James Talarico: The Bulwark LIVE from Dallas

Summary

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The Bulwark Podcast: James Talarico — The Bulwark LIVE from Dallas

Date: March 19, 2026
Host: Tim Miller
Guest: Texas Senate Candidate James Talarico
Setting: Live audience in Dallas, Texas

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Overview of the Episode

In this compelling live episode, Tim Miller sits down with James Talarico, a Texas state legislator and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. Their wide-ranging conversation covers pressing political developments—including heightened Middle East conflict and American foreign policy, political coalition-building in deeply red states, the failures and future of border policy, faith’s role in Texas politics, and Talarico’s approach to persuasion and coalition-building. The show is fast-paced, candid, and spiced with Texas political flavor, humor, and straight talk about the challenges Democrats face statewide.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Opening Reflections and Senate Race Context

• Talarico’s Optimism and Texas' Political Shift
  • Talarico reports enthusiasm on the campaign trail, citing the potential to change Texas’ political trajectory (01:35).
  • “People are finally believing in Texas again, that we can... push back against the extremism and the corruption in our government.” — James Talarico (01:38)

2. Middle East Conflict and U.S. Military Policy

• Trump Administration’s Escalation with Iran
  • Miller asks about new military deployments and the risk of a "forever war" (02:00).
  • Talarico counters that money spent on war deprives local communities:
    • “Every dollar we are spending bombing people in the Middle East is a dollar that we are not spending in our communities... there's always enough money to bomb people on the other side of the world.” (03:07)
  • Talarico warns current foreign policy is empowering Iranian hardliners, not the democracy movement (04:05).

3. Domestic Policy and the Cost of Living

• Effect of War on Texas Families
  • Talarico criticizes the incumbent and president for rising costs, particularly in healthcare and insurance (04:48).
  • Highlights Texas’ failure to expand Medicaid and estimates 2 million will lose ACA insurance due to cuts (05:00).
  • Points to a recent Democratic win in Tarrant County as evidence of shifting attitudes (05:47).

4. Joe Kent’s Resignation and America First Identity

• Navigating the MAGA Coalition
  • Discussion of bipartisan opposition to war and addressing disillusionment among “America First” voters (07:17).
  • Talarico’s pitch: Build a “big tent” coalition, welcoming disaffected Republicans and independents (09:27).
  • “If you want a small, insular group of people who agree with you on everything, you should start a social club. But a political party is meant to be a big tent.” (08:09)
  • Expresses disdain for purity politics, preferring building power to actually achieve change (09:32).

5. Expanding the Democratic Coalition

• The Challenge of Political Persuasion
  • Criticizes the notion that non-voting Texans automatically support Democrats (11:24).
  • Recounts experiences from Jubilee and Joe Rogan appearances, noting most voters have “heterodox” opinions (12:00).
    • “Most Texans, most Americans... don’t fit into a box.” (12:52)

6. Immigration, Border Policy, and Party Criticism

• Failures Across Parties

  • Opposes Markwayne Mullin’s nomination due to his unwillingness to reform immigration enforcement (16:53).
  • Emotional reflections from his experience as a public school teacher for undocumented students:
    • “They believed in this country even when this country didn't believe in them.” (17:22)

• Critique of Both Parties on Immigration

  • Democrats have been too slow and reactive; Republicans exploit border chaos for political gain (19:41).
    • “Chaos is not compassionate.” (20:04)
  • Advocates a common-sense, “welcome mat and a lock on the door” approach to border security (20:51).

7. Latino Voter Engagement and Demographic Realities

• Lessons from South Texas
  • Loss of Latino support attributed to Democratic complacency—"We took them for granted" (24:01).
  • Effective engagement centers on listening and addressing local concerns, especially high living costs (25:02).
  • "Showing up and listening is half the battle in politics." (25:12)

8. Cultural Politics, Faith, and Democratic Party Identity

• Bridging the Faith Gap
  • Addresses real and perceived hostility toward faith within the party, especially Christianity (27:26).
    • “Every world religion is mentioned in our party platform except for Christianity... seems like a pretty glaring omission.” (27:53)
  • Champions values-based outreach, arguing Democrats must speak to “hearts and guts” not just “brains.” (29:10)

9. On Opponent Corruption, the Establishment, and Filibuster Reform

• Corruption in Texas Politics

  • Talarico argues John Cornyn is more corrupt than Ken Paxton due to enabling big donor interests and cutting social programs (32:52).
    • “Corruption is really just the betrayal of the public's trust.” (34:02)
  • Criticizes Cornyn for lack of independence, labeling him “the worst kind of politician” (34:31).

