O'Rourke Vs. Cruz on the Issues
(Revised 8/29/18 regarding nicknames, 9/20/18 DWI details)
Congressman Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke is getting lots of praise from the Democrat-friendly media and Hollywood liberals. A review of their positions on the issues, however, shows that Senator Ted Cruz represents Texas voters and values far better than O'Rourke. Given that Texas continues to proudly wear the name "red state" it is curious how the race is even close considering that Cruz solidly represents conservative Republican values while O'Rourke leans left of Pelosi.
Second Amendment
Senator Cruz is a staunch defender of Second Amendment rights earning him an A+ lifetime rating from the NRA. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Robert O'Rourke who received an F rating from the NRA. O'Rourke has stated that he does not believe semi automatic rifles, including the popular AR-15, should be owned by civilians.
Taxes
O'Rourke voted against the tax reform package passed into law in 2017. Senator Cruz supported the tax plan. The tax cuts doubled the child tax credit, doubled the standard deduction, exempted most from estate taxes, and reduced the tax rates for all Americans. The cuts also brought the corporate tax rate down from one of the highest at 35% to a globally competitive rate of 21% thereby encouraging American business growth and investment.
Pro-Life vs Pro-Abortion
Cruz opposes tax payer funding of Planned Parenthood and is strongly pro-life. He often states, "Without life there is no liberty." O'Rourke on the other hand has a 100% score from Planned Parenthood and NARAL for his strong support for abortion "rights" and tax funding of abortion clinics.
Sanctuary Cities
O'Rourke supports "sanctuary" cities and counties that refuse to work with federal immigration officials thereby releasing criminal illegal aliens back into Texas communities. He stated that he is open to abolishing ICE, and he has joined other left wing Democrats in a call to decriminalize illegal border crossings. Cruz believes in the rule of law and legal immigration. Cruz's father was a legal immigrant to the US from Cuba.
Border Security
O'Rourke has opposed additional spending on both border personnel and physical barriers. He has repeatedly stated for years that the borders are secure enough. He even criticized Nancy Pelosi for putting any funds for border security in the last budget. Cruz strongly supports securing the US borders.
Judges and Supreme Court
Cruz supports the appointment of federal judges and Supreme Court justices that have records of faithfully applying the law instead of legislating from the bench. Cruz supported Justice Gorsuch's appointment to the Supreme Court, and he will approve Judge Kavanaugh if the vote is brought before him. O'Rourke will oppose Republican judicial nominations if he is elected.
Healthcare
Cruz has led the fight to repeal Obamacare. He continues to work to repeal it and address health care costs through market based solutions. O'Rourke likes Bernie Sander's idea of putting everyone on Medicare. A recent study by George Mason University discusses the cost of such a system. Conservative estimates are that it would require more than a doubling of the current taxes collected in the US and that is based on a seemingly unlikely assumption that providers will continue to provide services at substantially lower payment. The study concludes: "M4A would markedly increase the demand for healthcare services while simultaneously cutting payments to providers by more than 40 percent, reducing payments to levels that are lower on average than providers’ current costs of providing care. It cannot be known how much providers will react to these losses by reducing the availability of existing health services, the quality of such services, or both." (https://www.mercatus.org/publications/federal-fiscal-policy/costs-national-single-payer-healthcare-system)
President Trump
O'Rourke stated that he will vote to impeach President Trump if elected because he believes the evidence is already clear. There's little doubt that he would join Democrat efforts to reverse the President's tax plan, regulation rollbacks, and trade deals. After a rough start to their relationship, Cruz has effectively worked with President Trump to move Republican priorities forward in the Senate.
Israel
Cruz stands with Israel. O'Rourke is one of the Congressional members who boycotted Netanyahu's speech in 2015 to Congress, and he was one of only eight House members to vote against funding for Israel's Iron Dome defense system.
Education
Cruz supports education choice for parents and their children. In 2017 he successfully added an amendment to allow pre-tax contributions to 529 plans to be used for K-12 tuition expenses. O'Rourke opposes any tax dollars or credits being used outside the Public School system.
Latin Heritage
O'Rourke is Irish-American, son of Patrick and Melissa O'Rourke. He is not Hispanic, although he tried unsuccessfully to join the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Cruz's father, Rafael B. Cruz, is an immigrant from Cuba; therefore, Senator Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz is Latino.
Nicknames
Cruz's childhood nickname given by his father was "Felito", but he dropped the nickname when he was 13 due to bullying according to a 2015 interview and used his middle name instead. O'Rourke attributes the nickname "Beto" as a common nickname for Robert in his hometown of El Paso. He tweeted a photo in early 2018 showing a young Robert with Beto across the front of a white sweater, and Beto is the name he used in his punk rock band, who released the El Paso Pussycats album, as well as on the El Paso ballot in 2005. During college at Columbia on the east coast, O'Rourke's name appears in publications as Rob and Robert.
Arrest Records
O'Rourke was arrested for DWI and for burglary in the 1990's. Senator Cruz has not been arrested. In August 2018 new details about O'Rourke's DWI surfaced. According to police reports not only was O'Rourke driving at a high speed while intoxicated, but he crashed into another vehicle and then attempted to flee the scene.
Religious Liberty
Senator Cruz defends the First Amendment right to religious liberty. As Texas Solicitor General he successfully defended the Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds. O'Rourke during his time as an El Paso councilman scolded a local parish priest for opposing same sex marriage benefits. O'Rourke citied the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal and views regarding contraceptives as grounds for dismissal of the clergyman's concerns.
