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Talarico: the real Democratic deal!

James Talarico has emerged as the latest political star in Texas and he hopes to parlay his standing into a successful career in Congress.

The man has my support and I am about to explain why.

Talarico is a man of deep Christian faith. He wears his faith plainly and professes it from the campaign stump. He’s a Presbyterian seminary student and he has a graduate degree in economics. He’s a smart guy.

Talarico’s faith, though, carries an important caveat that he’s also proud to display. Talarico understands what the founders intended when they drafted the nation’s governing document. They intended to create a secular state free of religious influence. James Talarico gets it … and endorses the founders’ intention.

He has emerged as a fierce foe of Christian nationalists, those who seek to turn the U.S.A. into a Christian nation.

I guess I favor Talarico because he and I share the same view of the religion to which we both profess our faith. I practice my faith with enthusiasm, but am reluctant to shove it down the throats of others.

I want Talarico to succeed in his quest to win a U.S. Senate seat. If he defeats Sen. John Cornyn in the fall, I suspect it will occur because voters have grown weary of D.C.-centered politicians like Cornyn passing laws we all must follow. If he manages to beat Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, it well might be because Texans are disgusted with the way Paxton has conducted himself in the decade he has served in statewide elected office.

Talarico is a new breed of Texas Democrat, which in its way mirrors the way Democrats here used to present themselves.

The Democratic Senate nominee has time to refine his message, to fine-tune the manner in which he intends to deliver it. I also want him to ensure to keep the many promises he no doubt will make as he travels the length and breadth of this great state.

Many of us are waiting, James Talarico.

Donald Trump, State news

Cornyn’s time as senator is up?

If I were a betting man — and I damn sure am not — I might be inclined to think that Sen. John Cornyn is facing a serious challenge to his once-storied congressional career.

He’s going to face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on May 26 in a runoff election for the Senate seat Cornyn has occupied seemingly since The Flood. Why the gloomy outlook?

Cornyn finished first in a three-way Republican Party primary, winning 42% of the vote. Paxton finished second with 41%. Third place went to U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, who collected 13%.

Paxton and Hunt both paint Cornyn as a RINO, a ridiculous assertion on its face. If there is a more dedicated Republican in the Senate than Cornyn, I do not know who that would be. Indeed, Paxton and Donald Trump, his bestie in the White House, are the real Republicans in name only.

So, with the field narrowed to the top two GOP finishers, it falls on Paxton to seek Hunt voters to close the narrow gap between him and Cornyn. If the Hunt crowd is as MAGA gullible as I suspect they are, Paxton should have little trouble rounding up the support he needs to send Cornyn packing.

And what about Paxton? The guy is ethically challenged, to state the obvious. He was indicted early during his time as AG by a Collin County grand jury of securities trading allegations. He was supposed to go to trial long ago, but skated free of that episode. Several key legal aides quit the AG’s office and accused Paxton of corruption. The Republican-dominated House of Reps impeached Paxton, who then avoided conviction in the Texas Senate when Republican senators declined to follow their House colleagues’ lead.

If Paxton should manage to win the runoff, he will face a seriously rising star in the Texas Democratic Party, state Rep. James Talarico, who I will guess is dying to run against the ethically challenged AG.

We have just witnessed the opening act of a yearlong political drama. It’s going to get a whole lot rougher as we move on through the year. And if I were running the Democrat’s campaign, I just might be drooling at the chance to take on Ken Paxton.

First things first. Paxton has to win the GOP runoff. Here’s hoping for a donnybrookl

political news, State news

This could be the guy

All right, boys and girls, I want to extol the virtues of a young man I find highly attractive as a candidate for public office, but I will stop far short of predicting he will attain that office in 2026.

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico of Austin is running for the U.S. Senate held by John Cornyn, the San Antonio Republican who now is bragging about how closely he works with the nation’s felon in chief, Donald Trump.

