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Beto 2020


bad_teammate

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If you go to socialist organization meetings, you find 60+ and <35.

Gen X is a wasteland of people who are either socially liberal/fiscally conservative or socially conservative/fiscally conservative. Clintonian/Third Way politics took over in the 1990s and the people who became politically aware from 1980-2000 never had a popular political movement to learn from that would teach them anything but fiscal conservatism. The Boomers are piles of garbage, too, but there is a significant slice of them who have actual connections to radical left movements or at least had radical left movements to see as a model. The wildest it got for Gen X was Jesse Jackson's 1988 campaign.

Gen X culture is about individual rebellion against machines and expectations, but explicitly NOT about collective or mass action. There is a huge gap between the mass anti-war movements regarding Vietnam and the Occupy movement. The Gen X'ers had The Rally to Restore Sanity.

the_rally_to_restore_sanity_nonpartisan_

This is reflective of how terrible and uninspiring Gen X political leaders are, writ large, and Beto's "I'm going to go on a journey of self and write a journal entry about it" style of politics just stands out so glaringly as a symptom of that generation's disease.

That's not a personal attack on individuals here who were born in a certain time, just a reflection on how Gen X seems to be perpetually non-existent in America's leftward movement.

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Nice broad brush.

Let’s point the finger at the lowest populated cohort who has never had the opportunity for any type of power because the egocentric and greedy generation before refuses to pass the torch instead of the Boomers.

Gen X has been in the fetid shadow of those assholes our entire existence and now get passed over in favor of Millennials.

So I guess it’s nice to finally be part of the conversation for once instead of being the ignored middle child.

Gen X hasn’t been able to be a part of any movement - leftward or otherwise - because the Boomers refuse to shut up and go away.

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I'm consistently surprised at how many of my fellow Gen-Xers (admittedly, I'm on the younger side of the group age spectrum but not by much)...are libertarian/independent in their thought and value sets.  Now, they don't always vote that way.  But the only "your libertarian vote is a wasted vote" lectures I get from people is from millennials.  Which cracks me up.  My vote is "wasted" in your eyes, because I didn't vote the exact way you wanted me to, which is straight-ticket Democrat.  Don't call my line of thinking a wasted vote, call your line of thinking, authoritarian.  

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Interesting discussion. I think there is some truth to Gen-X favoring individualism and capitalism versus the Boomers and Millennials. Going from the latch key generation to entering the job market right as the landscape shifted away from career longevity to switching jobs every other year. I suspect the 90's Tech Bubble really fucked with a lot of our heads. Get what you can, while you can or get fucked. Anyways, we didn't create the culture that shaped our experiences, that was the generation that preceded us.

 

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7 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

Well, unlike bad teammate I am not upset by people who don’t adopt radical left politics, nor do I view all of this as a conflict between generations.  I just think Beto O’Rourke is a vapid ne’er-do-well who has been fortunate to fail upward for a little bit. Those people exist in every generation. 

when has he gone upward?

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The moment he said, "I do."  

Nothing wrong with marrying rich in this country.  But his propagation of his FIL's business lines is what some question.  It's hard to be that out of touch in El Paso, Texas but these people pull it off brilliantly.  That said, O'Rourke really has rolled up his sleeves to work on veteran's issues and I've applauded it many times, worked with his former Congressional office, and would gladly donate to a Senate campaign for him against Cornyn since John shat himself in service to Trump.  But for President?  Former Representative O'Rourke is out of his element.  

Edited by Lobo
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No one is handing Millenials anything, they're taking it. Gen Z is even MORE aggressive in demanding the future they want.

I agree with F250's assessment of Gen X merely being a product of the seed sowed by previous generations. It is what it is.

11 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

Well, unlike bad teammate I am not upset by people who don’t adopt radical left politics...

