Last week, Texas representative, Beto O’Rourke, announced that he was running for the 2020 presidential election. His political career began in 2005 where he served on the El Paso city council and in 2012 he was elected as the city’s U.S. representative for the 16th congressional district. Historically, Texas leans more red- yet O’Rourke’s democratic views still got him far in the race for senator last year when he only fell a few points short of Ted Cruz. While previously criticized for his lax liberal views, O’Rourke now has more refined and specific opinions on policy issues, even the controversial ones.
At a rally in El Paso, his hometown, the candidate spoke out against Trump’s immigration policy exclaiming that “We are not safe because of walls but in spite of walls,” and overall disagreeing with the current president’s border control policy. Trump used El Paso as an example of a city that needed a wall in which O’Rourke combatted with the stats of crime rates in the city that were actually lower prior to the fence and raised after it was built. O’Rourke is also a supporter of the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act and wants a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
As a leader in Texas veteran issues and committee member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, it is interesting to hear O’Rourke’s opinion of the Colin Kaepernick protest. In a video from last August, O’Rourke can be heard defending the non-violent peaceful protests that players in the NFL had been participating in during recent years. He ends his answer with “I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up or take a knee for your rights” showing he is very outspoken and not afraid to talk about a touchy subject- one many democrats avoid elaborating on. He also is pro-gun control, wants to achieve a better healthcare system, and supports the Green New Deal.