Beto O'Rourke DWI episode in 1998 included car crash and alleged attempt to flee

[oberliner]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by NH Ethylene (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Washington Post

Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Tex.), who is mounting a spirited bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), was involved in a drunken driving episode 20 years ago in which he crashed into another vehicle and sought to flee, according to police reports from the time.

Though O’Rourke’s DWI arrest has long been publicly known — and seemed not to hinder his political career — the reports that surfaced this week suggest that the episode was more serious than detailed in previous media accounts.

The state and local police reports, published Thursday night by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, say that O’Rourke, who was 26 at the time, was driving drunk at what a witness called “a high rate of speed” in a 75 mph zone of an interstate when he lost control of his Volvo and hit a truck.

The reports say the impact sent O’Rourke’s car across the center median, where it came to a complete stop. Then, according to a witness, O’Rourke “attempted to leave the scene,” the reports say. The police officer who responded was dispatched at 3 a.m.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/beto-orourke-dwi-episode-in-1998-included-car-crash-and-alleged-attempt-to-flee/2018/08/31/6fff5bb8-ad3a-11e8-8a0c-70b618c98d3c_story.html

[Brother Buzz]

1. Driving a Volvo in Texas might be more problematic then a DUI

I'm just spitballing here.

[Kali]

47. !

so wrong but

[yallerdawg]

2. It is becoming more and more conclusive.

I will never, ever run for any office - INCLUDING dogcatcher!

Sorry, Beto.

But - any of your relatives ever work with Lee Harvey Oswald? Huh?

[bettyellen]

3. I don't care, do you?

[Pachamama]

7. Nope....

I have seen far far worse from elected members in Congress and the current occupant of the White House

[pazzyanne]

14. Me neither!

The past 2 years have taught me a lot of things that I never wanted to learn about my country. A DUI is the least of the problems being exposed on a daily basis. H*ll, a DUI is the most normal thing I've heard lately.

[sheshe2]

18. Boom!

[oberliner]

30. I'd be interested in hearing what he has to say about it

I would imagine that he would make some kind of statement since it is being covered in the Washington Post.

[George II]

35. If so, you could search the Washington Post or Texas newspapers from back in 1998. I'm sure....

....he talked about it back then.

To most of us, it's a non-story 20 years after the fact.

[oberliner]

46. Why would he have talked about it in 1998?

He was not a public figure at the time. He was running a software company.

[George II]

60. Why should he talk about it now, twenty years after it happened?

[Eliot Rosewater]

59. Democrats dont care about this story.

Liberals dont care.
Democrats dont care

etc

[George II]

63. Indeed, so who does care about this story?

[Eliot Rosewater]

66. I think we know, dont we.

It is remarkable what goes on here and for HOW LONG

[brush]

75. What's the term? It's on the tip of my tongue, it's coming...ah yes. DINO.

[Gothmog]

85. WOW

Sanders is evidently scared of Beto. That is amusing

[Gothmog]

84. O'Rourke: Texas should lead the way on true criminal justice reform [Opinion]

Read his editorial. This is old news in Texas https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Beto-ORourke-Texas-criminal-justice-reform-jail-13181472.php

Twenty-three years ago I was arrested for attempted forcible entry after jumping a fence at the University of Texas at El Paso. I spent a night in the El Paso County Jail, was able to make bail the next day, and was released. Three years later, I was arrested for drunk driving — a far more serious mistake for which there is no excuse.

But those mistakes did not ultimately define me or stop me from what I wanted to do in my life or how I wanted to contribute to the success of my family and my community — as a father, small business owner, city council member, and congressman. The chance that I had, and which I have made the most of, is denied to too many of our fellow Texans, particularly those who don’t look like me or have access to the same opportunities that I did.