• Filibuster Position

  • Supports abolishing the filibuster to foster accountability and legislative action (36:26).

• Model for Senate Leadership

  • Praises Sen. Raphael Warnock as a leader who balances faith and service—and who flipped a red state (37:41).

10. Black Voters and Coalition Building Post-Primary

• Post-Primary Healing and Outreach
  • Acknowledges need to win trust and support of Black Texans; details immediate steps for healing party divisions (38:39).
  • “I'm going to be doing the work to earn the trust and the respect and the support of every black Texan... showing up in the community.” (38:54)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Moment | |---|---|---| | 01:38 | Talarico | “People are finally believing in Texas again, that we can... push back against the extremism and the corruption in our government.” | | 03:07 | Talarico | “Every dollar we are spending bombing people in the Middle East is a dollar that we are not spending in our communities...” | | 08:09 | Talarico | “If you want a small, insular group of people who agree with you on everything, you should start a social club. But a political party is meant to be a big tent.” | | 09:32 | Talarico | “If you don't win political power, you can't help anybody. Then you're just doom scrolling and complaining on Twitter.” | | 12:52 | Talarico | “Most Texans, most Americans don't [fit into a box]. And I think we should embrace that.” | | 17:22 | Talarico | “They believed in this country even when this country didn't believe in them.” (on undocumented students) | | 20:51 | Talarico | “Our southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door...” | | 24:01 | Talarico | “We took them [Hispanic voters] for granted. We assumed they were part of our base. And we stopped showing up, we stopped competing for their votes.” | | 27:53 | Talarico | “Every world religion is mentioned in our party platform except for Christianity and seems like a pretty glaring omission.” | | 29:10 | Talarico | “If we as political leaders... are not speaking to people's hearts first, then we're committing political malpractice.” | | 34:02 | Talarico | “Corruption is really just the betrayal of the public's trust.” | | 36:26 | Talarico | “We should abolish the filibuster so that we can actually govern in this country.” | | 38:54 | Talarico | “I'm going to be doing the work to earn the trust and the respect and the support of every black Texan...” |

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:35] Talarico on the mood in Texas and Democratic prospects.
• [02:45–05:00] Middle East conflict, military spending, and domestic priorities.
• [07:17–09:32] America First, coalition-building, party identity.
• [16:53–20:51] Immigration policy, critique of both parties, border crisis solutions.
• [24:01–25:12] Latinos, Democratic complacency, campaign lessons.
• [27:26–29:10] Faith and cultural engagement in the party.
• [32:52–34:52] Corruption, John Cornyn vs. Ken Paxton.
• [36:26–37:41] Filibuster reform and Senate role models.
• [38:39–38:54] Black voter outreach and healing coalitions.

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“Fun Stuff” & Texas Culture Rapid Fire (40:30–44:03)

• On “God’s sausage” and faith-based humor
  • “Most Christians believe that God is beyond gender... So if you have a problem with what I said, don't take it up with me. Take it up with the Apostle Paul.” — Talarico (41:41)
• Denies being a vegan; praises Texas barbecue (Louis Mueller BBQ) (42:04)
• Mount Rushmore of Texas musicians
  • George Strait, Selena, Willie Nelson, Beyoncé (43:37–43:58)

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Tone & Approach

Throughout, the conversation combines analysis, humor, and candor. Talarico is serious in his critique of both parties, passionate about improving Texans’ lives, and open about building bridges—especially across faith and political divides. Miller keeps the tone irreverent, sharp, and accessible for the “reality-based community.”

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Transcript

[Megan McCardell]

Has the news been getting you down? I'm Megan McCardell, and I'm here to help. I'm the host of a new show from Washington Post Opinion called Reasonably Optimistic, and it's an antidote to the pessimism that's riddling America right now. Every Wednesday, I'm going to talk to people who see a path forward.

[Tim Miller]

It does seem to me that there is some awakening of a desire to act together to solve problems where they are.

[James Talarico]

You know, I am a believer in America and it's worth fighting for.

[Megan McCardell]

Join me Wednesdays on YouTube or wherever

[Alicia]

you get your podcasts with VRBoCare. Help is always ready before, during, and after your stay. We've planned for the plot twists, so support is always available because a great trip starts with peace of mind.

