Thread by @SethAbramson

Imagine a media that *didn't* detest Beto.

The hed/subhed of this piece—consistent with its content—would've been:

HED: O'Rourke Returns to Campaign Trail Amid Public Demands for Him to Run for Senate in Texas

SUBHED: Analysts Say Beto Could Win Texas Senate Seat for Democrats

https://twitter.com/politico/status/1161668863844671489

1/ In the article as it stands, Beto is an embarrassing failure, and yet—in a way the article somehow *never really explains*—it makes a ton of sense for him to run against a very popular Texas senator. Why the odd framing? Because media *doesn't want to compliment Beto*.

Ever.

2/ The whole "Beto-for-Senate" trope is *predicated* on Beto being an *incredibly* attractive Democratic candidate in a place no Democrat has been able to win in years and years. Yet somehow the "Beto-for-Senate" trope *as it plays out in media* suggests he's a sh*tty candidate.

3/ So we get nonsensical articles that simultaneously make Beto look weak *and* selfish while *also* proposing he make what would be—if either of those assertions were true—a *pointless* Senate bid against Cornyn. The journalism is incoherent because of media animus against Beto.

4/ Beto is near the top of the VPOTUS rankings right now, as certain top POTUS candidates (Biden and Sanders) have zero chance of being in that spot and *most* consider a Warren/Harris or Harris/Warren ticket unlikely (not that it should be). Beto is therefore in a good position.

5/ Sloppy media coverage of Beto damages one of the top five VPOTUS candidates (the others being Buttigieg, Castro, Booker, and—if Biden is the nominee—Harris). That's why I call it out. Democrats can't squander popular pols—or we end up with another random VPOTUS nom like Kaine.

6/ (My presumption is outsiders like Yang either become the POTUS nom by a wild, 0.001%-likely moonshot or have no chance at the ticket. It seems Klobuchar isn't a very good fit for any ticket but a well-left male POTUS nominee like Sanders or perhaps—for other reasons—Booker.)

7/ (Not being coy: Booker said that he'd pick a female running mate; he wouldn't want someone like Warren or Harris who might outshine him; he'd be expected to pick a white running mate; his political instincts would send him to a stable, less-exciting moderate; thus, Klobuchar.)

8/ If you ask Democrats what the most exciting POTUS/VPOTUS combos would be electorally and charismatically (assuming it'll be tough for a POTUS nominee to pick outside the Democrats' most talented field ever) you get:

Biden/Harris
Warren/Castro
Harris/O'Rourke
Sanders/Buttigieg

9/ So Democrats *at their peril* spend the next nine months fawning over media coverage that savages *any* of these folks—I don't care if it's Beto or Buttigieg or Castro or Warren or Harris or whoever. That's the point I'll keep hammering home, because apparently no one else is.

10/ Those noting that Cornyn isn't as popular now as he was (+5 in late 2018, +1 in early 2019) are right. (Note: for reference—see below—"-3" gets you just inside the 10 least popular senators, and +27 gets you just inside the 10 most popular senators.) morningconsult.com/2019/01/10/ame…

UPSHOT/ It was too much for me to call Cornyn "popular"; I suppose what I was thinking was (a) he's above water, (b) 27 of 38 Texas Congresspeople are Republican, and (c) though my understanding is that Texas doesn't register people by party, it's presumed to be a GOP advantage.