Jim Rigby, who rarely uses the word “God,” is a key to understanding the Senate candidate trying to pull off something unusual in Texas.
James Talarico got the opponent he - and the Democratic party - wanted, but flipping Texas blue means winning blue-collar voters, not blue-blooded donors
James Talarico Texas Senate ambitions face criticism as opponents highlight his past statements, progressive policies, and campaign rebranding efforts.
The speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, told the Trump administration on Sunday that Hezbollah is ready for a full and immediate ceasefire with Israel and pledged to guarantee its implementation, Berri's top adviser Ali Hamdan told Axios. Why it matters: The fighting in Lebanon is escalating and threatening to derail the chances of a deal to end the war in Iran, particularly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now threatening to strike Beirut.Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday that Iran's negotiating team was suspending its exchange of messages with the U.S., through the mediators, in protest of Israel's actions in Lebanon.Zoom in: Berri is one of the most powerful Shia politicians in Lebanon and has close links to Hezbollah, though U.S. and Israeli officials question whether he can actually guarantee Hezbollah's compliance.If Hezbollah is indeed ready for a full ceasefire, such a truce would leave the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon in place for now while potentially disconnecting the Lebanese arena from the war with Iran.According to a source with knowledge, though, U.S. officials told Berri they don't think Netanyahu would agree.An Israeli official confirmed Hezbollah expressed readiness for a full ceasefire without demanding an immediate Israeli withdrawal. The State Department didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.What he's saying: "I called the U.S. ambassador to Beirut, Michel Issa, on Sunday and told him on behalf of Speaker Berri that Hezbollah will be ready to totally commit to a comprehensive ceasefire and we are ready to guarantee it," Hamdan told Axios. Hamdan confirmed that the Trump administration proposed a partial ceasefire over the weekend which would require Hezbollah to stop striking northern Israel in return for Israel committing not to strike Beirut, as Axios reported.But he pushed back on a U.S. official's characterization of Berri's response as "evasive and disappointing."Friction point: "The proposal we received was no Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel and that in return Israel will not bomb Beirut and then gradually the ceasefire will expand to other areas," Hamdan said. "Speaker Berri's reply was, "Why a partial ceasefire? Let's have a full ceasefire."Berri proposed a ceasefire on the ground, air and sea under which Israel would also commit to stop demolishing houses in southern Lebanon. Hamdan claimed Berri has a channel of communication with Hezbollah that allows him to exchange messages with the group's leader, Naeem Qassem, who is in hiding."We are sure Hezbollah will commit to a total ceasefire. We think it will be more productive. We know time is running out," Hamdan said. State of play: The U.S. has urged Israel against striking Beirut for several weeks as part of a broader deescalation push, but a U.S. official hinted on Sunday that position could soften. "The U.S. does not expect Israel to absorb ongoing attacks on its civilians by a terrorist organization," the official told Axios.On Monday, Netanyahu issued a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz threatening to bomb Hezbollah targets in the Dahieh District of Beirut "following repeated violations of the ceasefire" by the Shia militia. They said the district housed Hezbollah's "terrorist headquarters," which could no longer "remain off-limits." The Israel Defense Forces later issued a statement in Arabic urging "all residents of the Dahieh District in Beirut to relocate for their safety.""Should Hezbollah continue to fire toward our cities and communities, the IDF will respond by striking terrorist targets in Dahieh," the statement said.What to watch: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued his own warning on X that Israel's actions in Lebanon were a violation of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, and the U.S. and Israel would bear "the consequences of any violation."Shortly after Araghchi's statement, Tasnim quoted Iranian officials stressing no talks with the U.S. will take place until Israel stops its attacks in Lebanon.The Tasnim report also said Iran and its "Axis of Resistance" are prepared to retaliate in the Strait of Hormuz "and activate other fronts," including the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.