On Wednesday, I toured the Harris County Jail with Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and met men from this community who have made a mistake from which they may or may not recover. Men who don’t have the resources to post bail. Some of whom got arrested on purpose to get the treatment and care they need, care they won’t be able to afford or access on the outside. In fact, the Harris County Jail is the largest provider of mental health services in our state, a state that is the least insured in the nation. Of the 10,000 inmates in the Harris County Jail, one quarter of them are being prescribed at least one psychotropic medication. The jail has more people receiving psychiatric treatment every day than the nine state mental hospitals in Texas combined.

The fact that you are making a big deal about this tells me a great deal. It appears that sanders is terrified of Beto.

[Gothmog]

82. Beto is a three term Congressman

This is old news to me. The state party knew about this back when Beto first ran for Congress

[louis c]

4. Let's compare every politician's 20 year old transgressions

against Trump's. And if they pale by comparison, I don't give a fuck.

What we're trying to do here is save our country from a dictatorship

[Pachamama]

6. +1000

[walkingman]

5. Beto is a better human being than Cruz by any measure.

[spooky3]

8. How does a 20 year old incident qualify as "late breaking news"?

As the commenters at the WaPo site explained in a dozen different ways, this story has been out there a LONG time, Beto has addressed it repeatedly, and even with the worst interpretation, it is nowhere close to the many incidents involving Trump—or even the Bushes/Cheney.

[oberliner]

31. The details appear to have only recently been made public

I think the story in the Houston Chronicle has set off a lot of additional coverage from the Washington Post and others.

[defacto7]

48. Statements like, "appear to have" and "I think"

don't qualify it for LBN.

I think the story in the Houston Chronicle has set off a lot of additional coverage from the Washington Post and others.

including from you.

[mac56]

9. "O'Rourke's DWI arrest has long been publicly known and seemed not to hinder his political career."

Then why bring it up now?

Oh right.

[Squinch]

13. Well, consider the source.

[sheshe2]

19. Yep.

Sigh.

[obamanut2012]

64. this

[George II]

28. Makes one wonder, doesn't it? Actually, it doesn't make one wonder.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Some tremendous news to brighten our day, huh? How's his record since then?

It could be construed as less than horrifying that no one was harmed.

[oberliner]

33. Better to know things than not to know things

[defacto7]

52. Except when everyone knows already.

Then it becomes either a political ad or grandstanding.

[flotsam]

11. " suggest that the episode was more serious "

How exactly? No reported injuries and sober enough to attempt to walk away...not passing out drunk and no victims. Pretty basic to me!

[Squinch]

12. Aren't you precious.

[ret5hd]

15. Hey! Leave a working man alone!

[Squinch]

21. .

[George II]

29. Bazinga!

[yardwork]

55. Zing!

[oberliner]

34. Don't be afraid to read articles in The Washington Post

They can't hurt you.

[Squinch]

41. Oh, come on. You have been at this long enough. You ought

to be able to come up with something better than the "when did you stop beating your wife?" tactic. That's so hackneyed.

[tenderfoot]

80. What do you mean by that?

[samnsara]

16. its a Laura Bush...

… but then ol George was busted for coke and it didnt matter I guess

[deurbano]

49. Laura Bush seemed to get such a pass on that by the media, especially compared to the fine tooth

comb they raked through her immediate predecessor's life.

[LeftInTX]

70. According to Snopes George was never arrested for cocaine

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/burning-bush/

Laura never ran for office.

She was 17. There was no evidence that she had been drinking.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/laura-bush-car-accident/

Beto was 25 in 1998, drinking and now he left the scene.

[flotsam]

74. Beto left

no corpses...

[Oneironaut]

17. That's it. If you've ever made a mistake in your past, you should clearly be immediately executed.

We should only have completely perfect people in office. If you’ve ever so much as went 1 mph over the speed limit, you can’t be rehabilitated!

[Igel]

72. I seem to remember an incident ...

Somebody said that a politician running for office said something when he was still in high school and it was considered the political kiss of death. People were riled up, all but protested, and enraged many.

Notice: Somebody made the claim. There was nothing more than the remembered claim of what happened in passing 30 years ago.

