The Atlantic

Beto O’Rourke Was Right, and Democrats Might Not Forgive Him

As the Democratic Party shifts leftward, can primary voters look past the candidate’s fiscal responsibility?
Source: Ben Brewer / Reuters

Beto O’Rourke has been doing a lot of apologizing since entering the race for the Democratic presidential nomination just days ago. Among other things, the former Texas congressman has expressed regret for having made light of his negligent parenting, for the extent to which he had benefited from “white privilege,” and for having a gruesome murder story as a teenager. Given the mood of the Democratic Party’s activist base, however, I suspect all these will be considered venial sins in comparison to the fact that he once flirted with entitlement reform.

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