Earlier this week I had the privilege of attending El Paso Young Democrats' fundraiser/cocktail mixer held for Beto O'Rourke, who is a Candidate for the 16th U.S. Congressional District, currently held by Congressman Reyes. From the beginning, quite honestly, I didn't expect a lot of people to attend the event for a couple of reasons:
[1] The event was held the week of Thanksgiving;
[2] The event was held at the same time as Judge Mike Herrera's fundraiser--who is a super well-respected Democratic Family Court Judge in charge of one of the busiest most well-respected family courts in El Paso County and the State of Texas;
[3] The event was billed as a cocktail mixer--which was a clear contrast from the formal dinner Beto's opponent, Congressman Reyes, received from the same organization, for the same reason, at the same time, at the same venue, the month before;
[4] The event was advertised as the "Poshest," "Hippest," event of the campaign season in spite of the fact that it was held at a small family-owned Mexican Restaurant (G&R Restaurant) that was ill-equipped to host a cocktail mixer and an allegedly internationally renowned Electronic Music DJ (There is no dance floor at G&R Restaurant, and their bar space is a polite formality that barely honors its intended function);
[5] The event lauded a fictional DJ with false credentials, "DJ Notorious Boom Boom," on every invitation that was sent out for the event--which is an ethical issue that isn't easily resolved with the justification that it was just a joke (DJ Notorious Boom Boom is a fictional DJ that does not exist; Jaime Abyetia, who is a contractor that works for "My El Paso DJ," was the DJ for the event); and
[6] The event's invitation never mentioned what office Beto O'Rourke was running for--which is an amateurish move that could easily be construed as intentional, given the experience El Paso Young Democrats has in hosting political events such as these and the tradition it has in honoring a few of the most basic principles of political courtesy and protocol--both of which are credentials the organizer of the event, Alex Guzman, El Paso Young Democrats' Vice President of Finance, takes great pride in having.
In reality, there were at least a 1000 other reasons why a serious candidate for Congress should have never accepted the invitation to speak to an organization that didn't think enough him as a candidate for United States Congress to advertise the position he is running for on their invitation, but that did take the time to laud the false credentials of a fictional entertainer on their invitation instead.
Regardless, Beto O'Rourke, Candidate for U.S. Congressional District 16, kept it classy. He attended the event--despite the casual hostility implicated in the way the event was planned for him by Alex Guzman-- and spoke elqouently about Border Security, Immigration Reform, Congressional Term Limits, the justification behind legalizing Marijuana; as well as, about Congressman Reyes' record--which Beto alleges is that of a legislator that has only authored and passed 6 bills during the almost 15 years he's been in office.
Quite honorably, I might add, Beto also made a good faith effort before and after the event began and ended--and despite the loud music blaring in the background--to speak to each person in attendance at the event at each table. (Perhaps he really did believe there would be an opportunity to mix with the guests in attendance and speak with them one-on-one the way the invitation indicated.)
In sum, despite the odds that were stacked against him politically at this event in the way it was planned, billed, and executed; and despite the fact that any other serious candidate for any office would likely have declined speaking at an event planned this dishonestly, by Alex Guzman, Beto O'Rourke maintained his credibility as a man of his word by attending the event and also showed us just how Congressional he can be in whatever situation he is placed in--which, quite frankly, appeared to serve him more justice than I think the organizers of the event may have intended.
