Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / 2020 Campaign / O’Rourke’s Road Trip Drives Home His Message
Members should sign in for the full experience.

O’Rourke’s Road Trip Drives Home His Message

January 19, 2019 at 9:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Beto O’Rourke is five states into his stream-of-consciousness road trip across the American Southwest, unaccompanied as he drops into a small-town diner for cobbler, washes his face in a lake and journals about the need to ‘clear my head,'” Politico reports.

“All of which is unfolding as the rest of the Democratic presidential field has broken into a sprint — Elizabeth Warren to New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand to Iowa, and Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker to South Carolina… His absence from the fray has been noted — and his introspective writing style has been mocked. But amid much snickering, there is also evidence to suggest that if he does run for president, it could help him politically, advancing his off-beat brand.”

“With his online following, O’Rourke remains close to the 2020 conversation regardless of his location. And in the span of several days, he has generated a torrent of media coverage that — unlike Democrats in more public settings — he alone can control.”

FavoriteLoadingSave to Favorites
  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Threads
  • Facebook
  • Email

Filed Under: 2020 Campaign Tagged With: Beto O'Rourke


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

Upgrade Now

  • ✔ Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, a trending news page, no advertising and more!
  • ✔ If you're already a member, log in for the full experience.



Recent Posts

Senate Advances Major Crypto Regulation Bill

May 19, 2025 at 10:01 pm EDT

“The Senate advanced a major cryptocurrency regulation bill Monday on a bipartisan vote two weeks after every Senate Democrat united to block it,” NBC News reports. “The procedural vote on…

Apple May Raise iPhone Prices Without Blaming Tariffs

May 19, 2025 at 8:59 pm EDT

“Apple is weighing price increases for its fall iPhone lineup, a step it is seeking to couple with new features and design changes,“ the Wall Street Journal reports. “The company…

Feds Charge Democratic Lawmaker with Assault

May 19, 2025 at 8:40 pm EDTMay 19, 2025 at 8:51 pm EDT

“The Justice Department announced an assault charge Monday against Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat who was involved in a chaotic confrontation with officials outside a federal immigration facility…

Trump Contacted Qatar About Plane as ‘Gift’

May 19, 2025 at 8:08 pm EDT

“The Trump administration first approached Qatar to inquire about acquiring a Boeing 747 that could be used as Air Force One by President Donald Trump,“ CNN reports. “That’s contrary to…

Debt Cloud Suddenly Hangs Over Megabill

May 19, 2025 at 8:04 pm EDT

Politico: “A softening Treasury bond market and surprise downgrade Friday of U.S. creditworthiness are the latest forces weighing on the GOP megabill — an unmistakable nudge to lawmakers that investors…

Trump Questions Why Biden’s Cancer Wasn’t Caught

May 19, 2025 at 6:46 pm EDTMay 19, 2025 at 6:51 pm EDT

President Trump on Monday questioned why former President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis was not caught and disclosed sooner, The Hill reports. Said Trump: “I think it’s very sad, actually. I’m…

Republicans Won’t Know What Their Megabill Costs

May 19, 2025 at 6:43 pm EDT

“House Republicans don’t expect to receive a final cost estimate for their ‘one big, beautiful bill’ before GOP leaders plan to put the massive legislation on the floor,” Politico reports….

GOP Holdouts Demand More and More

May 19, 2025 at 6:07 pm EDTMay 19, 2025 at 6:08 pm EDT

“There are still a number of hang-ups and holdouts. Conservatives aren’t yet on board. Blue-state Republicans don’t have an agreement on the state and local tax deduction. And the bill…

Appeals Court Orders Return on Man from El Salvador

May 19, 2025 at 6:05 pm EDT

“A federal appeals court has left in place an order requiring the Trump administration to seek the return of a Venezuelan man deported in March from the U.S. to a…

Trump Is Tired of Hearing He’s Breaking the Law

May 19, 2025 at 5:00 pm EDTMay 19, 2025 at 4:48 pm EDT

Adam Serwer: “The Trump administration’s relentless assault on the rule of law is a kind of arson: It is setting so many blazes that the fire department is having trouble…

Nobody in Ukraine Thinks the War Will End Soon

May 19, 2025 at 4:45 pm EDT

Anne Applebaum: “Ukrainians find none of this surprising, because they have been listening to this kind of language for three years. What they do find surprising is the American president’s…

Trump Berates Companies for Warning About Tariffs

May 19, 2025 at 4:38 pm EDT

“President Trump is telling some of the nation’s largest companies that they should eat the cost of his tariffs, as a growing number of businesses signal that they must raise…

Mike Johnson to Meet Again with SALT Republicans

May 19, 2025 at 4:28 pm EDTMay 19, 2025 at 4:39 pm EDT

“Speaker Mike Johnson is set to hold another meeting with Republican members pushing for a higher cap on the state-and-local-tax deduction on Monday night,” Politico reports. “The 9 p.m. meeting,…

Trump to Meet with House Republicans

May 19, 2025 at 3:20 pm EDTMay 19, 2025 at 3:28 pm EDT

President Donald Trump is expected to attend the House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday morning in the Capitol, Punchbowl News reports. House Republican leaders are trying to pass their reconciliation bill…

First Flight Leaves Under $1,000 Self-Deport Deal

May 19, 2025 at 2:50 pm EDT

“The Trump administration’s first charter flight for dozens of ‘self-deporting’ immigrants took off from Houston early Monday, part of a new program offering them a free trip back home and…

Republican Leadership Is Banking on Trump

May 19, 2025 at 2:48 pm EDT

“House Leadership plans to rely on one person to get the reconciliation bill over the line: President Donald Trump,” NOTUS reports. “Currently, the House is nowhere close to passing Trump’s…

Trump Invites Pope to the White House

May 19, 2025 at 2:44 pm EDT

“President Trump has invited newly inaugurated Pope Leo to the White House,” Axios reports. “If accepted, the visit would mark the first time a pope has visited the White House…

Jamie Dimon Says Tariffs Might Inflict More Pain

May 19, 2025 at 2:41 pm EDT

“JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Monday he didn’t think the full impact of tariffs had passed through to the broader economy and warned that the stock market could slump as…

Trump-Putin Call Yields No Immediate Breakthrough

May 19, 2025 at 2:38 pm EDTMay 19, 2025 at 2:52 pm EDT

“President Trump said he had an ‘excellent’ two-hour conversation by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday, though the two failed to agree on an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine that…

Trump Lacked Authority to Dismantle Institute of Peace

May 19, 2025 at 2:34 pm EDTMay 19, 2025 at 2:45 pm EDT

“A federal judge in Washington ruled Monday that the Trump administration exceeded its authority when it dismantled the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent nonprofit created by Congress,” the Washington…

« Georgia Lawmaker Who Defended KKK Named to Key Post
Trump Will Make Offer to End Shutdown »

Get Smarter About Politics

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, the Trial Balloon podcast, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Subscribe

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • The Legacy Joe Biden Won’t Get to Shape
  • Republicans Hope No One Is Watching
  • Some Thoughts on Biden’s Interview with Robert Hur
  • For Your Weekend Listening
  • Weekly News Quiz

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2025 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC