Hey Team Beto, Rachel here! We had a big week at Beto for America. We started off with Beto’s strong performance at the Democratic debate in Ohio, where Beto commanded the stage and continued to lead the conversation around getting weapons of war off our streets and enacting bold policies to support America’s veterans and families. And to close the week, Beto took his campaign directly to Trump when the president attempted to bring his divisiveness and hate to Beto’s home state of Texas.
We’ll dig into all of it in this week’s issue of Writing No One Off, but first share this link with your friends and networks so they can get the *official* Beto for America newsletter delivered straight to their inboxes.
Roadrunner
Beto kicked off the week in Westerville, Ohio for the fourth Democratic presidential debate. And even though Beto was surrounded by 11 other candidates, he had fourth-highest speaking time on stage. More importantly - he made those minutes count.
At the debate Beto showed the American people once again that he’s not afraid to lead the conversation when it comes to taking weapons of war off our streets, legalizing marijuana, or ensuring our veterans get access to the health care they need. Beto showed that he won’t hide behind poll-tested messages or soundbites, and he’s not interested in scoring political points. What he is interested in is telling the truth about the issues facing Americans and putting forth bold solutions to address them. And that’s exactly what Beto did on Tuesday night, particularly when he confronted Mayor Buttigieg for following the advice of pollsters and consultants over the moms and students demanding action on gun violence around the country.
Check out just a few of the reactions of Beto’s strong debate performance this week:
Mother Jones: Mayor Pete and Beto O’Rourke Fought Over Gun Strategy. History Shows Beto Might Be Right.
The Atlantic: O’Rourke shrewdly picked up on Americans’ exhaustion with the War on Drugs, their growing acceptance of marijuana, and their sense that prescription opioids are a far greater menace to Americans’ health than plain old pot. He knew he could “preach,” and that his sermon wouldn’t fall on deaf ears.
The Hill: The former Texas representative stood his ground saying many proposed gun reform strategies would have prevented some of the shootings in the past. "Would it stop every single shooting? No," he said. "But that should be no excuse to taking action not while we have the opportunity to do the right thing." O'Rourke added that by not taking action, politicians become "complicit in the deaths of our fellow Americans."
Following the debate, Beto took the fight directly to Donald Trump and held a counter rally to Trump’s event in Dallas on Thursday night. At Beto’s “Rally Against Fear,” Beto brought together thousands of supporters across Texas to show that Trump’s lawlessness, fear, and division have no place in the Lone Star State.
The impressive showing in Dallas affirmed Beto’s strength across the Democratic field in shoring up Texas’ 38 electoral votes on the path to the White House. As Donald Trump continues to bleed support in a state that was once reliably red (why else would Trump make his sixth stop to Texas just this year?), Beto reminded voters and viewers that he is the Democrat who can beat Trump by double digits in Texas, win Independent voters, and build the largest, most diverse coalition of voters the state has ever seen.
Check out this story of the rally from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which I had to excerpt below because I couldn’t choose just one sentence to highlight!
Beto O’Rourke wants Texans to stand up against the fear that he says President Donald Trump has brought to America.
He wants Americans to loudly fight against racism, against those who aren’t actively fighting global climate change because it “isn’t good at the polls,” and against those politicians who are blocking gun control measures.
He wants women to be able to speak for themselves about reproductive rights at doctor’s offices. He wants smart gun control so teachers don’t have to fear going to a classroom. He wants police officers who can go to a black man or woman’s house without shooting them.
At a rally that drew more than 5,500 people to The Theatre at Grand Prairie on Thursday evening, O’Rourke also spoke about veterans with PTSD who don’t have adequate health care, Botham Jean and Atatiana Jefferson, and Mexico and the wall. He said he wants to invest in a home for every homeless veteran.
See more of the coverage for yourself below highlighting Beto’s bold rally and even bolder vision for bringing everyone into his campaign and the future of this country:
Check out your weekly dose of where Beto is heading this month 👀
October 19: Birmingham, AL: Beto to make first campaign visit to Alabama and deliver keynote remarks at the Alabama Democratic Conference’s Semi-Annual Convention.
November 1: Des Moines, IA: Beto to speak at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration. P.S. Sign up to join a pre-celebration rally here.
🧐Looking to take action with the campaign? You can find an event near you on our map 🗺. And be sure to check the map frequently, as new events are added daily!
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Favorite Things
We’ve known for a while that Republicans are afraid of Beto - he’s the only candidate who can beat Trump by double-digits in Texas, and he’s one of the only presidential candidates that GOP-backed organizations like Club For Growth and the NRA have run attack ads against this cycle. So it’s no surprise when one of their own goes after Beto on Twitter. But on debate night, one of those attacks spectacularly backfired, and we were here 👏 for 👏 it 👏.
On Tuesday night, disgraced former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly attempted to go after Beto for his comments about supporting American workers, but the Tweet didn’t exactly go as O’Reilly had planned. Check out Beto’s 🔥🔥🔥 response and the reactions:
💥NBC News: Bill O'Reilly accused Beto O'Rourke of lying. The internet struck back.
💥HuffPost:Bill O’Reilly’s Attack On Beto O’Rourke Backfires Spectacularly
C’mon Everybody
What was your favorite part of the Democratic debate on Tuesday? Let us know!
Beto standing with March For Our Lives in support of mandatory buybacks
Beto fighting for American workers and ensuring one job is enough
People Have the Power
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See you soon!
Rachel
@rachel_r_thomas