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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFirst hint of Beto's future plans
Thinly disguised as a letter of commentary on the shut-down, Beto O'Rourke just sent out an email to all on his mailing list that said, without coming out and saying so, that he is at least interested in exploring a run for the White House in 2020. Smart enough to know that actually saying so this early is not wise, this "letter" speaks volumes--both in, as well as between the lines:
Dear DFW (and no doubt a couple million others),
The government of the greatest country the world has ever known, the wealthiest, most powerful nation on the planet: closed until further notice.
This shutdown hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans working without pay during the holidays, basic government functions no longer available to the taxpayers who fund them didnt have to happen. The Senate passed a compromise government funding bill two days ago, 1000. The men and women who cant agree on what to name a post office were able to unite and unanimously agree on how to fund the entire government.
But maybe it was intended to happen.
Maybe in the face of an investigation that seeks the facts surrounding allegations of collusion with a foreign government and obstruction of justice within our own government
as one aide after another pleads guilty
as the stock market tumbles
as men and women intent on keeping their dignity and their conscience flee his administration
perhaps the President calculates that by adding to the blizzard of bizarre behavior over the last two years and shutting down the government at Christmas, while his own party still controls each branch of it, the institutions that we need for our democracy to function (and to ensure no man is above the law) will be overwhelmed.
From a President who promised action, we got distraction.
But my concern for the country goes beyond the immediate pain and dysfunction that this shutdown will cause. Beyond even ensuring that this President is held accountable. Whats happening now is part of a larger threat to us all.
If our institutions no longer work, if we no longer have faith in them, if theres no way to count on government even functioning (three shutdowns this year alone), then perhaps ultimately we become open to something else. Whatever we choose to call it, whether we openly acknowledge it at all, my fear is that we will choose certainty, strength and predictability over this constant dysfunction, even if it comes at the price of our democracy (the press; the ballot box; the courts; congress and representative government).
If there were ever a man to exploit this precarious moment for our country and our form of government, its Trump. Sending 5,400 troops to U.S. border communities during the midterm elections. Organizing Border Patrol crowd control exercises in El Paso on election day. Defying our laws by taking children from their parents, keeping kids in tent camps, turning back refugees at our ports. Calling the press the enemy of the people and celebrating violence against members of the media. Pitting Americans against each other based on race and religion and immigration status. Inviting us to hate openly, to call Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, to call asylum seekers animals, to describe Klansmen and neo-Nazis as very fine people. Seeking to disenfranchise fellow Americans with made up fears of voter fraud. Isolating us from the other great democracies as he cozies up to dictators and thugs. Lying again and again. Making a mockery of the United States once the indispensable nation, the hope of mankind.
So we can engage in the immediate fights about blame for this latest shutdown
fall into his arguments about a wall, or steel slats, at a time of record border security and in the face of asylum seekers our neighbors fleeing the deadliest countries in the world
we can respond to his name-calling and grotesque, bizarre behavior
or we can pull up, look back at this moment from the future and see exactly what is happening to our country.
We are at risk of losing those things that make us special, unique, exceptional, those things that make us the destination for people the world over, looking for a better life and fleeing countries who lack our institutions, our rule of law, our stability.
If ever there was a time to put country over party it is now. This is not about a wall, its not about border security, its not about Democrats and Republicans. Its about the future of our country whether our children and grandchildren will thank us or blame us. Whether we will lose what was fought for, made more perfect, by the men and women who risked and lost their lives at Antietam, on Omaha beach, in Jackson, Mississippi
whether we will be defined by greatness and ambition or pettiness and fear. Whether we will continue to live in the worlds greatest democracy, or something else.
In the short term lets pass the funding bill that was agreed to by the Senate 1000 just a few days ago. Send it to the President with the confidence that we represent the people of this country and that we are willing to override his veto if he cannot respect their will. Show that government can work, that we can see past our immediate differences to serve the greater good. To put country over party. To put country over one man. To do what we were sent here to do.
In the longer term we must strengthen all of our institutions at the very moment they are called into question. Some clear opportunities for Congress: Ensure that our representatives in government reject PAC money, corporate and special interest influence. Demand that they hold town halls in our communities, listen to and respond to their constituents. Show America that they are working for us and for no one else.
