Beto: “Really Hard” for a Non-Racist to Vote for Donald Trump

Beto O’Rourke, who has watched his short rocket-ride to political stardom come to a nearly-complete stop, knows that he can’t out-progressive Bernie Sanders, he can’t out-moderate Joe Biden, and he can’t out-minority Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris. That leaves him with precious little room to make an impact in the 2020 Democratic race, and his failure to do so is obvious looking at the polls. O’Rourke started off hot, fresh off his insurgent run against Sen. Ted Cruz in his home state of Texas, but has fizzled badly.

So what is a struggling young candidate to do?

Well, it seems that O’Rourke’s new plan is to be the Democrat who will go further than all the rest when it comes to calling President Trump and all of his supporters a bunch of terrible racists. THAT seems like a winning formula! Just shame and insult Trump voters until they see the light!

We doubt this strategy will give O’Rourke a path to the nomination, but if by some miracle he does win it, he will be looking at an unforgiving map in the general election, where on-the-fence voters typically don’t like to be told they are “racists” for voting for the other guy.

Because that’s pretty much where O’Rourke is in his rhetoric these days. On CNN’s “State of the Union” program, host Jake Tapper asked Beto if you could vote for Trump without being a racist yourself.

The real answer is: “Um, of course?”

Beto’s answer is: “I think it is really hard. After everything that we’ve seen from his time as a candidate in 2016, to his repeated warnings of invasions to his repeated calls to send them back. Sending back people who are U.S. citizens, sending back people who were born in this country, his description of white nationalists and Klansmen and neo-Nazis as ‘very fine people’ and warning of Muslims being defective or dangerous and attempting to ban — to ban them from entry into this country and his transgender troop ban and his attack on anyone who does not look like or pray like or love like a majority of the country.”

Man, where to even begin?

Well, let’s just start at the start: “His repeated warnings of invasions…”

There’s nothing racist about telling the truth about rampant illegal immigration, and anyone who can’t look at the border today and come to a similar view is either an illegal immigrant themselves or purposefully wearing blinders.

“Repeated calls to send them back…”

Um, yes, illegal immigrants should obviously be sent back. We assume that he’s also referencing the thing Trump tweeted about the Squad, forgetting – as all of Trump’s critics do – that he also invited every member to “come back” once they’d fixed their home countries and show us how to do it.

“His description of white nationalists and Klansman and neo-Nazis as ‘very fine people’…”

Just no. Go back and watch the press conference from the Charlottesville aftermath. Trump went out of his way to distinguish between the white supremacists and the “very fine people.” He went out of his way to condemn the former. This is an oft-repeated lie, but it’s a lie nonetheless.

“Warning of Muslims being defective or dangerous and attempting to ban — to ban them from entry into this country…”

Being wary of what Muslims from terrorist safe havens might do once they arrive in the U.S. is also not the definition of racism, by any stretch.

“Transgender troop ban…”

Safe to say this had nothing to do with racism.

“Donald Trump is dangerous to the future of America and will destroy what makes us so unique and so special and the genius that we represent to ourselves and to the rest of the world and so I appeal to my fellow Americans to choose a candidate who will bring this very divided and highly polarized country together,” O’Rourke finished.

Yes, vote for someone who thinks a transgender troop ban is “racist”! Someone who thinks it’s “very hard” to vote for Trump if you’re not a racist yourself. Someone who couldn’t WAIT to get his face on television after the El Paso shooting, just to promote his campaign and smear the president. This is the guy our “highly polarized” nation needs if we’re ever to find unity.

Oh, Beto. You’re out of your depth, dude.