[Tim Miller]

Hello and welcome to the Bulwark Podcast. I'm your host, Tim Miller. We're here in Dallas, And our guest on today's show is Senate candidate James Talarico. Thank you, Talarico. You know, you know, we booked this. You're in a primary still, and so we decided to keep it as a surprise for people. So it's a nice, pleasant surprise here in Texas. How you feeling? It's got to feel good to get a little win under your belt. I mean, the real work's ahead, but you got to feel good.

[James Talarico]

I'm feeling good, and it's so good to be in Dallas, Texas. Thank you all for the warm welcome. No, it's been great. And I feel like people are finally believing in Texas again, that we can. That we can change the politics of the state, that we can push back against the extremism and the corruption in our government. And I think we're going to surprise a lot of people in November in this state.

[Tim Miller]

You don't think they're doing a good job here so far? The incumbent, you don't think they're doing a good job?

[James Talarico]

I don't. I have just a few complaints.

[Tim Miller]

You have a few critiques. Well, I want to talk about Texas and the Senate race. Do a little politics here in a minute and talk about some other stuff. We'll have a little bit of fun at the end. You know, it's a live show, but we're. We gotta talk about the news first. And while we were back there, just before we came on, Reuters reporting that Trump is looking at bringing additional troops to the Middle east as part of the Iran war. This obviously seems like it's escalating, though, you know, who the hell knows? He could just turn around and Quit tomorrow. We don't know with him. What's your assessment of what we've seen there and just your initial reactions to this war?

[James Talarico]

Well, you know, as a millennial, I saw how military disasters like the Iraq War robbed this nation of young lives, of billions of dollars, and of our moral standing in the world. And I worry that this president, this administration, is making the same mistake with another forever war in the Middle East. And I was a few weeks ago in Sandbranch, Texas, which is just a few miles from here. That community doesn't have any running water. It doesn't have basic sewer infrastructure. Every dollar we are spending bombing people in the Middle east is a dollar that we are not spending in our communities in this country. And, Tim, we're always told that there's not enough money for schools, not enough money for healthcare, not enough money for veterans, but there always seems to be enough money to bomb people on the other side of the world. And so I think it is possible to support the democracy movement in Iran. It is possible to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon without this kind of reckless military intervention.

[Tim Miller]

Are we even doing either of those things? Are we supporting a democracy government in Iran?

[James Talarico]

Or we may be doing the exact opposite. Yeah, I mean, the single best way to empower the regime in Iran is to have this kind of bombing from America. And you're seeing them burning American flags when the regime was on its back foot just weeks ago. And so I worry that we've done the exact opposite, and we've empowered the extremists in Iran and we have weakened the democracy movement in that country.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah, I saw today, because of the closing of the Strait of Hormuz and the bombing of oil fields in Qatar and elsewhere, price of a barrel of oil now is up to $110. Do you have mixed feelings about that at all? It is kind of good for Midland.

[James Talarico]

I mean, the sad thing is that this president was elected to do one thing and one thing only, and that was bring down costs. And now he is doing the exact opposite. Not just the price of gas, but, I mean, the price of food, the cost of housing, of health care. Here in Texas, our state leaders didn't expand Medicaid. And so a lot of our fellow Texans depend on the Affordable Care act, on those subsidies. And so these cuts to the ACA are hurting Texans in particular. And the estimate is 2 million Texans are going to lose their insurance because of these cuts. So this president, who was elected to lower costs, has actually made things more expensive. And I think it's why you're seeing such a backlash in this state and in this country. Tim, you may know that the folks here in DFW flipped a state Senate seat in Tarrant County.

[Tim Miller]

Oh yeah,

[James Talarico]

it was a district that the President had won by 17 points in 2024. And so this community shocked the nation by flipping a state Senate seat. And I think that we're going to shock the world when we flip a U.S. senate seat.