Many pointed out that this was said by a 16- or 17-year-old, and the response was, "People don't change. What happened then is just as important as if it happened last week."

I assume that the truck he crashed into was unoccupied. Hard to tell, though. But seeking to drive away from the scene of a crash is more serious than being pulled over because you're over 0.08.

It won't matter to ardent group members. Members find excuses to forgive their own, esp. when the member's already been forgiven for something and now there's an add-on kind of transgression; and they find reasons to make faults in opposing groups as dire and telling as possible. It's those who aren't members of either group that will be most affected.

[QC]

20. Still not as bad as the Zodiac murders. n/t

[Gothmog]

89. I and four family members have this shirt

This makes me smile http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a53952/ted-cruz-zodiac-killer-tshirts-abortion/

The 2016 election cycle has already seen its share of weird conspiracy theories, but the craziest one by far is that GOP presidential candidate and Texas senator Ted Cruz is the infamous Zodiac killer who terrorized Northern California in the 1960s and 1970s with a spree of still-unsolved murders. The Daily Dot traces the origins of the theory, which recently spread through Twitter with hashtag #ZodiacTed, back to 2013. Now two Texas men have capitalized on this bizarre meme by selling "Ted Cruz Was the Zodiac Killer" shirts online, and they're donating the profits to an organization that helps fund abortions.

Jezebel reports that the shirt was created by friends Tim Faust and Rory Blank, who do not actually believe Cruz is the Zodiac killer, but who wanted to use the meme to show people that Cruz — who is anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage — is scary. "There's no way Ted Cruz is the Zodiac killer — the dates don't match up," the site notes, jokingly. "However, there's no way of knowing whether Ted Cruz has sworn with his every waking breath to further the agenda of the Zodiac Killer, whom he may or may not love."

As a true Texas Democrat, I may have to get one of these shirts

[trof]

22. And you bring this up why?

[oberliner]

26. Didn't see it posted anywhere here

Has been covered in most major news outlets so it seems to be significant news. Better to be informed than not - especially if it gets used a campaign issue.

[trof]

32. When I see something negative about a Democrat I don't feel called upon to spread it around.

I let the opposition do that.

[oberliner]

36. This was reported by the Washington Post, NY Mag, The Hill, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle

I mean if a story is out there already, it can't really hurt anything for DUers to be informed about it, even if it may reflect negatively on someone we admire.

[trof]

40. If you think that's best.

I tend to consider morale here.

[Squinch]

43. So does the op. Just maybe not in the same way.

[defacto7]

57. Sure seems that way.

[Pisces]

58. Your concern and good citizen act is duly noted

[paleotn]

23. Bad judgement call when young....

Most of us have had them. But still not anywhere near as creepy and disgusting as Cruz on a normal day.

[oberliner]

38. Agreed on all counts

[Beartracks]

24. The only 20-yr-old stuff that could matter is stuff that's still going on now.

Take Trump's track record, for instance...

===========

[Rorey]

50. This.

20 year old stuff that a guy did when he was in his twenties. I'm just not concerned. I mean, I really don't care, do you.

If he continued to do these things all his life, I'd care. We make stupid mistakes. We learn. We grow.

[Beartracks]

65. And some make stupid mistakes, don't learn, and don't grow. Or...

... learn they can get away with it, and grow worse.

=============

[Rorey]

69. Good points

Hopefully most of us learn our lessons.

[bluestarone]

25. They care about this? BUT won't

Look at RUMPS record?? NO FUCKING COMPARISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dameatball]

27. Well, at least his father didn't assassinate JFK!

My whatabout for the day.

[displacedtexan]

37. 1. No Hit & Run charge; 2...

If your car spins out across the median, would you just stand there and wait for an officer to arrive, or would you run like hell to keep from getting hit by a car?

If Dems don't fight back over this, I'm pretty well done. This cowering shit has got to stop, damn it. Republicans pull life-threatening crap every time the sun comes up.