Take action on the most urgent issues of our day: climate change, healthcare, endless war, income inequality, immigration, the vibrancy of rural communities and inner cities, education and criminal justice reform. Define the goal in each area, build the coalition to achieve it, find the common ground (between parties, between branches of government), and move forward. Prove that our system of government whatever its problems is still the best thing under the sun.
Its action vs. distraction. One will save our democracy, the other will lead to its end.
- Beto
Croney
(4,670 posts)I hope he succeeds in whatever he does.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,704 posts)He's a smart one, as I already knew.
I look forward to supporting him again, no matter what office he runs for.
Gothmog
(145,562 posts)Last edited Sun Dec 23, 2018, 08:13 AM - Edit history (1)
This whole "well, he's a loser because he didn't beat Cruz" meme is a false premise. To come within a few points of beating an incumbent Republican senator in Texas is a monumental achievement for any Democrat these days.
Beto would have more of an uphill fight for the nomination than some others, but IF he were to make a try for it and actually get the nomination, the Republicans, in this TV-social media age, would need to put up someone who combines the looks and intellect of JFK with the meanness of Mitch McConnell or Donald Trump to be competitive. Thus far, they have no such animal. While I am not yet convinced that Beto is ready for the presidency, the Republicans have proved that someone completely unqualified and unfit for the presidency is perfectly acceptable to them, so they can hardly use THAT as an argument AGAINST Beto.
ananda
(28,876 posts)Thanks
Cha
(297,665 posts)letter from Beto, DFW. He writes well.
DFW
(54,437 posts)This will probably disturb many who are not only convinced, but just KNOW that all Texans are illiterate boors who can't put two grammatically correct sentences together.
ananda
(28,876 posts)It sure would be nice to have an intelligent,
eloquent president again!
DFW
(54,437 posts)Just think--our President, representing us on the world stage, being an eloquent, intelligent, caring leader.
Unfortunately, there seem to be very powerful interests, both inside and outside our country, who find that to be an unacceptable obstacle to their own selfish interests.
Gothmog
(145,562 posts)GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Americans like people who dont take themselves too seriously.
Assuming we have a more experienced nominee I think we would be a perfect VP. Not for the usual reasons. He would not put Texas in play. But he would motivate the young like no one else.
Full disclosure: my ideal ticket Id Brown/ Harris or Booker. I think they would accomplish the most important task, beating Trump.
dsc
(52,166 posts)but in the primary I literally can't imagine voting for him. He is more conservative than any nominee we have had since Clinton in 1992 and vastly more so than Hillary in 2016. He has no executive experience whatsoever. He was a Congressman for 6 years. Whoever wins in 2020 is going to have a mess to clean up that is going to rival the Agean stables electing a rank novice is a huge risk.
DFW
(54,437 posts)ANY candidate we put up will need some serious counseling and some experienced help, and I mean of the benevolent kind. But I trust ANY Democratic candidate winning the presidency in 2020 to not go out and recruit unqualified hacks like DeVos, Zinke, Sessions, Carson, etc etc. for their cabinet.
VOX
(22,976 posts)Hes razor-sharp, quick on his feet, savvy (and getting more so with each passing day), and hes got the elusive IT: charisma, and the ability to make a personal connection something you cant learn or acquire; you either have it, or you dont.
I mean no disrespect to some truly great Democrats in campaigns past (Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore), but from 1960 to the present, the Party has fielded just three presidential candidates who possessed the magical voltage to connect across party lines: JFK, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. (RFK had it, too, and would have beaten Nixon soundly, but...American history is too often unspeakably cruel.)
If ORourke continues on his current trajectory, he may evolve into a formidable candidate who can bring that intangible positive quality, especially at a time when so many Americans are desperate for genuine fair play, openness and actual leadership in their highest public offices.
Of course, bitter experience teaches us to use caution when making early selections in politics, as anything can happen in the coming year-plus.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,214 posts)hundreds of migrants at the Greyhound bus station on Christmas Eve, without warning.
Gothmog
(145,562 posts)Link to tweet
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