O'Rourke, Beto Rep
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919
beto, hell yes assault weapons
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omg
an 8 25
"Ken Paxton asks judge to jail Beto O’Rourke for fundraising Texas Dems' walkout" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
*Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
*Editor's note: This story contains profanity.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday asked a Tarrant County judgeto jail former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, in another escalation in Republicans’ broader effort to put an end to Texas Democrats’ walkout over a new congressional map.
Paxton sued O’Rourke and his political group, Powered by People, last week, arguing that the group was deceptively fundraising for and illegally supporting Texas Democrats’ walkout. Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey quickly granted Paxton’s request to temporarily block O’Rourke and Powered by People from fundraising for Democrats or spending money to cover their expenses.
On Tuesday, Paxton claimed that O’Rourke had violated that temporary injunction at a Fort Worth rally Saturday, when he told the crowd, “There are no refs in this game, f—— the rules.”
According to a video of the event, O’Rourke appeared to say that phrase after urging the crowd to support retaliatory redistricting in other blue states — not in relation to the injunction.
Paxton’s motion also cited social media posts by O’Rourke after the injunction came down, in which the Democrat said he was “still raising and rallying to stop the steal of 5 congressional seats in Texas,” and included a donation link.
The attorney general said O’Rourke “repeatedly solicited donations” at the Fort Worth rally by urging the crowd to text “FIGHT” to a number that would automatically respond with a link to a donation platform.
Paxton’s motion asks the judge to imprison O’Rourke for the duration of the lawsuit, and to fine the Democrat $500 for each violation of the injunction.
Paxton’s lawsuit against O’Rourke and his group is part of an aggressive effort by Republican state leaders to break the impasse caused by Democrats’ exodus. Gov. Greg Abbott and Paxton have asked the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court to expel House Democrats, and Paxton, along with House Speaker Dustin Burrows, are turning to GOP-friendly Illinois courts to try to extradite the lawmakers taking refuge there.
Democrats left the state en masse last week, leaving the House without the minimum number of members to conduct business, to stall adoption of a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House in next year’s midterm election.
Powered by People has been a top funder covering the costs of Democrats’ decampment, the expenses for which are mounting quickly. Democrats are on the hook for lodging, meals, travel and the $500-per-day fines accrued each day of the session they miss. They will also be responsible for thousands of dollars spent trying to compel their attendance, Burrows said Tuesday. He previously said they would not be able to receive their paycheck except in person, and that their office budgets would be slashed until they return.
O’Rourke filed his own lawsuit against Paxton Friday in El Paso district court, alleging that the attorney general was engaging in a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned,” and asking the judge to block Paxton’s investigation into the organization’s practices.
“Paxton is trying to shut down Powered by People, one of the largest voter registration organizations in the country, because our volunteers fight for voting rights and free elections, the kind of work that threatens the hold that Paxton, [President Donald] Trump and Abbott have on power in Texas,” O’Rourke said in a statement responding to Friday’s injunction.
A spokesperson for O’Rourke did not immediately return a request for comment.
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https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/11/beto-orourke-greg-abbott-motherfucker-heckler/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/beto-orourke-calls-out-heckler-laughing-over-uvalde-shooting-it-may-be-funny-to-you-motherfucker
no lnx vid
Beto Calls Out Heckler Laughing Over Uvalde: ‘It May Be Funny to You, Motherfucker’
CLAP BACK
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate was discussing the victims of the shooting and gun control when the incident occurred.
Matt Young
Night Editor
Updated Aug. 11, 2022 1:22AM ET / PublishedAug. 11, 2022
Callaghan O’Hare/Reuters
Beto O’Rourke hit back at a heckler who laughed out loud Wednesday as the Texas gubernatorial candidate discussed the Uvalde school massacre.
O’Rourke was speaking to a crowd at a town hall in Mineral Wells during his 49-day tour of Texas when he began discussing the recent mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.
