This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/30/beto-o-rourke-campaign-launch-el-paso
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Beto O'Rourke set to launch 2020 bid with Texas homecoming | Beto O'Rourke set to launch 2020 bid with Texas homecoming |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| As a mix of his all-American roots with the Spanish culture and language he loves, the setting for Beto O’Rourke’s formal presidential campaign launch in El Paso, Texas on Saturday could not have been more apt. On the left, the stage was flanked by a shop selling baseball hats and Levi’s jeans. On the right, an outlet touting “lo mejor en musica en Español”. | As a mix of his all-American roots with the Spanish culture and language he loves, the setting for Beto O’Rourke’s formal presidential campaign launch in El Paso, Texas on Saturday could not have been more apt. On the left, the stage was flanked by a shop selling baseball hats and Levi’s jeans. On the right, an outlet touting “lo mejor en musica en Español”. |
| Five blocks behind the spot where O’Rourke was due to speak, at the Paso del Norte crossing over the Rio Grande into Juarez, Mexico, a group of desperate Central American asylum-seekers were being held behind a wire fence and under a bridge, as a side-effect of Donald Trump’s immigration clampdown. | Five blocks behind the spot where O’Rourke was due to speak, at the Paso del Norte crossing over the Rio Grande into Juarez, Mexico, a group of desperate Central American asylum-seekers were being held behind a wire fence and under a bridge, as a side-effect of Donald Trump’s immigration clampdown. |
| Beto O'Rourke goes to Nevada in search of ideas – 'I'm all ears' | Beto O'Rourke goes to Nevada in search of ideas – 'I'm all ears' |
| Even before O’Rourke, 46, had appeared at the start of a three-city dash that would take in Houston and the Texas capital, Austin, he had made powerful statements. The location of his rally so close to the detained migrants under the bridge was a thinly-disguised rebuke to the president, who has claimed a widely disputed national emergency and on Friday threatened to close the border next week. | Even before O’Rourke, 46, had appeared at the start of a three-city dash that would take in Houston and the Texas capital, Austin, he had made powerful statements. The location of his rally so close to the detained migrants under the bridge was a thinly-disguised rebuke to the president, who has claimed a widely disputed national emergency and on Friday threatened to close the border next week. |
| On Friday, O’Rourke visited the bridge and lamented: “Kids, moms, and families trapped for days at a time in our name.” | On Friday, O’Rourke visited the bridge and lamented: “Kids, moms, and families trapped for days at a time in our name.” |
| In a Facebook post, the former Democratic congressman said he would “continue pushing for answers so we can put an end to this”. | In a Facebook post, the former Democratic congressman said he would “continue pushing for answers so we can put an end to this”. |
| El Paso was where O’Rourke last November marked the end of his US Senate race against the Republican Ted Cruz. He narrowly lost that contest, but it didn’t stop him delivering a victory oration, telling the crowd he had “never felt so hopeful”. | El Paso was where O’Rourke last November marked the end of his US Senate race against the Republican Ted Cruz. He narrowly lost that contest, but it didn’t stop him delivering a victory oration, telling the crowd he had “never felt so hopeful”. |
| Since he declared his White House run two weeks ago, he has deployed his trademark campaigning style of road-tripping around the country, driving a Dodge Caravan over 11 days through eight states beginning with Iowa, where the Democratic nomination process kicks off in February. He also took in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, all of which are likely to play a charged role in the primaries or presidential election proper. | Since he declared his White House run two weeks ago, he has deployed his trademark campaigning style of road-tripping around the country, driving a Dodge Caravan over 11 days through eight states beginning with Iowa, where the Democratic nomination process kicks off in February. He also took in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, all of which are likely to play a charged role in the primaries or presidential election proper. |
| Along the way, O’Rourke has had to contend with a reception that has been more lukewarm than the steaming one he enjoyed in Texas last year. Pundits have questioned whether he is suffering from an acute dose of white privilege, especially after he was forced to apologize for making jokes on the campaign trail about his wife Amy bringing up their three kids, “sometimes with my help”. | Along the way, O’Rourke has had to contend with a reception that has been more lukewarm than the steaming one he enjoyed in Texas last year. Pundits have questioned whether he is suffering from an acute dose of white privilege, especially after he was forced to apologize for making jokes on the campaign trail about his wife Amy bringing up their three kids, “sometimes with my help”. |
| His fondness for making stump speeches standing atop bar counters has also attracted wry comment bordering on ridicule. | His fondness for making stump speeches standing atop bar counters has also attracted wry comment bordering on ridicule. |
