontaneously was quite impressive to me. Finally he seems comfortable in his skin. Obama had that, too. He’s a cool cat. Time will tell how he does in a Presidential campaign but of all those who have declared thus far he strikes me as the most likely to inspire. We’ll see. I’ll throw a small donation his way tomorrow.
Zelma
I don’t feel any Beto-mania. I supported his campaign against Cruz but he’s far down on my list of candidates. I’m not sure I dare say this here, but I like Booker. I gather that makes me a minority of one on BJ, but I think he’s been a very effective mayor and senator and he has a positive enthusiasm that I don’t see in any other candidate. Just my opinion.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
FYI, there was a fan-produced for the web Star Trek original episode which featured William Windom reprising his role as Commodore Decker which was pretty well done, all things considered.
(With the Paramount crackdown on fan-produced material, may or may not be still readily available.)
tobie
@Zelma: I like Booker. I also like Klobuchar, which makes me a minority on this site.
Omnes Omnibus
@tobie: I’ve been saying for a while now that I think charisma is going to be a significant factor in beating Trump. The two people in the mix so far who seem to have it are Harris and O’Rourke. People can pick up policy chops as the year goes on, but charisma is something you have or you don’t.
Pogonip
How’s Mr. Cole?
Walker
@catclub:
Unless they pull back with Article 50, No Deal is going to happen (votes or not). The EU has made it clear they are not going to tolerate this nonsense indefinitely. The EU has largely lost respect for the UK. This recent quote in the Washington Post is both damning and true:
Pogonip
@Zelma: Were you the person suffering from cancer? Are you in the U.S. and if so, do you need donations towards your treatment?
tobie
@Omnes Omnibus: I think you’re right about charisma. It seems particularly important for Democrats who like to be swept off their feet. Republicans, by contrast, like people who make them angry.
cokane
@tobie: Nope. Republicans don’t give a fuck who it is. They’ll get out and vote regardless. Democrats turning out only some of time is a sad but critical feature of US politics.
tobie
@cokane: I thought Republicans turn out because the love the idea of sticking it to the libs. And of course they benefit from the fact that rural America is disproportionately represented in just about every state legislature, not to speak of Congress and the electoral college.
waratah
He is the Republicans biggest worry and they will do anything to stop him. He has the ability to turn the attacks so far. They told politico that democrats have not realized what they have yet, so they are trying to railroad our primary and that is why the nasty add in Iowa this week. They want to hold Texas. I think that there were some good polls this week between him and Trump. evidently Texans like Cruz better than Trump.
cokane
@tobie: Again, in the context of your comment that Democrats like to be swept off their feet, but Republicans like to feel angry, I just think it’s wrong. I don’t think, for example that W. Bush ran a very angry campaign in 2000, nor McCain in 2008. The key is that Republicans turn out no matter what. They don’t really seem to have any kind of litmus test for turnout, minus some small portion on the margins. Democrats, otoh, tend to be fickle voters. The difference in their turnout between 2008 and 2010 was huge and, in many ways, the country is still suffering from the latter’s result.
jk
Proof that Beto is a selfish prick only it for himself – his decision not to endorse a fellow Democrat in a competitive congressional race last year put him at odds with his party’s strategy of near-uniform opposition to Republicans in Washington.
h/t https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/19/us/politics/beto-orourke-democrats-president.html
h/t https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/03/beto-orourke-2020-campaign-president-why.html
Pogonip
@Adam L Silverman: I like it!
I am glad you’re here. I need physical therapy and would then like to learn the staff, and, because I enjoy being a girl, the naginata. I’m 59. Dr said “Ask a good staff teacher.” I don’t know any around here. If you teach either or both of those, can you give me your opinion, and, if not, can you refer me to a teacher I can ask?
waratah
@jk: I liked he stepped back because he thought that he had made a good friend. He did not promote him.
He did help the party by putting in place to run the next election. He expanded the ability to canvas the whole starte.That was where the money went.
I did not realise how much Democrat’s complain.
mkd
Beto is a pleasant person but I am not as
impressed as I am with Mayor Pete from South Bend
waratah
Well sorry I tried to correct bad typing and made it worse.
