Kicking Off Campaign In Texas, Beto O’Rourke Says, We Will Not Be ‘Defined By Our Fears’

In a wide-ranging speech, the former El Paso Congressman promised policies to address climate change, better services for veterans and an end to gerrymandering. He also criticized what he characterized as President Trump’s divisive use of race, ethnicity and religion to stoke fear.

By Ashley LopezApril 1, 2019 9:30 am, , ,

From KUT:

“This is our moment of truth and we cannot be found wanting,” Beto O’Rourke told a crowd of cheering supporters as he officially kicked off his presidential campaign in El Paso on Saturday.

He said El Paso represents America “at its very best.”

“We are safe because we are a city of immigrants and asylum seekers,” he said. “We have learned not to fear our differences, but to respect and embrace them.”

O’Rourke called the challenges facing the country the “greatest of our lifetime” and noted the economy works too well for too few and not at all for others. He slammed PACS and special interest groups and said when they can “buy the outcomes of elections and legislation … we run the risk of becoming a democracy in name only.”

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