On the heels of Beto’s remarkable trip to Aurora, Colorado, where he met with the survivors of mass shootings as well as gun owners and which nomandates diaried here, Beto O’Rourke gave a barn burner of a speech at the Polk County Steak Fry, where all the Presidential contenders are appearing to drum up support for the Iowa Caucus.
Many in the Democratic establishment from Chris Coons to Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin to Andrew Cuomo have said that Beto has gone too far with his call for a mandatory buyback of assault weapons. Beto answered that objection today forcefully and clearly.
The time has come. We cannot be afraid.
Here’s a clip from his address which was a speech for the ages.
[P]eople will ask us, they’ll say, “Hey Beto, aren’t you afraid that you’ve gone too far? That you’ve really pissed off the NRA this time? I’m not afraid of that. No, I’m not afraid of that.
I would be afraid if I were a school teacher in a kindergarten classroom and those kids for whom I already sacrificed so much were up against a gunman with an AR-15 because we didn’t have the courage to stop him while we still had time.
I would be afraid if I were the son of an immigrant who went to work early this morning and never came back – detained and deported back to a country he had not seen for 20 years.
I would be afraid if I were one of those farmers here in Iowa who had seen those markets close to me – unable to get out of debt or to pass that farm on to my daughter or to my son.
I would be afraid if I were a trans woman of color who can be killed with complete impunity in this country right now with no one to follow up or investigate.
I would be afraid if I had to drive 300 miles to make my own decisions about my own body to find a safe, legal abortion or a cervical cancer screening or family planning help because we’ve closed down the family planning in my state.
I would be afraid if my sons were black and were stopped by the police in a country that has refused to ensure that there’s accountability for the abuse of power and deaths of young black men who are not armed and pose no threat to this country.
Then, I would be afraid.
But for all those who live in fear in this country, we, as Democrats, must decide we will not be afraid. We, as American, must decide we will not be afraid. We must decide that we will free America from fear.
As with all Beto’s speeches, this one was delivered extemporaneously. No notes, just pure passion, faith in America and principle.
This is leadership — the courage to do and say what’s right regardless of what others think.
Know hope.
Please check out Beto’s vision and plans at BetoORourke.com and donate to his campaign, which is powered by people, not PACs or special interests or corporations.
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Reminder: Beto’s birthday is on 9/26, and we’re trying to reach 26 donations!