There's a difference between not adopting a position and being fundamentally incapable of even conceiving of that position. The horizon of social futures is just far far narrower in the Gen X mind than the Boomer or Millenial/Z mind. Is that because the Boomers profoundly sheltered and indoctrinated their Gen X children? Sure; I'd accept that.

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52 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

The horizon of social futures is just far far narrower in the Gen X mind than the Boomer 

 

lmfao. That's so fucking dumb. Jesus Christ, b_t, I know you're the definition of liberal white guilt, but don't project your guilt over the fact that you and your generation raped our country and its wealth and left scraps for future generations on Gen X or people that came after you. This is all on you and your peeps.

Edited by BradInATX
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what is a horizon of social futures?  
Economic systems. Social welfare systems. Gen X politicians on both sides of the aisle agree on most of the fundamental tenets. Radical ideas are only coming from the old and young.

See: Obama pulling his healthcare plan in from a right-wing think tank
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Baby Boomers have had control of the government and economy for 30 years and look where we are. You are part of the generation that destroyed much of the wealth and head start your parents gave us, and you're here disparaging the generations after you. Which is a very, very boomer thing to do. Good job.

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Is it "disparaging" to acknowledge the obvious reality of Gen X politics at large? I know a lot of you feel some kind of team allegiance to your generation, but that's marketing bullshit and it makes no sense. Why would I feel defensive about a critical analysis of my generation? Dog my generation all  you want and I'll heartily agree with any accurate analysis. I'm not responsible for either my own year of birth or what others in that range decided to do.

If you want to frame it as Gen X being victims to post-war capitalist propaganda from the Silent/Boomer power base I think that's completely fair. It's hard to develop a capitalist-critical way of thinking when your parents and grandparents are endlessly screaming "COMMIES!" into the wind and popular media shoving Gordon Gekko and Robin Leach down your throat.

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1 hour ago, bad_teammate said:

Is it "disparaging" to acknowledge the obvious reality of Gen X politics at large? I know a lot of you feel some kind of team allegiance to your generation, but that's marketing bullshit and it makes no sense. Why would I feel defensive about a critical analysis of my generation? Dog my generation all  you want and I'll heartily agree with any accurate analysis. I'm not responsible for either my own year of birth or what others in that range decided to do.

If you want to frame it as Gen X being victims to post-war capitalist propaganda from the Silent/Boomer power base I think that's completely fair. It's hard to develop a capitalist-critical way of thinking when your parents and grandparents are endlessly screaming "COMMIES!" into the wind and popular media shoving Gordon Gekko and Robin Leach down your throat.

I like capitalism especially with softer edges.  But I don’t think socialists are spawn of Satan either.   I think the question of how much capitalism and how much socialism is where we should be debating but instead it many time devolves into insults - this time how gen x folks are victims to capitalist propaganda.  Mkay.

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1 hour ago, bad_teammate said:

Is it "disparaging" to acknowledge the obvious reality of Gen X politics at large? I know a lot of you feel some kind of team allegiance to your generation, but that's marketing bullshit and it makes no sense. Why would I feel defensive about a critical analysis of my generation? Dog my generation all  you want and I'll heartily agree with any accurate analysis. I'm not responsible for either my own year of birth or what others in that range decided to do.

If you want to frame it as Gen X being victims to post-war capitalist propaganda from the Silent/Boomer power base I think that's completely fair. It's hard to develop a capitalist-critical way of thinking when your parents and grandparents are endlessly screaming "COMMIES!" into the wind and popular media shoving Gordon Gekko and Robin Leach down your throat.

What you think is "the obvious reality" is far, far from it, as we've litigated time and time again and the entire board has accepted you for what you are. But you keep on being you and fellating yourself while 3/4 of the board has you on ignore.

Edited by BradInATX
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4 minutes ago, troph said:

I like capitalism especially with softer edges.  But I don’t think socialists are spawn of Satan either.   I think the question of how much capitalism and how much socialism is where we should be debating but instead it many time devolves into insults - this time how gen x folks are victims to capitalist propaganda.  Mkay.

