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"I'd like nothing more for the establishment to count us out," O'Rourke told CNN in a phone interview from El Paso.

The 44-year-old third-term House Democrat isn't hiring pollsters or campaign consultants and is sticking with a pledge he made during his first run for the House to refuse any corporate money or donations from political action committees. He pointed to his party's dismal record in the last 30 years trying to win a Senate seat in Texas, saying Democrats spent close to a billion dollars on "consultants, polls, wizards and experts, and we really came up short."

O'Rourke insisted that his retail strategy to travel the state is "not complicated" and made it clear he doesn't think much of targeted data-driven campaigns, saying, "I'm going back to the basics." He said he could try the same playbook that other Democratic statewide candidates like former state Sen. Wendy Davis tried, or "I can run an honest campaign about Texas, driven by Texas."

Cruz didn't respond directly to O'Rourke's argument that the senator has been too focused on national politics, but said in a written statement to CNN that he "will continue to work every day to earn and keep the trust of Texans across our great state. I'm confident that Texans want a senator who will lead the fight for freedom -- defending the Constitution, getting government off our backs, and allowing small businesses to create jobs and opportunity."

The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee was more direct about O'Rourke, saying he's out of step with the state.

"Beto O'Rourke would be a shoo-in for the United States Senate if he was running in Massachusetts or California -- his voting record is perfect for those states," committee spokeswoman Katie Martin told CNN in a written statement.

O'Rourke, who once traveled the country in a punk rock band, now represents the far-western corner of the state along the southwest border. He officially announced his campaign in his hometown of El Paso on Friday, saying, the state needs "a senator who is not using this position of responsibility and power to serve his own interests, to run for president, to shut down the government."

Cruz was among those Republicans arguing that a must-pass spending bill in 2013 strip funding for Obamacare, and the standoff with the White House over the issue triggered a 16-day shutdown when federal agencies didn't have funding.

When told that the other Texas Republican senator, John Cornyn, told Politico earlier this week that his campaign amounted to a "suicide mission," O'Rourke seemed unfazed by the description, saying he has "a tremendous amount of respect" for Cornyn and they've worked on some issues together.

O'Rourke said on a personal level Cruz is a "nice guy," although he doesn't know him well. He noted that the GOP senator doesn't have an office in his district near the border, and said he approached Cruz during the 2013 fight over federal funding that resulted in a shutdown to appeal to him to back down because border agents and other federal employees were affected by the shutdown.

Before O'Rourke can train his focus on Cruz, however, he might need to clear a primary fight. Rep. Joaquin Castro, whom O'Rourke phoned to tell him he was announcing his bid, is also considering the Senate race. O'Rourke said his colleague would make "a great candidate, and I'm a fan of his, a friend of his," but when asked how he could prevail over him in a potential matchup, O'Rourke replied: "I don't know."

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee so far isn't weighing in, instead deciding to focus on protecting incumbent senators in states Trump won in 2016, such as North Dakota, Missouri, and Indiana. The party faces tough odds of retaking the chamber; although the GOP holds a narrow, 52-48 majority, Democrats will have to defend 25 of the 33 contests in the 2018 midterms, including the two independents who caucus with the party, Maine's Angus King and Vermont's Bernie Sanders.

But aides at the Senate Democrats' campaign arm tell CNN they are monitoring the Texas race.

Both O'Rourke and Castro speak highly of each other, but cut different profiles in the House Democratic caucus. O'Rourke noted he voted against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and said he is "fiercely independent," while Castro helps the leadership team corral votes and has been given a coveted seat on the House intelligence committee.

Castro told CNN earlier this week that O'Rourke's move doesn't change his plans to continue looking at the race, and he's sticking with a timeline to make his decision sometime in April.

Meanwhile, the dynamic that Democrats want to highlight is Cruz's own split with the President during the contentious GOP presidential primary.