Where to begin about Talarico? I will start with his history as a Presbyterian seminarian. He is a former school teacher. He detests Christian nationalism, calling it “a cancer on our religion.” Talarico has called Christian nationalism “the worship of power — social power, economic power, political power, in the name of Christ” and has accused Christian nationalists of turning Jesus “into a gun-toting, gay-bashing, science-denying, money-loving, fear-mongering fascist”, arguing that it is “incumbent on all Christians to confront it and denounce it” in a 2023 guest sermon that has more than 1 million views on YouTube..

Talarico is being hailed by Democrats as a potential party rescuer. It remains to be seen, of course, whether he will collect enough stroke to take office in January 2027.

But here is what makes him so attractive to voters such as me. He doesn’t hide his faith. He touts it proudly, but he also understands that we should practice our faith in houses of worship, not shove it down the throats of every Texan … even those who do not worship a deity.

He opposes Republican efforts to display the Ten Commandments in public places, such as county courthouses and public schools. He calls such displays “un-Christian” and “un-American.” Talarico understands what should be obvious to anyone who reads the Constitution, that the founders created a secular nation and they wrote zero references to Christianity or Jesus Christ in the nation’s governing document.

Will this young man knock the veteran pol out of office? I am going to hope it happens.

political news, State news

Is this young man the one?

For a good while I have been yammering about the need for the major political parties to rally around an unknown politician, someone who emerges suddenly with a fresh voice, spoken from a fresh perspective.

I believe the Texas Democratic Party has a chance to bring such a young man to the foreftont of the political stage.

If you haven’t heard the name James Talarico, my hunch is that you will quite soon. Talarico brings a perspective to Democratic politics one likely didn’t see coming. He’s a deeply devoted and faithful Christian. He leans heavily on New Testament Scripture to illustrate his policy stances. Talarico taught school in San Antonio. He now serves in the Texas House of Representatives and is standing for general Democratic principles while waging fights with his Republican colleagues.

I like this young man’s approach to problem solving. I like it a lot!

My former favorite for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate race in 2026 is former congressman Colin Allred, who boasted continually in 2024 about his strong polling against Sen. Ted Cruz … only to lose by double digits on Election Day. Allred is making another run at the U.S. Senate. I wish him well, but I am leaning heavily toward James Talarico.

I am not naive. It is going to take a monstrous effort by Talarico to overturn decades of GOP dominance in statewide elective public office. It seems to be his best course toward victory would be if Republicans nominate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a man with more political wounds than any politician I have ever seen. He’s been attacked by his own AG staff, impeached by the Texas House, divorced by his wife because he cheated on her. This guy is seriously damaged.

I cannot find that kind of blemish on Talarico’s record. I do see a young man who is unafraid to proclaim his religious faith … but he doesn’t support the Christian nationalist agenda of melding religion into government policy. He wants to keep religion where it belongs, in houses of worship, and away from public schools, county courthouses and city halls.

He has jumped out of the tall grass and will seek to do the seemingly impossible in a state where Republicans stand tall over the political landscape. I am going to do what I can to help James Talarico advance his message.

political news, State news

Texas primaries to take center stage in 2026

You read that headline correctly … it says “primaries” because both major parties appear set to field two utterly fascinating primary contests for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican John Cornyn.

Cornyn is running for his umpteenth term after serving as Texas attorney general and a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. His GOP challenger appears to be Attorney General Ken Paxton, the nimrod who was impeached by the Texas House and has been the subject of ethics complaints and investigations since he took office in 2015.

Cornyn already is going after Paxton hammer and tong. His campaign allies point out that Paxton has been sued by former senior staff lawyers at the AG’s office, his wife — state Sen. Angela Paxton — is divorcing him on “Biblical grounds” (translation: she accuses the AG of cheating on her) and that he has become an embarrassment to the party, to the state and to Texans in general. Cornyn’s own campaign touts his closeness to Donald Trump, saying he has supported Trump’s agenda more than 99% of the time.

Paxton is a MAGA favorite; Cornyn, not so much. Paxton jumped out to an early lead, but Cornyn appears to be chipping away at Paxton’s advantage.

This one, ladies and gentleman, is going to be a barn burner.

