In one swift motion, Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke managed a feat accomplished by just a handful in the history of American politics when he not only erased his already minuscule chance of becoming the 46th President of the United States, but also significantly hindered his chances of ever being elected to public office.
In a Miley Cyrus-like attention grab, the El Pasoan came out and said, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47”. This statement unsurprisingly ended his run at the presidency as the passage of a mandatory gun buyback holds less than 50% approval overall and under 40% support among independent voters. The painfully unconstitutional statement will prove detrimental in a number of ways Robert and his blue crew may not have expected.
For starters, O’Rourke’s celebrity status among Texas democrats was made apparent when he gave incumbent senator Ted Cruz a run for his money in a state President Trump won by almost 10 points.
While O’Rourke may have never had a real shot at the oval office, he was somebody the democrats could count on upsetting an incumbent representative in a competitive Texas district. Shockingly, the Lone Star State is one of the least accommodating to absurd gun control legislation. While a spot in the house may not be the first thing on democrats’ minds, house seats in conservative states will start becoming a premium for a rapidly-radicalizing democratic party.
The bigger problem for the left, however, is that Beto tipped their hand. Democrats have always had a habit of making statements every year slightly more progressive than the last until a once-liberal standpoint seems to be the norm. As incoherent as we like to believe many leftists are, this is actually a highly calculated strategy that requires precise monitoring by the party and its planners. Even in a primary in which the democrats have proven to be more radical than usual, a mandatory gun buyback is at least two years away from becoming part of the mainstream democratic platform.
Beto jumping the gun(s) on this piece of the platform will be a majorly advantageous talking point for the Trump Administration. The democrats will undoubtedly dissociate themselves from their former superstar as quickly as possible, but the image of O’Rourke on stage with all the other democrats calling for the forced removal of guns from legal gun owners will certainly be on the minds of voters on election day. Ultimately, this issue is sure to impede the chance of defeating Trump for any and all hopeful democrats.