[Tim Miller]

The, the other kind of big war related news is that Trump's counterterrorism chief Joe Kent quit the administration. Not a big fan. Any Joe Kent fans in the audience? Joe has quite a hit list as far as his background is concerned. But his resignation was basically pure America first id. It included some conspiracy theories. But it also said fundamentally when he signed up for this, you know, he wasn't signing up for a war in Iran, he wasn't signing up for a war that was pushed by Israel. As we're talking. He's on with Tucker Carlson right now. It sounds like the FBI is now gonna be investigating him. How do you like process that? How do you think about that in Texas? Your kind of big moment really, maybe not the original big moment, but on the national stage for those of us non Texans, was when you went on Joe Rogan and that audience, there's some overlap. People who really did believe in maybe the non racist part of the America first movement and they didn't want to be in those foreign wars. So how do you think about talking about the Joe Kent's and communicating with those people and offering something to that constituency?

[James Talarico]

Again, we just talked about broken promises when it comes to the cost of living crisis. But there was also a promise made by the President during his campaign that he wasn't going to start any more wars. And now he's started multiple wars just in the first year of his administration. And so I, I can sympathize with the disillusionment that some of the folks in the MAGA movement are feeling. And I think this is, this is there is bipartisan opposition to this war in Iran. I hear it from people across the state of Texas, not just Democrats, but independents and Republicans too who think it's reckless. They think it's counterproductive and they think it is. It is a wasteful use of our resources when we have so many pressing priorities here at home.

[Tim Miller]

Is there room in the Telorico Coalition for America First Magnetizing MTG calls you up and says hey, I think I might be for you.

[James Talarico]

I mean this. What do you Say, I've told, I've told people that if they want a small, insular group of people who agree with you on everything, you should start a social club. But a political party is meant to be a big tent. It is meant to be a group of people who don't agree on everything, but agree on the big stuff. And Tim, I have, you know, in the course of the primary campaign, I went to literally every corner of Texas. I went from Beaumont to El Paso, from Amarillo to Brownsville, and I held so many events with, with so many Texans who showed up. I can't tell you the number of people who came up to me at the end of those events and whispered, I'm not a Democrat. Like, like they were in the witness protection program.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah.

[James Talarico]

And, and you know, I'm, I'm, I'm. I stay to the very end of the events. I, I shake every hand, I take every selfie, I answer every question. And you know, you hear that 12 times in a photo line and you want to tell people that they're not alone, that they, that they, they can join this movement we're building because it is big enough for every Texan who is fed up with the extremism and the corruption in our government.

[Tim Miller]

So that's a maybe then on mtg. I'll take that as a maybe.

[James Talarico]

Is she a Texan?

[Tim Miller]

No. You know, but endorsements, you take endorsements out of state, you never know. I don't know. She's going through some shit.

[James Talarico]

I mean, and to be. To let's. I mean, to just in all seriousness, like, we should be extending an open hand rather than a closed fist to those people who are questioning their past support for the president or their past support for the party. I do want to welcome those folks into our coalition. I'm really not interested in purity politics. I am interested in building political power so that we can transform this state and this country and improve people's lives. If you don't win political power, you can't help anybody. Then you're just doom scrolling and complaining on Twitter, which this feels like, if it never does.

[Tim Miller]

That feels like it's called a subtweet.

[James Talarico]

That is. The purpose of politics is to win power and improve people's lives. And that requires persuasion. There's this thing in my party here in Texas where people will say that Texas is not a red state, it's a non voting state. And I understand where they're coming from. And Texas does have one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country, but there's there's also a point where that argument is used as an excuse not to persuade people who aren't with us yet. And that is so deadly in a democracy because the whole point of this democratic experiment is that we're supposed to make our argument, we're supposed to make our case and we're supposed to win hearts and minds. That's how you build a big enough coalition to govern the and I want us to get back to that. In the Democratic Party, there was a feeling for a long time that everyone secretly agreed with us and if they didn't, they were a bigot or a racist or a misogynist and we didn't need their support. And I Hope that the 2024 election was a wake up call to everyone in our party that we have to start reaching out to people who aren't with us yet and building a bigger coalition.

[Tim Miller]

I love that because I do. Yeah, that's, you're speaking my language. Because there is, I think this weird view that all of the non voting Texans are just like Democrats, just haven't woken up yet.

[James Talarico]

They're all resistance liberals just like waiting.

[Tim Miller]

I think somebody that doesn't watch the news and doesn't vote and doesn't care about what's happening, they might be for Trump.

[James Talarico]

Well, well, so more I mean, just saying I, so a couple things.

[Tim Miller]

Maybe we don't want them to vote.

