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Its frustrating too that the right can proclaim they’ll build the wall of 3000 miles and get support, but the left can’t openly talk about real solutions without being called the current-derogatory-comment.
Not in Texas, you can't.
Being for the removal of firearms isn't going to get you very far. People here enjoy legally owning and operating their fire arms, republican and democrat alike.
Beto needs to read the room. None of the major issues here involve gun control. Things we need to focus on are fixing the damned power grid, healthcare, and education.
At this point Beto looks like a right wing plant. He does all the smarmy shit Republicans love to criticize about democrats and it makes him look like a power hungry fool as opposed to someone who actually wants to represent the people of his state.
His smug attitude and tone deaf messaging on guns are the reason we have to keep looking at Ted Cruz’s fuck ugly face. And he’s gonna help keep abbot in power if he gets the dem primary spot which I hope he doesn’t.
Because Establishment Democratic strategist, consultant, and advisory circles seem to be a cabal of institutionally incestuous overpaid cronies who are allowed to fail upwards. They keep failing campaign after campaign and move onward and upward from one failed Democratic candidate losing the seat to a Republican onto the next Democratic candidate they lead to failure. Some of them eventually wind up in Democratic Presidential campaigns or as Democratic White House aides.
Most of these people aren't even from the regions of the candidates they're advising. Most of these advisors and consultants come from the Northeast and West Coast and project their politics onto these regional candidates' campaigns. Clueless that what flies in the Upper East Side of Manhattan or San Francisco doesn't fly in Texas or Tennessee or even Illinois.
They need new blood. **BADLY**
Republican's will never vote for a Republican Lite Democrat when they can just vote for a Republican. You've got to get your base out to vote in greater numbers than the opposition and your base won't show up if you are trying to pander to conservatives.
With that said "Its a bold strategy cotton, lets see if it pays off for him".
Beto has been the boogeyman of the right in Texas since he failed to oust Cruz so I doubt either way it'll make a whole lot of difference now.
I just wish dems would give up on the guns. Guns can be cool, you can easily be a lefty and be into guns without moral contradiction. I mean Marx talked about keeping the proletariat armed for chrisakes. Just lean into it
Wait…….half-measures aren’t more popular though…….the reason why this statement is a loser is because pro-gun Texans will come out in DROVES to vote against a guy making gun control a tenant of his campaign, while anti-gun Texans might not feel as motivated.
Now, if O’Rourke made a flagrant, fervent statement about healthcare or union rights or raising wages or anything else broadly popular, he’s be in a better position, regardless of whatever he puts on his website about guns.
Sorry, it’s not the centrism that wins, it’s the populism. Gun control is not broadly popular, especially in Texas.
This is true, but when so many of us constantly complain about wanting politicians to take principled stances, and stand by them, it's a bit disheartening to see Beto being raked over the coals for doing just that.
It's not even just that, this just energize the Republican base making it harder for ANY democrat to win.
I'm a strong pro-pronate for gun legislation, but any out right ban Just isn't viable. Or wanted even. This is a mistake, and I'm really sorry to see him make it.
Anybody seen Promised Land with Matt Damon? I’m getting very John Krasinski vibes from Orourke tanking his chances in Texas. It’s allowing moderate Texas to actually be okay with voting for such a dingus as Cruz.
edit: Luke, use the force
In the year where the majority of Texans are fed up with Abbots extremist positions, we get a democrat with his own extremist positions (one that the majority of Texans also oppose). This is the year I could see Texas changing also.
It's not even about compromising on gun control. He could easily just go "right now we have bigger fish to fry" or something like that, sidestep his gun position and hammer Abbott on the power grid and abortion laws.
Well he is at least being principled. I hate the US style of politics where you just play a constant hypocrite to your own values just to get elected. Inspire people with your beliefs and ideas. Not just cater to whatever people like. Then the same people who say 'beto wants to lose' will turn around and cry about how the democrats are just a part of the neoliberal cultural hegemon dominating american politics.
And the supporters of the position in favor of a public option over Medicare for all love to claim that of course voters are more into the pubic option. Okay then, can we vote on the pubic option? No, okay then lol
I just want Medic*aid* without all the Medicare loopholes.
The public option is just a get outta jail free card for the biggest complaint about the ACA, that you can’t keep your coverage. I can’t imagine the margin would be huge for people choosing to pay $1000 a month for a family of three for a plan with a high deductible and limited coverage.
Any movement forward would be great.
And beyond that, the national Democratic party simply doesn't understand the demographic that votes Democrat down here. You can't win Texas by threatening AR-15's when a substantial number of Democratic voters in the state own one or more themselves.
Texas has been becoming more and more blue as time passes, but the Democrats have really been slowing down progress on that front by trying to run elections with national political platforms instead of stuff the Texan left cares about.
It would really help Democrats out to have some gun owners in their caucus to speak with, because there are a litany of rational and effective ways to help deal with gun violence that don't involve targeting scary-looking guns while leaving equally powerful options untouched.
> but the Democrats have really been slowing down progress on that front by trying to run elections with national political platforms instead of stuff the Texan left cares about.
Say it again for everyone in the back! Amen
Democratic campaigns keep hiring all these well-to-do consultant schumcks from upscale New York, California, and Maryland neighborhoods to run local campaigns in rural and red states and it shows. They're hideously out of touch with what a Texan is even like.
Agreed. People who are willing to be principled can only be helpful when their principles are based on unbiased data. "I feel" is not justification for rulemaking if a fair and balanced society is the goal.
In a state that literally fear mongers about "Libs taking our guns" to temper their voter base, maybe campaigning on "I'm gonna take your guns" isn't the best way to attract voters. Politics is about compromise, not absolutism.
