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Beto O'Rourke's Cedar Park Town Hall Exceeds Capacity

8/29/2018

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Over a thousand people showed up to Beto O’Rourke’s town hall in Cedar Park, Texas this morning. 
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In a room and patio that was supposed to hold 400, several hundred others poured out onto a nearby lawn to hear O’Rourke speak.​

After thanking everyone for joining him this morning, Beto began with speaking about coming together for the country, “So many people right now at events like these say that they feel hopeful and they feel encouraged and feel that maybe things will be O.K. in this country, I got to tell you that I feel the exact same way when we all come together in this way; not against anyone - not against any thing - not against another political party but for one another and for this country — This feels really good.”
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After a brief pause, Beto continued, “At this moment that this entire concept - or experiment - that we decided we were going to start 242 years ago on the basic premise that we’re all created equal. That each one of us that has inherent, inalienable - meaning that we cannot take it away - this right to be able to live and to have our liberty and be able to pursue our happiness. For some, and I’ll admit for the O’Rourke family, almost two years ago, this became not a certainty but an open question. Unclear whether we were going to be here for a 243rd or 244th year - Unclear whether this would continue to be the indispensable nation. Unclear whether we were going to live up to our highest values and ideals or whether we were going to succumb to the paranoia, the smallness, the hatred, the vilification of one another based on our differences; whether we were going to literally going to physically be definite by a 2,000 mile wall, 30 feet high at a cost of 30 billion dollars built not on the international boundary between the United States and Mexico…  but miles into the interior of the United States, literally taking our fellow Texans farms, ranches, homes and properties to build something that we don’t need at a time of record safety along the U.S./Mexico border. The lowest levels of northbound apprehension since 1971 - the year before I was born - and though we do have threats at the U.S./Mexico border,  which we must be vigilant; illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking that’s going on right now and our gratitude to the more than 20,000 border patrol agents who seek to guard that border,” Beto continued, then mentioning asylum seekers; comparing them to other people who would do the exact same thing to protect themselves or their children.

​“To arrive at our front door, at the U.S./Mexico border, where Texas meets the rest of the world, and to have that child, for whom you’ve risked everything - including your life - literally have that child taken from you, by force, if necessary… For you, that parent, who’s make this Godawful decision and has survived the journey in every manor of deprivation and every kind of person who would pray on your misery and the misery of your child and you made it here alive… to have that girl taken from you - To be turned over to the department of Justice of the United States of America - Prosecuted like a common criminal. That little girl sent to a foster care home in Michigan, sent to a tent city in dessert in Tornillo, Texas - sent somewhere that you cannot follow - knowing not when or if you will see her again - that is happening in our country right now and it is up to us whether or not that will define us for the generations to come.”
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“The rhetoric that describes Mexicans immigrants as rapists and criminals; that describes asylum seekers as animals or an infestation - those words that have had a profound effect on how we treat and see and view one another - whether those words will mark  this time and the people of 2018 whether we decide we will ban all people of one religion - from these shores - these borders - from this country from this place whose very genius is that we are a people from everywhere from all walks of life all traditions of faith including those who are here with us right now - whether the press which, I was always taught to believe are the best defense against tyranny, who hold those in positions of power and public trust accountable for their actions. The actions that they take on your behalf, the tax dollars that they spend on your behalf, the wars that they wage on your behalf, the lives that are taken on your behalf, the lives that are sacrificed and lost… on your behalf. Without the press, who would we be? To have somebody in the highest office in the land describe them as the enemy of the people… this basic foundation of our democracy and who we are, and again our genius, the envy of the world, imperfect though we may be, still the best thing going. Amy and I, more than a year and a half ago, made a decision — That this cannot be us. These things cannot define who we are and we also not just be against those things - not just against stopping the bad stuff that’s going on - we have to be for the great things we want to achieve."
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Beto also spoke passionately about the late Senator John McCain, bringing up the fact that McCain admitted to past mistakes and, during his presidential campaign, made it known that he felt Barack Obama was a good man who should be respected and not feared.

Other subjects discussed by O’Rourke were health care, women’s rights, civil rights, foster care and climate change.​

He ended his speech with the topic of the 'war on drugs' targeting people of color, “We are in a country that today boasts the largest prison population on the face of the planet. We know that one third doing time right now are there for non violent drug offenses. Many for simple possession of Marijuana — a substance that’s legal in 29 states in this country — there are people getting rich lawfully selling Marijuana right now all over this country and there are low-level dealers being locked up - people locked up for the crime of possessions - and let’s be honest, because we know that all people of all races and ethnicities use illegal drugs at the same rate but that only some will be arrested and only some will do time for the crime of being a black man in this country too often. Who are stopped, who are searched, who are put behind bars - the prison population, largest on the planet, is disproportionately comprised of people of color,” Beto said, scanning the audience, “It’s a journey that begins as early as kindergarten where five year old children, depending on their race, are five time as likely to be disciplined or suspended or expelled in the exact same classroom with the same teacher than another child of a different race… Twenty-five percent of African-American children in this country have had a parent in the criminal justice system in this country. Four percent of white children have had a parent in the criminal justice system in this country. That twenty-five percent rate is four times as high as what is was in 1980. This war on drugs has become a war on people - a war on some people over other people - it has, in effect, some people have called in the new Jim Crow… What if we decided, as a state, we were going to lead the way in ending the war on drugs, ending the prohibition on Marijuana, expunging the arrest records of those arrested simply for the crime of possession so that they too can get on with their lives and be able to apply to jobs without checking a box.. to be able to better themselves. It’s not too much to ask. It’s not a crazy idea. It’s not a democratic talking point. This is something that we as the people of Texas can work on together.”
O’Rourke ended with thanking the crowd for bringing him within one point of Ted Cruz, receiving a thunderous applause before taking questions from the crowd.
​

