Texas is a big state.  And Texans are known for their big guns, big steaks, flags flying, and little tolerance for the nonsense of leftists.  At least outside of Austin, where crops of Democrats tend to congregate and plot ways of overturning the solid conservative roots of the Lone Star state.

The vast and wealthy state is also home to Robert Francis O’Rourke, a pale skinny jeans kind of guy who prefers the nickname Beto.  The guy who is causing heartburn behind closed doors for Republican Senator Rafael Edward Cruz (R-TX) – a real Hispanic American of Cuban descent — who goes by Ted.

Random left-leaning Americans, and perhaps a few California transplants who have invaded the territory recently, might be fooled by the name Beto, but not natives.  Real Texans are hard pressed to embrace the fourth generation Irish-American born in El Paso as anything but a progressive upstart.

The Devil You know

Americans tend to get their immediate headline news, not from CNN, but the threads of social media.  Depending on the political leanings of the observer, O’Rourke is either Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) long lost love child or a cross-dressing, burglarizing, drunken driver with a sketchy past involving the law of the land.

What has been proven is that O’Rourke was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) and criminal trespass in 1995.  And then, oops, in 1998, he did it again.

But unlike most career Democrats, he’s owned up to his street creds:

 “More than 20 years ago, I was arrested–not once, but twice. So you should know that and we should all own that, if asked … far more serious mistake: I drove under the influence of alcohol. There’s no justifying that.”

Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans… pic.twitter.com/LdqKTh3yK4

— Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) August 28, 2018

And recently surfacing is a not-so-flattering photograph of young O’Rourke with his former Foss band-mates donning a fetching floral print dress and a serious expression.  The image was created for the jacket of a Foss produced single, The El Paso Pussycats.

If only Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) would stick her nose in his business, perhaps America would get to know the real Beto in a much-publicized fashion.

But Texans are quite aware of the gangly white man.

The LBJ Grasslands National Park near Decatur, Texas is a favorite hot spot for horseback riders and outdoorsy types.  Jean Cowan, 55, a retired school teacher and her horse Drifter, were ready to opine near a small Ted Cruz sign about Cruz’s competitor:

“First off, is he attempting to fool us into thinking he’s Hispanic? He’s as white Irish as one can be. Second, for a guy that’s lived in Texas his whole life, he should know that low taxes, independence from government, and a strong belief in the 2^nd Amendment flows through our veins.  Plus the dress he wore, white flowers on a dark canvass wasn’t flattering. The media may love him, real Texans, not so much.”

Better Things to Do

Cruz signs dot the vast landscape of the state from the rolling hills of Dallas-Fort Worth to the harsh desert lands of Beto’s own stomping grounds.  Only in major Metropolitan areas is there any sense of support for the often-charming self-described centrist attempting to overthrow Cruz.

Polls may threaten a Beto upset in Texas, but as we have witnessed, surveys apparently skip questioning conservatives, as they have been egregiously wrong – or wrongly reported – for at least two years.

Whatever will Texans do come November 6, 2018?  Most likely congratulate Senator Ted Cruz on his reelection.