In 2019, during Beto O’Rourke’s short-lived run in the Democratic presidential primary, a white male terrorist entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, Beto’s home, and murdered 20 people. That was an explicitly racist mass killing event, and Beto was not shy about talking about who was inspiring that racism, and what mass shooters use to mass-shoot people. (It’s guns.) He said out loud over and over again that “This is fucked up.” And he ran on that, without shame. He didn’t win, obviously, but it mattered.
Now Beto O’Rourke is running for governor, and another gunman has murdered 21 in Uvalde, Texas. And the guy he’s running against, living breathing piece of shit Greg Abbott, had a press conference today. And Beto showed up. And you can say all you want about how Beto sure does know how to get the camera on him at times like these, and we’ll gently explain you how that is called “politics.”
Beto was there to say, “You’re doing nothing. This is on you.” In response, one of Abbott’s loser white boy goons called Beto a “sick son of a bitch” and Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick took a break from spreading white nationalist great replacement conspiracy theories to say there’ll be “plenty of time” later on to decide what needs to be done about mass shootings.
As we all know, the only response Republicans think is appropriate is to say lame “thoughts and prayers” to a God who clearly doesn’t listen to them, and then go back to being fluffers for the NRA. So Dan Patrick is one of several people in this post who can go fuck himself.
You can hear Ted Cruz’s smarmy shit-voice in the clip telling Beto to “sit down!” Other white man losers whine that Beto is “out of line and this is an embarrassment!” Some super-pathetic guy whined his big ass off about “YEEEEEW NEED TO GIT HIS ASS OUTTA HURRRRR! THIS ISN’T THE PLACE TO TALK THIS OVER!” He just barked and barked with that specific kind of southern accent that sounds like it came from the cutting room floor of 12 Years A Slave, screaming “SIR! YOU’RE OUTTA LINE!”
We will attempt to transcribe the sentence uttered by the person who called Beto a “sick son of a bitch.”
SOME GUY: I cain’t believe you’re a sick son of a bitch that would come to a deal like this to make a political issue!
Whatever, dude.
The New York Times has more on the parts that are hard to hear in the video:
“The time to stop this was after Santa Fe,” Mr. O’Rourke said at the civic center, referring to the Texas high school shooting near Houston in 2018. “The time to stop this was after El Paso,” he added, referring to the Texas mass shooting at a Walmart in 2019.
“The time to stop the next shooting is right now, and you are doing nothing. You are offering us nothing. You said this was not predictable — this is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything,” he said.
We can’t hear this in the video either, but it happened as security was dragging Beto away:
On his way out, he could be heard telling the audience, some of whom were jeering him while others yelled to let him speak, “Somebody needs to stand up for the children of this state, or they will continue to be killed.”
The Times reports that once mean Beto was gone, Greg Abbott, his hands covered in proverbial blood just like every other Texas Republican, just bitched and moaned like he actually cares about the kids who were murdered yesterday:
“There are family members who are crying as we speak,” he said. “Think about the people who are hurt and help those who are hurt.”
Mr. Patrick added: “This is not a partisan issue. This is not a political issue.”
Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick and everybody else on that stage, go fuck yourself.
These are not the only things Beto has said to Greg Abbott the past 24 hours. He’s also been talking to him on Twitter.
Unfortunately, America’s mass shooting victims are unable to tell us whether they agree with the filthy rednecks on that stage or whether they agree with Beto, because they’re all dead because of mass murderers aided and abetted by Republican gun policies. But we have a feeling what they might say.
This is your open thread. Sorry we’re not ending with something light and upbeat today.
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