This is a long, but very good tweetstorm that dives into Beto O’Rourke’s background and his rise in politics. We’ll warn you now that there’s a twist at the end which we were not expecting. In short, do not discount Beto’s chances in 2020.
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Pull up a chair, dear readers, and listen to the tale of the Texan who overcome youthful misbehavior, including drinking too heavily and getting behind the wheel, to rise to the top of national politics. https://t.co/GS3SHUjgNf
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
A Texan, the son of a man prominent in state politics and a success in life. The Texan grew up with alternating affection for and intermittent tension with his well-known, accomplished father, with the heavy question of how he would ever emerge from his father’s shadow.
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
He went off to boarding and prep school on the East Coast, then on to the Ivy Leagues.
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
Young adulthood was a surprisingly difficult time for a young man who grew up with so many advantages; too much partying, a sense of prolonged adolescence, hitting rock bottom with run-ins with the law after drinking too much and getting behind the wheel.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
Years later, people would ask if the family connections spared him the worst possible legal consequences of his reckless behavior in his younger years.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
But he met a woman from a good family, who works in education, and marriage and parenthood brought maturity and stability to his life — the bottle stopped becoming such an issue in his life.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
He eventually tried his hand at entrepreneurship, swearing he never wanted to be a politician like his father. https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
But when an opportunity in Texas politics appeared, he took it, out-hustling a Democratic incumbent who had been far too confident about the voters’ mood on Election Day.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
Rivals and critics in both parties saw him as a servant of his donors, mixing business and government, capable of making a backroom real-estate deal sound like a public service aimed to help everyone.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
He talked a good game about controlling spending and reducing the size of government, but his instinct that government had a duty to help people usually won out in budget fights.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
He believed immigration brought great benefits to America, and that illegal immigrants should be treated with dignity and respect — and an opportunity to become a citizen if they had avoided serious legal trouble.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
His rivals saw a lightweight, coasting on charm and charisma and good humor, with limited serious thought about difficult issues. https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
His wife was a great asset, although she had never been a huge fan of his political ambitions. She worried about how her husband’s political life would affect their children.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
The Texan was elected in a good year for his party and managed to get reelected in a year when the national winds were against his party. The national media descended upon Texas, writing about him and asking whether he was the future of the party.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
Surprisingly early in his political career, he chose to run for president. Despite having only been in a major office for six years, the Texan’s party saw great potential in him, and responded with a wave of donations.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
The Texan’s party was hungry for a winner. They had experienced a shocking defeat to a president they deemed a national embarrassment and even illegitimate — a shameless, scandal-ridden womanizer up to his neck in crooked land deals and who lied as easily as he breathed.
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
His boring vice president was regularly trotted out to tout the president’s virtues, and most members of the president’s party echoed his claims that the work of the special counsel was a partisan witch hunt.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
The Texan pledged he could restore America’s sense of pride. On the stump, he rarely went deep into policy specifics. He preferred to emphasize that we were better than the flaws of the president, and that honor and dignity could return to the Oval Office.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
He wasn’t always the most eloquent, and sometimes he mangled his message. But a lot of the people who came to hear him speak came away convinced his heart was in the right place and he could restore their optimism in America’s future.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
So yeah, the story of the Texan is the story of this guy…https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ pic.twitter.com/3Foevy4nbK
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
… but the story of the Texan is also the story of _this guy_. https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ pic.twitter.com/1kt8hoAEaE
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
A lot of fans of both men will absolutely hate the comparison. But the parallels are there: successful dads, youthful troubles with alcohol, maturing through marriage and fatherhood, charisma on the stump and critics calling each one an empty suit.https://t.co/DHiaCdiKfQ pic.twitter.com/DjqJv8faXW
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) March 21, 2019
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