That should be state.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
true about Bush, and he Darth were both more arrogant than angry, but Bill Clinton’s sex life was a constant subtext to that campaign. McCain’s whole campaign wasn’t angry, even though his rage was never far from the surface (remember “That one!”), but Palin? Palin was as much an incarnation of the rage and resentment of the right wing and how hard it is to be white these days as trump, she just wasn’t as loud about it, and didn’t have the thirty year myth of a business titan– and a silly reality show– to sell the rubes on the idea that all his fear and anger and resentment was “toughness’
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: That trailer looks horrid.
Mandalay
@cokane:
This x 1000.
He’s running for the presidency because he has way more chance of winning that than he has of beating Cornyn. Folks really need to take a reality check before pontificating that “{X} should run for the Senate instead!“.
cokane
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I mean, *every* campaign has some anger to it. Obama in 2008 ran on a shitton of anti-Bush anger. But no, relatively speaking, I don’t think McCain’s campaign was about anger. It really couldn’t be with all the screwing up of the Bush years.
tobie
@cokane: I know rural Maryland quite well. I live here in a sea of red, and the culture of grievance in these parts runs deep. Yes, not every one of my neighbors is outwardly angry but all watch FOX and listen to Rush and buy into the idea that they work hard and everyone else lives on handouts. This is what I meant by angry.
Adam L Silverman
@Pogonip: I’m sending you a test message to the email you use to post here. If that isn’t a legit email address, please shoot me an email using the contact a front pager link at the top right drop down menu.
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
Befouling. That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard about the shitgibbon in decades.
Dragging the party’s reputation down. His party drug it’s own reputation down. Long ago. All he did was make it a bit more obvious and odious.
Adam L Silverman
@Mandalay: Fine, fine Y should run for Senate. Happy now?
Suzanne
@tobie:
Concur 100%. He’s an excellent communicator, and that is incredibly important for most of the public who aren’t following this inside baseball like we are.
Omnes is right: charisma is critical.
I like Beto. He’ll be a great VP for Kamala.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Betomania is running wild in da streets, brother ! (photo)
Mike J
@Adam L Silverman: Did you see today’s Florida
manmayor?cokane
@Adam L Silverman: i mean obviously someone should run against Cornyn cuz u just never know. But it’s not a race i’d pour in a lot of money or ask a rightfully ambitious politician to sacrifice themselves for
Jay
@catclub: @Walker:
The Brits are deeply fooked.
Pretty sure that in less than a year, we will be talking about England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, not Britain or the UK.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Fuck Y. S/he’s a neoliberal shill.
ETA: And/or a leftist Purity Pony.
plato
It’s hilarious to see how bj’ers think they are the masters of all things political, without ever running for office. The running candidates, having already run and won, are not stupid not to game out the whole thing.
Ruckus
@Walker:
That should leave a mark.
That it probably won’t is a sign of the times in conservative land.
Johnnybuck
It’s really only Harris at this point, from what I see. I’m inclined to follow what black women choose, as they are the most loyal and pragmatic of all democrats. I could easily see them backing Biden, Harris, or Beto. I just want to win. If Beto can capture the zeitgist I’m all for it.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
The whole now cut short Phase II franchise is an obvious labor of love, and more hit than miss what with the participation of original Star Trek alumni as writers and contributors and even guest stars. Keep in mind the one linked is an early effort (and once a new Kirk came aboard, the fit and finish became smoother). The guy in the trailer playing Kirk is the executive producer and main driving force behind the entire project, but I’ll be the first to admit is out of his depth as James Tiberius. Be thankful I didn’t link to the very first episode, wherein he was essentially wearing the same wig he dons as a professional Elvis impersonator.
Omnes Omnibus
@plato: So it turns out that you aren’t entirely humorless after all. Go figure.
Ivan X
@Adam L Silverman: @Omnes Omnibus: agreed 100%, but I feel like that charisma is the most important factor in every election since Kennedy. Certainly since Carter. The more charismatic candidate wins, always. That’s why I thought we were screwed with Kerry, and that’s why I never sweated Romney.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J: Yes, yes I did. And another Florida Man story, which I’m debating with BettyC if we put up at all. It is way, way, way out there and over the line even for Florida!
Adam L Silverman
@cokane: Every race should be contested with as good a quality candidate as possible that is the best possible match for the position and the constituency as can be found.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
There you go, dragging logic into the fray.