[James Talarico]

I, I, we on our campaign, we. This is something you and I have in common. I did the episode of surrounded Jubilee on YouTube and I sat down with 25 undecided voters in Texas and it was a conversation that was wide ranging. And I think something, if you go back and watch that episode on YouTube, you'll realize a truth about politics, which is that undecided voters or non voters, they tend to have pretty heterodox opinions about weird opinions. Yeah. And we, you know, and that's a good thing. Like I, I honestly think there's, there's within the parties and within, among partisan people, like there's way too much rigid orthodoxies that can never be questioned. I love that people who aren't really into politics, they kind of have a grab bag of some progressive views, some conservative views. You talk about Joe Rogan, you know, Joe Rogan is for a universal basic income, he's for universal health care. And so you can, you could try to put him into a box, but he doesn't fit into a box. And most Texans, most Americans don't either. And I think we should embrace that. And I think it's it's a mistake that hyper political people make when they think that all these non voters or, you know, infrequent voters somehow secretly agree with them on every single plank in the Democratic platform.

[Tim Miller]

I don't know about you, but I loved doing Jubilee.

[James Talarico]

I do too.

[Tim Miller]

Afterwards, like I wanted a cigarette and I said to the guys, I was like, can we do this again tomorrow? I just, it was, I don't know, it got me, you know, my synapses firing.

[James Talarico]

I mean, I, I get bored very easily. And it's why I enjoy, it's why I enjoy serving in the Texas Legislature, because it's like being in lion's den all the time. And it's why I like going on Rogan. I like going on Fox News, I like going on the Christian Broadcasting Network. And I love doing Jubilee because it's an opportunity to change hearts and minds. And like, that's so rewarding. No offense to Ms. Now, but I just don't feel like I'm accomplishing as much when I'm in the echo chamber. And sometimes it feels good to be with people who agree with you and it's sometimes fun to preach to the choir, but I don't feel like I'm doing any good in some of these media spaces like I feel when I'm on Jubilee or on Rogan, actually reaching people who aren't with us yet.

[Tim Miller]

Totally agree. All right.

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[Tim Miller]

The other news item from today I want to talk to you about was Marquane Mullen from up on the other side of the Red river was. He had his confirmation hearing today. There's some fireworks. It's kind of interesting because he had previously basically said that Rand Paul's neighbor, like had a few things right when he kicked Rand Paul's ass. And Rand is the chair of the committee that he needs to be confirmed through. So. Yeah. Awkward. So there was like a lot of back and forth and then he refused to apologize. Yeah, he wouldn't even just say, sorry, man. You know, things got a little heated. He wouldn't do it. So, you know, that confirmation is I think, really hinging unfortunately on John Fetterman. So we'll see what happens with that. But I guess the obvious question is you would be a no on Mark Twain Mullen.

[James Talarico]

I would. I would. And here's, and here's why. I mean, I would be a no on any potential secretary who is not willing to tear down this secret police force and replace it with an agency that's actually focused on public safety. I, you know, I, you know this, Tim. Before I was a politician, I was a public school teacher in San Antonio, Texas, on the west side of the city. And, and I taught a lot of undocumented students. And those students tended to be my most patriotic students. They understood something about this country that a lot of us who are native born forget. That this is supposed to be the land of opportunity, that this is supposed to be the place where dreams come true. And they believed that in their bones and they believed in this country even when this country didn't believe in them. And so the fact that we have the most powerful politicians in the country terrorizing my former students and their families, people who work hard every day to contribute to this economy and to this country, to me, is immoral. It's unconscionable, it's unacceptable. And it has to end. I'll just, I mean, we should be cracking down on the cartels, not our communities. We should be deporting gang members, not small Business owners.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah.

[James Talarico]

We should be hunting down human traffickers, not moms and babies. This is something that I think most Texans agree with. And this is something I said on Jubilee. It was the failures of my party, it was the failures of the Biden administration that opened the door to this extremism, that opened the door to masked men and unmarked vehicles kidnapping people off our street. So both parties have failed us on this issue over the last 30 years. I think Texans and Americans are just looking. They're looking for leaders who are going to hold two things in their mind at once, being pro immigrant and pro security. Because like we've been told, those are mutually exclusive and they're not.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah. You know, I saw on the Internet, which is in real life, that you got a little shit over that. What you were saying on surrounded about how it was the mistakes of your party that led us here. And what a lot of people would say is, well, what about the James Lankford bill that Donald Trump blocked and that the Republicans in the Senate blocked? There's something to that.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Tim Miller]

Donald Trump wanted there to be chaos cause he wanted to help his election. But that was in the fourth year of the Biden presidency. There were three years before that. So talk about those three years, what you think they should have or could have done differently.

