That is his genius, and it is similar to Reagan, Clinton and Obama. They all sell "hope". If you listen to what he has said, and how he has voted, he tends to be a moderate but somewhat unconventional on certain issues. He tends to be very liberal on cultural issues. He has taken some positions. He wants to ban for profit prisons, wants to ban the sale of assault weapons, increase in the minimum wage to $15, the availability for Medicare for all as an option, mar1juana legalization.... ummm he has resisted tax increases for small businesses, and he has resisted mandatory single payer and also has supported greater privacy rights.
Well I guess I was thinking of US citizens. Well, ok. But what you're describing above is a person who chooses to stay on a lower income bracket. Hey, I'm not knocking it. That person has other values besides maximizing $, which is fine of course. But how many people that are poor are actually choosing to value other things over money? Actually, now that I think about it, I think most of the poor (who aren't mentally challenged) are in fact valuing something else over $. And that's fine. But then that person should not say "I need govt mandated healthcare" (to bring this back to Beto), or complain about not having money. Because they are making other value judgments about how they want to spend their waking hours. If they worked hard, they didn't stay poor. I'm not saying they became rich. They either advanced their economic station or went back to the "old country" (and a number of those immigrants, who couldn't make it in the US, did just that). Well, I would agree with this, to a large extent, but I would say that being "intelligent" is like being "in shape." You can be in good mental shape or you can be in bad mental shape -- it depends on how much one "exercises." "Luck" is where had work meets opportunity -- ie, it isn't really "luck." "Education" -- well, sure not everyone can attend the Ivy Leagues -- but that's hardly needed in America. A two-year (or less) apprenticeship in a trade will almost inevitably get anyone out of poverty. And I can't imagine that the cost for that is all that extreme.
I have to admit to y'all: I just read a headline somewhere that started "2020 Democratic candidates..." and I thought "damn, are there that many now?"
Fair enough on the positions as admittingly I'm not too familiar with him past last year. However, to push back a little he's held those legislative positions as a city council member for 6 years and a House Rep for 6 years. As much as Beto is Obama-ish, he comes off as a neophyte for the presidency from my perspective. I'd say I'm just luke warm on Beto at this point, but prefer him as a front runner over someone "more progressive". You're certainly correct about "selling hope", he has that charisma down.
I think of Beto as Obama and Clinton types, but without the intellectual heft they brought. Their brilliance was their empathy/charisma combined with a detailed understanding of policy, which I don't think Beto has. That said, policy positions are overrated in a Presidential campaign. Very few, if any, of those ideas ever make it into law. Obamacare, for example, is not remotely the policy Obama campaigned on. He had a detailed health care plan - and what truly distuinguished it from Clinton's was that it did NOT include a mandate. In the end, the actual policy was what Congress wanted more so than Obama. That tends to be universally true with domestic policy. Foreign policy is different - and interestingly, no one on the Dem side is really talking about that. But most of what you're campaigning on is your abilities as a national leader - competence, good decision-making, demeanor, hope/unity/etc.
Beto is just a fake who constantly changes his positions He wanted to turn social security into welfare and raise the age to get it. No wonder he hesitates to take positions-- or that Rewpublicans in El Paso were trying to get him to run as a Republican when he first ran for Congress. https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/19/politics/kfile-beto-orourke-in-2012/index.html
Knowing he’s taken these positions before that don’t jive with progressives, and let’s assume he wins the nomination. Let’s also assume (because im 100% certain it will happen) he says all the right things leading up to the general election or changes his positions from prior years as he’s likely to do. Will you vote for him or will you vote for Trump/stay at home/create negative buzz that helps suppress other voters?? Honest question because Ill be out there with bells on for Bernie if he wins because I agree with him way more than I do with Trump and think he’ll uphold the constitution and not turn the country into a dictatorship. I also believe Bernie fans should feel the same way about Beto or Biden or Kamala. But the negativity is so through the roof I just have to ask the question.
Or am I wrong and do Bernie fans actually prefer Trump over a Dem like Hillary or Biden just to prove a point?? I’m really confused with the Bernie folks.
I don't watch Fox News, but this is hilarious. As a Libertarian, it sums up pretty well how I feel about Beto - he doesn't seem real in the slightest. He is clearly trying to come across cool, literally like an uncool white guy trying to be Obama. I truly don't see moderates hopping on his bandwagon. To me, the best candidate Democrats could hope for is Tulsi Gabbard.
Interesting that many that oppose Democratic candidates seem to like Tulsi Gabbard so much. I find her very interesting as a candidate, and sure, she is an attractive woman. And has a very interesting personal story (decorated veteran, Hindu, Samoan-American). But her current positions seem to be pretty similar to other Democrats (pro- same sex marriage, pro choice, pro Universal care, pro Medicare for All, pro background checks and pro assault weapons bans). She is also a bit controversial, eg meeting with Assad. So... why the interest in her?
Not a Democrat, but I respect the hell out of her. At this point, I look and respect politicians who put country over party - and she's one of those few that do. I get the same vibe from her that I do Dan Crenshaw, which is about as far away from a modern politician possible. They are no-BS people who tell you what they think regardless of the flack that they will receive, especially from their own party. Both have, and do rebuff their party and their fellow party members when required. Do I like everything each of them do? No, but respect is far more important than policy for me at this point in my life. I want to know that the people in charge have our best interests in mind, not their personal interests. I loved her on JRE, she didn't put on a facade.
