“Since joining the race for Governor, Beto O’Rourke has backpedaled from his extreme positions on issues ranging from Second Amendment rights to defunding the police to border security. Beto O’Rourke is lying to Texans about his true beliefs.” – Renae Eze, Press Secretary
ONE – Last Week, O’Rourke Went From Supporting The Revocation Of Charitable Status From Churches To Saying He Never Supported Such An Extreme Measure:
NOW: According To O’Rourke’s Spokesperson, O’Rourke “Never” Said Churches And Religious Institutions Should Lose Their Tax-Exempt Status For Opposing Same-Sex Marriage. “Abbott was referring to O’Rourke’s remarks in 2019 when, according to the Texas Tribune, he said religious institutions should lose tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage. O’Rourke’s campaign reached for comment, said Abbott was lying to ‘distract from his failures managing the state of Texas.’ They also sent a statement from Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes, the pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, endorsing O’Rourke. ‘Beto was never referring to churches that ideologically oppose same-sex marriage,’ Spokesperson Abhi Rahman said in a statement. ‘The U.S. constitution makes clear that what we believe and the way that we practice our faith within a mosque, temple, synagogue, or church is our own business, not the government’s business.’” (Eleanor Dearman, “Texas Governor Greg Abbott Visits Fort Worth Zoo For DFW Campaign Stop,” Fort Worth Star Telegram, 1/15/22)
THEN: O’Rourke Said He Wanted To Eliminate The Tax-Exempt Status For Churches And Religious Institutions That Oppose Same-Sex Marriage. LEMON: “Do you think religious institutions — like colleges, churches, charities — should lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage?” O’ROURKE: “Yes. There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break, for anyone or any institution, any organization in America, that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us, and so as president, we are going to make that a priority and we are going to stop those who are infringing upon the human rights of our fellow Americans.” (Patrick Svitek, “Beto O’Rourke Says Religious Institutions Should Lose Tax-Exempt Status If They Oppose Gay Marriage,” Texas Tribune, 10/11/19)
- VIDEO: O’Rourke On Whether Churches And Religious Institutions Should Lose Tax-Exempt Status: “Yes. There Can Be No Reward, No Benefit, No Tax Break, For Anyone Or Any Institution, Any Organization In America, That Denies The Full Human Rights And The Full Civil Rights Of Every Single One Of Us…” LEMON: “Do you think religious institutions — like colleges, churches, charities — should lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage?” O’ROURKE: “Yes. There can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break, for anyone or any institution, any organization in America, that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us, and so as president, we are going to make that a priority and we are going to stop those who are infringing upon the human rights of our fellow Americans.” (LINK)
TWO – O’Rourke Has Gone From An Open Borders Extremist To Calling For Deportations And Increased Rule Of Law:
NOW: O’Rourke Is Criticizing President Biden’s Handling Of The Border, Calling For More “Predictability, Order And The Rule Of Law” And Deporting Illegal Immigrants. “In one of his first interviews as a candidate for governor, Democrat Beto O’Rourke sought to distance himself from President Joe Biden on the politically fraught issue of immigration, criticizing some of the new administration’s policies and calling for ‘order’ and ‘the rule of law’ at the border. … O’Rourke continued: ‘We’ve got to have predictability, order, and the rule of law and that means honoring our asylum laws when someone has a credible asylum claim. That also means, and this is not popular amongst all Democrats, but it means that when someone comes here and doesn’t have a credible asylum claim and has entered in between ports of entry, they should be deported back to the country from which they came.’” (Jasper Scherer, “Beto O’Rourke Criticizes Biden’s Immigration Policies On First Day Of Campaign For Governor,” Houston Chronicle, 11/16/21)
