There’s nothing like an unsuccessful white man’s confidence in his ability to fail upward.
Case in point: Beto O’Rourke.
The Texas Democrat is the pinnacle of white privilege. He has a billionaire father-in-law, a history of crony capitalism, and a drunken driving arrest that legacy media keep forgetting to mention. That hasn’t stopped the Democratic Party from embracing this “Kennedyesque” candidate.
Now, the failed senatorial candidate and failed presidential candidate is trying his hand at something new: running for governor of Texas. Texas Monthly reported Monday morning that O’Rourke is preparing to face Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022. “He will seek to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas since 1994, ending the longest statewide losing streak in America for either party,” the magazine notes.
You can’t say O’Rourke isn’t ambitious. In 2018, he tried to topple the relatively unpopular freshman Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. After losing in the midterm elections, O’Rourke forced himself upon the national consciousness again with a 2020 presidential bid. He campaigned on taking away America’s “assault weapons,” which is not a popular proposal nationally or in Texas.
Beto is not smart, but maybe he’s got style, or charisma, or something else going for him. Why else would he keep demanding the support of voters who clearly just aren’t that into him?
The Vanity Fair cover announcing his run for president showed him standing on a dirt road, pretending to be relatable and not filthy rich and privileged. “I want to be in it,” he declared. “Man, I’m just born to be in it.” Does this sound a little melodramatic for a man who failed at his first political dream and had no chance of winning the Democratic presidential primary?
The accompanying photo spread was shot by none other than legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz. Really. In these exclusive, “See, I’m down to earth!” photographs, he’s flipping pancakes, playing music with his children, and lounging barefoot in his house. It looks like a classic case of trying too hard. (But at least his dog has charisma.)
Now that O’Rourke has twice failed, he’s settling for a gubernatorial run. His announcement shows a glimmer of self-awareness — he told Texas Monthly regarding his presidential run, “I am moved by the opportunity to serve and to help, and I was extraordinarily fortunate to have the chance to run in 2019. And no, it did not work out as well as I wanted it to. Somebody put it to me this way: I wanted to run in the worst way — and I succeeded in that.”
To its credit, the magazine notes that O’Rourke is even less popular than Abbott. O’Rourke responds to this with a humble brag: “I don’t think this will be much of a campaign if it’s about me. I think it really has to be about Texas. It has to be about all of us.”
Ah, yes, there’s the Beto O’Rourke we love to hate.
The good thing for Abbott, and right-leaning Texans, is that O’Rourke “is not expected to face any serious challengers for his party’s nomination.” That means that, despite O’Rourke’s inimitable optimism, the only things he will have going for him is his confidence and his in-laws’ dark money. This third time isn’t going to be the charm.
