Here's A Big Difference Between O'Rourke And Cruz

 (These caricatures of Senate candidates in Texas, Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz, are by DonkeyHotey.)

There are some in our society that say there's no difference between Democrats and Republicans. I don't believe that. And I know there's a huge difference between Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz -- the parties' candidates in Texas for the U.S. Senate.

One of the differences between the two is their willingness to meet with the public and answer their questions. After all, what good is an elected official with whom you have no access?

Gaby Diaz is an English teacher in a Houston high school who has written an excellent article for the Houston Chronicle on trying to meet and talk with both Cruz and O'Rourke. The entire article is well worth reading, and I suggest you do that. Here is just a tiny excerpt from the article:

The truth is that Cruz might have attended "seven events" this year where a few people got to ask him some questions, but his office has organized and hosted no town halls, open, closed or over a telephone system. In fact, his federal Senate office has no call-out system.

His campaign, however, does. His Senate and campaign offices said that he does do call outs – but only to his campaign supporters. Catherine Frazier from Cruz's campaign office confirmed that he's been doing them since he started running for office. She emphasized, "He's done two in the last few weeks."

But schedules or instructions for opting in for these telephone town halls are not displayed on Cruz's Senate page or Senate Facebook page. For a man whomocked "coastal elites" for their "safe spaces" in his piece on President Trump in Time, Cruz seems to hide in safe spaces filled exclusively with an echo chamber of his campaign supporters. Why not call out to all Texas constituents?

In contrast – again – O'Rourke's office has hosted 95 open town halls, not counting the quarterly veterans town halls, since he began his first term in the House of Representatives in 2013 – the same year Cruz began his first term.

These monthly town halls are organized by O'Rourke's congressional office. Links to the dates and times of the events are clearly posted on his congressional website and congressional Facebook page. His office explains they call out to constituents before the town halls take place to get the word out. . . .

Besides hosting monthly town halls for his El Paso constituents, through his campaign he has hosted an additional 235 open town halls as he's traveled through 251 of the 254 counties in Texas.