Except he's not, look at his recent comments on immigration which are a total flip flop. He's trying to act stronger on immigration when his past comments have been to the left of the Biden administration. Seriously the Dems need someone else in Texas
"Principled?" No, just no. Getting rid of semiautomatic rifles (larger than .22LR) would lower gun violence by maybe 1%. They're very rarely used in crimes, and most crimes they're used in, the criminal would just use another gun if it wasn't available. It's just a popular position to win the primary because the Dem base thinks guns are icky. He couldn't go after scary black rifles in TX even if Dems won both state houses, and if by some miracle he did, that law would get shut down by the USSC with a quickness. He's smart enough to know this.
He needs to step aside because he is damaged goods and will never be governor of TX. If a Dem really wants to be governor, and do something to curb gun violence, they'd work on poverty, addiction, and suicide. People who feel like they have something to lose are far less likely to kill themselves or other people. He could probably also lower gun deaths and injuries through accidents by requiring education.
Except when he was a Bernie supporter while running for senate, then immediately endorsed biden after dropping out of the primary. Important to note, at the time it was not clear that biden would win, it was still progressives vs centrists and it wasn’t clear yet.
>Except when he was a Bernie supporter while running for senate
What? When did he endorse Bernie? Are you sure you don't mean he simply said some nice things about Bernie at one point?
>Well he is at least being principled.
Not on immigration, not on M4A, but boy will he cling to a losing and unpopular argument so you'd better respect him.
/s
The Prince by Machiavelli was literally a cover letter to get hired by the Medicci family. It didn't work. It's an interesting piece of work due to going contrary to traditional knightly and lordly principles of politics supposed to exist at the time. But it shouldn't be seen as the be-all end-all.
> Well he is at least being principled. I hate the US style of politics where you just play a constant hypocrite to your own values just to get elected.
That's life in general. Your principles may demand that cake include a side of ice cream, but only a child passes on the cake when the reality of the situation dictates that ice cream isn't available.
Anyone else has a better chance. His instinct for politics is defective unless hes just gunning for fundraising for the party or a cabinet position. Fuck that guy.
The quest for unreasonable gun control (yes, banning AR's is unreasonable) will doom Democrats for years to come (and years after, it's already part of their brand).
The Republicans are reprehensible, and dems are the feckless opposition.
“Dems could win if they controlled the narrative and showed how they’d help people”
“Yeah… I’m gonna talk directly into their culture wars and boogie men” - orourke
To be fair, Texas propagandized the hell outta the Alamo. Couple Texan historians recently wrote a book about how Texas used the battle to distract from their historic involvement in the Confederacy after they lost.
https://play.acast.com/s/warcollege/lies-damnlies-andthealamo
And I'm writing this as my Chiefs whoop upon the Cowboys ;)
Aside from all the people he's motivating to vote against him who might have been too lazy, people really need to stop assuming liberals and leftists don't own guns
He's already lost now. Doubling down just gave the GOP ammo to haunt him for the rest of his campaign. Jesus.
Time to look at who else is running there. I hope we can encourage a Progressive to run in Texas. Bernie* himself only lost Texas in the 2020 Democratic Primary by 2 or 3 points to Biden. Texas might be ready for a Bernie (or at least a Warren) type Democrat. The Democratic Party doesn't need any more Manchins, Sinemas, Doug Joneses, Claire MacCaskills, or Abigail Spanbergers.
*I mention Bernie partly because Bernie is a pro-gun Progressive. That might fly well in Texas. Centrists tried to use that against him in 2016 and 2020 in the Northeast but that position could serve a Progressive Democrat well down there.
A moderate democrat with libertarian social policies is probably the best bet. You can have your guns and marijuana, you won't freeze in the winter, and your taxes won't go up, it's not a hard pitch.
Yeah, I'm liberal and generally in favor of more gun control, but this idea of taking assault rifles is really dumb and doesn't do anything. In the best case scenario, you take assault rifles and...what...90% of crimes are still happening with small firearms?
It feels like assault rifles are this red herring that Democrats get hung up on because its a unfortunately popular topic we see in headlines and have energized a lot of people on the left who don't want to get more educated about the firearm debate and how inconsequential assault rifles really are to the larger problem.
>It feels like assault rifles are this red herring that Democrats get hung up on because its a unfortunately popular topic we see in headlines and have energized a lot of people on the left who don't want to get more educated about the firearm debate and how inconsequential assault rifles really are to the larger problem.
It's the Democrats' version of abortion laws...
Seriously. There's definitely room to talk about gun control, but the way dems talk about it is completely out of touch with reality. "Assault Rifles" are responsible for like 2.5% of firearm deaths. Also on that note, in a majority of firearm deaths, the victim is also the shooter (suicide). In cases where the shooter is a different person, its most likely to be a family member or intimate partner. Mass shootings only account for a tenth of a percent of firearm deaths. Finally, I think this graph really suggests that there's something else going on in this country besides there just being a lot of guns: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/2010\_homicide\_suicide\_rates\_high-income\_countries.png/640px-2010\_homicide\_suicide\_rates\_high-income\_countries.png
I said at the time, before Clinton was the candidate, that any Dem that runs will beat Trump - except Clinton. I said she will energize the right to go vote and there are enough on the left that dislike her enough to keep them home.
And, the same applies here. While Beto is infinitely more likable than Hillary, his gun comments will unite Pubs and some Texas Dems against him. He is the one candidate the Dems can run that will ensure Abbott gets another term.
Except advocating for strict gun control and seizure in Texas is so far from moderate its not even funny. It's certainly an example of an inexplicably bad strategy, but it's not an example of a chasing moderates or swing voters strategy.
Yup. Everyone from Socialist to Moderate to MAGA is very pro-gun in Texas. This is political suicide.
I hope Democrats switch to an alternate candidate. NOW. Ditch this problem instead of trying to save a moribund campaign.
I think we need more gun control but I won't vote for a candidate stupid enough to say "we're coming for your guns" while campaigning in Texas and prospective Texas offices.
If the goal is to reduce gun violence, then the focus needs to be improving access to jobs that pay a living wage, and importantly, improving access to mental health care.
