Why Democrat James Talarico has a chance to win in Texas:? He speaks their religious lanuage

Here is why I think Democrat James Talarico has a chance to win the Senate seat in Texas. He speaks with many Texans' religious language, which also contrasts his persona with Ken Paxton's immorality and corruption.

While I am not a Texan, I am a native of the state more Texas than Texas: Oklahoma.  It is from that perspective that I wrote in July 2025 on this blog that  JamesTalarico was a unique Democrat who spoke the religious language of many in both states. He brought that to the table and was onto a potentially winning message.. He put his politics in Christian religious terms, even when his support of public policy deviated from the orthodoxy of the evangelical right. His morality is in sharp contrast to Ken Paxton's, and with Paxton's defeat of incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, he dumped the Bush era into the dustbin of history.

The contrast of Talarico with Paxton could not be more dramatic:  The overwhelming win yesterday by Paxton in Texas gives Democrats an even better chance to brand the GOP as the MAGA party (the Bush era is demonstrably dead) and the party of corruption. Paxton's long and well-documented past of corruption was ignored as Texas Republicans followed the orders of Trump, who himself is blatantly corrupt, as his slush fund source and crypto gains are evidence. The question I have is, if Texas voters do not care about corruption, is that true of the rest of the GOP outside of Texas? The first test of that will be whether the GOP members of Congress put their OK stamp on the slush fund and the clause exempting Trump and his family from IRS scrutiny, or a significant number jump the Trump ship and vote to bury the most open, corrupt self-dealing and pocket lining attempt by a president in the history of the US.

My July 2025 post: There is a new messenger who speaks the language of many in red states...James Talarico, a state legislator in Texas. He is a devout Christian who actually reads the Bible and who puts his politics into how he sees it related to the religion that is the compass for his very fundamentalist belief. He sees as the most important message Jesus delivered: Love God with all your heart and treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated. That is not only a standard for his life as a preacher in training and the son of one, but he ties his beliefs to issues of the time.. He is a super articulate, young, and attractive spokesperson for his point of view.

Above all, Talarico is the polar opposite of the current leader of the GOP/MAGA movement, Donald Trump. Trump has no moral compass but is a self-serving, self-identified transactional person. That is his standard for life's decisions: to get the best deal to keep his power and wealth and gain more of both using his political office to do it. By inference, if people followed his unmoored, self-centered interest, they, too, will become richer and more powerful. Trump is a person who uses fear of his power to keep his followers and everyone he can in line, including cruelty and lack of empathy for how his policies harm "the least of these" and those trying to keep their daily lives above water.

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: For those who want to put into perspective a profound amorality of the MAGA movement. Updated 5/8/2025

Trump's followers and some powerful cohorts think empathy is the sign of a failing society, but it is empathy that keeps community from lapsing into tribal chaos and dog-eat-dog conflict. It is the glue that keeps civilization from falling...the fate of nearly every civilization in history with a written record. Bravo, Talarico...you got my attention and admiration

.https://www.npr.org/2026/05/27/nx-s1-5835292/texas-senate-runoff-takeaways

Blaming Uvalde on lack of mental health services is a deflection needing serious correction

As expected, most in the GOP, but not all,  and Abbott in the thrall of the NRA and anti sensible gun law fanatics, blamed the lack of mental health care for Uvalde. The two Texas Senators, however, differed. Cruz rails against gun regulation while Cornyn leads GOP in negotiations | The Texas Tribune  Gov. Abbott had just cut $211 million in funding for mental health in Texas before the mass shooting, as well. What a two-faced pol he is.  Blaming the lack of mental health services and cutting funding for such services is standard practice for those politicians in denial of their responsibilities, a ruse, a tactic, a ploy, a tool,  to deflect any consideration from sensible gun laws. It is like wallpapering over a stained rotten wall. It makes it look better but does little to fix the real problem.  Better mental health services is always a good thing, but it is not an honest answer in this case.  Here is why. Excerpts  from my prior postings:  Also see a prior post:https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/i-am-sick-and-tired-of-gun-lobby.html

May 25, 2022 Better mental health services mean little without red flag laws and even then,  it is iffy. Over the past years, I have written columns after Columbine, Aurora, and other mass killings.  That professionals can spot a future mass killer assumes the killer even had visited a mental health professional, but when they do, there is a 50-50 chance even a trained pro can predict the patient will act out.  Even then,  what motivates a mass killer may not be an identified diagnosis.  That 18-year-olds have a record of prior violence or a visit to a psychologist is rare.  Uncontrolled anger is technically not a mental health disease, so red flag laws need to be broader than just a diagnosis of paranoia or some other formal diagnosis of a recognized illness.  Those of us who have had to raise teenagers also know that even after 18 years old, few can control themselves and avoid risky behavior.. Their brains, especially young males, have not matured yet to be wired to be rational. The assumption needs to be all under 21 are a potential risk.  At the minimum, if there is no ban of assault-type weapons of war, the age should be raised to 21.  Some states have done that, but a neighboring state may not which is why the approach needs to be federal.  If such laws had been in effect in Texas, chances are Uvalde would not have happened since the shooter was just 18, no red flags, and no record of a personality out of control that we know of so far.  

In a 2012 posting:

in the wake of the Aurora Colorado theatre shooting, the shooter had been under the care of a psychiatrist who did flag him, but restrictions kept anyone from acting. My psychologist friends (I am a supporter of mental health system improvements and access to counseling through a faith-based organization) tell me even then they have only a 50-50 chance of predicting which of their patients will carry out mass shootings or kill someone. Mental health is a factor, but in courts of law, the insanity plea is rarely successful. Should we improve our mental health services? Yes. Every little bit will help, but it is not a panacea or even a major deterrent. Without red flag laws permitting reporting of people may be a threat and without universal background checks, improved mental health access still hamstrings the ability for mental health professionals to prevent mass killings.

http://bigthink.com/risk-reason-and-reality/the-supreme-court-ruling-on-the-2nd-amendment-did-not-grant-an-unlimited-right-to-own-guns

Abbott blames 'mental health' for Uvalde shooting after cutting $211 million from mental health agency | Texas News | San Antonio | San Antonio Current (sacurrent.com)

"https://slate.com/technology/2018/04/anger-isnt-a-mental-illness-but-we-should-still-treat-it.html
Is mental health the cause of mass killings? The writer of this post gives us some important food for thought. From this psychologist'.s viewpoint, the motivation is uncontrolled anger ...rarely an underlying mental illness. This supports an argument of why we need red flag laws and background checks as part of sensible gun legislation. However, the solution she suggests goes far beyond any legislation discussed today...it is teaching young people anger management and the tools are there...even in Colorado, which she holds up as one model.

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/08/05/red-flag-gun-laws-trump-colorado/