| The drubbing he has experienced in the mainstream and social media appears to have prompted some recalibration in O’Rourke’s approach. He ran in the Texas Senate race as a countercultural outsider, proudly eschewing political strategists, focus groups and polling. | The drubbing he has experienced in the mainstream and social media appears to have prompted some recalibration in O’Rourke’s approach. He ran in the Texas Senate race as a countercultural outsider, proudly eschewing political strategists, focus groups and polling. |
| This week he made a pointed concession to professionalizing his team by appointing an experienced and much sought-after operative, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, as campaign manager. | This week he made a pointed concession to professionalizing his team by appointing an experienced and much sought-after operative, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, as campaign manager. |
| Despite the patchy start, the crowd at O’Rourke’s official launch rally in El Paso on Saturday were showing no wavering. Lorena Garcia, 45, a housewife from the city, said that for many months she had stopped listening to the news because she found Trump’s attacks on migrants and others so upsetting. | Despite the patchy start, the crowd at O’Rourke’s official launch rally in El Paso on Saturday were showing no wavering. Lorena Garcia, 45, a housewife from the city, said that for many months she had stopped listening to the news because she found Trump’s attacks on migrants and others so upsetting. |
| “But when I started hearing Beto it gave me hope,” she said. “He was so positive I began to think things could be different.” | “But when I started hearing Beto it gave me hope,” she said. “He was so positive I began to think things could be different.” |
| Victor Pina, 49, and Jason Phillips, 44, had flown from Sacramento in California wearing “Beto for president” T-shirts they had designed themselves in the rainbow colors of the LGBT movement. They said they saw O’Rourke as someone who could unite divided America. | Victor Pina, 49, and Jason Phillips, 44, had flown from Sacramento in California wearing “Beto for president” T-shirts they had designed themselves in the rainbow colors of the LGBT movement. They said they saw O’Rourke as someone who could unite divided America. |
| Phillips pointed to the bridge just down the road where the migrants were being penned in: “It makes me think of Ellis Island, where immigrants were brought to a new life under the Statue of Liberty. How did this country change from that to holding people under that bridge?” | Phillips pointed to the bridge just down the road where the migrants were being penned in: “It makes me think of Ellis Island, where immigrants were brought to a new life under the Statue of Liberty. How did this country change from that to holding people under that bridge?” |
| Beto O'Rourke: just how green is the Texas Democrat? | Beto O'Rourke: just how green is the Texas Democrat? |
| O’Rourke’s travails have in part been a product of inevitable growing pains as he transitions from a politician appealing to 29 million Texans to one who must court 327 million Americans. It is also the result of an exceptionally crowded and diverse pool of Democratic candidates, with 14 people campaigning, including five women, two African Americans, a Latino American and a contender vying to be the first openly gay president. | O’Rourke’s travails have in part been a product of inevitable growing pains as he transitions from a politician appealing to 29 million Texans to one who must court 327 million Americans. It is also the result of an exceptionally crowded and diverse pool of Democratic candidates, with 14 people campaigning, including five women, two African Americans, a Latino American and a contender vying to be the first openly gay president. |
| That is even before Joe Biden piles in, which he is expected to do soon. | That is even before Joe Biden piles in, which he is expected to do soon. |
| With more than 10 months to go before the Iowa caucuses, any polling data should be taken with a fistful of salt. That said, the latest surveys put O’Rourke behind the elusive Biden and the resurgent democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, but in the top tier. | With more than 10 months to go before the Iowa caucuses, any polling data should be taken with a fistful of salt. That said, the latest surveys put O’Rourke behind the elusive Biden and the resurgent democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, but in the top tier. |
| Perhaps the most credible evidence he has a serious shot at the nomination is the fact that Trump appears so jittery about him. As soon as the Texan announced his run, Trump mocked him for his “crazy” hand movements – a rich criticism coming from someone similarly mocked for having small hands. | Perhaps the most credible evidence he has a serious shot at the nomination is the fact that Trump appears so jittery about him. As soon as the Texan announced his run, Trump mocked him for his “crazy” hand movements – a rich criticism coming from someone similarly mocked for having small hands. |
| Last week, Trump told Fox Business Network that he was dreaming of O’Rourke becoming his opponent. Given Trump’s profuse track record of false or misleading claims, that suggests he actually thinks the reverse: that the Texan from dusty El Paso could be his greatest nightmare. | Last week, Trump told Fox Business Network that he was dreaming of O’Rourke becoming his opponent. Given Trump’s profuse track record of false or misleading claims, that suggests he actually thinks the reverse: that the Texan from dusty El Paso could be his greatest nightmare. |
| Beto O'Rourke | Beto O'Rourke |
| The Observer | |
| US elections 2020 | US elections 2020 |
| Texas | Texas |
| Democrats | Democrats |
| US politics | US politics |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |