Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government Beto O’Rourke is out.
The Texas Democrat announced he’s ending his presidential campaign Friday evening, vowing to serve his country in other ways, but not as a Democratic candidate or nominee. The decision is the right one: O’Rourke’s campaign has been polling at less than 2% for most of his campaign and his fundraising efforts have begun to lag.
O’Rourke’s White House bid, like much of his political career, is a textbook example of what it looks like to fail upward. Hoping to capitalize on the excitement and popularity of his failed Senate race against Ted Cruz, O’Rourke jumped into the presidential race with a campaign based almost entirely on his charisma. Some likened him to former President Barack Obama, others to former President John F. Kennedy. Either the voters didn’t see the resemblance or they just didn’t care.
When it became clear his personality wouldn’t be enough to win him the election, O’Rourke did the next best thing and started introducing radical, outlandish policies that certainly grabbed the nation’s attention, but not in a good way. There was the mandatory gun buybacks, the elimination of religious institutions’ tax exempt statuses, and the questionable immigration polices that made Bernie Sanders look tame in comparison.
Sprinting to the Left isn’t exactly a winning strategy, though, as O’Rourke has figured out. And at least he’s able to admit as much. There are several other candidates in the race who should follow O’Rourke’s lead and exit with their dignity intact.
We can expect to see more of O’Rourke in the days ahead. How substantive his future political appearances will be, however, is suspect. After all, this is the guy whose single greatest accomplishment was losing to Ted Cruz.