Not sure there are any Democrats I totally love, but I'm very impressed with some of the things that are coming out of this new fellow who is almost certainly going to be representing El Paso, TX in Congress come November: Beto O'Rourke.
If nothing else, you have to give the guy some serious credit for ousting someone who seemed, up until now, to be essentially unbeatable. Silvestre Reyes has not always been the most tactful representative, but has maintained a power base in the hugely important hispanic community in El Paso, and seemed like one of those guys who'd be there forever. Then this Beto O'Rourke ran an incredibly powerful campaign and managed to beat him. Impressive! The liberty movement needs to learn from people like this, who unthinkably oust an incumbent in a primary (statistically, an extraordinarily difficult thing to do).
Hard to tell where he stands on everything but it's not for his lack of trying as much as his lack of a record. His website is fairly thorough for issues, compared to most congressional candidates. Here's a few things I think are worth keeping an eye on, as liberty-minded people.
His "End Corruption" platform is below:
I am especially impressed with his support of term limits, something that really sticks your neck out in the Democratic party.Term limits. Congressional work should be a job, not a lifestyle or a gravy train paid for with your tax dollars. I support term limits.
Constituent Support. My local constituent office will focus on your needs, not electioneering. Expect attentive service and great results.
Accountability and Transparency. I will hold regular town hall meetings to ensure you have a Congressman you can talk to - not over the phone via expensive, taxpayer-funded telephonic "town halls".
Then he has a platform page called "Who's the True Democrat" where he lays out his record. To be honest, most of the stuff is about economics and entitlements. Unfortunately, he's very much a regular old progressive on these issues, nothing for us there. However, then there's this nugget (something he was roundly criticized for by Silvestre Reyes):
That takes balls.Social Justice: I have spoken directly and passionately about the toll the drug war takes on Juarez and on the disproportionate impact it has on communities of color in the United States. I will continue to fight for what is best for El Paso and the U.S.-Mexico border.
He has a "Congressional Reform" page with these issues once you dig down:
I'm not sure how he will prohibit staffers from lobbying after they serve in his office, but that's an admirable thing to try for. Without a doubt, this is a reform that can be done voluntarily by members of Congress in the sense of discouraging it and that he's going to do that is not insignificant.My first bill filed will be to propose a Constitutional Amendment to enact term limits for the U.S. Congress
I will never use my congressional staff to campaign for my re-election.
I will stop the "revolving door" syndrome in Congress - staffers in my office will be prohibited from lobbying Congress at any point after their time serving our district.
I will be directly accountable. I will hold monthly town hall meetings in the district, and will not hide behind staffer-screened "telephone town hall meetings."
My focus will be our district and our country -- helping grow the economy, control our budget and move past partisanship -- not on special interests or partisan games.
Finally, I'll leave you with this rather impressive understanding of the unconstitutionality of the NDAA provisions:
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