An unexpectedly articulate Christian politician

Every once in a while a politician says something so intriguing that I perk up and take notice. (Yes, the contrary is also true: most of them, most of the time, are just boring.)

 

James Talarico is a young Texas Democratic state legislator who aspires to overcome better known pols and challenge the sitting Republican Senator, John Cornyn, who is up for a fifth re-election next fall. Cornyn is endangered in his own primary by the corrupt far right Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton. The last Dem nominee for Senate from Texas, Colin Allred, would be expected to clear a large field to take on either of these Republicans. 

But along comes the young guy. Texas Dems will have to decide who suits them. But I find this seminarian turned politican genuinely interesting. He has thoughtful ideas, ideas seldom expressed candidly in politics. 

From an interview Talarico did with The Bulwark's Lauren Egan:  

EGAN: I want to talk about the attack ad from Terry Virts, the former astronaut also running in the Democratic primary, criticizing you for comments made in 2021 against GOP-backed legislation on transgender issues. You talked then about how “God is nonbinary” and that there are “many more than two biological sexes.” I understand that there’s more context to the points you were trying to make. 

But do you regret those comments? Is it something you would say today?

TALARICO: I don’t regret that comment. I realize that I was being deliberately provocative, which sometimes I do, especially when I want to grab people’s attention and communicate something important. 

I understand why those comments raised eyebrows, but theologically speaking, I don’t think that’s a controversial statement. I think most of my fellow Christians would acknowledge that God is beyond gender. In fact, the Apostle Paul says in Galatians that in Christ, there is neither male nor female. So if people have a problem with that sentiment, they should take it up with the Apostle Paul, not me.

... I think in a lot of ways my party is scarred from the last election and scared of its own shadow. We’re all freaking out about what the Republicans are going to say about any given thing. My experience in politics is if you’re genuine, if you’re telling the truth, if you’re connecting with people, that’s what will matter. Don’t worry about what the other side’s gonna throw at you.

... people are starting to get wise about this strategy of people like Ken Paxton and John Cornyn—they run for office riling people up about people’s private parts, about these culture-war issues. And when they get into office, they’re cutting taxes for rich people and raising health care premiums for everybody else.

EGAN: Right. But they got into office in part because they were able to effectively rile people up about these issues. So how do you neutralize that

TALARICO: I think it’s playing into their game and we’re not going to win at that game. We have to change the game. The first words out of my mouth in this campaign and in my launch video were that “politics is not left versus right, it’s top versus bottom.” So it’s completely changing how we understand and how we view politics.

... I started running for this national seat and I went to a bunch of national reporters and every single one of them asked me about trans athletes. Literally none of them asked me about childcare, none of them asked me about health care, education.

Trans athletes are a legit issue, and I’m completely willing to talk about it. But for that to be the only policy topic that any national reporters are asking about—what does that mean? Unfortunately, a lot of our media requires clicks and that is a perverse incentive, because it means the most red-meat, divisive, culture-war stuff is going to get that attention. 

But I think people are ready for someone who’s going to call that broken system out and maybe articulate another path forward of what a different politics could look like, one that’s not built on division.

EGAN: What would you say is the Bible verse that informs your politics the most?

TALARICO: One of my favorite verses [is] Matthew 5:5, which is “the meek will inherit the earth.” I talked earlier about politics being top versus bottom, and our campaign is really not coming at you from the left or from the right. It’s coming at you from the bottom. It is trying to bring working people together across all these divisions—including party, race, gender, and religion—to try to take power back.

If we bet on each other, if we love our neighbors as ourselves, ultimately people without any power can succeed. That’s a promise that’s built on faith, not necessarily on evidence. Because you look around and you’re just like ‘there’s no way you can take on these billionaire, megadonors who own all the media outlets.’ But there’s a promise there, a seed that’s planted in my tradition of betting on the underdog.

Is this a winning message in the Texas that exists in the year 2026? Who knows? I don't believe in commenting much on primaries in states where I am not a resident; local concerns are local concerns and should predominate in a healthy democracy. Maybe Talarico can strike a chord. I certainly like him in this interview, but we'll see how it goes. He seems brave, articulate and thoughtful -- not the norm in a politician.