[James Talarico]

Well, and the proof is that they were able to get the border under control four months, five months before the election.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[James Talarico]

And so they knew how to do it. And I heard from people who served in the, in the Biden administration who said that the administration, the president himself, they were listening to these groups for people who aren't super into, into the infrastructure of the Democratic Party. In recent years, they're been a series of advocacy groups that claim to represent the interests of different communities, like here in Texas, but actually have no real connection to the actual people on the ground. And those groups convinced the administration that it was racist to support border security. And nothing could be further from the truth. It was my colleagues in the State House who served border communities in South Texas and in El Paso who were constantly telling me about the chaos in their communities because of the Biden administration's policies. And that is not compassionate. Chaos is not compassionate. And we as Democrats, we're the party that's supposed to make the government work for people. And this was a prime example of government not working for people. And again, you know, I, the Republicans have been attacking me by taking something that I say about the border and basically cutting it off mid sentence. I usually say, yeah, so I, I have said throughout the whole campaign that our southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door, meaning you can welcome hardworking immigrants who want to contribute to this country and keep out people who mean to do us harm. Not mutually exclusive goals. But the Republicans don't want you to know that those two things are possible. And so they post this clip and they cut it right before I say lock on the door. So it just sounds like I want open borders. But I think. I think this is where most Texans and most Americans are at on the issue. And it's why they're frustrated with both parties, because in the Democratic Party, they see a party that's pro immigrant but doesn't seem too concerned about security, then they throw us out. They elect the Republicans a party that's very concerned about security and seems to be pretty anti immigrant, and they're dissatisfied with that, too. So they want a party. They want leaders who are going to hold both those values together at the same time.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah, you did. You did pretty well in the Rio Grande Valley and with Latino voters during the primary. I've had Bobby Polito on the show, who's running down there, who's a good guy, run for a Republican seat there. So thinking about the general election, this was a huge shift over to Republicans. And I think that caught a lot of Democrats by surprise because they convinced themselves that there was a demographics as destiny argument that how could any Latino vote for Trump because he's obviously racist, which is. So it's like, we don't need to try. And when I talk to Bobby, when I talked to some other people in that community, what you hear a lot of is two issues. One was border security, which you were just talking about, and the other is faith. You know, like, a lot of folks in those communities are Catholic or Protestant Hispanics that feel like the Democratic Party, you know, is godless or whatever as a short term, like, what is your plan for kind of reengaging those voters that were lost?

[James Talarico]

Yeah. And, you know, my family is from South Texas. My mom grew up in Laredo on our southern border.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah, it's like Hispanic. It's a vowel at the end.

[James Talarico]

I. It was just me and my mom when I was born, and she was. She very heroically left a. An abusive situation to protect me and, and ensure I had a better life. But the luckiest thing that ever happened to either of us was meeting Mark Talarico, who then adopted me, gave me his last name, and raised me as his own. And he the. Hey, shout out to Mark Tallerico. Anyway, his. He is a first generation American. His family came to this country from Italy, so it's an Italian last name. But, but down there, you know, I say Talarico. They say Talarico much prettier than the

[Tim Miller]

way I say it.

[James Talarico]

Roll that R. Yeah, but, but anyway, but you know, South Texas is one of my favorite places in the world. The Rio Grande Valley is one of my favorite places in the world. I went down there a lot because the reason Democrats lost support in South Texas and among Hispanic voters across the state is because we took them for granted. We assumed they were part of our base. And we stopped showing up, we stopped competing for their votes. I was told by my state representative that I grew up with when he was teaching me about campaigning, he said, you always have to ask for people's votes. And that sounds obvious, but it's actually something people don't do in our politics anymore. You have to ask for someone's vote. You have to earn their vote. You have to actively compete for it. And so that's what I did in this primary campaign. I went down to South Texas more times than I can count. I went down to the Valley a ton and I listened. I heard their concerns, both about immigration, but honestly primarily about costs. It's this cost of living crisis that's crushing people all over the state, but especially folks in South Texas. And then we developed a policy platform in partnership with them that could meet those needs. And I think showing up and listening is half the battle in politics. And it's where our party should do a better job of among all communities, not just Hispanic voters.

