With wild disruption of Uvalde event, Beto O’Rourke proves again that it’s all about him

You almost have to admire Beto O’Rourke’s efficiency. It took him less than 24 hours to make the Uvalde shooting about himself and his campaign for governor.

His unexpected confrontation of Gov. Greg Abbott and other state and local leaders trying to update the public Wednesday on the investigation was another sad step downward into the muck of the permanent campaign. Whatever is going on, the imperative goes, find a way to break the internet and blast your biggest supporters with an epic dopamine hit.

O’Rourke approached the stage and lectured Abbott, saying: “This is on you. … This was totally predictable when you choose not to do anything.”

Abbott didn’t respond directly but after O’Rourke left, he said: “We need to focus not on ourselves and our agendas. We need to focus on the healing and hope that we can provide to those who have suffered unconscionable damage to their lives.”

As for O’Rourke, what should we expect from a candidate whose rationale for running for president after losing a Senate race was: “Man, I’m just born to be in it.”

He has a history of lunging wildly on guns. After the tragic massacre in El Paso, O’Rourke shared his pain for his grieving hometown on the presidential campaign trail. It was clearly heartfelt and flashed the authenticity that almost carried him to an upset of Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018.

But before long, O’Rourke turned it into a campaign rallying cry, declaring: “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”

Now that he’s trying to win over a Texas audience again, rather than progressive Democratic primary voters, that’s been modified a bit: “I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone. What I want to make sure that we do is defend the Second Amendment,” he said in February.

After Uvalde, will he add another flip to the flop?

Wednesday’s move will electrify his staunch supporters, Texas Democrats who are itching for confrontation with Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. He’ll raise a ton of money from across the nation (and of course, Abbott and the GOP will, too).

O’Rourke is smart to argue that decades of Republican control of Texas government and the coinciding loosening of gun laws helped us get where we are on mass shootings.

He’s wrong to pin this one directly on Abbott. Democrats have gone to their safe spaces of demanding more background checks and lamenting the permitless-carry law that Abbott signed. Never mind that the shooter apparently cleared federal checks to purchase his rifles and the new law applies to handguns, not long guns, and covers only those older than 21.

O’Rourke needs swing voters and even some Republicans if he’s to overcome the structural deficit Democrats face trying to win statewide. Perhaps he won a few over Wednesday.

But most people who don’t marinate themselves in politics probably saw a narcissistic stunt that heaped more pain on an already-suffering community.