Beto O’Rourke is no longer running for president. Oh, his campaign is still going. He’s still going to be at the debate. He’s still touring America and saying things candidates say. But make no mistake, O’Rourke’s presidential campaign is done and he knows it.
O’Rourke’s activism is just getting started.
The former U.S. Representative from Texas, who my colleague noted was no longer running for president three weeks ago, seems to have started the transition to become what he hopes to be the next Al Gore or Sarah Palin. Both the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee and the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee turned their losses into successful careers. But O’Rourke has a much lower profile than either of them had before their losses. Gore was a Senator and Vice President. Palin was a Governor. The best O’Rourke has been able to do is serve an undistinguished stint in the House.
But O’Rourke does have one major advantage over his activist predecessors. Between social media and viral marketing, he’s been able to somehow stay in the news more than people polling equal to or even higher than him. He makes more news than Andrew Yang, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, and Julian Castro by a mile. He competes well in the news rankings with Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris despite being far behind them. Why? Because he says crazy things.
We don't know how many have been killed. We don't know the motivation. But here's what we do know: This is fucked up. pic.twitter.com/NRvyPfUjiM
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 1, 2019
Once he says the crazy things, he Tweets them. Sometimes he does it in reverse order.
After the crazy thing has been Tweeted and spoken in public for a news show soundbite, he turns it into a T-shirt.
Rinse. Repeat.
But instead of using his latest crazy thing as a fundraising tool for his campaign, it’s conspicuous that his “This is f—ed up” T-Shirts are supporting two gun control groups. In essence, he’s buying favors (well, having his supporters buy the favors) from groups he hopes to partner with or commandeer in the near future.
New in the store…
100% of the proceeds will benefit @MomsDemand and @AMarch4OurLives.
This is fucked up. We can change it. https://t.co/PFRWFCypAl pic.twitter.com/Us1V4mz1cf
— Team Beto (@TeamBeto) September 1, 2019
In short, Beto O’Rourke wants to be for gun control what Al Gore was for the environment. Or, to be more accurate, O’Rourke wants to benefit FROM the gun control movement the same ways Gore benefited FROM the environmental movement.
We can expect O’Rourke to be talking about guns, guns, and guns. He’ll drop his obligatory pitches for climate change, single-payer healthcare, and open borders, but the focus moving forward will be on guns. It’s his money ticket, his ride on the fame train.
Just like any master marketer, Beto O’Rourke is turning his inadequacies into gold. He’s on track to be the unofficial leader of the anti-gun movement. He may even end up making it official. Yet some suckers are still supporting his campaign.
We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.
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