Opinion | Cruz Savages O'Rourke Over Disrespect for National Anthem
We’ve been told by reliable pundits (and really, those two words have become an oxymoron these days) that Democrat Rep. Beto O’Rourke has a chance to beat Sen. Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race this November. Well, he probably destroyed that Democrat hope when he became a literal NowThis video for his stance on athlete national-anthem kneeling.
I don’t mean that in a funny way as in, “hey, Beto O’Rourke said something so unexamined, liberal, infuriating and crowd-pleasing to the far left it could have been a NowThis video.”
I mean that in a, hey, Beto O’Rourke said something so unexamined, liberal, infuriating and crowd-pleasing to the far left it actually is a NowThis video.
And if you haven’t heard of a NowThis video, it’s kind of like a Stephen Colbert monologue, or one of those Facebook clips where every issue is reduced and vulgarized to a) Republicans are racist and b) liberals are awesome. And Ted Cruz was able to point out that’s not perhaps what Texas wants. (Check out the YouTube version of O’Rouke’s answer here. It’s about four minutes long, if you can stomach it.)
As the Star-Telegram reported, the quote in question came when a constituent criticized NFL national anthem protesters and O’Rourke struck back.
“I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up or take a knee for your rights anytime, anywhere, any place,” he said.
As of this writing, O’Rourke has not clearly established that there’s nothing more American than making an untold amount of money for being profoundly good at a sport where both genetic ability and years of dedicated practice play a part — just so that you can publicly insult and disrespect the country that made your freedom and wealth possible.
We’re not awaiting a statement on that end.
For most political candidates outside deep blue districts, having a speech appearing in a NowThis video would be bad enough.
But in Texas? Well, that’s the kind of thing that Cruz was able to make plenty of hay with.
“That is a view that is markedly out of step with the vast majority of Texans,” Cruz said after a news conference Monday, according to the Dallas Morning News.
“We need to be respectful of our active-duty military. We need to be respectful of our veterans. We need to be respectful of law enforcement as well.”
On Monday, Cruz’s campaign released an ad that could well turn the race, just by being true.
The anthem is not just another style instrument. It isn’t just something you try on or take off. It isn’t something that’s just in fashion.
“In Texas we believe in being respectful to the flag,” Cruz told reporters.
“The Supreme Court says you have the right to burn the flag. I don’t know if Beto O’Rourke thinks burning the flag is as American as anything he can think of.”
And that kind of savagery is why Ted Cruz is going to win in November.
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