"Here are some words we almost never say: Donald Trump was right -- about 'Lyin Ted,'" David Bergstein, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told CNN. "Texans know Ted Cruz is a self-serving politician, and this campaign will spotlight the many ways in which he's only ever looking out for himself,"

In El Paso on Friday, O'Rourke said that even those he meets across the state who voted for Trump say they want someone in the Congress who will be willing to break through partisan sniping and get things done.

But O'Rourke acknowledged that people are saying the same things now that they said about his first run for his congressional seat.

"I know a lot of people feel this is impossible," he said, but he dubbed El Paso, where he began a tour around the state, "an underdog city."

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House Democrat calls bid to unseat Cruz key to flipping Senate - CNN

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.

A message of love.

The Sunday sermon from Donald Trump was all about what brings us together.

The president's idea of love has grabbed some deeply. Others, sadly, have wondered whether -- in the president's case -- love don't live here anymore.

So on Twitter, Trump made it very clear.

"Anybody (especially Fake News media) who thinks that Repeal & Replace of ObamaCare is dead does not know the love and strength in R Party!," he tweeted.

It is love, you see, that will ensure -- one way or another -- that the Satan of social support known as Obamacare will be vanquished.

Some will wonder what happened to that love when the 29 members of the so-called Freedom Caucus expressed their freedom (and strength) by refusing to support the Trumpcare bill.

One or two might also mutter that the president didn't seem to show much love when he threatened this caucus on Twitter just last Thursday.

Perhaps Trump is simply talking about tough love here, the slow process by which the less enlightened finally witness the correct path.

On Sunday, the president explained: "Talks on Repealing and Replacing ObamaCare are, and have been, going on, and will continue until such time as a deal is hopefully struck."

Yes, not only is there love all around, but there's hope too.

See the rest here:
Trump tweets about love in the Republican Party - CNET

Senator Rand Paul and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney joined the president at Trump National Golf Club outside of Washington.

The trio were "discussing a variety of topics, including health care," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham.

The outing came hours after Trump tweeted that talks to rework the nation's health care law were still underway.

"Anybody (especially Fake News media) who thinks that Repeal & Replace of ObamaCare is dead does not know the love and strength in R Party!" Trump tweeted early on Sunday.

"Talk on Repealing and Replacing ObamaCare are, and have been, going on, and will continue until such time as a deal is hopefully struck," he added in a second message.

Republican-led efforts to replace Obama's health care law were thrown into disarray 10 days ago after Republican leaders in the House of Representative had to withdraw their own legislation ahead of a vote due to insufficient support from conservative and moderate members of their own party.

Trump had worked toward the bill's passage, but Paul had been a prominent critic and had aligned himself with the conservative House Freedom Caucus, a group that helped torpedoTrump's first major legislative effort.

On Thursday, Trump had threatened to defeat members of the group in next year's congressional elections if they continued to defy him.

Read more from the original source:
Trump talks health care with Republican critic on golf course - Daily Republic

A Colorado state senator will challenge Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) in the 2018 Republican primary.

Owen Hill, a Republican from Colorado Springs, toldThe Colorado Statesmanon Thursday that he will try to wrestle the Republican nomination from Lamborn.

We are not getting the representation we need, we are not getting the leadership we need, and so more and more people are saying we need a different option, Hill told theColoradoPolitics.com.

A spokesman for Lamborns campaign told the website that the congressman looks forward to earning his constituents votes again.

This is a free country and people are welcome to run for any office they wish, spokesman Jarred Rego told the website. Congressman Lamborn trusts the wisdom of the Republican primary voters in the 5th Congressional District. On average, over his time in Congress, they have decided to re-nominate him with 65 percent of the vote. He looks forward to working hard to earn their votes once again.

Lamborn has served in Congress since 2007.