[oberliner]

44. The witness said he tried to drive away from the scene, not "run like hell"

[defacto7]

68. It's good you're here to clarify the true guilt by evidence.

The judge must not have considered that when she/he dismissed the case.

[Vinca]

39. Who cares? The current squatter in the Oval Office bilked people out of millions of dollars

in fees for a fake university and he was quite a bit older than 25 at the time. People do dumb things in their youth. Drinking and driving ends up being one of them. Ask George W. Bush.

[David__77]

42. Better to get it out of the way now rather than later.

...

[MontanaMama]

45. Charges were dismissed

after he completed a mandatory dui class. Eyes on the prize people...we can’t let this take down Beto. We’ve seen this before and we will see it again.

https://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2018/aug/22/silvestre-reyes/beto-orourke-arrested-1990s-burglary-and-dwi/

[riversedge]

53. He has never hidden this story. And he paid he dues. Lesson learned.

[dameatball]

54. I have donated twice to BETO and this is all I need to know.

[GusBob]

51. I always play this game: shoes on the other foot

Sorta devils advocate.

If this was another candidate, say GOPer.....or God forbid someone named Clinton or Sanders during the 16 primaries.....

what would the replies be like on DU?

[oberliner]

56. What do you think the answer to your question is?

[Historic NY]

61. How about a First Lady the was driving a car that killed a HS classmate

WTF does it matter . Then there was the SD Congressman that killed a guy and he was convicted of manslaughter.

[7wo7rees]

62. Get fuct Green Eggs and Ham guy

No War but Class War.
Step aside for the New and Improved Congress.

[marylandblue]

67. The story says he held a fundraiser at a pub

He opened it by warning people not to drink and drive and offered rides home to anyone who would need it. Someone handed him a beer and he gave it to his wife as "the designated drinker."

So it sounds like he learned his lesson. And the story could gave been written with that as the lede.

[samnsara]

71. if i were Beto and was confronted with the DUI charge, I would answer.....

…...and?...……






works for orange fuckface...

[CanonRay]

73. Let's compare the number of crimes

committed by Beto vs Trump since 1998. I could dive a shit about a 20 year old DUI

[Squinch]

76. LOL! From the looks of this thread, it seems like the cat's out of the bag, oberliner!

[c-rational]

79. Bingo!

[Mike Nelson]

77. Well...

… at least he didn't kill JFK.

[braddy]

78. That's a good one, I would love to hear him use it during a debate.

[Gothmog]

81. This editorial written by Beto was in the Houston paper last week and was republished tonigh

Link to tweet

[OilemFirchen]

83. Was he wearing something appropriate for the occasion?

I'm worried about that.

[The Polack MSgt]

86. Oberliner, does this post cutting down Beto

Mean that you've decided the he's a "Corporatist" or that he's just the "Establishment Dem"

Or do you simply have a compulsive need to be the contrarian in the room?

His arrest record has been all over mainstream and right wing sites. Anyone with an iota of interest in the race knew this story - Or at least knew that he'd been charged and the case dismissed.

So why the bad luck Schleprock routine spreading these rain clouds?

[Gothmog]

88. There is a simple reason why a sanders supporter is pushing this

[Gothmog]

87. How is this late breaking?

Beto is a three term congressman and this was used against him in past races. Heck on August 22, 2018, Beto did a great editorial in the Houston paper where he discussed this incident. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Beto-ORourke-Texas-criminal-justice-reform-jail-13181472.php Is something that was disclosed over a week ago, late breaking?

I know why sanders supporters are pushing this crap and I am amused.

[Devil Child]

90. I'm filing this under IDGAF

If they are a Democrat they have my vote. No exceptions.

[Gothmog]

92. Beto is a three term Congressman

The voters in his district never cared about this

[samir.g]

91. I don't care if he has 1000 DWIs

[Bradical79]

93. Didn't know about this! He's a lucky guy

Glad no one got killed, and he became a better man afterwards.

[Chemisse]

94. Locking

This is analysis of previously known information. Please post in GD.