Opinion
By Charles M. Blow
New York Times
Gov. Beto O’Rourke of Texas.
A few months ago, the wind appeared to be at O’Rourke’s back, as he fought to make that happen, to become the first Democratic governor of the state since Ann Richards over a quarter century ago.
He was gaining ground on the incumbent, Greg Abbott, following the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the constitutional right to an abortion.
But now the winds seem to have shifted. A new Spectrum News/Siena Poll shows Abbott widening his lead over O’Rourke. According to the poll, that lead now stands at 7 percentage points, a little more than 40 days until Election Day.
Abbott reversed his fortunes by leaning into demonization and cruelty: He focused on immigration and bused immigrants to faraway sanctuary cities run by Democrats, part of a larger program he called Operation Lone Star.
The first immigrants were bused to Chicago in August, with Abbott saying at the time: “To continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C., and New York City as an additional drop-off location.”
It was a callous and politically calculated stunt. But it is apparently paying off. Not only is Abbott up in the polls, a slight majority of Texans – 52 percent – agree with the busing.
On Friday, I spoke at length to O’Rourke by phone, to get a sense of how he views the state of the race, his own challenges, Abbott’s cynicism and the voters of Texas.
We talked about how Democrats run against a politician, his or her policies and the Republican Party as a whole, while Republicans create enemies of classes of people: women, racial and ethnic minorities, L.G.B.T.Q. people, immigrants. This time it’s immigrants and immigration, a charged issue in Texas.
O’Rourke said that Abbott’s plan to bus immigrants to liberal cities was obviously an attempt to distract from his failure to shore up the state’s fragile electrical grids, prevent school violence and reduce inflation, but he also framed it as “an effort to incite fear and hatred and connect with people at a very base, emotional level,” an “effort to dehumanize people,” and that is precisely what it is. Abbott is not only trying to dehumanize immigrants, but to strip them of their individuality and create an ominous class.
In that way, immigrants can be converted from throngs of individuals with individual lives, stories and feelings into an amorphous wave, overwhelming and unrelenting, crashing into the country.
Abbott is using these human beings as a weapon and a tool for the shallow purpose of retaining power. For O’Rourke, this is obscene. As he put it:
“There is no way that I would ever, in a million years, resort to that kind of fear mongering and demagogy, and vilifying, demonizing people, because as an El Pasoan I saw exactly what that results in: Twenty-three of my neighbors were murdered in a matter of minutes there.”
O’Rourke is referring to the mass shooting last year in which a white racist, targeting Hispanics, killed 23 people in an El Paso Walmart. He left a 2,300-word manifesto reeking of white replacement anxiety, one that spoke of a “Hispanic invasion of Texas” and detailed a plan to separate America into territories by race.
As repugnant – and dangerous! – as Abbott’s stunt is, it earned him a lot of free media attention, which gets people talking. Media coverage – what is called “earned media” – even negative and mocking coverage, is sometimes more powerful than paid ads. Look no further than Donald Trump’s victory in 2016.
O’Rourke is running a different race. He understands the potency of the immigration issue in his state. As he put it: “I think what you may see reflected in that poll is the deep frustration that all of us, including myself, feel about the fact that the last time we had any real major progress on immigration, Ronald Reagan was the president.”
But he believes he is seeing something that hasn’t showed up properly in the polls: a shadow army of angry voters animated by the overturning of Roe.
“The Dobbs decision, of course, is galvanizing for turnout everywhere,” he said.
He also believes that many of the people who are energized to vote will be turning out not just because of abortion, but also because of Abbott’s lack of movement on gun control.
Gov. Beto O’Rourke of Texas.
A few months ago, the wind appeared to be at O’Rourke’s back, as he fought to make that happen, to become the first Democratic governor of the state since Ann Richards over a quarter century ago.
He was gaining ground on the incumbent, Greg Abbott, following the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the constitutional right to an abortion.
But now the winds seem to have shifted. A new Spectrum News/Siena Poll shows Abbott widening his lead over O’Rourke. According to the poll, that lead now stands at 7 percentage points, a little more than 40 days until Election Day.
Abbott reversed his fortunes by leaning into demonization and cruelty: He focused on immigration and bused immigrants to faraway sanctuary cities run by Democrats, part of a larger program he called Operation Lone Star.
The first immigrants were bused to Chicago in August, with Abbott saying at the time: “To continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C., and New York City as an additional drop-off location.”
It was a callous and politically calculated stunt. But it is apparently paying off. Not only is Abbott up in the polls, a slight majority of Texans – 52 percent – agree with the busing.
On Friday, I spoke at length to O’Rourke by phone, to get a sense of how he views the state of the race, his own challenges, Abbott’s cynicism and the voters of Texas.
We talked about how Democrats run against a politician, his or her policies and the Republican Party as a whole, while Republicans create enemies of classes of people: women, racial and ethnic minorities, L.G.B.T.Q. people, immigrants. This time it’s immigrants and immigration, a charged issue in Texas.
O’Rourke said that Abbott’s plan to bus immigrants to liberal cities was obviously an attempt to distract from his failure to shore up the state’s fragile electrical grids, prevent school violence and reduce inflation, but he also framed it as “an effort to incite fear and hatred and connect with people at a very base, emotional level,” an “effort to dehumanize people,” and that is precisely what it is. Abbott is not only trying to dehumanize immigrants, but to strip them of their individuality and create an ominous class.
In that way, immigrants can be converted from throngs of individuals with individual lives, stories and feelings into an amorphous wave, overwhelming and unrelenting, crashing into the country.
