O'Rourke urges Texans to ask Abbott tough questions

Aug. 11—MINERAL WELLS — Beto O'Rourke urged Mineral Wells voters on Wednesday to ask Gov. Greg Abbott why the state's electric grid remains unpredictable and why 30,000 children in state care are at risk of abuse.

"And (he'll say), 'Hold on a second. We've got Mexicans coming over the border over here,'" Abbott's Democratic rival in the Nov. 8 gubernatorial election told more than 200 supporters in the Crazy Water Hotel ballroom. "We've got to find a way to be bigger than that. We've got to come together, and that's the opportunity we have right now."

O'Rourke, a former presidential candidate who came within 2.6 percent of toppling GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in 2019, ranged over women's reproductive choice, border security, expanding Medicaid in Texas and marijuana decriminalization during a rambling speech that drew hecklers carrying Abbott signs.

"You're welcome to join us," he said to the eight or 10 supporters of the governor, who drew a different O'Rourke response while shouting as the candidate was decrying the Uvalde shooting deaths and the destructive power of the assault-style weapon that was used. "It may be funny to you, [expletive deleted], but it's not to me. ... We've had five of the worst mass shooting in the U.S. in this state in the last five years."

The candidate said the age to buy those high-impact long guns should be raised from 18 to 21, that criminal background checks should be universal for gun purchases and that red flag laws allowing people to ask a court to temporarily separate people at risk of harming themselves or others from their guns should be enacted.

O'Rourke cited the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the right to abortion.

"In 1972, abortion was every bit as illegal as it is now in this state," he said, recalling the Roe v. Wade case in which the high court declared a constitutional right to end a pregnancy. "It was a Texas woman who won that right back in 1973, and it's going to be Texas women who win it back. ... I know we're going to win because everyone here — Republicans, Democrats, independents — are fighting for the right of a woman to own her own body."

An El Paso native and former congressman from the city sharing the border with Ciudad Juarez, O'Rourke said both parties share blame for unrest on the Mexican border. He said he "cynically" asks himself at times whether both major parties prefer the unsolved problem of border security so they have something to campaign on.

"Democrats, when they were in power, had a chance to fix it and didn't," he said. "Republicans had a chance to fix it and didn't. Ronald Reagan was the president the last time we had any comprehensive immigration reform. ... The system that we have today is badly, badly broken."

He advocated a "safe, legal, orderly" pathway to citizenship, contrasting his vision with a six-year wait for immigrants at the border to resolve their pleas for citizenship.

"A lot of demagogues like Donald Trump and Greg Abbott are trying to scare us with talk about an 'invasion,'" he said, citing the 23 "invaders" found dead last month locked in a trailer in San Antonio.

Texas' Republican-controlled legislature has consistently declined to expand Medicaid coverage available under the Affordable Care Act. That leaves billions in taxes paid by Texans to be redistributed to other states, money said he will urge lawmakers to reverse course and accept.

O'Rourke also called for universal pre-kindergarten in Texas, saying the state loses $9 billion annually from parents staying home with small children instead of entering the workforce.

He said revenue from decriminalizing marijuana in Colorado had helped fund areas in need of financing here such as the rate of homelessness among veterans.

He also noted the Veterans Administration was quick to load up suffering fighters with opioid prescriptions while those who take marijuana report it is the only thing that helps — including with an unhealthy lack of appetite.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we're legalizing marijuana in the state of Texas," he said.

O'Rourke began his talk saying the Palo Pinto County stop came on Day 23 of his 49-day Drive Across Texas. Urging listeners to ask Abbott hard questions came next.

"Ask Greg Abbott the next time he holds a town hall here," he said to laughter.

Abbott's campaign confirmed last week the Republican has no campaign stops planned in Palo Pinto or Parker counties, though his office has announced that Abbott will meet for a debate at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg on Sept. 30.

"When we win this election, we're going to be able to deliver for one another," O'Rourke said. "And the state of Texas will be back on the right track."