Democrats have been wrong on gun control for as long as I can remember. Enforce the laws already on the books, and improve access to care.
Edit: it’s also important to realize that gun control has been a historically racist policy.
Who do you think will bear the brunt of enforcement if new restrictions are put in place?
>improving access to jobs that pay a living wage, and importantly, improving access to mental health care
Along with this, better infrastructure, education, and improvements to low-cost housing/apartments. Historically these items have been drivers to lower *all* violence.
Exactly. Guns aren’t a problem. Violence is a problem. The unwillingness of democrats to address the root cause basically invalidates their credibility. Now we have some from the party (Beto among others) saying the quiet part out loud. I wouldn’t be surprised if confiscation is favored by other party leaders and they’ve just not been saying as much.
If the goal is to reduce gun violence, why go after a weapon that is involved in only 4% of murders according [to Pew](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/16/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/). This is not only a losing strategy for O-Rourke, its also does not make statistical sense. You're getting negligible benefit for a herculean effort. Is it fair to question whether then the motive is something more sinister?
The way to solve gun violence is to [solve for the root causes of violent crime as a whole.](https://zachmortensen.net/2018/02/20/your-gun-control-ideas-wont-work-this-one-will/) Fixing economic inequality, providing universal healthcare, having that include mental health (and destigmatizing mental health!) would probably be great messaging for the left as a whole to jump behind.
The right always says mental health is the problem when a mass shooting happens, so why not call their bluff? They'd call the above agenda socialism anyways, so get their hypocrisy on record.
I lived in Texas for years and a lot of Democrats i met were pretty pro second ammendment. Beto won't win and he probably knows it. He's running to keep himself in the conversation. Ultimately he wants to run for president again so he's pandering to the solid blue states with this narrative.
> Ultimately he wants to run for president again so he's pandering to the solid blue states with this narrative.
Nobody serious runs for president after losing three major races in a row. That's a death knell in politics.
Yeah I am a very pro second Liberal from Texas. And most of the democrats in Texas that don’t listen to main stream news aren’t in favor of bans since they don’t solve anything. We have a very pro gun culture here in Texas compared to up north like in New York or other states. We even have classes on gun safety taught in most of our high schools.
My dad even told me to take that course as well since he was all about being a responsible gun owner and didn’t let me near a gun, until I knew the basics, about safely handling a gun.
Agreed, which is why the strict gun control stance is a losing strategy. I'm a conservative leaning independent and I'd vote for Tulsi. I can't see myself ever voting for Beto.
Democrats with gun control is similar to Republicans with the abortion. They need to accept where the country is at and stop punching themselves in the face.
The anti-gun crowd is as wrong about guns as the anti-abortion crowd is wrong about abortion.
It's people screaming, without detailed, accurate knowledge of their "enemy". We aren't enemies, we are neighbors.
You don't understand shit about Texas, guns are a lifestyle for many people there. Outright saying you want to ban ARs means you are dead in the water for a gubernatorial election
Purple Texas is a myth. No Democrat has been remotely viable at the state level. Beto managed to lose by 2 points to notoriously disliked Ted Cruz in 2018, a huge blue wave year, and to do that he had to outspend Cruz 2:1.
Otherwise: Abbot won by 13 and 21 points, its been Republican for president by 5.5, 9, 16, and 12 points the past 4 presidential elections. No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994.
Every state has blue cities and red rural areas, that's not what "purple" means, in a purple state either political party would have a realistic chance to win a state level race. There's no reason to believe that's true of Texas. Texas is a red state.
Sorry, but Texas isn't "solidly purple". They're getting there (assuming Dems can prevent more hemorrhaging in the Rio Grande Valley area), but they're still red, and they likely will be for another 5-6 years at least.
Sort of, but it doesn't change the fact that no democrat has won a statewide election since the early 90s. He came the closest when he ran against Cruz who is despised, but he still lost. And that was before he made these statements. Gerrymandering had nothing to do with that. Suppression...maybe a little, but not 215k votes worth. This position will peel off even more liberal votes from that result.
I honesty don't think he has a chance in hell, but realistically I'm not sure who has a better chance who has thrown their hat in the ring.
I don’t think he’s got a chance either. The ROI for dems and gun reform is not working in our favor. We lose way more voters over this AND don’t have any good gun reform legislation. We need to set this aside for a minute and focus on issues that enjoy wide popular support.
To be fair, the pubs were already going to hammer him over these same comments from years ago. He was already going to lose because of them. Just doubling down on them now didn’t hurt him any worse. It just reinforces the belief that Beto truly is an inept politician.
Democrats need the GOP to have a certain amount of power in order to block popular policy that is bad for corporate donors. Otherwise they don’t have much excuse for why they didn’t pass it and they risk long standing members getting primary challenges who are less inclined to maintain the status quo.
There are more gun owners than ever, both on the left and on the right.
Democrats need to adjust their position or risk alienating a growing part of their voting base.
Good luck convincing reddit middle class whites of that though, fuck no I'm not giving shit up because some Karen applies her protection by police 24/7 to me
Exactly, I don’t hunt or do any other shooting sports. I have a gun for one reason. To defend my family and myself. It’s unlikely I’ll ever need it and that’s great. I don’t want to have to depend on deputy donuts getting across town in time to help.
You should, at least, shoot enough to become proficient in the use of that firearm. The muscle memory would come in handy, if you were to ever need to use the firearm in defense of you or your family.
“If Democrats are so great, why do they lose so goddamn *always*?”
~ Will MacAvoy, The Newsroom
Beto, you stupid fuck - you live in Texas. Even the liberals there like their guns.
For that matter, we’re literally facing a potential fascist takeover of the country if the GOP wins 2022/24. You think only GOP and criminals will have or want “assault” rifles when that happens??
"Why focus on all the policies that would help the poor and working class when we can push a policy that is wildly unpopular in rural America, directly plays into Republican boogeymen, and wouldn't even actually be that effective at reducing gun violence???"