THEN: O’Rourke Wanted To Curtail Immigration Enforcement, “All But Eliminating Immigration Detention,” And Grant Citizenship To Illegal Immigrants Currently In The U.S. “O’Rourke’s plan focuses on curtailing immigration enforcement — in particular, all but eliminating immigration detention — and focusing instead on building up immigration courts and case management systems for newly arriving asylum seekers, while returning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and deportations of immigrants already living in the US to the constraints of President Barack Obama’s last years in office. … But beyond the now-standard Democratic promise to pass a bill that allows the 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently in the US to apply for legal status and ultimately citizenship, and to expedite legalization and citizenship for DACA recipients and TPS recipients, there isn’t a complete bill framework here.” (Dara Lind, “Beto O’Rourke’s Immigration Plan Would Go Even Further On Executive Power Than Trump,” Vox, 5/31/19)
THEN: In 2019 “O’Rourke Said He Would Take Down Existing Walls And Fencing At The U.S.-Mexico Border If He Could.” “Beto O’Rourke said he would take down existing walls and fencing at the U.S.-Mexico border if he could. O’Rourke, a former congressman for El Paso who ran a high-profile challenge against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, said in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday, ‘Absolutely, I’d take the wall down.’” (Doha Madani, “’I’d Take The Wall Down,’ Says Beto O’Rourke Of Current Border Barriers,” NBC News, 2/14/19)
THEN: O’Rourke Opposed The “Remain In Mexico” Policy For Asylum Seekers. “Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a Democratic candidate for president, denounced the Trump administration’s controversial ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy for asylum seekers, accusing the U.S. government of forcing desperate migrants into precarious situations in Mexico.” (Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “O’Rourke Says Trump’s ‘Remain In Mexico’ Policy Fuels ‘Suffering And Death’,” CBS News, 6/30/19)
THREE – O’Rourke Has Moved From Supporting The “Defund The Police” Movement To Denying He Ever Supported The Movement At All:
NOW: O’Rourke: “I Don’t Think I’ve Ever Advocated For Defunding The Police…” O’ROURKE: “I don’t think I’ve ever advocated for defunding the police, to be clear on that, but I do think we need to make sure that we give police, sheriff’s departments and law enforcement the resources they need to focus on their most important priorities, which are to prevent and solve violent crime.” (Twitter.com, 11/19/21)
THEN: O’Rourke Said He “Love(d)” That Black Live Matters Sought To Defund Line Items And Dismantle Police Forces As Currently Constructed. SVITEK TWEET: “Here’s O’Rourke when asked Wed. about ’20 defund comments. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever advocated for defunding the police.’ In ’20: ‘I really love that [BLM, others] have put this front & center, to defund’ line items, reroute to services & in some cases, dismantle & rebuild forces.” (Twitter.com, 11/19/21)
- In 2020 O’Rourke Said The “City Council Of Minneapolis Made The Right Decision” On Police. O’ROURKE: “So I really love that Black Lives Matters and other protesters have put this front and center, to defund, you know, these line items that have overmilitarized our police, and instead invest that money in the human capital of your community, make sure that you have the services, the help, the support, the health care necessary to be well and not require police intervention, and then also in some necessary cases, completely dismantling those police forces and rebuilding them. And I think the city council of Minneapolis made the right decision.” (Twitter.com, 11/19/21)
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- The Minneapolis Measure Was To “Dismantle” Its Police Force. “The Minneapolis City Council on Friday officially moved to dismantle its police force and replace it with a department of community safety and violence prevention in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.” (Ray Sanchez And Pierre Meilhan, “Minneapolis City Council Advances Plan To Dismantle Embattled Police Force,” CNN, 6/26/20
FOUR – On The Second Amendment, O’Rourke Has Gone From Wanting To Confiscate Guns To Saying He’ll Protect The Second Amendment:
NOW: O’Rourke Says He Wants To Protect The Second Amendment. “O’Rourke’s made no mention of his proposal for a mandatory buyback of assault weapons that he forcefully advocated for during his White House bid. He famously proclaimed during one debate that ‘Hell yes,’ he wanted to take away people’s AR-15s and AK-47s. In interviews around his launch, O’Rourke said he was not backing away from that idea, while providing a broader answer acknowledging Texas’ gun culture, discussing his own upbringing around firearms and promising to protect Second Amendment rights while working to prevent senseless violence.” (Patrick Svitek, “Beto O’Rourke Uses Opening Days Of Challenge Against Gov. Greg Abbott To Recalibrate,” Texas Tribune, 11/16/21)
