DES MOINES, Iowa, March 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Failed pro-abortion U.S. Senate candidate Robert “Beto” O'Rourke joined a crowded field of Democrats contending for the presidency this week, telling Vanity Fair, “I’m just born to do this.”
Almost unknown nationally after serving a quiet career in the U.S. House representing a district near El Paso, O’Rourke rose to prominence as media-savvy fundraiser. The 46-year-old failed in his effort to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, in 2018, but became the topic of an HBO documentary.
O’Rourke has a 100 percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and a zero percent rating from National Right to Life. Family Research Council Action also gave O’Rourke very low ratings during his time in the U.S. House.
In addition to being pro-abortion, O’Rourke has praised socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal,” saying he hasn’t “seen anything better that addresses this singular crisis we face – a crisis that could, at its worst, lead to extinction.”
In a video announcement on Thursday, O’Rourke said, “this is a defining moment of truth for this country and for every single one of us,” referring to what he called “interconnected crises” in the economy, democracy, and climate. “In other words, this moment of peril produces perhaps the greatest moment of promise for this country and for everyone inside of it.”
Responding at the White House, President Donald Trump said of O’Rourke that he had never seen “so much hand movement.”
“I said, ‘Is he crazy or is that just the way he acts?’” Trump continued. “I’ve actually never seen anything quite like it.”
“Study it – I’m sure you’ll agree,” he told reporters.
In 2011, as an El Paso City Councilman, O’Rourke berated a Catholic priest who was arguing against same-sex “marriage.” He criticized the priest for the “moral failings of the Church you represent, especially as you try to take the moral high-ground in this debate.”
“Luckily, I don't need your approval to move forward,” O'Rourke said at the time. “I want to know why this, for you, has become the burning issue of its day, and how you can stand here with a straight face and say that this is a priority for the Church.”
“I can think of two obvious cases where the Church has failed on a global level. For one, I know in the very recent past, the Pope, our current Pope, was in Africa, telling the people in that country [sic] who are suffering a holocaust of HIV and AIDS infection, not to use condoms,” he continued. “I can think of another very significant and serious problem within the Catholic Church, which is the proven widespread abuse of children within the care of the Catholic Church.”
O’Rourke has said his mother, who apparently is “pro-life,” shares his support for abortion giant Planned Parenthood and that her “single greatest disappointment” is that “her son is not more faithful in attending Mass every Sunday.”