:)
Mandalay
@jk: That Slate article you linked to was absolutely brutal on O’Rourke, and was doubly toxic for being well written and well argued rather than just a hit piece. Ouch.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: I don’t know what you did to that comment’s formatting, but I can’t figure out how to fix it.
oldgold
I am not so sure Beto is charismatic.
I know Beto appeared to be charismatic in his Senate run last fall, but he was running against Ted Cruz.
Damn near anyone would appear charismatic running against that bloodless slime-ball.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
After the word Silverman, there’s an angle bracket, a period and a slash. If you would be kind enough to remove that errant period, it should correct.
dww44
@tobie: Yep. I’ve a brother across the state line who says he didn’t vote for Trump but watches Fox constantly and now genuinely buys into the Trump witch hunt meme by the liberal media and Democrats. He is the very essence of the right’s tribalism, aided and abetted by Fox News.. Interestingly, his wife is a lifelong Democrat, as is his daughter.
NotMax
@NotMax
Whoopsie. That was not intentional. Purely distraction from a phone call from the landlady.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Apparently not.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: The problem wasn’t the period. The problem is you seem to be missing after my name. In both comments. I just fixed this one. I’ll go back and fix the other one now.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Okey dokey, I’ll just repost it here and you can delete the original error version.
@Adam L. Silverman
The whole now cut short Phase II franchise is an obvious labor of love, and more hit than miss what with the participation of original Star Trek alumni as writers and contributors and even guest stars. Keep in mind the one linked is an early effort (and once a new Kirk came aboard, the fit and finish became smoother). The guy in the trailer playing Kirk is the executive producer and main driving force behind the entire project, but I’ll be the first to admit is out of his depth as James Tiberius. Be thankful I didn’t link to the very first episode, wherein he was essentially wearing the same wig he dons as a professional Elvis impersonator.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@plato: You do know there are folk here who have run for office?
jk
@Mandalay:
@waratah:
I remain deeply underwhelmed by Beto and I find his choice not to endorse Will Hurd’s opponent disgusting. Trump is a malignant cancer and an existential threat to the Constitution so I have no zero tolerance for people like Beto or Biden (see his comments about Fred Upton) who refuse to endorse Democratic politicians or offer tacit support for Republican politicians.
It’s not enough to beat Trump, we need to defeat as many Republican politicians as possible and make 2020 another blue wave.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
so there’s probably only like a 50% chance this is trump-related, right?
Betty Cracker
@Mandalay: Ouch is right.
Jay
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
No, it’s probably only 99.9% Dolt 45 related.
SenyorDave
OT, woke up and can’t sleep. On Yahoo News I saw this as one of the top stories:
Jennifer Lopez Works Out in Sheer-Paneled Leggings and Bright Orange Nikes With A-Rod
I guess yesterday was a slow news day.
I literally can’t find a headline about Manafort. I hope people care about this, but sometimes I wonder whether BJ’ers like myself live in a bubble. I’m praying that a member or two of the true inner circle gets indicted soon. Mostly for political reasons, but also so Trump’s life is more of a living hell than it is right now.
cokane
@Adam L Silverman: great sounding rhetoric in a vacuum but largely worthless advice practically speaking. Doesn’t concede the scarcity problem for one. You can’t win every race and you don’t have infinite resources (including quality candidates) to max out in every race. It’s also entirely possible that a candidate could be “the best possible match for a constituency” and is STILL better served running in a different race.
O’Rourke has far higher odds of winning a national race against Trump than he would a Texas race against Cornyn. O’Rourke has a fine argument that he adds something as a VP as well. There’s no currently-available empirical evidence that O’Rourke has good odds against Cornyn.
Mr. Kite
Holy shit, the guy is on a total ego trip. He has no positions, just Himself as the answer to everything.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/03/beto-orourke-cover-story?verso=true
Jay
@SenyorDave:
Google Manifort.
Push News Feeds like Yahoo use tracking and algorithms to rank news stories, so everybody who used Yahoo to shop for yoga clothes or find a yoga studio helped “push” that story to the top of the page.
sukabi
@Jay: maybe if you put caramel on it…
Gozer
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: And on the same day the Bonanno boss and consigliere were acquitted of racketeering charges. Also apparently there was a massive cocaine seizure in Jersey last month and Gene Gotti and Sammy Gravano we’re recently released from prison.