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Colorado Republican getting primary challenge - The Hill

Jared Smith, president of the College Republicans, talks about listening to each other. JEAN COWDEN MOORE/THE STAR

Jared Smith, who is president of the College Republicans at CLU, asks a couple of students some questions about prominent Republican women during an International Women's Day celebration. He admits being a Republican on a college campus isn't always easy, but said diplomacy and collaboration help everyone.(Photo: JUAN CARLO/THE STAR)Buy Photo

It's not always easy being a Republican on a college campus these days, but Jared Smith understands what it takes diplomacy and collaboration, precisely the skills he used to be named an outstanding delegate at a recent Model United Nations summit on terrorism.

Smith, 21, a senior at California Lutheran University, has been president of the College Republicans for almost three years. He's alsotreasurer of the recently formed CLU Political Union, which organizes forums where peopleacross the political spectrum can debate issues in an open but civil environment.

So Smith understands how far listening and considering others' views can take you, both on campus and on the national stage.

"We all want the same thing," Smith said. "We all want a better America. We just tend to disagree on how to do it and what the better America is."

As a young Republican, Smith sees a country increasingly divided, where people areless willing to listen to others' viewpoints than perhaps they were in the past. Instead,we tend to read or listen to news that supports our existing political views, further entrenching ourselves on one side or the other, he said.

"If we're going to be able to compromise and work together as individuals, we have to find common ground. And to find common ground, we need to understand what the other side thinks. We have to challenge our views constantly."

Smith believes we'd be better off if westarted learning more about others' views. That's what he does, checking the Huffington Post and going to MSNBC, as well as reading the Wall Street Journal and the Economist.

"If we're going to be able to compromise and work together as individuals, we have to find common ground," he said. "And to find common ground, we need to understand what the other side thinks. We have to challenge our views constantly."

That attitude exemplifies an approach everyone, young or old, coulduse in today's political climate, said Jose Marichal, a political science professor and Smith's academic adviser.

"He's a model, whether you're a Democrat or Republican, for how we're supposed to engage in dialogue with our fellow citizens," Marichal said. "He's willing to hear the other side and is open to the possibility that his mind can be changed, that none of us own a monopoly on the truth."

Jared Smith, who is president of the College Republicans at CLU, yells out to some students to come to his booth to enter a raffle. He was among the students celebrating International Women's Day. At his table, he was asking questions about prominent Republican women and contributions the Republican Party has made toward women's rights. He believes it's necessary to talk and try to understand people who think differently than you do.(Photo: JUAN CARLO/THE STAR)

Indeed, Smith's own political views have evolved over the years.

He embraces what he sees as traditional Republican values: fiscal and personal responsibility, as well as individual liberty.

But he considers himselfcentral on social issues. He's become more liberal on LGBTQ issues, for example, and he believes it's our country's responsibility to accept more refugees. On the other hand, he's shifted more conservative financially.

How does he feel about President Donald Trump?

Well, he didn't vote for Trump. Smithworried about how the global community would perceive the American government under a Trump presidency. He also couldn't back what Trumpsaid about immigrants and Mexico.

Jared Smith, who is president of the College Republicans at CLU, folds the banner after celebrating International Women's Day.(Photo: JUAN CARLO/THE STAR)

"I couldn't bring myself to support someone who called our neighbors rapists," he said. "A lot of people come here because they were in a rough spot and saw this as the land of opportunity. It's important that America is that place to come to for the broken, the tired."

Nor could he endorse how Trump talked about women.

"I couldn't bring myself to support someone who could potentially see my mother that way, my sister that way," he said.

Smith ended up voting for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate he campaigned for.

But now that Trump is our president, Smithbelieves the country needs to support him.

"It's in our best interest if Donald Trump succeeds," he said. "We may be doubtful; we may be skeptical of his qualifications and his ability to lead on the world stage. But for every person saying Donald Trump should fail and ultimately be impeached, it's important to realize that would come at a great expense to the America, and that's not something that we want."

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Republican on campus? Try diplomacy, student says - Ventura County Star