Contact: Charles Nichols
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O’Rourke is One of Several 2020 Dem Hopefuls Racing to the Radical Left
[Madison, WI] – Today, former Texas congressman and failed U.S. Senate candidate and Beto O’Rourke will be on UW-Madison’s campus to speak with students. O’Rourke is one of several potential 2020 presidential candidates currently in a race to the radical left. As an unabashed liberal who has no interest in moving to the middle, O’Rourke is just the latest example of a Democrat primary field stumbling over itself to determine who is more out of touch with Wisconsin families.
Here’s what we know about where O’Rourke stands on policy issues:
O’Rourke Is An Unapologetic, Unabashed Liberal
NPR’s Wayne Goodwyn: “Beto O’Rourke Is An Unapologetic, Unabashed Liberal Who Has Shown No Interest In Moving Toward The Political Middle After His Victory In The Texas Democratic Primary.” “While he was sorry that all of those supporters couldn’t see him, Beto O’Rourke is an unapologetic, unabashed liberal who has shown no interest in moving toward the political middle after his victory in the Texas Democratic primary.” (Wade Goodwyn, “To Win Texas, Beto O’Rourke Is Running To The Left,”NPR, 8/17/18)
“On Issues Like Universal Health Care, An Assault Weapons Ban, Abortion Rights And A Higher Minimum Wage, O’Rourke Has Staked Out Progressive Positions.” “On issues like universal health care, an assault weapons ban, abortion rights and a higher minimum wage, O’Rourke has staked out progressive positions. The Democrat even raised the specter of impeachment after President Trump’s Helsinki press conference with Vladimir Putin — although O’Rourke has since walked back that position some.” (Wade Goodwyn, “To Win Texas, Beto O’Rourke Is Running To The Left,”NPR, 8/17/18)
The Nation’s John Nichols: In His 2018 Senate Campaign, O’Rourke Ran “As A Full-Spectrum Progressive …” “While O’Rourke has a history of taking strong positions against the War on Drugs and in favor of unprecedented action on climate change, he’s running this year as a full-spectrum progressive: someone who makes abortion rights and gun control central to his campaign; embraces unions and civil-rights groups; seeks to ‘end the militarization of our immigration-enforcement system’; talks about the need for ‘stronger antitrust regulations that break up monopolies’; and says ‘a single-payer Medicare for All program is the best way to ensure all Americans get the health care they need.’” (John Nichols, “Beto O’Rourke Fights The Clampdown In Texas,”The Nation, 10/3/18)
While in Congress, O’Rourke Voted With Then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) 94% Of The Time. (“Propublica Head To Head Voting Report,” Propublica , Accessed 10/1/18)
O’Rourke Supports Single-Payer Health Care
In September 2017, O’Rourke Said, “It’s Important That People Know Where I Want To Get To: A Single-Payer System That Delivers Much Better Healthcare For All Texans” “Now, I am willing and have to—in order to do the best for the people I represent and serve—compromise on something short of that. That’s where I want to get to, and it’s important that people know where I want to get to: a single-payer system that delivers much better health care for all Texans and does so at a much lower cost.” (Tim Murphy, “The Man Taking On Ted Cruz Talks Sanders, Single-Payer, And Beowulf,”Mother Jones, 9/25/17)
O’Rourke Supports Impeaching Donald Trump
In July 2018, O’Rourke Said, “If I Were Asked To Vote On This I Would Vote To Impeach The President.” “Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz, said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s performance at a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin merits impeachment. … ‘Standing on stage in another country with the leader of another country who wants to and has sought to undermine this country, and to side with him over the United States — if I were asked to vote on this I would vote to impeach the president,’ O’Rourke, a three-term congressman from El Paso, said in response to a question from The Dallas Morning News. ‘Impeachment, much like an indictment, shows that there is enough there for the case to proceed and at this point there is certainly enough there for the case to proceed.’” (Todd J. Gillman, “Ted Cruz Calls Beto O’Rourke ‘Partisan Extremist’ For Backing Trump Impeachment After Putin Summit,”The Dallas Morning News, 7/17/18)
O’Rourke Supports Destroying the Border Wall
O’Rourke Says He ‘Absolutely’ Supports Destroying Existing Walls On Southern Border. Former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke said Thursday that he would “absolutely” support tearing down existing barriers along the southern border with Mexico, in a full-throated embrace of open-borders rhetoric that has left conservatives wondering where other potential 2020 Democratic White House hopefuls stand on the issue. (Gregg Re, “O’Rourke Says He ‘Absolutely’ Supports Destroying Existing Walls On Southern Border,” Fox News, 2/14/18)
While in Congress, O’Rourke Also Voted Against Kate’s Law, Which Would Have Increased Prison Sentences for Undocumented Aliens Who Repeatedly Enter The United States Illegally. The law was named after Kate Steinle, a young woman who was murdered in San Francisco by a undocumented immigrant who had previously been deported from the United States but had returned multiple times. (H.R. 3004, Roll Call Vote #344 : Passed 257-167: R: 233-1; D:24-166, 6/29/17)