“I’m going to make sure that now, 11 weeks since we lost 19 kids and their two teachers, shot to death with a weapon originally designed for use in combat, legally purchased by an 18-year-old who did not try to obtain one when he was 16 or 17 but followed the law that’s on the books, ladies and gentleman, that says that you can buy not one, you can buy two or more if you want to, AR-15s, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and take that weapon that was originally designed for use on the battlefields in Vietnam to penetrate an enemy soldier’s helmet at 500 feet and knock him down dead…”
It was then that a man could be heard laughing loudly in the background.
“Up against kids at 5 feet… it may be funny to you, motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me, OK?” O’Rourke said.
The crowd then erupted in applause, giving O’Rourke a standing ovation.
“We’re going to make sure that our kids who are starting their school year right now, that they don’t have to worry about somebody walking into their school with a weapon like this,” O’Rourke said.
After the event, O’Rourke tweeted: “The parents in Uvalde are demanding action to address gun violence so no more families have to go through what they are experiencing. As governor, I will work with them to deliver it.”
According to footage posted to social media, the man was among a group of counter-protesters and supporters of Gov. Greg Abbott who were reportedly allowed to enter the premises.
In one video posted to Twitter by Roza Calderón, who confirmed to The Daily Beast that she was in the crowd at the time and sitting “just in front of the counter-protesters,” police can be seen speaking with one of the Abbott supporters who was allegedly among those laughing.
“While speaking about the Uvalde massacre every single Abbott supporter laughed as loud as possible, as if it were a joke,” she said.
She told The Daily Beast a few groups of Abbott supporters showed up, including a group of women.
“The group of men you see in the video were there to antagonize the crowd,” Calderón said. “They stood in the back speaking loudly over the guest speaker. They would make horribly racist or homophobic comments and laugh to get a rise.
“I’d say the whole room was trying to be cordial and welcoming to the Abbott people. When Beto went up to speak he reiterated that we were ALL welcome to join the discussion.
“When he spoke about the Uvalde shooting the men started heckling and laughing boisterously. It’s when Beto made the comment. The men were visibly embarrassed, and one of them started yelling like he was going to teach Beto a lesson. Event staff tried to calm him down, but they couldn’t. A police officer was flagged over to help.”
Calderón said the men “quietly left maybe 5-10 minutes after this exchange.”Beto O’Rourke Calls Out Heckler Laughing Over Uvalde Shooting, ‘It May Be Funny to You, Motherfucker’ (thedailybeast.com) video Roza Calderón on Twitter: "“It may be funny to you motherfuck*r, but it’s not funny to me!” - @BetoORourke Counter protesters were welcomed by Beto during his stop in Mineral Wells, TX. While speaking about the #UvaldeMassacre every single Abbot supporter laughed as loud as possible, as if it were a joke. https://t.co/PR1D109GZD" / Twitter
r2 92 biker dude
O’Rourke, who is appearing in Republic Party strongholds, has been a vocal supporter of gun control and more restrictive laws.
The footage has been widely shared online, with Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, praising O’Rourke: “This is how you respond when someone laughs loudly while discussing the mass shooting in Uvalde.”
Founder of Moms Demand Action, Shannon Watts, urged voters to donate to the O’Rourke campaign and asked, “Please knock doors for Beto. Please get out the vote for Beto.”
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mma 919
appearing Friday on Fox Business to discuss the Democratic debate the night before, Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren suggested that Americans may have to shoot immigrants, saying “The people in the middle of this country, we are going to be armed and ready, because we have to have a means to defend ourselves from — who knows who's coming in?”
Guns were a main topic in right-wing media after former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) called for a mandatory buyback of AR-15s and AK-47s. Shortly after, a Texas state rep. tweeted that "My AR is ready for you Robert Francis [KENNEDY?!].” Many right-wing media figures defended the obvious death threat, and the representative was even feted on Dana Loesch':(style="background-color:#ffcc66ff"):}::{s radio show and on Fox News.
Elsewhere on Fox News, Fox host Jesse Watters suggested that a buyback program, similar to what Australia has done, would result in gun owners in America murdering police officers. Others on Fox have made similar remarks.