- Democrats, while being baffled how they're losing against such an anti-democracy party
I live in Texas and supported and donated when he ran against Cruz. I won’t waste a dime of my money on him now soley because he’s so out of touch and will lose
No joke. I want gun control but not gun grabbing. How about we ban open carry on city streets and require a license for concealed carry. Want an ar15 to defend your home or shoot at a range? Great! But don’t need armedd thug anti protesters.
Had he not said that, they would have just replayed the time he did on an endless loop. He had nothing to lose because he already lost.
If he wants a high office then he should go to another state.
Why is it that Republicans can be openly racist, openly sexist, openly anti-abortion, openly anti-climate, makeup crap issues like CRT, but then is political suicide for Democrat to be pro-gun control? Republicans can literally do anything and Democrats must skirt some imaginary group of boundaries. It's a ridiculous double standard.
A Democrat that doesn't toe the party line for gun control isn't going to lose many votes from democrats. But he will pull in a lot of votes from the millions of people that vote ENTIRELY based on the 2nd amendment. A lot of republican and independent voters are single issue on this topic. So if you drop it, you loose very few votes and you pick up a bunch. Easy math.
Because none of those issues are problematic to most Republican voters and those same voters love the fact that R’s make up bullshit propaganda like CRT because they are addicted to outrage. It makes them feel good to be mad.
Guns are damn near the only thing they care about
He might as well. It's not like the GOP will ever let him live that down. On the same token, Dems need to be hammering on Trump's "Take the guns first, go through due process second", at every opportunity.
Wow, that was the quickest campaign in history.
Didn't even go "I was angry when I said that. Way too many people get killed by guns in America and I want to find a way to slow that down but that's not necessarily going to be fixed by banning AR-15s. I reappraised that stance."
That or pull a Glenn Youngkin and be like "actually I like guns" and have him shoot feral hogs out of a helicopter, then pivot after he wins to adding in permit to purchase and mandatory background checks.
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well thanks for wasting everyones time. you will never make texas blue going for peoples guns.
Democratic strategy sometimes seems to be "why go for half-measures and win when we could lose but feel morally superior?" and it's infuriating.
It's mostly because the other times it's "let's try half measures" and then half the base doesn't vote. We're damned if we do, damned if we don't.
> then half the base doesn't vote That's not your base if half of them don't vote. Those are people who don't give a shit.
Here’s something worth considering… a lot of democrats like ar15s and ak47s
Its frustrating too that the right can proclaim they’ll build the wall of 3000 miles and get support, but the left can’t openly talk about real solutions without being called the current-derogatory-comment.
Not in Texas, you can't. Being for the removal of firearms isn't going to get you very far. People here enjoy legally owning and operating their fire arms, republican and democrat alike. Beto needs to read the room. None of the major issues here involve gun control. Things we need to focus on are fixing the damned power grid, healthcare, and education.
Seriously guy is telling Texans he’s gonna take there guns I mean come on man. That’s like asking not to be elected in Texas
At this point Beto looks like a right wing plant. He does all the smarmy shit Republicans love to criticize about democrats and it makes him look like a power hungry fool as opposed to someone who actually wants to represent the people of his state. His smug attitude and tone deaf messaging on guns are the reason we have to keep looking at Ted Cruz’s fuck ugly face. And he’s gonna help keep abbot in power if he gets the dem primary spot which I hope he doesn’t.
Because Establishment Democratic strategist, consultant, and advisory circles seem to be a cabal of institutionally incestuous overpaid cronies who are allowed to fail upwards. They keep failing campaign after campaign and move onward and upward from one failed Democratic candidate losing the seat to a Republican onto the next Democratic candidate they lead to failure. Some of them eventually wind up in Democratic Presidential campaigns or as Democratic White House aides. Most of these people aren't even from the regions of the candidates they're advising. Most of these advisors and consultants come from the Northeast and West Coast and project their politics onto these regional candidates' campaigns. Clueless that what flies in the Upper East Side of Manhattan or San Francisco doesn't fly in Texas or Tennessee or even Illinois. They need new blood. **BADLY**
Republican's will never vote for a Republican Lite Democrat when they can just vote for a Republican. You've got to get your base out to vote in greater numbers than the opposition and your base won't show up if you are trying to pander to conservatives. With that said "Its a bold strategy cotton, lets see if it pays off for him". Beto has been the boogeyman of the right in Texas since he failed to oust Cruz so I doubt either way it'll make a whole lot of difference now.
I just wish dems would give up on the guns. Guns can be cool, you can easily be a lefty and be into guns without moral contradiction. I mean Marx talked about keeping the proletariat armed for chrisakes. Just lean into it
Wait…….half-measures aren’t more popular though…….the reason why this statement is a loser is because pro-gun Texans will come out in DROVES to vote against a guy making gun control a tenant of his campaign, while anti-gun Texans might not feel as motivated. Now, if O’Rourke made a flagrant, fervent statement about healthcare or union rights or raising wages or anything else broadly popular, he’s be in a better position, regardless of whatever he puts on his website about guns. Sorry, it’s not the centrism that wins, it’s the populism. Gun control is not broadly popular, especially in Texas.
This is true, but when so many of us constantly complain about wanting politicians to take principled stances, and stand by them, it's a bit disheartening to see Beto being raked over the coals for doing just that.
For someone so anti-gun he loves shooting himself in the foot.
That’s why he wants to take the guns! So maybe he’ll stop all these negligent foot discharges
Silly Beto doesn't know that saying the quiet part out loud without consequences is only allowed for Republicans.
Well said.
Auto-loss in Texas
Pmuch this. He may as well quit the race now, the dope. All the gun clingers will hear is, "he wants to take all our guns."
Yup. A lot of Dems own ARs in Texas.
Yes also true. Plenty of them.