[Alex Kanchwitz]

Hi, this is Alex Kanchwitz. I'm the host of Big Technology Podcast, a longtime reporter and an on air contributor to cnbc. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it, asking where this is all going. They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, in meetings with your colleagues, and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology Podcast wherever you get your podcast.

[Cool Stuff Daily Host]

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[James Talarico]

weirder and a lot more awesome.

[Cool Stuff Daily Host]

Cool stuff Daily takes a look at everything from mining in space to the latest in the fight against cancer to how AI is basically changing everything. It's all the cool stuff you didn't know you needed to know. Join us for Cool Stuff Daily as we take a quick look at science tech and the. Wait, what stories that make you sound way smarter at dinner. Subscribe to Cool Stuff Daily now because the future's happening fast and it's way too fun to miss.

[Tim Miller]

I've been listening to a lot of your speeches and your pitch over the past couple of weeks, both during the primary and kind of since. And you talk a lot in this question of, okay, look, Trump got about a million and a half more votes than Kamala. Right. So what we were talking about earlier, there's gotta be persuasion. And there's a turnout element to it. There's a persuasion element. And you really focus in the persuasion element on this top down politics. Like getting out of the culture war, getting out of the left. Right. Focusing on the top down. And I believe there's something to it. I also worry, though, that the cultural rift between the Democratic Party and parts of America and parts of Texas is very real. And just like pretending like that isn't a kitchen table issue, pretending like they're not gonna talk about whatever it is, Covid or trans or whatever, anything. Like, I think that that's a losing bet. Right. And that there has to be some engagement on a cultural level to get people to listen to you. How do you kind of react to that?

[James Talarico]

Well, one, you were just talking about faith and its centrality in the lives of so many Texans and that people feel like the Democratic Party is hostile to those cultural values and they're not necessarily wrong about that. Someone pointed out to me that every world religion is mentioned in our party platform except for Christianity, and seems like a pretty glaring omission. And that's.

[Tim Miller]

The DNC is a page for like literally every group you could imagine. Like Hawaiian nationals, not boys or white people. Yeah. It's just like.

[James Talarico]

Well, and that's the point is like I get where the, where that I get the instinct.

[Tim Miller]

Sure.

[James Talarico]

And that is to look out for people who are bullied, people who are, who are on the outside. And I like that instinct in the Democratic Party. It just becomes a problem when that turns into pushing away people who are in the dominant group who could very much be in our coalition. There are, I think, so many people of faith, so many Christians in this state who, who sympathize with the Democratic Party on a whole host of issues. Immigration maybe being at the top of the list. And they are just, they're waiting for a candidate, a campaign that's not hostile to those values. And who's willing to connect with them on these conversations of faith and spirituality. And I think it's what's so powerful about the movement that we're currently building in Texas is that we are building bridges about things, you know, that are honestly deeper than public policy.

[Tim Miller]

Are you going to be able to go into the mega church, though? The WOKE church? Every town's got the church with the pride flag. We love them. We appreciate to be welcomed. Well, and you go to see Joel Osteen.

[James Talarico]

Well, I would love to, I would love to visit, I would love to visit his church. I, I, I mentioned that I go on the Christian Broadcasting Network because, you know, I want to extend an open hand to our, to my brothers and sisters in Christ who are a little more conservative than I am. And, and I think that kind of outreach will, will, will allow us to build a coalition big enough to win in a place like Texas. And it's been a long time since we've had leaders in our party who speak openly and unapologetically about their faith. And that's necessary because people have to communicate their why. And for me, it's my faith. But it may be different for you, but Democrats always speak to people's brains instead of their hearts and their guts. And every single human being in this room across the state, we make decisions with our heart and our gut, and then our brain justifies it. That's how every person works, as logical as we all pretend that we are. And so if we, as if we as political leaders, we as organizers are not speaking to people's hearts first, then we're committing political malpractice. And it's something that our campaign tries to do every day, is focus on values before we get into policy minutia, because those values are unifying and are transcendent. And I think it has to be at the forefront of our political discourse in this country.

[Alex Kanchwitz]

Hi, this is Alex Canceroitz. I'm the host of Big Technology Podcast, a longtime reporter and an on air contributor to cnbc. And if you're like me, you're trying to figure out how artificial intelligence is changing the business world and our lives. So each week on Big Technology, I bring on key actors from companies building AI tech and outsiders trying to influence it, asking where this is all going. They come from places like Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and plenty more. So if you want to be smart with your wallet, your career choices, in meetings with your colleagues and at dinner parties, listen to Big Technology Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

[Alicia]

Hi, I'M Alicia.