Then we have the Democratic primary for the Senate.

Colin Allred, the former Dallas congressman and former college and pro football player, lost to Ted Cruz in 2024. He’s back in the game. I like this young man. He is earnest and forthright.

But he has a mystery challenger who well could provide the most excitement of either primary campaign. He is state Sen. James Talarico, who is running a faith-based campaign that touts his Christian beliefs. Let’s see, the last Democrat of any note I can recall running such a campaign was, hmm, the late Jimmy Carter, who in 1976 emerged from nowhere to win the Democratic presidential nomination and then defeat President Gerald Ford’s bid for election.

Talarico points out Jesus Christ’s teachings of loving one’s foes, of giving shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry and how Christians who adhere to Christ’s word should carry that belief into the realm of public policy.

Of the four men I have singled out, only one of them deserves my scorn: Paxton. The other three all understand government, its limitations and appreciate the nobility of public service. However, I am going to watch with great interest as both of these primary contests take shape.

State news

Cornyn says Trump can’t win? Hah! Ya think?

The minute I heard about what Sen. John Cornyn said about Donald Trump’s chances of become POTUS once again, I thought instantly of a friend of mine in Amarillo … who called Cornyn a RINO.

I chuckled when my friend said such nonsense, because Cornyn is nothing of the sort. The San Antonio native is as rock-ribbed a Republican as you’ll find. He just happens to believe that the GOP is going to lose the 2024 presidential election if it nominates the twice-impeached former POTUS to run against President Biden.

It’s time, Cornyn said, to nominate someone without all the baggage that Trump is lugging around. Starting with the very real probability he is facing multiple future indictments for criminal activity.

Frankly, I don’t know why I am even remotely concerned about any of this. I try like heck to shove Trump aside. I am refusing to comment on every single lie that flies out of his pie-hole.

It’s just that when a solid GOP politician such as John Cornyn says Trump would take his party down the drain, the party ought to heed the advice this Texas wise man has to deliver.

Then again, were he to run for POTUS yet again, maybe it’s good that he would lose once more.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Cornyn a RINO? Hardly!

AMARILLO, Texas — A longtime friend of mine revealed something to me today I did not expect.

He called John Cornyn, the state’s senior U.S. senator, a Republican In Name Only. I could only respond with, “Cornyn a RINO? No, he isn’t.” My friend wasn’t to be deterred. Yes, he is, my friend said. So is George W. Bush and so, too, is the rest of the state “in danger” of becoming a “blue state.”

Ah, but then he laughed it all off. He said, “I guess it depends on your perspective.” Yep, boy howdy, dude!

My friend is a fellow I admire greatly, and I will continue to admire him and will call him my friend. I just am going to suppose that we won’t talk politics in the near — or likely distant — future.

I came back to where we lived for 23 years. I guess my discovery of my friend’s political outlook reminded me of just how “conservative” the right wing swings in this part of the world. It reminded me of how the Panhandle once served as a breeding ground for the John Birch Society, about how so many residents of this community adhered to the ultra right wing of the political spectrum.

My friend took a moment to note during our visit that I am “exposed to all them liberals in Dallas.” Therefore, it doesn’t bother me, he conjectured.

I then informed him that because of recent events in my life I am divorcing myself from politics — at least from the extent I have been involved in them in recent years. Yeah, I know that this is a “political” blog post, but its intent is to illustrate one of the discoveries I have made on my westward journey from my home in North Texas.

And so … the journey continues in the morning to places far out west.

Pacific Ocean? Here I come!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

legal news, local news, national news, political news, State news

Say it ain’t so, Ronny J!

Someone might have to pass some smelling salts to help revive me if what I read actually comes true.

It is that Rep. Ronny Jackson, the Amarillo Republican who’s curried favor with the Donald Trump cabal of kooks, might run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. Yep, the one-time White House doc might challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in four years presuming Cornyn decides to seek re-election.

That means if Jackson actually wins in 2026 then the whole state will have to endure his tweets, his ongoing assault against those who disagree with his MAGA-loving demagoguery.