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https://www.alternet.org/2019/09/the-appeal-and-limitations-of-beto-orourke-unleashed/
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target?
suspended campaign to go home to take care of shooter [ post- elpaso] Odessa? ppl:
no lnx
How bots and far-right figures spread a lie about Beto O'Rourke and the Odessa shooting
A likely bot network, QAnon accounts, a TPUSA advisory council member, the Proud Boys, Sebastian Gorka, and a member of Trump's 2020 advisory board helped push the false claim
WRITTEN BY ALEX KAPLAN
PUBLISHED 09/04/19 1:52 PM EDT
UPDATED 09/05/19 9:08 AM EDT
Multiple far-right figures helped a likely network of bot accounts spread a false claim on social media connecting former Texas congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke with an alleged mass shooter in Texas.
On August 31, a gunman in Odessa and Midland, TX, killed seven people. While the alleged shooter’s motive is still unknown,a false claim appeared afterward on social media that the alleged shooter had an O’Rourke sticker on his car (authorities said there is no evidence for this) and reportedly spread with the help of likely bot accounts. Other crucial players that spread the falsity included multiple accounts supporting the QAnon conspiracy theory, a member of Turning Point USA’s advisory council, far-right gang the Proud Boys, former Trump White House adviser and current Sinclair contributor Sebastian Gorka, and current Trump campaign adviser Tony Shaffer.
How the lie spread
On the afternoon of September 1, Twitter account @suemo54 tweeted that the shooter was “a Democrat Socialist who has a Beto sticker on his truck.” As a data analyst noted on Twitter, even though the @suemo54 account had few followers, the tweet containing the false claim received hundreds and eventually thousands of retweets. A misinformation-tracking firm told The Washington Post that “the post appears to have been amplified mainly by bot accounts.” The account was later suspended but has since been reinstated.
@suemo54 image
The @suemo54 account’s Facebook page has previously shared material from JoeM, a major QAnon account.
Also that afternoon, a Facebook user called Lupe Fuentes posted almost identical language to @suemo54’s tweet in a meme, along with “BINGO!” The account had also previously postedQAnon material from JoeM. The meme was subsequently shared tens of thousands of times, and Fuentes bragged about the post’s virality.
Fuentes Facebook Beto false claim
Following these posts, other Twitter accounts began tweeting similar language, with some, according to the data analyst, getting “traction on their shooter/Beto tweet above and beyond what one might expect from their follower count.” Some of the accounts spreading the false claim that received thousands of retweets included @paphotog, an account that used to support QAnon; @nightingalern, a QAnon account that has the QAnon slogan “Where we go one, we go all,” or “WWG1WGA” in its profile; and @bbusa617, which also supports QAnon.
@paphotog
@nightingalern
@bbusa617
Joel Fischer, an advisory council member for Turning Point USA, also tweeted the false claim by the evening, receiving thousands of retweets. Fischer has a history of pushing social media falsities, including those from the QAnon community.
Joel Fischer Beto false claim
Fischer’s tweet was spread by other right-wing figures and outlets, including the Telegram channel for the far-right group the Proud Boys, a Daily Wire writer whose tweet has since been deleted, and former White House official and current Sinclair contributor Sebastian Gorka, who has previously amplified false content spread by QAnon supporters.
Gorka Beto false claim
Telegram Proud Boys Beto false claim
Meanwhile, the false claim also continued to spread on Facebook, where some directly cited Fischer and Gorka and, as noted by The Associated Press, some “posted a picture of a white truck with a ‘Beto 2020’ sticker on the back window, saying it belonged to Ator”; on Twitter, including from Dustin Nemos, a co-author of a bestselling QAnon book who pushed @suemo54’s tweet; and on white nationalist hotspot 4chan,where a user shared Fuentes’ meme.
Dustin Nemos
Facebook Beto false claim Gorka Fischer
4chan Beto false claim
4chan Beto false claim2
Tony Shaffer, a former intelligence officer and member of President Donald Trump’s 2020 advisory board,shared @suemo54’s tweet on the morning of September 2, adding that it showed the alleged shooter “was a @BetoORourke supporter.”
Tony Shaffer Beto false claim
When The Washington Post told Shaffer in a brief interview that the claim in his tweet is false, Shaffer doubled down, saying, “That’s not what I’ve seen from people.”