See more photos of the overflow crowd below:
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  • Home
  • Celebs
    • Celebs: 2018 >
      • Flashback to When Timothée Chalamet Took a Pic with Kiernan Shipka's Dog, Frankie
      • Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet Spotted Filming Little Women in Back Bay
      • Nancy Barbato Sinatra Has Died at Age 101
      • Saoirse Ronan Graces NYFW with Rami Malek and Jake Gyllenhaal
      • Lauren Graham Gives Away Free Autographed Books Every Friday -- Here's How to Win!
      • Sandra Bullock & Bryan Randall Back in Austin for the 4th
      • Tom Holland and Saoirse Ronan Hanging Out in London
  • film
  • TV
  • FESTIVALS
    • Wizard World Virtual Experiences is bringing Charmed, Family Ties and Henry Winkler in May!
    • Henry Winkler Gives an Inspiring 'Law of Attraction' Speech at Wizard World Austin
    • Wizard World Austin 2019 Disney Trivia with Thomas Ian Nicholas and Samm Levine
    • 2019 Texas Monthly BBQ Festival Review
    • SXSW The Highwaymen and Booksmart Red Carpet Photos
    • Good Omens at SXSW
    • Natalie Portman Vox Lux Austin Film Festival Premiere
    • Beyond the Night Austin Film Festival Premiere
    • Capital City Black Film Festival Coverage 2018 >
      • Photos from The Capital City Black Film Festival
      • The Last Defense Panel at the Capital City Black Film Festival
      • Leon Describes How He Can Be a Member of the Resistance & Not Let Current Events Get Him Down
    • Small Town Crime SXSW Premiere
    • James Lafferty, Stephen Colletti and Michelle Lang are Doing Great
    • Hot Summer Nights Red Carpet Interviews with Timothée Chalamet, Maika Monroe, Maia Mitchell and Alex Roe
  • ETC
    • Beto O'Rourke Cedar Park Town Hall
    • The Stranger Things Corn Maze at Exploration Acres Opens September 14th
    • Rosie O’Donnell and 60 Broadway Stars to Occupy Lafayette Park August 6th
  • Around ATX
    • Tom Welling Shops and the Smallville Cast Discuss Their Favorite Teachers at Wizard World Austin
    • The Texas Monthly BBQ Festival is November 3rd
    • Jason Momoa Added to Wizard World Austin Comic Con
    • Matthew McConaughey Sings 'Alright, Alright, Alright,' with Jack Ingram
    • Game of Thrones at SXSW Activation
    • Merry Mix Show 2018
    • Timothée Chalamet & Nic Sheff Austin Beautiful Boy Q&A
    • Robert Rodriguez Hosts Beto O'Rourke at His 'Blank Check' Austin Home
    • Texas Tribune Festival 2018 Coverage >
      • Watch: The Lights Went Out on Richard Painter at #TribFest18, He Kept Rolling Unfazed
      • Michael Avenatti Says Donald Trump is Brilliant About These 5 Things
      • Tom Perez Says Kavanaugh 'Does Not Have the Temperament' to be on the Supreme Court
      • John Kerry Says the 'Fix is In' Regarding Kavanaugh, Taxes and Health Care
      • Michael Avenatti Discusses his Client Julie Swetnick at the Texas Tribune Festival
    • Wizard World Austin Comic Con >
      • Austin Comic Con Schedule Announcement
      • Peter Capaldi Shops a Booth at Wizard World Austin & More Pics From Day One
      • Danny Trejo Gives Advice & Calls Robert Rodriguez at Wizard World Austin
      • Day Two of Wizard World Austin Comic Con
      • Disney Trivia at Wizard World Austin
      • Holly Marie Combs and Charisma Carpenter Charm the Crowd During the Women of Pop Culture Panel at Wizard World Austin
      • More Photos of Peter Capaldi Shopping at Wizard World Austin
  • Contact
  • More
    • Cloris Leachman Spent her 93rd Birthday with Tom Arnold & Jennifer Tilly
    • Video: Rami Malek Falls Off the Oscars Stage
    • A Fan Shared What it was Like Sitting Next to Timothee Chalamet During a 3 Hour Flight
    • Rosie O'Donnell Offers Tickets to Two Men Who Screamed at Mike Pence at The Music Man Performance in DC
    • More 2018 >
      • Justin Theroux Takes New Dog Kuma to Casey Neistat & Candice Pool's Billy! Popup
      • Nancy Sinatra, Christina Perri and Rosie O'Donnell ask #WhereAreTheGirls
      • Timothée Chalamet Poses with Fans in Budapest
      • Rosie O'Donnell Hosts After Party for Richard Painter in Midtown Manhattan
      • Everything On Netflix, Hulu and Amazon in December
      • Kathy Griffin and Stormy Daniels Discuss Melania's Jacket - Then Give Trump the Finger