Tipsheet

Is This A Sign That Beto O'Rourke's 2020 Presidential Campaign Is On Life Support?

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  June 27, 2019 6:35 PM

The first Democratic debate is over. Part II is tonight. It was a left-wing frenzy of ideas. For all of those moderate Democrats, people say exist out there, you weren’t the target of last night’s debate. It was about seeing who could corner the market in weaponizing the most rabid, left-wing voters in the country. The ones who are to the left of Lenin, who hate America, and above all else despise President Trump. From tax hikes that soar near 80 percent to gun buybacks, the destruction of private health insurance, and promoting open borders—the far left circus was in full bloom. Oh, and abortion, let’s not forget that this is the party that totally and unabashedly supports infanticide. They will even fight for the abortion rights of…transwomen, a sign that this clown show doesn’t even know basic biology. A trans-woman was born male. They can’t have babies. The Washington Post had a good rundown:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) immediately shot her hand up in the air when asked if she would abolish private insurance for tens of millions of Americans as part of a switch to a government-run health-care system.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) deflected when asked about his prior remarks that politicians should avoid demonizing corporations by name.

And former congressman John Delaney (D-Md.), a former business executive who was widely seen as the most centrist candidate on the debate stage, emphasized liberal policy ideas such as raising the minimum wage and enacting paid family leave.

The 10 candidates in Miami on Wednesday night at the Democratic National Committee’s first debate were pressured, one way or another, to respond to the ideas emanating from the party’s left flank.

[…]

Former congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-Tex.) was twice asked by the debate moderators whether he would support a 70 percent top marginal tax rate on the highest-income earners. That rate would have been unthinkable even to Democratic policymakers a few years ago but has been brought to the forefront of the liberal debate by freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). O’Rourke did not answer the question but said America needed to fix an economy “rigged to corporations and to the very wealthiest.”

Yeah, and that part is critical concerning Beto, whose real name is Robert Francis O’Rourke. He’s a white guy. He’s white guy Bob trying to pass himself off as something else because he can speak Spanish, which by the way was pretty horrendous. It’s critical because this was his last hurrah, and the proof of that is that if he were such a threat, opposition research requests on him would be through the roof. They’ve “died off,” according to GOP research outfit America Rising. Folks; even those at that trash outfit Media Matters have noticed that White Guy Bob’s stock has depreciated immensely (via Daily Beast):

…10 weeks after O’Rourke’s official launch, those requests are virtually nonexistent.

“The requests for oppo on him have completely died off,” a staffer at the oppo group said.

The lack of oppo requests suggests a larger problem looming over O’Rourke’s campaign: a visible decline in public interest. Once elevated to the top of Democratic watch-lists, the former congressman is now registering in single digits in several national polls, nosediving from 12 percent in a Quinnipiac poll conducted in March to just 5 percent in the same survey in April.

[…]

Typically, a high level of curiosity in revealing a candidate’s political past is one indicator of their perceived viability. And a noticeable downtick in interest could signal an enthusiasm gap between where O’Rourke started and where he’s ended up in two months.

O’Rourke, himself, seemed to acknowledge the flagging interest in a recent interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.

“I recognize I can do a better job also of talking to a national audience,” O'Rourke said. “I hope that I’m continuing to do better over time, but we’ve been extraordinarily fortunate with the campaign that we’ve run so far.”

But according to an analysis shared with The Daily Beast by Media Matters, a nonprofit that tracks right-wing coverage, even Fox News’ daily mentions of O’Rourke online have visibly declined since he announced his bid, indicating that he may no longer be considered a serious threat as a Democratic contender.

Even former Obama adviser Van Jones thinks Bob is cooked (via The Hill):

CNN political analyst Van Jones suggested that the first Democratic presidential debate Wednesday night may have been White House hopeful Beto O’Rourke’s “last hurrah."

Jones called out the former Texas congressman for not being able to capture the same level of excitement for his presidential bid as he did in his 2018 Senate run against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

“I think he’s done because there was such hope and expectation about him,” Jones said on CNN’s "Anderson Cooper 360" during a panel discussion…

And that was pretty much the consensus of the night: Bob was the big loser. And since we’re speaking Spanish, I would seem with declining popularity and interest, along with saying nothing, tu sueño presidencial está muerto, Bob. 

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As for the rest of the party, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) talked about rural America, the forgotten communities, and the voters that Democrats have ignored in recent years. The voters who flocked to Trump in 2016. His war cry was trying to win them back, though Democrats support tax hikes, mandatory energy policies that will kill middle-class Americans through their electric bills, gun confiscation, destroying health care, promoting open borders, and bashing police officers. Sounds like a great outreach strategy you got there, kids.

Also, don’t forget to read Guy’s analysis.