Any analysis of Beto's candidacy that acts as though Mayor Pete's rise was just some organic phenomenon is, pardon my french, full of sh*t. Pete's "rise", coincided with Beto's "decline" due to cynical coordination across the liberal and conservative media spheres.
The media actively aided and abetted Pete's candidacy, while they actively stifled Beto's. It was a *choice* to pretend that Pete possessed some startling intellect, just as it was a choice to pretend that Beto embodied toxic white male privilege and entitlement.
It was a choice to present the two as competing for a single lane, when one man had a history of racial problems directly stemming from his tenure as mayor, while the other made an impassioned case for racial justice and spoke bold truths about America's endemic racism.
It hurts my heart to think that the first candidate to use his debate platform to speak about significance of the year 1619 in America's history is now out of the race in 2019 -- a sad revelation that some truths are still too inconvenient for many to confront.
The more Beto worked to champion and narrate the stories of immigrants, gun violence survivors, victims of hate crimes, etc., the more the media found ways to undermine and dismiss his candidacy or relegate him to "single issue candidate" status.
Meanwhile, instead of informing the public on nuances of policy or electoral viability, voters watching the msm were fed a daily diet of opaque polls from biased pundits, leading to a misinformed, anemic electorate that would be content with a select top 3 or 4 contenders.
The media will feel satisfied that their wish fulfillment fantasy of Beto the terrible presidential candidate seemingly came true, but those not blinded by malice or self-interest know that's a load of BS conveniently pedaled to escape any accountability or introspection.
Beto's premature exit proves one thing: it is nearly impossible to conduct a winning strategy at this level when the forces of the national media and its many tentacles are aligned against you. To say nothing of rules by the DNC that reward media darlings/those with high name ID.
You can choose to win on their terms, with all the dubious compromises that entails, or you can choose to lose on your own and still keep your values and principles intact. You don't have to agree with Beto's final decision but we can understand it and even find it admirable.
To those who will read this thread and think but what of the campaign's responsibility, Beto's own actions as a candidate, and their missteps? Well here's the thing: *All* campaigns are messy; all campaigns have their various problems, make mistakes, have to reboot and recharge.
Whatever kinks Beto's campaign had were not unique to them alone. Some campaigns battle scandals or major incidents and come back to compete effectively and even win. When Beto suspended his campaign after El Paso, the calls for him to drop out and run for Senate only increased.
When Mayor Pete took days off the trail to deal with the death of a black man by police in his city, most of the pundits on this platform went radio silent and I can count on one hand the calls for him to exit the race despite the lack of leadership he displayed.
So, I won't indulge past a point discussion of what could have been done differently here or there. Sure, maybe it might have extended his time in the race or improved his chances a bit more but ultimately, when your mere presence is positioned as an affront or...
When you're still having to say for the umpteenth time that you will not run for the Senate, even after you've been campaigning for months and you've released better policies than the entire field, we have a problem that's bigger than any ground game strategy or donor outreach.
The media chose to amplify every negative impression and narrative about Beto and they did it repeatedly, in print, cable and on social media. Campaigns are expected to weather storms; they should not be expected to weather a system that's designed to never bring fair conditions.
Beto may have left the arena but I expect he's still as eager to participate and find ways to continue telling the stories of those he meets and to contribute to the solutions. This is a sad moment, not for what he lost, but what we did.
Nevertheless, we should all be excited about what he'll do next and seek to accomplish. Running for president will only have fuelled his drive and passion and commitment to public service in some form. Stayed tuned and stay hopeful. ❤
