A few weeks ago, you’d have to wonder if Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) had dementia or thought the American voter was that stupid. You literally cannot make this up. The man who got a shot of steroids into his campaign for saying he would confiscate guns said in October that that's not what he’s proposing at all. Yeah, we all heard you Beto—whose real name is Robert Francis O’Rourke, and he has just as much Hispanic blood as I do flowing through my veins. And I have none.
He said, “hell yes,” he's going to take your AR-15s, AK-47s, or any firearms the Left views as scary—which is all of them. Bold strategy, Cotton. Not only did Bob make sure that every gun owner votes against Democrats next year, but he also gave Republicans endless amounts of ammunition to riddle the Democratic Party for the next generation. Bob gave away the playbook. I mean, we’ve always known the Left wanted to do this because they hate guns, the Second Amendment, freedom, and those who invoke their constitutional right to own firearms. It’s a long war strategy. To destroy one’s enemy, you must strip them of their cultural identity. Gun ownership is indelibly American. Those who cherish it are usually rural, Republican, and most certainly not into woke culture. In all, it’s everything a Democrat hates in their fellow countrymen. Here’s what Bob said on October 16 on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe," which should have given you whiplash (via PolitiFact):
Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15.
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 13, 2019
Buy your shirt now: https://t.co/kEJxoLvfH5 pic.twitter.com/KKpAKX4IL8
Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. We’re not going to allow it to be used against a fellow American anymore. Chip in to our campaign. #DemDebate
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 13, 2019
"To be clear, I’m not talking about confiscating anybody’s guns. But I do think that, for those weapons of war — AR-15s, AK-47s — these were designed and sold to the militaries of the world to kill people on a battlefield and there are more than 16 million of them in America. And we’ve seen the devastating effect that they can have in Dayton, Ohio, or El Paso, Texas, or Odessa, not too far from where I live. Those must be bought back or else each of them are an instrument potentially of terror in this country."
That’s nonsensical. I’m not talking about confiscating people’s guns, except that I am. There are a lot of fact check-ceptions on PolitiFact. They’re usually written by left-wing hacks. They have long analyses that whitewash blatant Democratic lies. When you’re explaining, you’re losing in politics. The same thing applies to these so-called fact checks. On this one, I’ll give a hat tip, though with a slight caveat. This is just a lie too massive to cover up. There’s no way to polish a turd like this, so maybe that’s also a factor.
If you go on Bob’s website that’s now a memorial for his failed presidential aspirations, you’ll not only find proposals for gun registries but—shocker—a proposal that calls for confiscating guns:
Implement a national buyback program for banned assault weapons and handguns. Weapons of war belong on the battlefield, not in our communities or on our streets. Beto is calling for a mandatory buyback program for assault weapons and a voluntary buyback program for handguns. To create a funding stream for buybacks, Beto will increase the excise tax on gun manufacturers and fines imposed on gun traffickers, and will enable ATF to purchase any banned assault weapons presented to the agency. Individuals who fail to participate in the mandatory buyback of assault weapons will be fined.
Yeah, we all know what a mandatory buyback entails; that’s confiscation. Period. So, it’s a straight-up lie. I mean even CNN was skeptical, notably wondering if mass shooters—also known as criminals—would even comply with this so-called buyback. What Beto suggested was unconstitutional. To frame it another way, he was willing to pass a law to confiscate the private property from millions of law-abiding Americans. Some law enforcement officials were adamant that they would not enforce such a shoddy law. Police organizations called the proposal ridiculous. It would certainly require cops going door-to-door to ensure compliance. That may be popular in deep blue America, who aren’t the majority, but this desperate bid to stay in the race for a few weeks longer could cost him more than just a failed White House bid. Bob is still a young guy. He could remain in public life in some other capacity, namely another run for the U.S. Senate in Texas. Now, that he’s outed himself as the emperor of gun grabbers, that door might be closed as well (via Vanity Fair):
…in Texas, political strategists have been carefully monitoring the fallout from O’Rourke’s self-immolation. After nearly defeating Senator Ted Cruz last year, local Democrats urged the former El Paso congressman to try again with Senator John Cornyn, who is up for reelection in 2020. Forget the presidential campaign, the thinking went, and help Democrats retake the Senate.
Now, however, some wonder if Beto has blown his shot at a successful homecoming. “When people start talking about mandatory buybacks for a whole range of reasons, it gets really personal for people really fast,” said Republican strategist Liz Mair, especially in the Lone Star state. “For those who are motivated [by gun control], they’re really passionate about it,” she added. “The problem with it is there are not enough of them for this to actually work for Beto, and there are a hell of a lot of people who are very, very strongly motivated who are on the other side of the issue.”
Zac McCrary, a Democratic consultant who’s run several polls in Texas over the years, disagreed. A gun buyback policy is “somewhat to the left of the electorate in Texas,” he conceded. “But I’d also say that Beto’s position in the mainstream today is closer to the mainstream of where Texas is on guns, than where most of the Republicans are—where John Cornyn is, where [Texas governor] Greg Abbott is—when they can’t cobble together support for something basic like background checks, basic like the red flag law. So Beto should not be judged in a vacuum.”
[…]
“When people ask how Republicans won so many seats in blue districts over the years, the answer is almost always guns,” said Republican strategist Rick Wilson…“Democrats were smart enough to say in the old days, quote, No one’s going to take your guns away, [and] Beto, like a big dummy, gave away the game.”
I’m not complaining that Beto has gone down like the Hindenburg. That’s one less threat we have to deal with, as he only lost to Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 by three percentage points. That’s too close for comfort. Now, even gun-owning Democrats in Texas might not even consider voting for him should Beto toss his hat in the ring to take on Sen. John Cornyn. One-hit wonders are pervasive in the music industry. It’s also common in politics. Where’s Wendy Davis? And dare I say, Sarah Palin. But all is not lost for Beto. There are local offices like dog catcher and tax collector that he could probably secure, or he could just live off his wife’s money.
Katie did mention that he would fit nicely as a national spokesman for Moms Demand Action/Everytown.