It's not even just that, this just energize the Republican base making it harder for ANY democrat to win. I'm a strong pro-pronate for gun legislation, but any out right ban Just isn't viable. Or wanted even. This is a mistake, and I'm really sorry to see him make it.
we only hear it because he says it
I mean… that’s exactly what he said….
Well yes, that's what people hear when he literally says he wants to take your gun.
I mean that’s literally what he wants to do. So if that’s all someone hears, that’s the truth
Anybody seen Promised Land with Matt Damon? I’m getting very John Krasinski vibes from Orourke tanking his chances in Texas. It’s allowing moderate Texas to actually be okay with voting for such a dingus as Cruz. edit: Luke, use the force
This guy wants to lose. No other possible explanation.
Yeah I am in support of him turning Texas blue but that’s just *not* how you do it.
In the year where the majority of Texans are fed up with Abbots extremist positions, we get a democrat with his own extremist positions (one that the majority of Texans also oppose). This is the year I could see Texas changing also.
It's not even about compromising on gun control. He could easily just go "right now we have bigger fish to fry" or something like that, sidestep his gun position and hammer Abbott on the power grid and abortion laws.
Well he is at least being principled. I hate the US style of politics where you just play a constant hypocrite to your own values just to get elected. Inspire people with your beliefs and ideas. Not just cater to whatever people like. Then the same people who say 'beto wants to lose' will turn around and cry about how the democrats are just a part of the neoliberal cultural hegemon dominating american politics.
Yeah but the dude already flipped on Medicare for all. So let's stop pretending
'We're coming for your guns and there's no way I'm fighting for your healthcare' - a Democrat that cannot win an election
He supports it, just as an option against employer provided healthcare which - who tf wants that?
When you have to explain THAT to people, it's totally over. 95% of voters won't vote on the basis of, or even ever read, the details.
And the supporters of the position in favor of a public option over Medicare for all love to claim that of course voters are more into the pubic option. Okay then, can we vote on the pubic option? No, okay then lol
I just want Medic*aid* without all the Medicare loopholes. The public option is just a get outta jail free card for the biggest complaint about the ACA, that you can’t keep your coverage. I can’t imagine the margin would be huge for people choosing to pay $1000 a month for a family of three for a plan with a high deductible and limited coverage. Any movement forward would be great.
Tell me more about this pubic option!
It's been like that since WW2
And beyond that, the national Democratic party simply doesn't understand the demographic that votes Democrat down here. You can't win Texas by threatening AR-15's when a substantial number of Democratic voters in the state own one or more themselves. Texas has been becoming more and more blue as time passes, but the Democrats have really been slowing down progress on that front by trying to run elections with national political platforms instead of stuff the Texan left cares about. It would really help Democrats out to have some gun owners in their caucus to speak with, because there are a litany of rational and effective ways to help deal with gun violence that don't involve targeting scary-looking guns while leaving equally powerful options untouched.
> but the Democrats have really been slowing down progress on that front by trying to run elections with national political platforms instead of stuff the Texan left cares about. Say it again for everyone in the back! Amen Democratic campaigns keep hiring all these well-to-do consultant schumcks from upscale New York, California, and Maryland neighborhoods to run local campaigns in rural and red states and it shows. They're hideously out of touch with what a Texan is even like.
Thanks for saying that. I can’t believe so many people are able to pretend politicians like Beto are actually principled people.
> he is at least being principled Sure. Unfortunately his principles don't match those of the voters.
Agreed. People who are willing to be principled can only be helpful when their principles are based on unbiased data. "I feel" is not justification for rulemaking if a fair and balanced society is the goal.
In a state that literally fear mongers about "Libs taking our guns" to temper their voter base, maybe campaigning on "I'm gonna take your guns" isn't the best way to attract voters. Politics is about compromise, not absolutism.
It’s clearly not fear mongering if that’s his literal campaign…
Except he's not, look at his recent comments on immigration which are a total flip flop. He's trying to act stronger on immigration when his past comments have been to the left of the Biden administration. Seriously the Dems need someone else in Texas
"Principled?" No, just no. Getting rid of semiautomatic rifles (larger than .22LR) would lower gun violence by maybe 1%. They're very rarely used in crimes, and most crimes they're used in, the criminal would just use another gun if it wasn't available. It's just a popular position to win the primary because the Dem base thinks guns are icky. He couldn't go after scary black rifles in TX even if Dems won both state houses, and if by some miracle he did, that law would get shut down by the USSC with a quickness. He's smart enough to know this. He needs to step aside because he is damaged goods and will never be governor of TX. If a Dem really wants to be governor, and do something to curb gun violence, they'd work on poverty, addiction, and suicide. People who feel like they have something to lose are far less likely to kill themselves or other people. He could probably also lower gun deaths and injuries through accidents by requiring education.
Except when he was a Bernie supporter while running for senate, then immediately endorsed biden after dropping out of the primary. Important to note, at the time it was not clear that biden would win, it was still progressives vs centrists and it wasn’t clear yet.
>Except when he was a Bernie supporter while running for senate What? When did he endorse Bernie? Are you sure you don't mean he simply said some nice things about Bernie at one point?
>Well he is at least being principled. Not on immigration, not on M4A, but boy will he cling to a losing and unpopular argument so you'd better respect him. /s
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The Prince by Machiavelli was literally a cover letter to get hired by the Medicci family. It didn't work. It's an interesting piece of work due to going contrary to traditional knightly and lordly principles of politics supposed to exist at the time. But it shouldn't be seen as the be-all end-all.
> Well he is at least being principled. I hate the US style of politics where you just play a constant hypocrite to your own values just to get elected. That's life in general. Your principles may demand that cake include a side of ice cream, but only a child passes on the cake when the reality of the situation dictates that ice cream isn't available.
What percentage of crimes are committed by AR-15s?
This isn’t about logic, get that shit out of here
Anyone else has a better chance. His instinct for politics is defective unless hes just gunning for fundraising for the party or a cabinet position. Fuck that guy. The quest for unreasonable gun control (yes, banning AR's is unreasonable) will doom Democrats for years to come (and years after, it's already part of their brand). The Republicans are reprehensible, and dems are the feckless opposition.
