Will Texas Move Bluer On November 6th?

Who would ever have imagined Texas would have one of the most closely watched Senate races of 2018? Certainly not the DSCC, which hasn't spent a nickel in Texas. But the race has captured the hearts of so many Texans-- and, in truth so many Americans from coast to coast-- because of what an exceptional candidate Beto is and because of how exceptional bad Ted Cruz is.How much would you pay to hear Trump's put downs of Cruz a week from next Wednesday if Cruz loses! But the race is totally too close to call. The polls are mostly within the margin of error and swing back and forth.

The last public poll was by Ipsos for Reuters on Wednesday. Among all registered voters, Beto led by 2 points. Among "likely voters," Cruz was up 5. Let's hope Beto has a great ground game. FiveThirtyEight doesn't give him much of a shot-- just 1 in 5.

Although Beto has raised $60,773,550 to Cruz's $34,963,054, outside spending on behalf of Cruz is mind-boggling. The billionaire class is pouring money into the state. Over six and a half million dollars in negative ads against Beto have polluted the Texas airwaves paid for by donors to right-wing outfits like Club for Growth, the NRA, McConnell's SuperPAC and, most of all, the newly formed Texans Are PAC financed by a few fascist billionaires like Dick Uihlein, Charles Saulsbury, Tandy and Lee Roy Mitchell (Cinemark USA), Robert Rowling and Wall Street criminal Hushang Ansary-- to the tune of $4,386,762.

This week the Dallas Morning News, a conservative newspaper that had endorsed all Republicans since 1940 (until Trump came along) urged its readers to dump Cruz-- who they had endorsed in 2012-- and vote for Beto. "When," wrote the editors, "in the course of human events, a people become so divided among themselves that they can no longer engage in meaningful political discourse or even remain civil to one another, it is time to take bold steps forward. In looking at the race for United States Senate in Texas, we recognize that this country stands on a precipice.  Whether we fall off the edge depends on how we answer this question: Can we set policy differences aside, even for a moment, and agree to treat each other with the respect befitting a great nation, with acknowledgment of the humanity of each person?" You can see already this isn't going in a direction that's turning in Cruz's ultra-divisive and extremist direction.

We have been at divisive political moments before, and we know those often end when leaders emerge who find ways to get along personally even when they are engaged in grand, tectonic political debates. That is one of the underappreciated stories of the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O’Neill worked together.  Even when they fought it out on tough issues, they fostered an enduring friendship.

For this reason more than any other, we favor U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate.  The pivotal issue before our country is public leadership, and here we believe O’Rourke’s tone aligns with what is required now. This inclusive and hopeful tone, along with O’Rourke’s approach of starting with shared principles and working toward solutions, offset any policy differences we have with him. Leadership is more than policy, and whether we are addressing the very real challenges before us now turns on our ability to find points of agreement.

In this respect, O’Rourke is the stronger candidate.  In conducting his campaign, he has displayed a demeanor that offers respect for each person and a humbleness that will allow him to open the door to working with those who hold political views different from his. We believe O’Rourke is right in calling for rejoining the Paris climate accord, supporting the vast potential of renewable energy in Texas, and calling for universal background checks on guns. He is also right to reject the call for construction of a border wall and to call for comprehensive and fair immigration reform.

By contrast, through his actions in Washington and his rhetoric from Iowa to New Hampshire and beyond, incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz has distinguished himself as a cutting figure in today’s politics. Lincoln, echoing the Gospel of Mark, cautioned us long ago that a house divided against itself cannot stand. And we believe that at this moment, we cannot afford such an approach.

That is not to say that Cruz doesn’t arrive to this debate with a host of policy positions that we are deeply devoted to.  On economic policy, for example, we supported the president’s tax cuts that Cruz voted for. And we stand with Cruz in looking to remove federal regulations that stifle job creation.  Removing barriers to American employment and prosperity is itself an act of compassion.

We were also moved by Cruz when he told us about meeting with the students from Santa Fe High School after the shooting there.  In those comments he listed a number of ideas on how to curb such attacks, including an idea we supported this year to create a unit in the Justice Department to find holes in the background system before they are exploited by the next shooter. He also supports political dissidents who push for human freedom abroad, support that we share as we look for ways to ground American foreign policy in a set of guiding principles that will rally others to our cause.

