Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke got the attention he was looking for after he threatened to confiscate AR-15s from law-abiding citizens last week.
Whether or not it makes a difference for his fading campaign, though, an Arizona gun store is already seeing dividends. Alpha Dog Firearms sold out of its discounted “Beto Special” AR-15s in less than four hours thanks to O’Rourke, Breitbart reported.
“Our $349.99 AR deal sold out in less than 4 hours. We’re trying to process the orders and work on getting more special deals for our good friend gun grabber Beto,” the store wrote in a Facebook post.
Gun store sells out AR-15s after Beto’s confiscation threat
After at least two campaign “resets,” O’Rourke has struggled to re-capture the buzz of his failed Senate run against Ted Cruz (R-TX). But in the wake of recent mass shootings, O’Rourke finally found his lane: desperate, shameless fearmongering over gun violence. In recent days, the Democrat has turned to proposing “buybacks” — code word for government confiscation — of AR-15s and other “weapons of war” to keep Americans safe.
During last week’s debate, O’Rourke got the attention he ordered when he vowed, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15s.” While nobody can deny that he’s back in the headlines, his threat might not be having the effect he hoped for.
A very enterprising gun store in Tempe, Arizona took O’Rourke’s soundbite to heart and converted it into cold hard cash. Alpha Dog owner Matt Boggs said he was angered by O’Rourke’s threat, telling The HolloNet, “I saw the comments that he made, and I was kinda like, ‘You know what: the hell with this guy.” The next morning, Boggs announced a “Beto Special” promotion that turned out to be wildly successful.
“Beto O’Rourke said, ‘Hell yes we’re taking your AR’s.’ Well Beto, we’re discounting AR15’s to such a low price that EVERY AMERICAN can afford one. How about the low low price of just $349.99? Yeah, that works. Available online only. Go to www.alphadogfirearmsaz.com and look for all our AR15 and AK47 deals under the BETO SPECIALS tab. Deals and discounts will be added fresh all day!” the store wrote in a Facebook post.
The company later issued an update saying it had sold out, but more AR-15s were on the way: “UPDATE: SOLD OUT. More deals will be on the website soon. Y’all broke our internet today!!!”
Beto’s honesty on gun control backfires
Over the last week, O’Rourke has been busy explaining exactly how he would organize a national disarmament of the millions of Americans who own AR-15s. O’Rourke has said that there is no plan for police to go door to door, but gun owners would have to pay a fine. In his imagination, upwards of 16 million American gun owners will follow his policy voluntarily.
Already, O’Rourke is turning out to be more bark than bite. The Democrat cried foul when Texas Republican Briscoe Cain (R-TX) warned that his AR-15 was “ready for you” in a Twitter reply, prompting O’Rourke to complain that he had been issued a death threat. (Never mind that O’Rourke is threatening to take away the private property of American citizens.)
O’Rourke is obviously desperate to keep his campaign relevant, as evinced by his outlandish threats. But there is nervous talk on the left about how O’Rourke’s vow will play with the electorate for Democrats. Pete Buttigieg, whose campaign eclipsed O’Rourke’s in the generic white male category, criticized O’Rourke’s rhetoric as “playing into the hands” of Republicans.
Indeed, do Democrats really want that message out in the open: that they’re coming to take the guns away, like Obama swore they never wanted to do? The Democrat approach has always been to gaslight voters about their actual intentions. Beto O’Rourke has done much to clarify them.
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