If voter enthusiasm is the true measure of an election, then Beto O'Rourke is winning his race handily against that loathsome creep, Ted Cruz. O'Rourke announced last night that they raised over $9mil last month alone from small donor donations, not a plug nickel from PACs. Come on, Texas. Do the right thing for once, and Vote 'Em Out.
Source: Rolling Stone
Willie Nelson may have been the marquee name at the “Rally With Willie & Beto” in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, but the rock star of the night was the candidate himself, Beto O’Rourke. The onetime punk musician and Democratic Texas Senate candidate had just given a stirring speech to the nearly 60,000 people gathered at Auditorium Shores, and it was all but inevitable that Nelson would call him back out during his headlining set.
“Beto, come help me do this one,” the 85-year-old country legend said from the small, uncovered stage along the Colorado River, with the skyline of downtown Austin behind him. O’Rourke, his shirt covered in sweat and his sleeves rolled up — both hallmarks of his energetic and improbable run against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz — ambled out to help sing “On the Road Again,” then stood there watching with a broad grin as Nelson played a solo on his trusty guitar Trigger.
Nelson’s short, rapid-fire set leaned heavily on outlaw staples like “Whiskey River” and “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” and his son Lukas Nelson delivered a furious reading of “Texas Flood.” But it was the spirited performance of Nelson’s new political anthem, “Vote ‘Em Out,” that was the night’s spry call to action, in which he sings, “The biggest gun we’ve got is called the ballot box.” For the most part, however, the Red Headed Stranger, dressed in a Beto hat and T-shirt, left the commentary to the politicians, saying simply, “All right, Beto!” in between songs.
And in better Spanish than Ted Cruz could ever muster.
