Biden Says O’Rourke Will Lead Gun Control Efforts

Former Vice President Joe Biden held a rally in Gilley’s Downtown in Dallas, Texas yesterday and several of his former opponents stopped by to give him their blessing. In a surprise move, Biden called former presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke to the stage and promised the crowd that O’Rourke would lead his gun control efforts if elected president.

Do you remember O’Rourke? He’s a former Texas congressman that ran for the presidential nod, but he didn’t last very long. He made some noise when he said that he planned to seize legally-owned assault rifles from Americans if elected. “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” O’Rourke promised emphatically at a Democratic primary debate in 2019. His campaign collapsed shortly after, but now it looks like he is back in the fold after giving Biden’s campaign his official endorsement yesterday.

“Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow, March 3, 2020, I will be casting my ballot for Joe Biden,” O’Rourke told the crowd at yesterday’s rally. O’Rourk went on to call President Trump an “existential threat” to fair elections and portrayed Biden as the “antithesis of Donal Trump”, describing the former vice president as “decent, kind, caring, and empathetic.

Biden told rallygoers, “I’m gonna guarantee you, this is not the last you’re seeing of this guy.” He promised to put O’Rourke in charge of ‘the gun problem’ and told him, “you’re gonna be the one who leads this effort. I’m counting on you.”

Beto O'Rourke endorses Biden, Biden says O'Rourke will be "the one who leads" his gun-control efforts https://t.co/yGvEBRyMqP pic.twitter.com/36NMSt3y0P

— Disrn (@DisrnNews) March 3, 2020

Biden has made a pretty clear statement by bringing O’Rourke into the fold. The Democrats aren’t putting any shade on their Second Amendment agenda. They’re coming after gun rights and they don’t care who knows it. However, that stance could easily blow up in their face. A September poll conducted by ABC News and The Washing Post found that 44% of Americans are against a mandatory buyback program. O’Rourke’s threats to seize legal firearms from law-abiding Americans could alienate moderate rural voters from Biden’s campaign.

Meanwhile, Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobucher also stopped by to give Biden their endorsement after they both ended their campaigns earlier in the week. That leaves the moderate vote mostly united behind Biden, but one moderate candidate refuses to throw in the towel.

Biden’s campaign looks a lot stronger today than it did just a week ago. The endorsements from Buttigieg and Klobuchar should help unite the moderate vote behind Biden. However, Biden’s campaign still has a lot of holes in its armor. Sanders is gaining a lot of momentum, and many Democratic voters wonder if Biden has what it takes to beat Trump.

At a Fox News town hall meeting with voters last night, Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he’s the only one that’s capable of beating Donald Trump. Bloomberg’s name will be on the ballot for this first time on Super Tuesday, and he’s still a strong moderate contender. However, Bloomberg could attract voters that would have otherwise voted for Biden, thus strengthening Senator Bernie Sander’s chance of landing the nomination.

There’s still one very prominent Democrat who hasn’t endorsed Biden, and many voters are starting to wonder why. Former President Barack Obama still hasn’t given Biden his official endorsement. Considering that Biden was Obama’s vice president for eight years, that seems a little surprising. It was odd that Obama didn’t endorse Biden from the beginning, but the absence of an Obama endorsement is starting to become a glaring blemish on Biden’s bid for the presidency. After all, Obama worked hand-in-hand with Biden for eight years so he should know better than anyone if Biden’s fit for the job. If Obama isn’t confident enough to endorse Biden’s campaign, that says a lot about his opinion of his former VP.

Then there is the issue of Biden’s regular gaffes. “Sleepy Joe” was in full effect yesterday. In his latest round of gaffes, Biden alluded to the importance of the primaries on “Super Thursday” and thoroughly botched an attempt to quote the Declaration of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” Biden said at a Monday’s rally, “All men and women are created… by the… you know… the thing.”

Biden still has a long way to go before he can land the nomination. Sanders still looks strong, and Bloomberg has the financial firepower to be a major thorn in Biden’s side. However, you have to give Biden credit for rallying his campaign when it was on the brink of disaster. His victory in South Carolina got him back in the game, but he still has two strong opponents between him and a chance to run for the presidency.