O'Rourke faces emotional school shooting question in Iowa

[TexasTowelie]

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke visited an 8th grade civics class Monday and found students ready with tough questions about school shootings and climate change — and not willing to laugh at the usual campaign trail jokes he uses to make adults chuckle.

Tyler Stewart teaches civics at Berg Middle School in Newton, about 30 miles from Des Moines, the Iowa capital. His class includes lessons about voter access, and students followed O’Rourke’s near-upset of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas last November while they were studying Texas’ strict voter ID laws.

Stewart invited the former congressman to visit and — amid campaign visits across the state that kicks off presidential primary voting — and O’Rourke accepted.

More than 40 students piled into a classroom and O’Rourke began with a brief introduction that echoed comments he makes several times a day while campaigning. When he joked about his Republican mother voting for him during the Senate race, an adult listening from the back was the only one who laughed. Ditto for comments about finding rare independent voters in Texas

Read more: https://www.apnews.com/c848bedc2dc44d4aa4dc18837124180b

[PatrickforO]

1. The new generation is really tired of the same old, same old

from politicians. They are pretty universally demanding some real action.

Not to say Beto would not work hard to make things happen, but expectations for the Democratic party in 2021 on are going to be pretty high - if we have the kind of victory in 2020 I think we will have.

Because it is one thing to campaign and talk a good game then, but quite another to stand and deliver once in office. I don't mean any disrespect by that to any candidate or serving elected official. I'm merely making the observation that times are changing. Because they are.

[BlueWI]

2. Agreed.

Business as usual is too low of a standard.