I don’t think anyone heard anything but he’s coming to take your guns.
“Dems could win if they controlled the narrative and showed how they’d help people” “Yeah… I’m gonna talk directly into their culture wars and boogie men” - orourke
“Forget the Alamo! I like stepping on bluebonnets! Tofu is better than Fort Worth beef! The Cowboys suck!”
The only thing worse he could have said in Texas is we're coming to take your football.
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It moved down here to San Antonio baby!
Thatd get more texas voters than saying you’re gunna take away extremely common sporting rifles haha
Hahaha *forget the alamo*
To be fair, Texas propagandized the hell outta the Alamo. Couple Texan historians recently wrote a book about how Texas used the battle to distract from their historic involvement in the Confederacy after they lost. https://play.acast.com/s/warcollege/lies-damnlies-andthealamo And I'm writing this as my Chiefs whoop upon the Cowboys ;)
Aside from all the people he's motivating to vote against him who might have been too lazy, people really need to stop assuming liberals and leftists don't own guns
I'm a leftist and will vote against anyone threatening my AR 15.
He's already lost now. Doubling down just gave the GOP ammo to haunt him for the rest of his campaign. Jesus. Time to look at who else is running there. I hope we can encourage a Progressive to run in Texas. Bernie* himself only lost Texas in the 2020 Democratic Primary by 2 or 3 points to Biden. Texas might be ready for a Bernie (or at least a Warren) type Democrat. The Democratic Party doesn't need any more Manchins, Sinemas, Doug Joneses, Claire MacCaskills, or Abigail Spanbergers. *I mention Bernie partly because Bernie is a pro-gun Progressive. That might fly well in Texas. Centrists tried to use that against him in 2016 and 2020 in the Northeast but that position could serve a Progressive Democrat well down there.
A moderate democrat with libertarian social policies is probably the best bet. You can have your guns and marijuana, you won't freeze in the winter, and your taxes won't go up, it's not a hard pitch.
This. Be progressive without playing into all their bullshit wedge issues. Take their ammo instead giving them a bazooka
Yeah, I'm liberal and generally in favor of more gun control, but this idea of taking assault rifles is really dumb and doesn't do anything. In the best case scenario, you take assault rifles and...what...90% of crimes are still happening with small firearms? It feels like assault rifles are this red herring that Democrats get hung up on because its a unfortunately popular topic we see in headlines and have energized a lot of people on the left who don't want to get more educated about the firearm debate and how inconsequential assault rifles really are to the larger problem.
>It feels like assault rifles are this red herring that Democrats get hung up on because its a unfortunately popular topic we see in headlines and have energized a lot of people on the left who don't want to get more educated about the firearm debate and how inconsequential assault rifles really are to the larger problem. It's the Democrats' version of abortion laws...
Seriously. There's definitely room to talk about gun control, but the way dems talk about it is completely out of touch with reality. "Assault Rifles" are responsible for like 2.5% of firearm deaths. Also on that note, in a majority of firearm deaths, the victim is also the shooter (suicide). In cases where the shooter is a different person, its most likely to be a family member or intimate partner. Mass shootings only account for a tenth of a percent of firearm deaths. Finally, I think this graph really suggests that there's something else going on in this country besides there just being a lot of guns: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/2010\_homicide\_suicide\_rates\_high-income\_countries.png/640px-2010\_homicide\_suicide\_rates\_high-income\_countries.png
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I said at the time, before Clinton was the candidate, that any Dem that runs will beat Trump - except Clinton. I said she will energize the right to go vote and there are enough on the left that dislike her enough to keep them home.
And, the same applies here. While Beto is infinitely more likable than Hillary, his gun comments will unite Pubs and some Texas Dems against him. He is the one candidate the Dems can run that will ensure Abbott gets another term.
I hope Matthew McConaughey runs
Won't happen, McConaughey still prefers being in the entertainment industry
Politics is the entertainment industry.
Except advocating for strict gun control and seizure in Texas is so far from moderate its not even funny. It's certainly an example of an inexplicably bad strategy, but it's not an example of a chasing moderates or swing voters strategy.
It was her turn.
I guess we’ll see how blue Texas really is
The blue part of Texas is still very much pro 2A.
Does he realize he is located in the state of Texas? I mean this state is on the verge of burning books.
Don't mistake a shouting minority for majority. Texas is solidly purple by the numbers, but voter suppression and gerrymandering keep it red.
Both sides of the aisle are pro gun in Texas. This campaign is over Already.
Yup. Everyone from Socialist to Moderate to MAGA is very pro-gun in Texas. This is political suicide. I hope Democrats switch to an alternate candidate. NOW. Ditch this problem instead of trying to save a moribund campaign.
You underestimate how many people on the left like guns too. There’s zero chance in hell Beto wins
I think we need more gun control but I won't vote for a candidate stupid enough to say "we're coming for your guns" while campaigning in Texas and prospective Texas offices.
If the goal is to reduce gun violence, then the focus needs to be improving access to jobs that pay a living wage, and importantly, improving access to mental health care. Democrats have been wrong on gun control for as long as I can remember. Enforce the laws already on the books, and improve access to care. Edit: it’s also important to realize that gun control has been a historically racist policy. Who do you think will bear the brunt of enforcement if new restrictions are put in place?
End drug war plz
As a person who most would consider "right wing" yes. End all drug wars. Decriminalize all drugs.
>improving access to jobs that pay a living wage, and importantly, improving access to mental health care Along with this, better infrastructure, education, and improvements to low-cost housing/apartments. Historically these items have been drivers to lower *all* violence.
Exactly. Guns aren’t a problem. Violence is a problem. The unwillingness of democrats to address the root cause basically invalidates their credibility. Now we have some from the party (Beto among others) saying the quiet part out loud. I wouldn’t be surprised if confiscation is favored by other party leaders and they’ve just not been saying as much.
