BETO O'ROURKE VS TED CRUZ FOR U.S. SENATOR FROM TEXAS
Being a Texan-by-choice since 1990, I have followed congressman Beto O’Rourke’s progress as a U.S. Senate candidate with interest. He’s the genuine article, thoughtful, upright, modest and very much “a man of the people” who, if elected, will represent their interests, given his political proclivities and refusal to accept campaign donations from PACs. (The bulk of Cruz’s donations come from undisclosed sources.) Both campaigns have raised about $23 million as of June 30, however O’Rourke has $13 million remaining to Cruz’s $9 million. O’Rourke’s thoughtful and balanced response to the “take-a-knee” controversy has played widely in the state, and represents the best attributes of the Texas character: upright, well-mannered, respectful, tolerant, inclusive, honor-bound patriotic, church-going, proud of their state identity, with a strong sense of community reflected in unstinting willingness to help neighbors in distress – as demonstrated during the aftermath of Harvey, quite different from aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. (I am not unmindful of a darker side to Texas character, reflected in support for Trump.)
O’Rourke has mounted a remarkable grass-roots campaign during which he has adroitly differentiated himself in every way from Cruz. O’Rourke has traveled to every one of the 254 counties in the state, driving himself in a Toyota to town halls and campaign rallies, sometimes with his kids in tow. Cruz does not go out among the people, but rather, like Trump, meets with carefully screened, sympathetic audiences in tightly controlled venues. Where Cruz’s yard signs and posters are traditional red, white and blue, and scarce, O’Rourke’s are stark black-and-white and ubiquitous. Unlike Cruz’s slickly produced TV ads, O’Rourke’s ads showing him on the campaign trail, have a low-res, home-movie feel. Whereas Cruz, despite Trump’s 2016 insults (“Lyin’ Ted and insults to his wife and father), has hypocritically wrapped himself in the Trump banner, O’Rourke has favored impeachment ever since the Trump/Putin summit. Cruz sports an A rating from the NRA, O’Rourke proclaims his F rating. Where Cruz brags about his support of tax cuts (mainly for corporations and the rich), O’Rourke voted against them because they were mainly for corporations and the rich (occasioning Republican calls for reductions in social spending to narrow the resulting deficits). Where Cruz votes the hard-right party line on narcotics; O’Rourke is in favor of legalization. Cruz exudes airs of superiority and condescension, O’Rourke is unpretentious, genuine and self-effacing. Where Cruz is unreservedly partisan, O’Rourke strives for bipartisanship. Where Cruz lamely tries to appeal to Spanish-speaking voters by citing his Cuban ancestry, he does so haltingly, apologizing for his badly accented Spanish; O’Rourke, fourth-generation Texan, raised across the Mexican border in El Paso, speaks Spanish fluently and confidently with the barest hint of an American accent. Where Cruz changed his name from Rafael to Ted (his middle name is Edward) to appeal to white voters, O’Rourke uses his childhood nickname, Beto, the common Spanish derivation of his first name, Robert (“Roberto” in Spanish) to appeal to Spanish-speaking voters. O’Rourke appeals to the better angels of Texas character, described above, Cruz appeals to the same base instincts Trump does: fear, faux-conservatism, provincialism, white dominance, cozying up to Big Money, and the kind of patriotism Dr. Johnson described as “the last refuge of the scoundrel.”
It’s as if O’Rourke has used everything Cruz is and stands for as a roadmap to plot the opposite course. Accordingly, Texas voters have been presented with a clear choice in November: fairly traditional liberalism or radical Trump “conservatism,” making the November election for Texas senator a referendum on Trump himself. That O’Rourke has pulled up virtually even in the polls in a staunchly red state is testament to his dogged campaigning and Trump’s wavering standing with Texas voters.