But there is a set of principles we would like to restore in domestic politics that starts with building political bridges.  Before he became Cruz’s challenger, O’Rourke was a congressman best known outside of El Paso for road-tripping across Texas and up to Washington with Republican Congressman Will Hurd.  The two had serious differences, but their camaraderie and their willingness to discuss compromise were a brief antidote to the political poison seeping out of the capital.

O’Rourke largely framed his campaign around the spirit of the road trip with just a few notable exceptions.  Those include saying he would vote to impeach the president, thereby putting himself in favor of what would be one of the most divisive fights in politics. At the end of the campaign he also broke with his approach to repeat an insulting nickname Donald Trump once slapped on Cruz. These are blemishes on his campaign.

O’Rourke is no conservative Democrat.  His positions on taxes, immigration, the judiciary, federal regulations and health care are further to the left than many statewide voters would like.  But he is shattering expectations in a state where Democrats haven’t won a statewide race in decades. The dollars he has raised and the number of supporters he has garnered are evidence of an embedded hunger in this state and country for a campaign that’s based on unifying communities.

In the divisive times in which we live, we believe that tone and leadership are the top issues with which to judge these candidates' tenures in office.  So we’re placing a bet on Beto.

The DSCC has stayed out of Beto's race. They would rather spend their money on right-of-center challengers Kyrstsen Sinema (Blue Dog-AZ), Jacky Rosen (NV) and Phil Bredesen (TN) and in protecting conservative incumbents who have alienated the Democratic base with their voting patterns (Manchin, Donnelly, Heitkamp, etc) And the DCCC never even bothered appointing a regional vice chair once Jared Polis resigned last year. They did that so they could run the show in Texas from DC. They did so-- terribly and have a real pile of crap for candidates, most of whom will certainly lose. The Blue America-endorsed Texas candidates-- none of whom are backed by the Democratic DC establishment-- can be viewed by tapping on the Turning Texas Blue thermometer on the right. [Note to the DCCC and DSCC: "blue" is different from "purplish pink" or whatever crap color you're crafting back in Washington for your putrid candidates.]

UPDATE: Ft. Worth

Yesterday evening, the Ft Worth Star-Telegram also endorsed Beto. It sounds nuts when they begin-- a smear of a very moderate New Dem: "U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz represent the hard left and right of American politics. Neither stands in the middle ground, where the real work is done to lead America." Wow! Brainwashed by Fox and hate talk radio! But they were still determined to not endorse Cruz again:

But only O’Rourke seems interested in making deals or finding middle ground. That is why the El Paso Democrat would make the best senator for Tarrant County’s future, and the future of Texas... [M]uch of what he says, particularly about immigration and healthcare, sounds like what Texas business conservatives used to say before the emergence of New York Republican Donald Trump.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn says we shouldn’t deport Dreamer students over their parents’ mistakes. Former Gov. Rick Perry, now energy secretary, has said a border wall “doesn’t make sense.” President George W. Bush endorsed a path to legal status for those who came illegally but worked peacefully, supported the economy and showed good character.

These are the same Texas values that O’Rourke now defends.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus wanted to beef up spending on public schools and find a “Texas solution” to improve healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

O’Rourke now champions both.

Cruz and O’Rourke both support free trade, which is essential for success in Fort Worth and Texas. Our city is emerging as a leading global distribution center, and Mexico is Texas’ No. 1 trade partner.

But O’Rourke would have more room to oppose the president’s questionable trade and tariff decisions, which threaten Texas.


...This endorsement did not come without some disagreement. Cruz is closer to Texas’ and Tarrant County’s views on issues related to faith and values, and also on energy policy.

But Cruz was elected with no experience in any council or legislature, and it shows. His intransigence prevents him from currying support or negotiating deals to help Texas.

This Editorial Board has recommended conservative Republicans such as George W. Bush and Mitt Romney for president, along with U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison.

But Cruz does not measure up. This office needs a reset.

The Star-Telegram Editorial Board endorses Beto O’Rourke for U.S. senator.