The guy is a carpetbagging clown show barker who moved into the 13th Congressional District specifically to run for Congress from the Texas Panhandle.

Ronny Jackson, prominent Trump ally, weighing U.S. Senate run in 2026 | The Texas Tribune

Jackson is a Trumpkin through and through. He doesn’t deserve re-election to his House seat, let alone election to a seat in what once was known as “the world’s greatest deliberative body.”

Keep the salts handy.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news, State news

Compromise can work

Ted Cruz keeps demonstrating why he is such a loathsome politician, suggesting repeatedly why it’s better in his sick mind to go down on principle rather than seeking common ground.

The Texas Republican junior U.S. senator was one of 34 GOP senators to vote “no” on a bill crafted in part by his Texas Republican colleague, John Cornyn.

Cornyn was the lead GOP negotiator on a bipartisan effort to seek legislative remedy to the gun violence that continues to break our hearts, such as what happened not long ago in Uvalde.

OK, the bill ain’t perfect. It’s a start, though, toward curbing violent outbursts.

The National Rifle Association, naturally, has condemned the effort. The NRA doesn’t want anyone to mess around with what it says are constitutional guarantees of firearm ownership. Except that the bill doesn’t stop law-abiding Americans from owning a firearm. Ted Cruz is in the NRA’s hip pocket.

The Texas Tribune reports: The legislation does not restrict any rights of existing gun owners — a nonstarter for Senate Republicans. Instead, it would enhance background checks for gun purchasers younger than 21; make it easier to remove guns from people threatening to kill themselves or others, as well as people who have committed domestic violence; clarify who needs to register as a federal firearms dealer; and crack down on illegal gun trafficking, including so-called straw purchases, which occur when the actual buyer of a firearm uses another person to execute the paperwork to buy on their behalf.

The legislation includes $11 billion for mental health services and $2 billion for community-based antiviolence programs. It also includes money to help young people access mental health services via telemedicine, money for more school-based mental health centers and support for suicide hotlines.

U.S. Senate advances bipartisan gun legislation backed by Cornyn | The Texas Tribune

Is this the stuff of radicalism? Hardly. It’s a reasonable start.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

State news

Texas GOP: gone bonkers

It’s as official as I can determine it: the Texas Republican Party has spun off its axis, it is out of its collective mind, it has been taken over by the Donald J. Trump cultists, the believers in The Big Lie.

The state GOP has concluded its convention in Houston and has declared that President Biden is not “legitimately” elected to the nation’s highest office. The 2020 election, the state GOP said in its resolution, is too “rife” with fraud.

Now comes the question: Does the Republican Party have proof of that preposterous allegation?

The answer: No! It does not!

Hey, the state GOP don’t need no stinkin’ proof! It just swallows the swill served up by the former Snake Oil Salesman in Chief, who has defamed the nation’s electoral system since the moment he lost the 2020 election.

Fed up and fired up: Texas Republicans meet in a climate of mistrust, conspiracy and victimhood | The Texas Tribune

The convention had plenty of lowlights. Such as when conventioneers booed U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, as staunch and devoted a Republican as anyone in the convention hall. His claim to infamy? He sought to work with Democrats in crafting a bill that seeks to curb gun violence. You can’t do that, senator … say the diehard cultists who now dominate the Texas Republican Party.

I’ll be brutally honest. I never thought I would see this day in the evolution of the Texas political system. I moved to Texas when it was still dominated nominally by conservative Democrats. Then the “red tide” began to swell in the mid- to late 1980s. Mainstream Republicans began winning public office.

A Republican governor, George W. Bush, scored a lot of points across the spectrum through his ability to work with Democrats who still controlled the Legislature in the mid-1990s.

Those days are gone. I hope not forever. We have now a state GOP dominated by know-nothings, fruitcakes and nut jobs … which more or less mirrors the Republican National Committee.

The believe in The Big Lie. They purposely spread its falsehoods. Therefore, the Texas Republican Party is populated by liars.

Shame on them, and shame on those who put the liars in charge.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com