Abbott is using these human beings as a weapon and a tool for the shallow purpose of retaining power. For O’Rourke, this is obscene. As he put it:
“There is no way that I would ever, in a million years, resort to that kind of fear mongering and demagogy, and vilifying, demonizing people, because as an El Pasoan I saw exactly what that results in: Twenty-three of my neighbors were murdered in a matter of minutes there.”
O’Rourke is referring to the mass shooting last year in which a white racist, targeting Hispanics, killed 23 people in an El Paso Walmart. He left a 2,300-word manifesto reeking of white replacement anxiety, one that spoke of a “Hispanic invasion of Texas” and detailed a plan to separate America into territories by race.
As repugnant – and dangerous! – as Abbott’s stunt is, it earned him a lot of free media attention, which gets people talking. Media coverage – what is called “earned media” – even negative and mocking coverage, is sometimes more powerful than paid ads. Look no further than Donald Trump’s victory in 2016.
O’Rourke is running a different race. He understands the potency of the immigration issue in his state. As he put it: “I think what you may see reflected in that poll is the deep frustration that all of us, including myself, feel about the fact that the last time we had any real major progress on immigration, Ronald Reagan was the president.”
But he believes he is seeing something that hasn’t showed up properly in the polls: a shadow army of angry voters animated by the overturning of Roe.
“The Dobbs decision, of course, is galvanizing for turnout everywhere,” he said.
He also believes that many of the people who are energized to vote will be turning out not just because of abortion, but also because of Abbott’s lack of movement on gun control.
15 comments:
This MEDIO HOMBRE FAKE MESSICAN BETA o'rouke is a kept man. His father in law who is the "warren buffett" of real estate development SUPPORTS HIS ASS. ALL he is going to do is grease his in-law and his pocket.
THIS MAN IS YOUR TYPICAL DEMOCRATA MAMON!!!!!!
Texas regulators issued an environmental permit for the Port of Corpus Christi to build what could become the state’s first seawater desalination plant — but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may refuse to accept it.
The EPA said they’re willing to bring the hammer down and declare any permit issued here invalid. It was the EPA taking a position that they have historically only [taken] in the air permitting context. Matthew Dobbins, an environmental litigation attorney and partner at Vinson & Elkins, said he was surprised to see the EPA threaten such an action on a water matter.
He said under President Joe Biden, the EPA is “taking a much closer look at permitting decisions than they may have in the past.”
All this relates back to the Green New Deal. The state of Texas like many other states in this country is facing a serious drought issue but democrats are stuck on their failed agenda. Governor Abbott is trying to make this state even better for it citizens but is being blocked by radical democrats.
beto odork we need immigration reform, hey werent you in congress before and how come you never did anything to address immigration reform while you were there? Things that make you go HMMMMMMMM.
Polls? Because of polls and the accuracy we ended up with a Fucking Cheeto as President!
Gun control could make or break this race.
Republicans focus away from the facts blaming the shootings on mental issues.
They don't want to hurt their back pockets with the money received from NRA under the table to allow them to keep producing assault rifles.
Every American has the right to have a gun. There is absolutely no need to own guns that should only be in possession of law enforcement and the military.
Bottom line is, we need to keep our kids safe at school.
“If you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying, ‘It’s declassified.’ Even by thinking about it.”
If you are a brownsville city commissioner you can do the same, "I approve the construction of bike trails", was thought of by la bruja and it was done. Now its dog parks she is thinking about it and sooooon it will be done JUST LIKE TRUMPUTO....
Cocs that think and want to be like a gringo are also included and are racist republicans. In el valle there are quite a few of these cocos wanna be white. Even if they are labeled rapist, murderers and thieves and are hated by the gringos these meskins still think they are white. Ex cops and ex teachers are in this group. Teachers and cops are 95% racist republicans. FACT...............c/s.
What a bunch of bull shit from this writer and from a false person who wants to tell you the voters that he's a Mexican because he takes a name (Beto) which he is a true socialists communist from this state. Why is Cameron County run by lying, cheating, free spending democrats creating misery to Brownsville. Taxpayers over paying taxes but those democrats in charge
in the COB, PUB, BND, BISD, CC, laughing at you. The democrats have fail you the taxpayers forever but you the voters like to be treated like idiots.
Is Beto using his father in law's money to run his campaign?
El mariguano de Willie Nelson apoya a Beto. Mariguanos far and wide from the RGV make sure you vote for Beto.
Bobby O'Rourke himself demonized AR15 owners. There is no constitutional right to an abortion. There is a constitutional right to bear arms.
mamon on wheels just like trumputo likes them....
So what sanben meskins all have gringo names, so what's the difference? Most of them are elected officials. Sanbene the coco town of south texas and the RGV. Pinches cocos mamones...SO WHAT!!!!!
GO BETO gringo or not. Bud budd is incompetent and a racist republican. If he goes to sanbene he will bus the whole town to CANADA...FACT..............c/s.
A new polling place has just opened up in cameron county its call THINKING VOTE. Register to vote by thinking.... great idea by the democrats.
Now the racist republicans have a place all to themselves pendejos....
And just like this writer that wrote this article is full of shit...ask Beto who is funding his campaign...Soros donated 1 million dollars to him...they want to make Texas like Chicago,CA, New York.... shot hole..bola de pendejos that believe this idiot...
wasn't beto on of the reindeers in the Cheech and Chong song? Come on Beto.
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