Yeah, it's not even worth an attempt to be serious, he's of course going to b_t it up just like he does every other discussion. Moving on. 

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Listen, as a Gen Xer I’ll take some generational smack talk from Millennials or Gen Z. They seem to be okay for the most part but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna listen to any generational criticism from fucking Boomers.

They’re the root of everything wrong with this country.

They need to sit down, shut up, retire, or die. Any or all of the above is fine by me.

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On 7/13/2019 at 8:50 AM, Message Board User said:

I suppose it's possible, but I think that ship has sailed.  

In fact, this 2020 "run" has been so underwhelming I wonder if Beto has a political future.  Damaged goods and all.

I wonder the same thing. I used to think that he had a future in Texas politics, but now I'm not so sure.

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2 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:

I don’t trust Sema for a minute.

She’s exactly the kind of Bernie supporter that is just as bad as the Trumpkins.

f6d271f1d8569e7f46f9b6e09a8046c9.jpg
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She’s a sore ass loser.

Wow. If that’s real, and I have no reason to think it isn’t, she can fuck right off. Especially after seeing what trump is doing to brown kids...and she is a daughter of immigrants.

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So what's next for him? I always figured he had to run because there's no real slam dunk next step for him except for going back into the private sector or lobbying or whatever. I don't think he can beat Cornyn, and I doubt he wants to wait around for another shot at Cruz. 

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120k contributions in Q2. Not contributors, contributions. (for reference, Bernie had 1 million contributions in Q2)

A couple of weeks after Beto announced, one of my local political friend's nieces moved to El Paso to work for his campaign. She worked her ass off for Beto's Senate race and was 100% full-on ready to go. She packed up, moved, posted pictures of the road trip out there, so excited.

A month and a half ago she just showed back up in Houston with all her stuff.

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Beto...

- Go FULL on reparations. You still have time to make hay out of this slave-owning-ancestor revelation. Promise $3T over the next 10 years spent on the black community as determined by a blue ribbon panel of black experts in various fields. Take the lead.

- Go FULL amnesty. Reagan '86, but kinder. 100% amnesty for everyone currently in the country. Zero deportations, clear pathway to citizenship for every single one of them. Take the lead.

We need someone to push these two issues. Do it.

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6 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

Beto...

- Go FULL on reparations. You still have time to make hay out of this slave-owning-ancestor revelation. Promise $3T over the next 10 years spent on the black community as determined by a blue ribbon panel of black experts in various fields. Take the lead.

- Go FULL amnesty. Reagan '86, but kinder. 100% amnesty for everyone currently in the country. Zero deportations, clear pathway to citizenship for every single one of them. Take the lead.

We need someone to push these two issues. Do it.

If he’s going to come back and run for statewide election in Texas that could make it tough.

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8 hours ago, Lobo said:

I would have to think it's O'Rourke v. Bush for Governor in 2022.  

A white dude named Beto running against a brown dude with Prescott for a middle name, it's so confusing.

 

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6 minutes ago, F250 said:

A white dude named Beto running against a brown dude with Prescott for a middle name, it's so confusing.

 

Very Texas, actually. 

Beto needs to go back to Texas and do what Stacy Abrams is doing in Georgia. I don't see a way for him to make the pivot to the Senate race without looking like a complete failure. And he can make a real difference in Texas, and the immigration debate which he cares deeply about, just by using his email list. In addition to Abrams, Howard Deans shift from Dean for America to Democracy for America comes to mind. I'd volunteer for that organization. I won't be volunteering for his presidential run going forward.

 

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26 minutes ago, F250 said:

A white dude named Beto running against a brown dude with Prescott for a middle name, it's so confusing.

 

Well we already have the debate sponsor-Vineyard Vines all lined up.  Although a carve-out provision has been made for all candidates to wear Patagonia sleeveless vests on stage in August, provided the campaign logo on the breast has been pre-approved by the debate commission.  

