Beto O’Rourke is toast. Things have gotten so bad for his fledgling 2020 campaign that he released opposition research on himself this weekend, revealing that he and his wife are descendants of slave-owners.
“I was recently given documents showing that both Amy and I are descended from people who owned slaves,” O’Rourke wrote in a Medium post, “the legacy of slavery in the United States … now has a much more personal connection.”
For context, note that NBC’s hit piece about two of Sen. Mitch McConnell’s great-great-grandfathers owning slaves was published just in time for his Democratic opponent’s campaign announcement. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that normally, this sort of story is dug up by your political opponents and handed to the media.
What I’m trying to say here is that things are so bad for Beto that he is trying to draw attention to himself by releasing what we’d all think of as opposition research on his own campaign. (Also, was it really necessary for O’Rourke to drag his wife into it this?)
If you can believe it, the slavery blog post is not even the worst sign for the Beto 2020 campaign.
First, it’s worth mentioning that his campaign fundraising numbers dropped by more than 60% in the second quarter, according to the Washington Examiner’s Emily Larsen.
Second, O’Rourke just crossed the de Blasio line, earning exactly zero support in a New Hampshire primary poll released this week by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center. Three hundred and fifty-one New Hampshire registered voters who say they intend to participate in the Democratic primary were asked specifically to answer the question: “If the presidential primary election were held today, which candidate would you vote for?” Not a single person chose Robert Francis O’Rourke.
Harry Nilsson was wrong. Zero point zero is the loneliest number.
O’Rourke came in behind even new age guru Marianne Williamson, which is astonishing considering all the months of free, fawning media coverage he enjoyed, the appearances on network television, and even an HBO special prior to announcing his candidacy.
The Saint Anselm poll, conducted July 10-12, also showed O’Rourke continues to hemorrhage support. In February, 51.6% of New Hampshire registered voters said they had a favorable view of O’Rourke, according to the same polling group. In April, that number fell to 46.3%. It is now July and his “favorable” number has fallen all the way to 29.8%.
It must be frustrating for O’Rourke, throwing all this red meat to the left-wing base and getting nothing in return. He claimed last week that “this country was founded on white supremacy” and that “every single institution and structure that we have in this country still reflects the legacy of slavery and segregation and Jim Crow and suppression, even in our democracy.” He came out in support of impeaching President Trump (after being against it, and after being for it before that). He blamed climate change for the border crisis, and that was after he supported tearing down existing border fencing. He has also gone so far as to dig up and release opposition research into himself.
All that, and not a single person in New Hampshire told the pollster that he’s their guy. Sad trombone.