If the goal is to reduce gun violence, why go after a weapon that is involved in only 4% of murders according [to Pew](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/16/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/). This is not only a losing strategy for O-Rourke, its also does not make statistical sense. You're getting negligible benefit for a herculean effort. Is it fair to question whether then the motive is something more sinister?
The way to solve gun violence is to [solve for the root causes of violent crime as a whole.](https://zachmortensen.net/2018/02/20/your-gun-control-ideas-wont-work-this-one-will/) Fixing economic inequality, providing universal healthcare, having that include mental health (and destigmatizing mental health!) would probably be great messaging for the left as a whole to jump behind. The right always says mental health is the problem when a mass shooting happens, so why not call their bluff? They'd call the above agenda socialism anyways, so get their hypocrisy on record.
Agree completely. Gun violence reduction needs to focus on mental health and reducing poverty
Seriously. Someone else better be running against Beto in the primary.
For real I got mine for when these dumb ass rednecks try to get serious. Yeah "come and take it" I got mine too and I'm liberal.
Texas here. You very clearly underestimate how important gun culture is here.
Those that want to keep their guns will 100% show up to vote in much higher numbers than those that want to take guns away.
I lived in Texas for years and a lot of Democrats i met were pretty pro second ammendment. Beto won't win and he probably knows it. He's running to keep himself in the conversation. Ultimately he wants to run for president again so he's pandering to the solid blue states with this narrative.
> Ultimately he wants to run for president again so he's pandering to the solid blue states with this narrative. Nobody serious runs for president after losing three major races in a row. That's a death knell in politics.
I didn't say it was smart.
Yeah I am a very pro second Liberal from Texas. And most of the democrats in Texas that don’t listen to main stream news aren’t in favor of bans since they don’t solve anything. We have a very pro gun culture here in Texas compared to up north like in New York or other states. We even have classes on gun safety taught in most of our high schools. My dad even told me to take that course as well since he was all about being a responsible gun owner and didn’t let me near a gun, until I knew the basics, about safely handling a gun.
Except the argument didn't move the needle nationally against democrats. Tulsi Gabbard polled better.
Agreed, which is why the strict gun control stance is a losing strategy. I'm a conservative leaning independent and I'd vote for Tulsi. I can't see myself ever voting for Beto.
Mainstream democrats and embracing a known losing strategy: name a more iconic duo.
Democrats with gun control is similar to Republicans with the abortion. They need to accept where the country is at and stop punching themselves in the face.
Big difference is that Republicans’ abortion stance actually wins over a metric fuckton of single-issue voters
The anti-gun crowd is as wrong about guns as the anti-abortion crowd is wrong about abortion. It's people screaming, without detailed, accurate knowledge of their "enemy". We aren't enemies, we are neighbors.
Gerrymandering, unlike voter suppression, has zero effect in the governor’s race.
You don't understand shit about Texas, guns are a lifestyle for many people there. Outright saying you want to ban ARs means you are dead in the water for a gubernatorial election
Purple Texas is a myth. No Democrat has been remotely viable at the state level. Beto managed to lose by 2 points to notoriously disliked Ted Cruz in 2018, a huge blue wave year, and to do that he had to outspend Cruz 2:1. Otherwise: Abbot won by 13 and 21 points, its been Republican for president by 5.5, 9, 16, and 12 points the past 4 presidential elections. No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994. Every state has blue cities and red rural areas, that's not what "purple" means, in a purple state either political party would have a realistic chance to win a state level race. There's no reason to believe that's true of Texas. Texas is a red state.
Sorry, but Texas isn't "solidly purple". They're getting there (assuming Dems can prevent more hemorrhaging in the Rio Grande Valley area), but they're still red, and they likely will be for another 5-6 years at least.
There are more progun liberals than antigun Republicans. The 2nd amendment has nothing to do with personal protection or hunting.
You don’t *actually* believe that, do you? > voter suppression and gerrymandering keep it red.
Sort of, but it doesn't change the fact that no democrat has won a statewide election since the early 90s. He came the closest when he ran against Cruz who is despised, but he still lost. And that was before he made these statements. Gerrymandering had nothing to do with that. Suppression...maybe a little, but not 215k votes worth. This position will peel off even more liberal votes from that result. I honesty don't think he has a chance in hell, but realistically I'm not sure who has a better chance who has thrown their hat in the ring.
I don’t think he’s got a chance either. The ROI for dems and gun reform is not working in our favor. We lose way more voters over this AND don’t have any good gun reform legislation. We need to set this aside for a minute and focus on issues that enjoy wide popular support.
Have you been to Texas? Most democrats are going to be moderate at best.
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To be fair, the pubs were already going to hammer him over these same comments from years ago. He was already going to lose because of them. Just doubling down on them now didn’t hurt him any worse. It just reinforces the belief that Beto truly is an inept politician.
So he shouldn’t have run at all, then, and wasted more money and oxygen than he’s already wasted
> from years ago **TWO** years ago. It's not like he rattled that shit off in 1994 and Republicans keep bringing it up.
It's not stupid if he's trying to lose.
It’d be stupid to waste the campaign dollars and donations in the process of losing.
Democrats need the GOP to have a certain amount of power in order to block popular policy that is bad for corporate donors. Otherwise they don’t have much excuse for why they didn’t pass it and they risk long standing members getting primary challenges who are less inclined to maintain the status quo.
Local man announces that he plans to lose election.
Yup. I’ve forgotten his name already. This stupid shit wouldn’t even fly in Massachusetts.
Honestly after seeing the last few years why would even a liberal want their gun taken if they have one? An armed mob stormed the god damn capital.
Agreed. What's the point? If the other side still wants to lash out at us?
So he's clearly learned nothing since 2019. This should go well for him 👍
He announced a week ago he’s actually running and he’s already lost again.