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20 hours ago, Lobo said:

But the only "your libertarian vote is a wasted vote" lectures I get from people is from millennials.  Which cracks me up.  My vote is "wasted" in your eyes, because I didn't vote the exact way you wanted me to, which is straight-ticket Democrat.  Don't call my line of thinking a wasted vote, call your line of thinking, authoritarian.  

 

Your vote is only wasted because of the two-party system.  A third party candidate is never going to win the general unless we completely reform democracy in this country.  The best chance for a third party candidate to get his views to the mainstream is the Ron Paul or Bernie Sanders playbook.  Run under the banner of the major party that's closer to your goals and try to win there.

A Gary Johnson vote is just a vote to waste your gas driving to your local voting station.

 

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I know his body isn't cold yet, but did you consider a vote, depending on the state of residence at the time I suppose, for Ross Perot to be a wasted vote in 1992?  

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11 hours ago, BradInATX said:

So what's next for him? I always figured he had to run because there's no real slam dunk next step for him except for going back into the private sector or lobbying or whatever. I don't think he can beat Cornyn, and I doubt he wants to wait around for another shot at Cruz. 

Thinking outside the box, why not Hollywood?  He would be the perfect stand-in for Dylan on Modern Family.

 

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10 minutes ago, Lobo said:

I know his body isn't cold yet, but did you consider a vote, depending on the state of residence at the time I suppose, for Ross Perot to be a wasted vote in 1992?  

 

I didn't consider a vote in that election thanks to laws at the time that didn't allow kids in elementary school to vote.  Yes, I can remember him being a big deal and winning a chunk of the popular vote, but I also know it translated to him winning zero electoral college votes.  

So if that election were held tomorrow, I would still consider a vote for him as a waste of time.

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I joined this campaign because I believe in Beto and I know he is the best person to lead our country forward. This country is facing existential challenges like climate change, economic inequality, gun violence and Trump's immigration policies that have caused chaos at the border and rejected our values as a country. Beto believes that we can't solve these problems with the same old approach. We need to bring about a new kind of politics, where millions of Americans are finally brought into our democracy.

This campaign is your campaign. We aren't beholden to PACs, to corporations, or to lobbyists; we're beholden only to you. We believe in being transparent about our work and our plans — and we want to hear from you too. It's going to take all of us to take on Donald Trump and your voice in this campaign really matters to us. Because of that, I wanted to give my first campaign update directly to you.

I am so proud of what we are building together, so let's get into it! 

Here's what we've got:

  • Our candidate: Someone who inspires and motivates people with policies to back it up.
  • Our team: No exaggeration, one of the best teams I've ever worked with.
  • Our strategy: Building this grassroots movement in Iowa, early states and across this country.
  • Texas: It's got the third most delegates of any state in the country, and we're in the best position to win it.
  • Our plan for the fall: We've already met the hardest threshold for the fall debate. We're in on individual donors both nationally and in states.
  • Our resources: We always need more, but we have enough to execute our strategy — for now.
  • Our most critical asset: You. We've got amazing supporters who are engaged, energized, and putting in the work every single day.

Not only is this campaign about you, it's run by you. We're building a truly grassroots-centric campaign operation, inspired by what many of you helped build last year in Texas. This couldn't be more apparent than by taking a look at what we are building in Iowa and the early states. In fact, our organizing program is currently one of the largest in the state. Some of you may have seen that we opened 11 field offices there — today. And sure, we've got incredibly experienced and diverse staff. We've also got amazingly dedicated volunteers and supporters who are serving as ambassadors for Beto in their own networks and communities. Together, we're making the difference. Here's where we are:

Organizing by the numbers:

  • Grassroots events held: 3,551
  • Event attendees: More than 47,486 (31,454 in Q2)
  • Volunteers: 102,896
  • States we've canvassed in: 50

Fundraising:

A lot of folks have asked about our fundraising numbers. Overall, here's where we are:

bfs-fundraising-q2-graphic-2.png

We had something of an extended Q2. Our Q1 numbers came from the 18 days in March where you all stepped up big time. When you look at our fundraising in aggregate, we're in a great position. I won't sugar coat it: we have work to do, but we have the resources we need to execute our strategy.

