“Beto” O’Rourke is using his nickname to pander to Hispanics in Texas race against Sen. Ted Cruz

In yet another revelation that Democrats simply are incapable of being honest with people, the ‘rising star’ in Texas who is attempting to unseat popular Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in November is deceptively claiming that the nickname he uses was given to him as a youngster just starting public school.

Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, D-Texas, a fourth-generation Irish-American, used that nickname when he was running for the El Paso City Council some years ago, but when he was the captain of the rowing team at prestigious Columbia University in New York, he was known as “Rob,” not Beto.

Nevertheless, he has long said that his Hispanic nickname – which stands for Robert – was given to him as a newborn and it just “stuck,” the Free Beacon reports.

“My parents called me Beto from day one,” he told fake news central CNN after his Senate rival Cruz attacked his adopted name, “and it’s just – it’s kind of a nickname for Robert in El Paso. It just stuck.”

He has also posted a picture to his Twitter feed showing him as a youngster wearing a shirt with “Beto” emblazoned on it.

pic.twitter.com/1IO1dgmCkv

— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 7, 2018

As the Free Beacon reports:

But it apparently didn’t stick when O’Rourke, the son of an influential El Paso judge, was part of the crew team at Columbia University. At least three articles in two separate publications show that while attending the school, O’Rourke went by “Rob” or “Robert.”

“Everyone from last year’s men’s heavyweight crew has returned,” says the Columbia University Record’s March 1994 fall sports roundup. “Leading the team are juniors Rob O’Rourke and Ben Bushman, who both won the team’s outstanding oarsmen awards.”

In addition, a Columbia Daily Spectator story published four days later also quoted, “co-captain Rob O’Rourke” as he explained his squad’s opening loss to rival Rutgers.

And the following week, “Robert O’Rourke” was quoted liberally when discussing the team’s victory over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Why the gimmick with the nickname?

Are Rob and Beto O’Rourke two different people? No. (Related: CNN attacks Republicans for failing to be interviewed after Fla. school shooting, then Sen. Ted Cruz corrects the record.)

A Texas Monthly profile in January 2018 noted that both men are one in the same, reporting that during his school years, Beto “was clean-cut, wore button-downs and slacks, and captained the Columbia rowing crew.”

Shortly after O’Rourke won the primary earlier this year and it was determined he would face off against Cruz, the incumbent senator’s campaign produced an ad featuring a country music jingle titled, “If You’re Gonna Run in Texas,” a play off the 1984 hit by the group Alabama, “If you’re gonna play in Texas (you gotta have a fiddle in the band).”

“Liberal Robert wanted to fit in, so he changed his name to Beto and hid it with a grin,” go the lyrics.

FIRST LISTEN: our new 60-second statewide radio ad introducing our liberal opponent, Congressman Robert O’Rourke, to Texas voters.

Help #KeepTexasRed: https://t.co/PVsiCtbbyL #CruzCrew #TXSen pic.twitter.com/OxK61gZ0ek

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 7, 2018

“If you’re gonna run in Texas, you can’t be a liberal man,” the jingle says.

Pointing this out might seem petty or insignificant, but when you consider why O’Rourke is trying to come off like he’s always been known as “Beto” since he was a child, no matter where’s he’s gone or what he’s done, he ought to be called out for it: It’s a blatant pander to Hispanics.

Cruz doesn’t have to ‘pander’ to Hispanics or Latinos. His heritage – his father is Cuban – is well-known and established.

O’Rourke, on the other hand, is a white man of Irish descent who has been running in his heavily Hispanic district as ‘one of them’ or, at a minimum, someone who can relate well to Hispanics (because of a nickname). It’s absurd.

Why can’t he simply run as Robert O’Rourke, who claims to have better ideas for Texas than his Republican rival, and let voters decide who’s right for them? Why the gimmick?

Read more about Beto O’Rourke’s gimmicks at Beto.news.

Sources include:

NewsTarget.com

FreeBeacon.com

CNN.com