The baseless claim tying the shooter to a Democratic presidential candidate -- and to the left more broadly -- appears to have jumped from social media to right-wing talk radio; on September 4, host Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed the alleged shooter “was an out-of-control Democrat.”
A Facebook spokesperson, in response to criticism from O'Rourke's campaign about the falsity's spread on social media, told the Post that it was looking into whether “inauthentic behavior amplified content promoting the false story on its platform.” Neither Google nor Twitter responded to the paper's inquiries about the false claim.
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https://www.alternet.org/2019/05/beto-orourke-signs-no-fossil-fuel-money-pledge-after-weeks-of-pressure/
“Beto O’Rourke signs “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge” after weeks of pressure” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke announced Wednesday that he had signed a pledge against taking campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry, a move that followed persistent pressure to make the commitment and criticism of his decision not to do so.
In signing the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge, the former El Paso congressman has promised to not knowingly accept donations of over $200 from PACs and executives of fossil fuel companies. O’Rourke has long rejected PAC money in his campaigns, but as he has become a national figure, he has taken heat for accepting donations from executives, both in his U.S. Senate campaign last year and in the opening weeks of his White House bid.
Announcing his decision to sign the pledge in a video Wednesday evening, O’Rourke also said he would return any contribution over $200 that his presidential campaign has received so far from an executive. “We will not take that money going forward,” he added.
The decision is significant. O’Rourke has received questions about the pledge — and why he had not signed it — on a weekly basis on the campaign trail. And when O’Rourke announced a plan to fight climate change Monday, some activists questioned his commitment to the cause given that he had not taken the pledge.
Until now, O’Rourke has dealt with questions about the pledge by emphasizing his desire to run an inclusive campaign that does not write off anyone — including those in the fossil fuel industry.
“If you work in the oil fields, if you answer the phones at the office, if you’re one of my fellow Texans in of our state’s largest employers, I’m not gonna single you out from being unable to participate in our democracy,” O’Rourke said last month when confronted about the pledge while campaigning at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Pressed by audience members about whether he would take campaign cash specifically from executives, O’Rourke said he was not planning to but still held off on signing the pledge.
O’Rourke cited that episode in the video as he framed his decision to sign the pledge as him being responsive to the young people and activists that he has met on the campaign trail. Those people, he said, “understand that we don’t take PAC money … but given the enormity of our challenge right now [with climate change] … we don’t want there to be any real or perceived conflicts of interest.”
O’Rourke’s history with the pledge predates his presidential campaign. He signed it while running for U.S. Senate last year but was removed from a list of signees after the race, following reporting that he had taken donations from executives. It appeared O’Rourke’s campaign believed at the time that the pledge only applied to PACs.
In any case, O’Rourke’s announcement Wednesday marks a major victory for the activists and groups who have sought to make the pledge a litmus test in the Democratic presidential primary. O’Rourke is the 12th candidate to sign the pledge.
A spokesman for one of the groups involved in the pledge, Oil Change U.S., called O’Rourke’s decision the “latest indication that the terms of political debate on climate change have fundamentally shifted.” The spokesman, David Turnbull, also lauded activists for keeping the pressure on O’Rourke, suggesting he may have never taken the pledge without their persistence.
“While signing the pledge doesn’t prove by itself that any candidate is a true climate leader, it’s a critical indication that they may be willing take on the out-of-control fossil fuel industry that’s threatening our communities and climate every day,” Turnbull said. “We absolutely welcome Beto joining 11 other major candidates in signing this pledge to resist the influence of the fossil fuel industry, and look forward to a rigorous debate in the Democratic field moving forward on solutions that match the scale of the problem.”
Read related Tribune coverage
- Beto O’Rourke unveils plan to fight climate change
- Officers at scene of Beto O’Rourke’s 1998 DWI crash say they believe he tried to flee
- Beto O’Rourke releases 10 years of tax returns
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/01/beto-orourke-fossil-fuel-money-pledge/.