I have a pitcher full of ice water and I'm ready to use it on liberals and Democrats who are prematurely celebrating the Senate primary victory of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Yes, he's deeply immoral and corrupt. Yes, he's a cheat and a liar. (Liberal Currents' Alan Elrod said he's "a paragon of the Trumpian politician – a man whose fascism flows as much from his prejudices as his own adolescent, libidinal self-indulgence.") But Texas is still gonna Texas, and like Democrat Graham Platner's supporters in Maine, who are willing to overlook his Nazi tattoo in order to oust Republican Susan Collins, Paxton's supporters are willing to overlook a multitude of sins to stop Democrat James Talarico from going to the US Senate.Within hours of Paxton's defeat of incumbent Senator John Cornyn, the right began attacking Talarico – and making it very personal. "Tala-freako is a creep and he thinks he’s a vegan," RNC chairman Joe Gruters said. "He thinks God is nonbinary. He wants to mutilate children. He wants to put boys in girls locker rooms. ... All those things and the fact that they are openly supporting communists and socialists." A GOP strategist called Talarico an "emasculated vegan dweeb." Stephen Miller said he was "first transgender Senate candidate."The ad hominem attacks were so immediate, so intense and so insane that some observers took it as a sign of Talarico's advantage over Paxton. "Interesting, if not surprising, that rightwingers have collectively agreed that their line of attack against Talarico is that he's supposedly feminine," James Surowiecki wrote on Twitter. "Not a trace of substance, just culture war bull----. Because how, on substance, do you defend voting for Ken Paxton?"In speculating about the reasons Talarico is suddenly and "directly confronting attacks on his masculinity," according to NOTUS, I think liberals and Democrats still give rightwingers too much credit. They are not smearing him because of his strengths (which are many) or Paxton's liabilities (also many). They are smearing him because that's what they do. As was the case during Donald Trump's three campaigns, what matters to many voters isn't leadership or policy or character. What matters is the collective desire to punch down on people whom the mob believes are deserving of it. (In this case, Talarico is associated with LGBTQ folks.) GOP campaigns are now like Vegas: what's done there stays there. They are vacations from morality, excuses to indulge in deviance and depravity. That Texans would suffer by electing Paxton doesn't change the fact that slandering "Soy Boy" is going to be fun.Sadism is the point. We should draw attention to that moral failing by defending Talarico, not only on ethical grounds but on unambiguously religious grounds. This is not an easy thing to ask of some of my liberal brethren, as religion to them is frequently the problem in American politics, not a solution. But if nothing else, let this convince you: the most extreme smears against Talarico are not explicitly gendered. They are explicitly religious. He represents more than a viable Senate candidate who might – might! – turn Texas purple. Talarico embodies a viable path toward breaking the right's monopoly on faith, especially the Christian faith.On Wednesday, this is what US Senator Mike Lee posted on Twitter, quote-tweeting a post by the DNC that said: "Texas: James Talarico is the only candidate who will put you first."To the most conservative Christian sects in the United States (Mike Lee is a Mormon), Moloch is probably second only to Satan (or maybe the Antichrist) among figures of evil in the Bible. Secular liberals see this comparison and shrug. (It's just more of the same kookiness.) Religious liberals, however, see it as bad faith designed to prevent Talarico from attacking his political opponents where it hurts most. If Talarico is allowed to explain himself and his theological views, free of the slander against him, the most conservative religious voter might come to the conclusion that despite being a Democrat, he's still a good Christian.Hold that in your mind as I remind you of the time, three months ago, when the Trump administration threatened to punish late-night comedian Stephen Colbert for airing an interview with Talarico. (This threat came after CBS had caved to Trump's bullying and cancelled his show.) In effect, the government banned Talarico. (The interview was posted online.) But what did it ban? Two decent men discussing the corruption of faith by politics. "For 50 years," Talarico said:the religious right ... 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. Jesus in Matthew 25 tells us exactly how you and I and ... our fellow believers [are] going to be judged and how we’re going to be saved: by feeding the hungry, by healing the sick, by welcoming the stranger.
How the Northeast lost its religion and the South kept it.
James Talarico got the opponent he – and the Democratic party – wanted, but flipping Texas blue means winning blue-collar voters, not blue-blooded donorsTexas could become the hottest battleground state in the country, if the results of both Republican and Democratic primaries are anything to go by.Democrat James Talarico, a progressive Presbyterian seminarian, will face off against Trump’s favored candidate, the scandal-plagued attorney general, Ken Paxton. The matchup has liberals salivating. Paxton, dogged by corruption charges, impeachment hearings and an affair that left his marriage in tatters, is considered by some in his own party as “the worst possible top-of-the-ticket” candidate. Meanwhile, Talarico, a fresh-faced, clean-cut millennial, who quotes scripture to justify his progressive beliefs, seems like the perfect foil, at least according to Democratic party leaders. Continue reading...
Woke Texas state Rep. The post James Talarico Blasphemes Christianity? | Drew Hernandez appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
'I'm not even sure he could get elected in California. His views are so radical'