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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/30/a-cool-dude-gop-attempt-to-insult-beto-orourke-on-twitter-backfires
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| 'A cool dude': Republican bid to insult Beto O'Rourke on Twitter backfires | 'A cool dude': Republican bid to insult Beto O'Rourke on Twitter backfires |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| Undecided voters in the suddenly surprisingly tight Senate race between incumbent Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke were handed some potentially game-changing news earlier this week by the official Twitter account of the Republican party of Texas. In a series of what one can only assume were meant to be revelatory tweets, O’Rourke, the party pointed out, seems like a really cool dude. | Undecided voters in the suddenly surprisingly tight Senate race between incumbent Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke were handed some potentially game-changing news earlier this week by the official Twitter account of the Republican party of Texas. In a series of what one can only assume were meant to be revelatory tweets, O’Rourke, the party pointed out, seems like a really cool dude. |
| Beto O'Rourke: can the upstart Texas Democrat eject Ted Cruz? | Beto O'Rourke: can the upstart Texas Democrat eject Ted Cruz? |
| The impetus for the chiding was the two campaigns’ inability to agree on terms of a proposed debate, something the Texas GOP has framed as O’Rourke backing down from a challenge. | The impetus for the chiding was the two campaigns’ inability to agree on terms of a proposed debate, something the Texas GOP has framed as O’Rourke backing down from a challenge. |
| “Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans…” they wrote in a tweet on Tuesday night. “Sorry, can’t debate. We have a gig.” | “Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans…” they wrote in a tweet on Tuesday night. “Sorry, can’t debate. We have a gig.” |
| Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans... pic.twitter.com/LdqKTh3yK4 | Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans... pic.twitter.com/LdqKTh3yK4 |
| The picture in question, in which O’Rourke can be seen wearing a sundress, comes from his days as a musician in an El Paso hardcore band Foss in the early 1990s. One of his bandmates in Foss was Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who’d later go onto front At the Drive-In, a hugely influential and popular hardcore crossover band, and the Mars Volta. While O’Rourke’s band wasn’t exactly what most critics would call very good, or “remotely listenable” to use a technical term, “my opponent was in a band with and remains friends with one of the coolest musicians of the past 20 years”, might not have been quite the destructive insult the GOP intended it to be. | The picture in question, in which O’Rourke can be seen wearing a sundress, comes from his days as a musician in an El Paso hardcore band Foss in the early 1990s. One of his bandmates in Foss was Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who’d later go onto front At the Drive-In, a hugely influential and popular hardcore crossover band, and the Mars Volta. While O’Rourke’s band wasn’t exactly what most critics would call very good, or “remotely listenable” to use a technical term, “my opponent was in a band with and remains friends with one of the coolest musicians of the past 20 years”, might not have been quite the destructive insult the GOP intended it to be. |
| Considering his opponent Cruz isn’t exactly renowned for his hipster bonafides, highlighting O’Rourke’s relative coolness is a questionable strategy, and one that appears to have backfired, if not among actual voters, then certainly on the internet at large, where the effort was roundly and almost universally mocked. | Considering his opponent Cruz isn’t exactly renowned for his hipster bonafides, highlighting O’Rourke’s relative coolness is a questionable strategy, and one that appears to have backfired, if not among actual voters, then certainly on the internet at large, where the effort was roundly and almost universally mocked. |
| Why is the GOP so corny?You can front a band and run for office. You can pierce your nose, be a bartender, a teacher, a stay at home parent; wear a dress or rip your jeans - none of this disqualifies you from advancing the fight for healthcare, education, housing, and justice. https://t.co/NuVgmJmOFE | Why is the GOP so corny?You can front a band and run for office. You can pierce your nose, be a bartender, a teacher, a stay at home parent; wear a dress or rip your jeans - none of this disqualifies you from advancing the fight for healthcare, education, housing, and justice. https://t.co/NuVgmJmOFE |
| “Look at how cool the Democratic candidate was when he was young,” is such an objectively bad strategy you have to wonder how terrible the other options were https://t.co/cSik1NYEAt | “Look at how cool the Democratic candidate was when he was young,” is such an objectively bad strategy you have to wonder how terrible the other options were https://t.co/cSik1NYEAt |
| The party made another failed attempt at an insult, with a tweet showing O’Rourke brandishing a skateboard, after a video of him skating in a burger chain parking lot earlier this month proved he actually knows how to use it. | The party made another failed attempt at an insult, with a tweet showing O’Rourke brandishing a skateboard, after a video of him skating in a burger chain parking lot earlier this month proved he actually knows how to use it. |
| So Beto has been ducking debates with Senator Ted Cruz. We can't imagine why, but we do have a few ideas... pic.twitter.com/3n2HtwY9pQ | So Beto has been ducking debates with Senator Ted Cruz. We can't imagine why, but we do have a few ideas... pic.twitter.com/3n2HtwY9pQ |
| By comparison, an image of Cruz’ youthful shenanigans also emerged – performing as a mime in a high school production. | By comparison, an image of Cruz’ youthful shenanigans also emerged – performing as a mime in a high school production. |
| Ted Cruz played Adam in a mime performance of the Christian creation story when he was in high school. Is this really the fight that he wants to have? pic.twitter.com/f69n9hTjsP | Ted Cruz played Adam in a mime performance of the Christian creation story when he was in high school. Is this really the fight that he wants to have? pic.twitter.com/f69n9hTjsP |
| A more legitimate takedown was a post featuring O’Rourke’s mugshot after an arrest for driving under the influence in 1998. But considering, as many on Twitter have pointed out, how handsome (in a very specifically 90s fashion) O’Rourke looks in the photo, that may not have been the best idea, either. Not to mention the fact that pleading guilty to a DUI doesn’t have the best track record for disqualifying a person from succeeding in Texas politics, if the career of the 43rd president is any indication. | A more legitimate takedown was a post featuring O’Rourke’s mugshot after an arrest for driving under the influence in 1998. But considering, as many on Twitter have pointed out, how handsome (in a very specifically 90s fashion) O’Rourke looks in the photo, that may not have been the best idea, either. Not to mention the fact that pleading guilty to a DUI doesn’t have the best track record for disqualifying a person from succeeding in Texas politics, if the career of the 43rd president is any indication. |
| The flare-up follows O’Rourke’s most recent crossover into national news, after a video in which he passionately and eloquently explained why he supports NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. | The flare-up follows O’Rourke’s most recent crossover into national news, after a video in which he passionately and eloquently explained why he supports NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. |
| It’s a stance that has put him in stark contrast with Cruz and other Republicans, but as the tweets from the Texas GOP this week reminded us, there’s a lot of other things they don’t have in common. | It’s a stance that has put him in stark contrast with Cruz and other Republicans, but as the tweets from the Texas GOP this week reminded us, there’s a lot of other things they don’t have in common. |
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