Texas Tribune mission statement
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide
jok
https://www.alternet.org/election-03918/project-veritas-beto-orourke-ted-cruz-migrants
Friday morning, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) made a bizarre accusationagainst his opponent, El Paso Rep. Beto O'Rourke: that he might be illegally funneling money from his campaign to assist the Honduran migrant "caravan" that is currently traveling through southern Mexico:
US Senate candidate, TX
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Two basic Qs every reporter should ask Beto today: (1) should the “caravan” be allowed to cross illegally into Texas? (Beto refuses to answer.) And (2) did your campaign dollars illegally fund their doing so?
Beto O'Rourke Is Oddly Quiet About the Migrant Caravan
Robert "Beto" O'Rourke, the Democratic challenger to Ted Cruz, has opened up about many a hot-button topic but one topic he hasn't yet weighed in on is the migrant caravan currently heading toward...
redstate.com
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It is a wild conspiracy theory. But Cruz did not pull it out of thin air: he was likely referring to a
released on Thursday night by Project Veritas, a far-right group that inserted spies into the O'Rourke campaign. The heavily edited and spliced footage purports to show staffers discussing how they used prepaid cards issued by the campaign to purchase supplies for members of the caravan.
Except that is not actually what they were saying. The video actually shows field organizers discussing a group of migrants who were dropped off at a bus station in El Paso by the federal government, and according to O'Rourke's campaign, a few of them donated $300 to a Catholic immigrant shelter that had taken them in, to buy blankets, water, and food for sick children in the group. These asylum seekers have no relation whatsoever to the caravan currently trekking toward the U.S. border — Project Veritas simply cut the footage to conflate the two.
...
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Sing It With Me, 'Vote 'Em out!' Willie Nelson Debuts New Hit Song At Beto O'Rourke Rally in Texas
By Jen Hayden, Daily Kos
Here’s your 2018 midterm election rally cry. READ MORE»
willie N gets crap for Beto
AN
https://www.alternet.org/ted-cruz-so-scared-beto-orourke-hes-released-nasty-and-false-attack-ad
flag burning bs ad
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LeBron James Thanks Beto O'Rourke for His 'Candid' Defense of Kneeling NFL Players: 'Nothing More American'
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Texas Senate race is shaping up to be a much more interesting battlethan anyone could have predicted. Between Democratic El Paso Rep. Beto O'Rourke's prodigious grassroots fundraising and his relentless personal tours of all 254 counties in the Lone Star State, he has turned the race against infamous Texas Sen. Ted Cruz competitive, with a recent Texas Lyceum poll showing the race within 2 percentage points.
Cruz responded to news of the tight race with three separate ads attacking O'Rourke on Friday. One spot tells viewers that O'Rourke is "more extreme than he wants you to know," and that his immigration proposals are to the left of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. Another falsely claims that O'Rourke said "we should consider legalizing all narcotics, including heroin."
But the result of Cruz's negative ad blitz is likely not what he was hoping for. Over the weekend after the ads were released, O'Rourke raised an astonishing $1.2 million from 39,000 grassroots contributions.
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Texas Senatorial Candidate Beto O’Rourke
Texas politics are more nuanced and complex than some pundits believe: Democrats dominate local politics in major cities like Houston, Austin and El Paso, and whites are now a minority in the increasingly Latino Lone Star State. But Texas Republicans have an incredibly strong ground game at the state level, and a long list of Texas’ rural counties are deeply Republican. So, Beto O’Rourke, who is hoping to unseat far-right Sen. Ted Cruz in November, knows that he is facing an uphill battle. And one of the things O’Rourke is campaigning on is universal health care. O’Rourke has stressed that unlike Cruz, he wouldn’t vote to overturn the ACA in the Senate. But the ACA’s protections, as O’Rourke points out, don’t go far enough—and on Facebook, he declared, “A single-payer Medicare-for-all program is the best way to ensure all Americans get the healthcare they need.”
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aaron's law
| Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5]* | 04/21/2015 |
|---|---|
| Rep. Polis, Jared [D-CO-2]* | 04/21/2015 |
| Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3]* | 04/21/2015 |
| Rep. Doyle, Michael F. [D-PA-14]* | 04/21/2015 |
| Rep. O'Rourke, Beto [D-TX-16]* | 04/21/2015 |