It is as if Beto O’Rourke exists now to suffer abuse on the campaign trail.
The bottom-tier 2020 Democratic candidate was confronted this week at a campaign event in Newtown, Connecticut, by an activist who is not at all happy with the former Texas congressman’s call for the forcible confiscation of an estimated 16 million AR-15 and military-style rifles. The Wednesday event, which was billed as a town hall to discuss gun violence, featured several key anti-gun activist groups, including the Newtown Action Alliance and Moms Demand Action.
“They are here to hijack this town and to try to make an issue out of getting guns out of good peoples’ hands that can make a difference,” said reported Newtown resident Rebecca Carnes, “and you know that, Beto.”
She continued, accusing O’Rourke of politicizing gun violence, including the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which claimed the lives of 20 children, for personal gain.
“[T]his is bullshit,” Carnes continued. “It’s about mental health and it’s about this war on boys and masculinity. You’re bullshit for being here. Shame on you, Beto.”
She added as efforts were made by the event’s organizers to have her removed, “C’mon, bring it on, Beto! Let me hear, what do you have to say about mental health? What do you have to say about urban violence? You don’t care!”
“The Democrats have been in charge of urban communities and cities for decades,” said Carnes. “The Democrats have failed. They don’t care about you, sir. That’s why he’s at Sandy Hook. He doesn’t care. It’s bullshit.”
It did not end there. Carnes, who claims to be a third-generation Newtown resident, continued to dress down the 2020 Democratic candidate, growing increasingly partisan in her protest.
“Democrats are out!” she shouted as event organizers continued to try to move the discussion along. “Trump 2020! He’s saving this world! You guys are corrupt liars and you know it, Beto!”
O’Rourke declined to address her points about mental health and gun violence in major U.S. cities. In fact, he did not say much of anything, according to a local Fox affiliate.
“I know that the people of this community understand this better than perhaps any other community in this country and not just the devastation, the grief and the lost, but what those solutions are,” the former congressman said.
He added that he had come to the town hall event “not to pitch myself, not to lay on a platform, not to campaign, but to listen to the people of Newtown.”
That would be a lot easier to believe, were it not for the fact that gun control is O’Rourke’s chief campaign issue. That and the fact that he invited the press along to witness his role in the Newtown town hall, which, again, prominently featured partisan activist groups with which the failing 2020 candidate has aligned himself.
If O’Rourke’s appearance at Newtown were indeed part of some sort of serious listening tour, I would expect there to be fewer cameras, lights, reporters, and partisan activists.
