Goodbye and good riddance to ‘Beto’ O’Rourke

Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman from Texas who thought extremist demagoguery was the path to the presidency, has dropped out of the race for the Democratic Party nomination for that office.

Politicians do not drop out of races until they have been convinced they have no chance of winning. Often, that occurs when their fundraising wells dry up. O’Rourke’s did, as potential donors decided he was simply on the left to win.

What is unsettling is that O’Rourke even made it to the top tier of Democratic candidates for a few weeks. At one point, he was viewed as a real contender.

This is the candidate who pledged that, if elected, he would be certain that all owners of certain types of firearms would be forced to hand them over to the government. In doing so, O’Rourke made it clear

too

far

out the Constitution him.

He called for $5 trillion in federal spending to advance the so-called “Green New Deal” – a forcible, almost immediate ban on fossil fuels that would harm virtually every American.

He opposed immigration enforcement, calling for a virtual amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the United States.

He favors a government-run

means

nothing

to universal health care system, with Americans given no options for private insurance. His stance is similar to those who insist on “Medicare for All,” an unaffordable scheme that would, almost inevitably, lead to health care rationing.

On these and other issues, O’Rourke made it clear he stands far to the left of other Democratic candidates – and certainly of most of the American people.

Yet for a time, O’Rourke seemed to be a viable candidate with a chance of winning.

Fortunately, Democrats have written him off – at least for now. And that, the very fact that he was considered seriously as a candidate for president of the United States, ought to worry thoughtful Americans.

Good riddance.

– The Nashua Telegraph, Nov. 6