And we're proud of where that money is coming from. This is a campaign that is truly funded by people — not PACs, lobbyists, or special interests. Take a look:

bfs-fundraising-1200x1200-2.png

Some people in this race are already setting up super PACs. We haven't. Instead, we're relying on teachers, nurses, students, and people just like you. Beyond, we have tons of room to grow: 99.7% of our donors can give again, and most importantly a full 1/3rdof our donors gave to Beto for the first time — presidential or Senate — in Q2.

The way we raised on day one took everyone — including us — by surprise. We always expected a slow down — mostly because we never expected to be moving that fast. The truth is when you're prioritizing face-to-face conversations like we are, fundraising growth can be a slow burn. Don't believe me? Here's the fundraising arc from Beto's Senate race.

bfs-fundraising-current.png

If you only judged Beto's Senate campaign by Q2 2017, you'd probably assume he was dead in the water. I've done a lot of these before. Campaigns aren't about how you're doing at any particular moment — they're about how you build over time.

We're building our team in El Paso slowly but surely. Our National Finance Director started this week. Our Digital Director started a month ago. We're going to grow, and our ability to fundraise is going to grow with it. Our team was able to capture all of the energy around our launch, but we're working on getting a team in place to take it to the next level.

We could have sent emails that said the sky was falling. We could have burned it all down asking for money. We could have had Beto on the phones with every lobbyist in town. That's not how we operate — and we don't feel like we need to. On the last day of the quarter, we raised money for an organization that helps asylum seekers. I'm so proud that this campaign raised tens of thousands of dollars for Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services of El Paso (and you can give to them here.)

That's the campaign we're running. That's who Beto is, and that's why we all know he should be President.

I've been here before. Hell, if I had a dollar for every time I was on a campaign that seemed left for dead, I'd probably exceed our average contribution. Polls come and go. Debates...happen, but at the end of the day, none of that BS matters. What matters is the people behind a campaign: supporters like you — the (literally) thousands of you who just showed up in Nashville on the Sunday of a holiday weekend. The folks who are out canvassing the state of Nebraska themselves. Even the dogs who show up in Beto shirts at a parade — and I don't even really like dogs. This is a campaign with a real energy, real growth, and a real shot at winning the primary. The only question is what we do with it — together.

So here's what I'm asking of you:

First, we need to raise more money. It should be clear by now that we can't take anything for granted. We have the resources we need to be in this for the long haul, but if we don't raise more this quarter, we'll have no choice but to make some adjustments. Please pitch in $25 right now to help us invest in this campaign.

Second: Go and volunteer right now. We simply cannot get over the finish line without you. The grassroots energy we've seen on the ground has been overwhelming. We feel it at every event we have for this campaign — whether Beto is there or not. Find an event in your community or host your own.

Third: Get online. Share with your friends why you support Beto and why you're a part of this team. We can spend all the money on ads we want, but no one is going to be better at bringing people into this campaign than you.

I want to be very clear: We are growing the campaign on our terms. I am thrilled with what we're building together — and I mean that. It's easy to look at what's in the press and feel like your work isn't paying off. I'm here to tell you that it is. Every conversation you have, door you knock, post you share, and dollar you donate is helping us build an operation that will not only win this primary, but will defeat Donald Trump and make everyone in this country believe again that we can rise to this moment.

Beto likes to say that this is a moment of truth for our country. Fundamentally reimagining our politics was never going to be easy, but I'm more resolved than ever to fight everyday to make it happen. This is just the beginning. Believe it.

I'm so glad we're in this together.

Jen O'Malley Dillon
Campaign Manager, Beto for America

 

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