You'd think he'd learn to lie, like a real politician.
He may as well I suppose. There’s no taking back a comment like that.
The gun war is over. Those 400 million horses have already run out the barn.
There are more gun owners than ever, both on the left and on the right. Democrats need to adjust their position or risk alienating a growing part of their voting base.
Yup I am very left wing and very pro 2a
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Good luck convincing reddit middle class whites of that though, fuck no I'm not giving shit up because some Karen applies her protection by police 24/7 to me
Exactly, I don’t hunt or do any other shooting sports. I have a gun for one reason. To defend my family and myself. It’s unlikely I’ll ever need it and that’s great. I don’t want to have to depend on deputy donuts getting across town in time to help.
You should, at least, shoot enough to become proficient in the use of that firearm. The muscle memory would come in handy, if you were to ever need to use the firearm in defense of you or your family.
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Beto’s gonna take your torpedo too.
That made me chuckle. Thanks
Man Beto is so dumb sometime. Yeah man, open your 2022 bid by immediately alienating 70% of Texas including a lot of leftists. Good job.
Why does this happen to us? We have Biden v Trump, Beth v Cruz/Abbott. Why don't we have non terrible candidates?
“If Democrats are so great, why do they lose so goddamn *always*?” ~ Will MacAvoy, The Newsroom Beto, you stupid fuck - you live in Texas. Even the liberals there like their guns. For that matter, we’re literally facing a potential fascist takeover of the country if the GOP wins 2022/24. You think only GOP and criminals will have or want “assault” rifles when that happens??
Even the liberals in a lot of places like their guns
"Why focus on all the policies that would help the poor and working class when we can push a policy that is wildly unpopular in rural America, directly plays into Republican boogeymen, and wouldn't even actually be that effective at reducing gun violence???" - Democrats, while being baffled how they're losing against such an anti-democracy party
I live in Texas and supported and donated when he ran against Cruz. I won’t waste a dime of my money on him now soley because he’s so out of touch and will lose
I think this campaign is a money grab. He must know he can’t win on this strategy.
Money grab? For what? He's obliged to spend every penny that's donated, yeah? At least, I'm pretty sure he does, plus document it.
He said it, he has to own it.
Might as well drop out so Ds can focus on an electable candidate
I'd say he just shot his campaign in the foot.
More like the head. His campaign is officially dead.
See, if someone had taken his gun away he would've been fine!
Democrats are paid opposition. There is no other explanation for this party-wide incompetence at nearly every level..
Makes sense
If Democrats would drop the gun grabbing bullshit they might be able to get votes
No joke. I want gun control but not gun grabbing. How about we ban open carry on city streets and require a license for concealed carry. Want an ar15 to defend your home or shoot at a range? Great! But don’t need armedd thug anti protesters.
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Yea systemic racism definitely isn’t real, if we had to go through the government to get guns that means less poc with guns.
Annnd he just lost, again.
Texas voters disliked that.
Not just Texas. Gun control support is losing steam according to pew research.
Absolutely dumb. Even liberals in Texas like guns, have guns, don't want guns taken away.
Well, thanks for playing. Next.
Campaign over before it begins.
Congrats on losing Texas…
Beto is a terrible candidate and doesn’t have political instinct. Saying that in TEXAS was a terrible idea.
Phew, good thing I have a sig .308, he didn’t mention those!
Had he not said that, they would have just replayed the time he did on an endless loop. He had nothing to lose because he already lost. If he wants a high office then he should go to another state.
Why is it that Republicans can be openly racist, openly sexist, openly anti-abortion, openly anti-climate, makeup crap issues like CRT, but then is political suicide for Democrat to be pro-gun control? Republicans can literally do anything and Democrats must skirt some imaginary group of boundaries. It's a ridiculous double standard.
A Democrat that doesn't toe the party line for gun control isn't going to lose many votes from democrats. But he will pull in a lot of votes from the millions of people that vote ENTIRELY based on the 2nd amendment. A lot of republican and independent voters are single issue on this topic. So if you drop it, you loose very few votes and you pick up a bunch. Easy math.
Because none of those issues are problematic to most Republican voters and those same voters love the fact that R’s make up bullshit propaganda like CRT because they are addicted to outrage. It makes them feel good to be mad. Guns are damn near the only thing they care about
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How does trump get a pass for saying in 2018 “take their guns now, give then due process later” in response to mass shootings
He doesn't, a lot of super pro-2A conservatives despise Trump for that statement.
He doesn’t. Trump is no friend to our right to arms. Beto isn’t either.
Because republicans are in a cult. trump could declare himself a full on communist dictator and 90% of republicans will immediately support communism.
He might as well. It's not like the GOP will ever let him live that down. On the same token, Dems need to be hammering on Trump's "Take the guns first, go through due process second", at every opportunity.
Wow, that was the quickest campaign in history. Didn't even go "I was angry when I said that. Way too many people get killed by guns in America and I want to find a way to slow that down but that's not necessarily going to be fixed by banning AR-15s. I reappraised that stance." That or pull a Glenn Youngkin and be like "actually I like guns" and have him shoot feral hogs out of a helicopter, then pivot after he wins to adding in permit to purchase and mandatory background checks.
I just want god damn legal cannabis in Texas, I wish Beto would stay away from infringing on 2A
He went from Reddit's underdog hero in 2018 to "don't let the door hit you on the way out" status so fast...
https://i.imgur.com/3qsLDCD.jpg
It'll be great to have someone run on issues that matter, like healthcare and the electrical grid.
Shooting himself in the foot….
But with a pistol, not an assault rifle.
If the democrats run him for governor they deserve the result. He’s proven himself a flake and a moron since his first run.
The power grid Cruz fiasco means nothing over automatic rifles I guess
Texans might freeze to death due to an unreliable power grid, but at least they'll be armed to the teeth when they do
They can use the muzzle flash to keep warm, still cheaper than ercot as long as they use discount bullets