20 Mar LESLIE: Beto can bring it: Forget Trump, Conway, other critics – this guy is not just a shiny new object
Question: Can Beto O’Rourke deliver for the Democrats?
Answer: It depends on who you ask.
Beto O’Rourke, whose real name is Robert Francis O’Rourke, is an American businessman and a politician. He’s a member of the Democratic party and for three terms, represented Texas’s 16th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
O’Rourke has been criticized by both the right and the left; which means in my opinion, he’s doing something right. He’s a threat and a political force to be reckoned with; but can he deliver what the Democrats want and need? Can he become the Democratic nominee and make Trump a one-term President?
First, let’s take a look at the criticism of this newly announced candidate.
His name. Republicans love to point out that “Beto’s” real name is Robert Francis. But what Republicans refuse to accept on this matter is first, that ‘Beto’ was a nickname given to the former Congressman by his mother when he was 3 to 4 years of age. There’s a photo of him wearing a sweater with that name. And, although Republicans think that Beto is using his Latino-sounding nickname to not only appeal to the Latino population and voter, O’Rourke has never offered even the faintest suggestion that he’s Latino. In an interview with Bill Maher on HBO, Beto stated ‘Pretty Irish” when asked about his heritage. And since most likely, the majority of his support will come from the left side of the political spectrum, from Democrats largely; what his name is or what people call him won’t matter to those who like him; they’ll still vote for him.
Of course, there are those that say he didn’t do much while he represented Texas’ 16th district for 3 years in the House. CNN reporter Nia-Malika Henderson said of O’Rourke that he ‘didnt’ really do much ‘ while in Congress and even Beto himself said he didn’t do much as a House member in the Vanity Fair article about him, largely because Democrats were in the minority and it was difficult to get things accomplished and to get legislation passed.
And O’Rourke’s even been attacked by the left. In his interview with Vanity Fair, Beto said he was ‘just born to be in it’ which some people felt showed he was blinded by ‘white privilege.’
Others said he was sexist. When he made an off-the-cuff remark about his wife caring for the couple’s three children ‘sometimes with my help,’ there were those who found it belittling.
READ MORE