\the_nation

0
2018.10.12

Texas Senatorial Race: Cruz vs O'Rourke

All Eyes on Texas


Sen. Cruz and Rep. O'Rourke. Image Credit: ABC News
  Sen. Cruz (R) and Rep. O'Rourke (D). Image credit: ABC News

The Dallas NBC station hosted a debate between US Senator Ted Cruz (R) and Representative Beto O'Rourke (D) in September.

I learned a lot in that debate.

I’ve come to feel that I can identify more closely with more of Rep. O’Rourke‘s positions then I can with Senator Cruz’ positions. I think they’re both relatively extreme for my tastes, but I think it would be easier for O’Rourke to come toward the center on some of his issues than it would for Senator Cruz to do the same.

The point which seemed to resonate the most with me was about illegal immigration -- the "dreamers." Cruz echoed conservatives' zero-tolerance stance and the president's call for a wall; O'Rourke's position is softer, because he supports giving "dreamers" a path to citizenship. O'Rourke told Stephen Colbert: "We don’t need walls, we can have smart security solutions, and we can free DREAMers from the fear of deportation by making them U.S. citizens today so they can contribute to their maximum capacity, to their full potential, and we can move forward in that manner, making sure we’re secure, and making sure that we live up to our values and ideals." 1 Advantage: Beto.

The New Yorker described the debate this way: "The competition between O’Rourke, a congressman from El Paso, and Cruz, the junior senator from Texas, pits progressive idealism and a nearly Tom Hanksian earnestness against unctuousness and the kind of fearful Tea Party recriminations that paved Cruz’s path to the Senate, in 2012." 2.

In the same article, another observation: "[One] sees a path to victory in broadening the sense of possibility among the public and expanding the electorate; the other is attempting to win even if it means pandering to the base concerns of the one he already has."

If you missed it, you can watch it here. NBC News did some fact-checking during the debate; you can read that here. The Dallas News's fact check article is right here. PolitiFact also did some fact-checking; you can find that published in The Statesman here.

Also, I am appalled by some of the tactics Sen. Cruz has employed to solicit donations. I find them underhanded and dishonest, designed to confuse people into pledging funds3.



personal statement

Humor posts aside, I only seek to understand the events I describe in these posts, and to form an opinion after considering the material I've gathered. I believe we need leaders in Washington to act in the best interest of the United States as a citizen nation of the world, and who represent the interests of the people they serve above the interests of party affiliation.