Oh, my … forgive me for referring to former West Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke by just his first name in this headline, which in reality is a nickname. It just sounds cool.

Still, he and the man he hopes to defeat in 2022 are serious men. My hope is that O’Rourke and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott don’t tack too far to the left or right as they seek to curry favor with most Texas voters.

I have declared myself to be a “good government progressive,” which I intend to mean that I am not opposed to compromise if it produces sound legislation and law.

Abbott has veered to the far right since the start of the 2021 Legislature. I dislike his right-wing views. O’Rourke has appealed to the far left since losing a U.S. Senate race by just a little in 2018 and then flamed out in a 2020 bid for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. To be candid, I am not comfortable with the progressives’ agenda.

I am not sure that most Texans are comfortable with far left or far right politics. There is out here, in the words of the late Colin Powell, a “vast middle ground.” I hope O’Rourke and Abbott find themselves arguing for that middle-of-the-road avenue.

As the Dallas Morning News noted in its editorial today, the state will be better off for it.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I have to agree with the assessment being kicked around that Beto O’Rourke’s decision to run for Texas governor in 2022 carries far greater risk than his near-victory in 2018 in a race for the U.S. Senate.

Why is that? Because the incumbent Republican he is challenging this time, Greg Abbott, is far more likable and is in a politically stronger place than the GOP incumbent he faced in 2018, Ted Cruz.

O’Rourke came within 3% of grounding the Cruz Missile. Polls show him trailing Abbott narrowly this time (so far). However, his 2020 Democratic Party primary presidential bid ended badly and he said some things about guns that are going to haunt him when he hits the trail in Texas.

He said that “hell yes” he would take people’s assault rifles. Abbott has morphed that statement into “Beto will take your guns.” That won’t hurt him in gun-happy Texas? Yeah. It will.

I wish O’Rourke well as he campaigns for governor. I want him to win bigly. I want Abbott to be shown the door and for Abbott to disappear from the political stage.

I wonder about whether Beto O’Rourke’s time has arrived — yet again! — for him to stage the kind of political upset that many of us desire to see happen.

Beto O’Rourke enters 2022 a weaker candidate with a harder race | The Texas Tribune

Abbott has said “bring it!” when talking about O’Rourke’s candidacy. Fine, but O’Rourke also will have plenty with which to work.

Abbott’s miserable pandemic response, his support of an overly harsh ban on abortion, his support of efforts to suppress voters in Texas all can become the stuff of snappy campaign ads. Indeed, Abbott must be made to answer for all of it and I hope O’Rourke — presuming he wins the Democratic Party primary next spring — will make the governor answer.

Let’s be clear on one point. Beto O’Rourke faces a steep climb.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Beto O’Rourke today made official what many observers had speculated for some time, that he is going to run for Texas governor in 2022.

O’Rourke is a Democrat. The incumbent governor, Greg Abbott, is a Republican. It appears to be a fairly safe bet to suggest that O’Rourke will survive the Democratic Party primary next spring and that Abbott will be nominated by GOP voters at the same time.

That means the two of them will square off for Abbott’s job.

I want zero misunderstanding, as if there is any possibility of that occurring with this next statement: I want Abbott to lose his job!

He has been a disgrace as a governor and I say that with some regret. I knew him when he was a Texas Supreme Court justice and as state attorney general. I thought we had a nice professional relationship.

Abbott ran for governor after I left full-time journalism behind so our paths haven’t crossed since he took that office in 2015.

But, man, he has managed to piss me off royally since becoming governor.

I have detested his handling of the COVID pandemic and his refusal to let local governments take control of health matters in their communities. His support of that hideous anti-abortion bill and his declaration that he would work to “eliminate rape” from occurring is utterly laughable on its face. He has tacked so far to the right that there is virtually no room between himself and the precipice over which he would tumble.

Beto O’Rourke, a former Democratic congressman from El Paso, reached a high-water mark politically by nearly defeating Sen. Ted Cruz in the race for the U.S. Senate. He believes he still has the political chops to take on Abbott. I hope that is the case. Indeed, Abbott’s aforementioned COVID response and his legislative record have given O’Rourke plenty of ammo to use against the governor.

I hope he succeeds.

You go, Beto!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com