James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, came to San Marcos as part of his campaign to flip Texas, a historically red state. The Senate seat is currently held by Republican John Cornyn.
Talarico said Jesus gave two commandments: to love God and your neighbor.
“Jesus could have told us to love our immediate family members. He could have told us to love our close friends. Those would have been easier commandments to follow, but he told us to love our neighbors,” Talarico said, pointing to the ways in which he tries to do that as a state representative.
“I’ve been able to pass major bills to bring down the cost of housing, bring down the cost of childcare, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, including insulin,” he said. “I’m trying to love my neighbor through public policy. I’m trying to make my neighbor’s life a little easier and a little better. That kind of love in our politics is getting harder and harder to find.”
Talarico filmed an interview with Steven Colbert last week that he said ultimately never aired on CBS network television, although it can currently be seen on YouTube.
“Corporate media executives in this country are selling out the freedom of speech to curry favor with corrupt politicians, and a threat to any of our First Amendment rights is a threat to all of our First Amendment rights,” Talarico said. “The real fight in this country is not left versus right, it’s top versus bottom.”
Talarico boasted that in his fundraising efforts, he has not taken a single dime from a corporate Political Action Committees, calling his campaign “of, by and for the people.”
“We are trying to fundamentally change the politics in this state and in this country,” Talarico said. “This nation is so divided that we can’t even share the Super Bowl anymore, two different halftime shows for two different Americas in two different realities. What leads someone to protest that beautiful halftime show?
“I think it’s fear, fear of the unknown, fear of change, fears we all struggle with. But there was nothing to be afraid of in that halftime show, just joy and unity and love. Because in the words of Scripture, ‘Love casts out fear,’ or in the words of Bad Bunny, ‘The only thing more powerful than hate is love.’”
He blamed billionaires for the current problems in politics.
“Think about who is sitting behind the President of the United States on inauguration day. Think about who runs the 24-hour corporate media that treats news as entertainment. Think about who owns the social media algorithms that keep us angry and divided. A handful of billionaires have redesigned our politics for their own profit,” Talarico said. “It’s the oldest strategy in the world, divide and conquer.”
Talarico believes that through unity, the people can transform “this broken political system.”
“They may have the money, but we have the majority,” Talarico said. “It’s going to require all of us coming together across these manufactured divisions to fight the system.”
Talarico is running against fellow Democrat Jasmine Crockett, U.S. Representative for Texas’ 30th District, whose campaign hinges on affordability.
“This is the first time in our nation’s history that a generation of Americans are worse off than their parents,” her website states. “I will work day and night to fight for you and your loved ones to have your basic needs met, to ensure one person, one job is enough to live with dignity and retire with security.”
Crockett held a rally in Austin on Feb. 18, but no plans to come to San Marcos have been made as of yet.
