Conservative group to run ad in Iowa criticizing Beto O'Rourke's 'white male privilege'

A conservative group plans to run an ad in Iowa going after potential 2020 Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke — but not for the reasons you'd expect.

The new ad from the conservative organization Club for Growth is actually aimed at Democrats, criticizing O'Rourke as being nothing like former President Barack Obama and saying that while Obama "championed progressive causes" in college and helped combat stereotypes about women, O'Rourke "perpetuated them," referencing articles about O'Rourke's past comments about women in a play review.

The ad also attacks O'Rourke for what it calls his "white male privilege" and "indelible sense of entitlement," saying that DWI charges against him were dropped while "people of color languished behind bars for far less." It also says the lead-up to his potential campaign has been characterized by "the kind of navel-gazing, self-involved behavior a woman or person of color could never get away with."

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"That's why Beto's running for president: because he can," the ad concludes. O'Rourke has not actually announced a White House bid yet, but he's expected to in the coming days. Politico reports that this ad will run in Iowa this week. Watch it below. Brendan Morrow

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