ArcaMax

Dear Friends: Before we begin, I owe you an explanation. Why am I writing about a Democratic Senate primary in America’s largest red state, where no Democrat’s won statewide office since 1994? And why focus on James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and member of the Texas House of Representatives, now trying to catapult himself into the U.S. Senate?

Maybe it’s because I’ve never lost faith in what Jesse Jackson, one of my all-time heroes, preached: “Keep Hope Alive!” Yes, “even in Texas,” he might have added. But there are three other practical reasons.

One, unlike Florida or South Carolina, I’ve never considered Texas a lost cause. After all, this is the state that gave us some of our greatest Democrats: Sam Rayburn, LBJ, Lloyd Bentsen, Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower and Kinky Friedman. Texas can’t be all bad. Remember, Beto O’Rourke came within three points of defeating Ted Cruz in 2018.

Two, I must admit, I have a weakness for former seminarians running for office. It started in 1968 with Eugene McCarthy, where I got my start in politics. It continued with Father Robert Drinan, who defied Pope Paul II by running for, winning and serving in Congress for 10 years. Without trying to force their own religious beliefs on anybody, people of faith can bring a necessary moral perspective to issues we’re dealing with today.

Three, because – whether he ends up running against boring incumbent John Cornyn or, better yet, against disgraced, impeached attorney general Ken Paxton – I think Talarico is the Democrats’ best hope. I like his primary opponent, Representative Jasmine Crockett. She’s a dynamite member of Congress. I’d vote for her against Cornyn or Paxton in a heartbeat. But, given Texas politics, it looks like Talarico has a better shot at winning statewide.

If, like most Americans outside of Texas, you’re not familiar with James Talarico, I encourage you to watch his interview on February 16, with Stephen Colbert. Here’s the link: https://x.com/MajorityDems/status/2023776310699725205?s=20. It’s only 14 minutes long. Watch the whole thing.

But, first, a little background. Colbert had lined up this interview long ahead of time, but at the last minute, his CBS bosses ordered him to cancel it because they feared Trump’s FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who’s been waging war against late-night hosts, would force them to offer equal time to all other candidates in the Senate race. Which is in itself ironic since the “Fairness Doctrine,” which did require equal time for all candidates, was canceled by President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

That’s when Colbert “trumped” them all. Banned from talking to Talarico on CBS, he interviewed him, instead, on YouTube, where it immediately went “viral.” In 24 hours, the Talarico campaign pulled in $2.5 million in campaign contributions. And, as of this writing, Talarico’s YouTube interview has garnered 7.3 million views – far, far more than watch “The Late Show.” As Colbert needled his cowardly CBS bosses, “I wish we could have put it on the show where no one would have watched it.”

If Talarico hadn’t already captured my attention, he clearly did so when asked by Colbert about the influence of the so-called “religious right,” extreme conservatives who are the core of Donald Trump’s supporters. Talarico exposed them for the hypocrites they are.

“Well, for 50 years, the religious right, a political movement – that is the perfect description for it,” he told Colbert. “They convinced a lot of our fellow Christians that the most important issues were abortion and gay marriage. Two issues that aren’t mentioned in the Bible. Two issues that Jesus never talked about.”

What is Christianity all about? Talarico’s got it right. “Jesus in Matthew 25 tells us exactly how you and I and every one of our fellow believers, how we’re gonna be judged and how we’re gonna be saved,” he continued: “by feeding the hungry, by healing the sick, by welcoming the stranger. Nothing about going to church, nothing about voting Republican. It was all about how you treat other people.”

And he challenged those phony pious preachers who wrap themselves in the cloak of religion in order to support a foul-mouthed, twice-divorced, convicted sexual abuser, and his inhumane treatment of immigrants. “Don’t tell me what you believe,” Talarico said, “Show me how you treat other people, and I’ll tell you what you believe.”

Amen! It’s now up to the good people of Texas to redeem themselves. All the rest of us can do is say a prayer. Keep hope alive!

(Bill Press is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod and on BlueSky @BillPress.bsky.social.)

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