THEN: O’Rourke Has Called For A Mandatory Gun Buyback Program For Assault-Style Weapons. “Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke gave a staunch defense of his gun control plan during Thursday’s Democratic presidential primary debate, saying that as president, he would prioritize mandatory buybacks of assault-style weapons.” (Brandon Carter, “O’Rourke Promises To ‘Take Your AR-15,’ But Americans Are Split On Buybacks,” NPR, 9/12/19)
- O’Rourke: “Hell, Yes, We’re Going To Take Your AR-15, Your AK-47.’” (Brandon Carter, “O’Rourke Promises To ‘Take Your AR-15,’ But Americans Are Split On Buybacks,” NPR, 9/12/19)
FIVE – O’Rourke Has Gone From Supporting Proposals That Would Decimate Texas’s Energy Industry To Saying He Wants To Add Oil And Gas Jobs:
NOW: O’Rourke Says He Wants To “Add To” Oil And Gas Jobs In Texas. “O’Rourke also came out of the gate with a counterargument to GOP attacks that he will destroy the oil and gas industry that is vital to the Texas economy. Both on the stage and to reporters, O’Rourke touted a Texas AFL-CIO plan that he said would strike an important balance. When it comes to climate change, ‘we’ve got to make sure that … we’re creating the jobs that meet that challenge,’ O’Rourke told reporters. ‘The AFL-CIO has a plan to create more than a million high-wage, high-value, high-skilled jobs right here in Texas that add to — do not replace, add to — oil and gas jobs in this state.’” (Patrick Svitek, “Beto O’Rourke Uses Opening Days Of Challenge Against Gov. Greg Abbott To Recalibrate,” Texas Tribune, 11/16/21)
THEN: O’Rourke Supported The Green New Deal. O’ROURKE: “Some will criticize the Green New Deal for being too bold or being unmanageable. I tell you what, I haven’t seen anything better that addresses this singular crisis we face, a crisis that could at its worst lead to extinction. The Green New Deal does that. It ties it to the economy and acknowledges that all of the things are interconnected.” (Tim Hains, “Beto O’Rourke On Green New Deal: ‘Literally, The Future Of The World Depends On Us’,” RealClearPolitics, 3/14/19)
THEN: O’Rourke Wanted To End Drilling On Federal Land, Charge Higher Royalty Rates For Drilling And Stop New Fossil Fuel Leases. “O’Rourke is no longer running for president. O’Rourke ‘will set a first-ever, net-zero emissions by 2030 carbon budget for federal lands, stopping new fossil fuel leases, changing royalties to reflect climate costs, and accelerating renewables development and forestation,’ a campaign spokesman told The Post. He pledged to ‘protect our most wild, beautiful, and biodiverse places for generations to come — including more of the Arctic and of our sensitive landscapes and seascapes than ever before — and establish National Parks and Monuments that more fully tell our American story.’” (“Would You End Leasing For Fossil Fuel Extraction On Federal Lands?,” The Washington Post, Accessed 9/20/21)
THEN: O’Rourke Wanted To End All Offshore Drilling Off The Coast Of The U.S. “Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke called on Congress on Wednesday to put a stop to oil drilling off the US coasts. The former congressman from Texas is asking members of Congress to pass South Carolina Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham’s Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act, which would place a moratorium on offshore drilling and prohibit the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from offering any new tracts for oil and gas leasing or preleasing off the California, Oregon and Washington state coastline and the Atlantic Coast.” (Caroline Kenny, “Beto O’Rourke Calls On Congress To Halt Offshore Drilling,” CNN, 9/11/19)
THEN: O’Rourke Wanted A Cap And Trade System In The U.S. “Beto O’Rourke said he opposes a carbon tax and instead backs a carbon cap-and-trade program in which a shrinking number of ‘allowances’ would be sold to polluters each year.” (Eric Bradner And Zachary B. Wolf, “Beto O’Rourke Opposes Carbon Tax, Backs Cap-And-Trade,” CNN, 9/4/19)
SIX – O’Rourke Has Walked Back His Support For A Broad-Based Socialized Health Care System To Just Seeking Texas Medicaid Expansion:
NOW: O’Rourke Wants Texas To Expand Medicaid And Views It As “Achievable.” O’ROURKE: “But I think what is both ambitious and achievable is expanding Medicaid, which allows more than a million more Texans to actually see a doctor, many for the first time.” (Daniel Strauss, “Beto for Gov: Here’s What I’d Do Differently From Senate Run,” The New Republic, 11/17/21)
THEN: O’Rourke: “We Need A Single Payer System.” (Facebook.com, 6/13/17)