Beto O'Rourke returns to Austin, now as a presidential candidate

[TexasTowelie]

The blustery wind gave the night air a bite that made it feel far colder than the low 50s, and by 8:15 p.m. Saturday, 45 minutes before the Beto O’Rourke rally was set to begin, there was not much of a crowd to speak of, leaving one to wonder whether, somewhere between his upbeat morning rally in El Paso and his afternoon rally at Texas Southern University in Houston, the political phenomenon’s bubble had burst.

But, by the time O’Rourke ascended the ersatz stage that had been constructed on Congress Avenue for his return to Austin for the first time as a candidate for president at just after 10:30 p.m., thousands of people had filled the streets in every direction, and the former congressman from El Paso, removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves, seemed buoyed higher than ever.

“Austin, how you doin’?” O’Rourke asked. “We love you Austin. It is so good to be back here in Austin, the source of what is good for Texas and for the United States of America.”

The three rallies Saturday were in the campaign’s description, kick off rallies, the official launch of his presidential campaign. But that came with a tweeted video way back on March 14, a seeming eon of political time ago, and these three rallies in the friendly terrain of his hometown of El Paso, in Houston, and in the shadow of the Capitol were homecomings for a favorite son who, after enduring a loss, had contemplated what that meant and what to do next and decided to reach higher.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190331/beto-orourke-returns-to-austin-now-as-presidential-candidate

[MustLoveBeagles]

1. K&R