Crazy.
Shalimar
Cornyn still has a year to decide he doesn’t need this shit anymore and retire. Beto can always switch back to the Senate campaign if an easier opponent emerges.
plato
@Omnes Omnibus: Coming from a totally humorless and the most boring man in this blog, it is hilarious.
Mike J
Phoney Betomania has biten the dust
Kdaug
@Amir Khalid:
Interesting. No snark –
What does a good Republican look like?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike J: Is that from the song “Austin Calling”?
OzarkHillbilly
@Kdaug: Pretty nice dressed in a coffin.
Amir Khalid
@Mr. Kite:
I didn’t get that at all. It takes a buttload of self-belief to run for president, and Beto’s got that. Is he vague on policy? Yeah; but the sense I get is that it’s not because he’s not smart enough or isn’t working at it, but it’s early days and he doesn’t have a policy shop put together yet.
A note for the web wizards: the site is sluggish. It is slow to load, and sometimes hangs for several seconds. And the curser frequently freezes while I am typing a comment in the comment box.
Amir Khalid
@Kdaug:
Abe, Ike, Teddy. Bobby Three Sticks?
janesays
@trollhattan: There’s not going to be a “not cool kids table” at the debates. They’re going to allow a maximum of 20 candidates to participate based on specific criteria, and if they have so many they need to split the debates into 2 night events, they’re going to assign the candidates to each night in a completely random drawing. So there will be big names and little names sharing the same stage.
Sherparick
@joel hanes: And how they will be able to get anything done with Scott McConnell running the Senate.
Bobby Thomson
Anyone who cuts into Wilmer’s support is welcome.
And if he couldn’t beat even the most hated person in the Senate in a Texas-wide election in a wave election with LatinX voters as motivated as they ever will be, there’s no way in hell he’d beat Cornyn.
RAM
Beto’s an impressive guy, but his Presidential campaign’s going nowhere. He ought to run for U.S. Senate.
chopper
@Anne Laurie:
to be fair, it’s his blog.
Belafon
He will not beat Cornyn. If Texas wouldn’t let him beat the most hated Republican in Texas, he’s not going to beat the second most powerful Republican in the Senate. Please get over this idea that he’ll do better the second time around. What would end up happening is the second loss would make him a permanent loser and his career would be over.
A more likely scenario to beat Cornyn is this: Beto ends up as VP and is an additional pull for a really good candidate, like Castro or Hegar.
Put him up on the Democratic stage. He’ll be another white guy that looks a lot better than that crusty old man that’s a Democrat in years divisible by four.
Belafon
@oldgold: Beto was actually only near Cruz at the debates. Otherwise, he was running around the state, meeting people. He ran exactly the type of campaign that would have won in a state that could actually think, not here in Texas.
Skepticat
SPOT ON.
janesays
@Bobby Thomson: That’s not really a fair characterization. O’Rourke came closer to winning a statewide race in Texas than any other candidate in the past 25 years. It’s not as if a different candidate would have done better against Cruz. Texas just isn’t quite there yet
Singing Truth to Power
Not crazy about Beto. His statement that he was born for this (running for president) makes me cringe, and want to run from him. On a very superficial level, the flailing around of his arms while speaking distracts me greatly. It also triggered alarms when both MSNBC and CNN covered his speaking at a coffee shop in Iowa this morning in full – it was too much like the early days when they covered Trump rallies wall to wall.
Dupe1970
As a Texan I love him for Texas but as an American he’s not the right fit for President.
Josie
How many times do those of us who live in Texas have to tell those of us who do not that Beto cannot beat Cornyn for a Senate seat? If he wants to remain viable in politics, he is doing the only thing he can. He can possibly snag a VP slot or a cabinet post and build his resume. He cannot win a statewide election at this time. Maybe later but not now.
RobertDSC-iPhone 6
He supported a Republican over a Democrat. He’s a white man.
No thanks.
VividBlueDotty
@Belafon: I think this thread might be over, but I had to say thank you for that explainer. I’ve been saying the same for so long, I’m tired of repeating myself.
Some time on the national stage will be good for him and could very probably pay dividends for the party like the scenario you mentioned.
lurker dean
@Mike J: i see what you did there [golfclap]
Scamp Dog
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Well played!
wonkie
John, you are so right about the Senate!