[Megan McCardell]

And I'm Stacey.

[Alicia]

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[Megan McCardell]

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[Tim Miller]

All right, let's have some fun. Okay.

[James Talarico]

I'm having fun.

[Tim Miller]

You know, that's the Bulwark podcast. Okay. We're not going to really have fun until we start dunking on the other guys.

[James Talarico]

What.

[Tim Miller]

Who. Who are you rooting for in that other primary? They're still working things out over there.

[James Talarico]

They are. They are.

[Tim Miller]

Got a. Got a rooting interest.

[James Talarico]

You know, I said. I said on. On election night that it doesn't matter who comes out of this Republican runoff because we already know who we're running against. We're running against the billionaire mega donors and their corrupt political system. And I think John Cornyn and Ken Paxton embody the corruption in our politics. Obviously, Ken Paxton's crimes are well known, and I was part of the bipartisan majority in the Texas House of Representatives that voted to impeach our corrupt attorney general. But don't laugh when I say this. I think John Cornyn may be even more corrupt than Ken Paxton, and here's why.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah, see, I'm ready for the pitch.

[James Talarico]

John Cornyn, by the way, he was first elected to public office six years

[Tim Miller]

before I was 12.

[James Talarico]

He got to the Senate when I was in middle school, actually. And John Cornyn just last year was the deciding vote on that big, ugly bill that. That big, ugly bill that's going to kick millions of Texans off their health care. That big, ugly bill that's going to take food out of the mouths of hungry Texas kids, all to give yet another tax break to his billionaire donors. And so Ken Paxton. Ken Paxton was impeached for using his public office to enrich his donors. And that's exactly what John Cornyn does at the biggest scale. And so we oftentimes think of corruption as something that's illegal, but corruption is. Is really just the betrayal of the public's trust. And by. And by casting. By casting that deciding vote on that big, ugly bill, John Cornyn committed an act of corruption of the highest order.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah. And it's also even. Even the brown paper bag corruption. It's like John Cornyn Pretending like he cares about Ken Paxton's corruption. Give me a fucking break. He's in the Senate. What about, what about Jared's money from MBS? What about the crypto money that Don Jr. And Eric are making? Where's John Cornyn on any of that?

[James Talarico]

Well, and like, I think Ken Paxton actually believes in his extremism.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah.

[James Talarico]

I'll give him that. I think he's a true believer.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah.

[James Talarico]

John Cornyn, though, is the worst kind of politician. He will believe whatever he has to to hold on to power.

[Tim Miller]

Yeah.

[James Talarico]

And I think that's like what people across the political spectrum are really fed up with. So I just believe that neither John Cornyn nor Ken Paxton deserve the honor of representing this great state in the United States Senate.

[Tim Miller]

Ken Paxton just loves his side pieces. He loves them earnestly. There's, you know, there's something honest about that John Cornyn back to him. You remember that he said he was Big John Cornyn. I'm wondering if there is anybody in public life more emasculated than Big John Cornyn sitting in Daddy Trump's cuck chair like he's now he's getting rid of the filibuster he's flying on Daddy Trump's plane. Whatever you want, sir. Whatever you want, Mr. Trump. It's not. Doesn't give Big John Cornyn to me.

[James Talarico]

And that's honestly, it's a. You know, one of the great things about this state is that we value independence. We like people who think for themselves. And I think what people are looking for in the next US Senator from the state is someone who will think for themselves, someone who will push back against the powerful people in either party and someone who's going to do right by Texans. I think that's what we don't have currently, and it's something people are hungry for from their next US Senators.

[Tim Miller]

Sarah asked me backstage if I thought Big John Cornyn was non binary. And I was like, that's a sensitive topic. So my Mark Levin situation. Okay. Do we have any. I guess one more thing before we get to the rapid fire round. Does John Cornyn's kind of solve the Damascus love for getting rid of the filibuster? Do you see any encouragement out of that? Where would you end up being on the filibuster?

[James Talarico]

Well, in this case, I agree with John Cornyn because I think we should abolish the filibuster so that we can actually govern in this country. I mean, people of Texas, they vote for leaders from a certain party and they want to see the results of that vote, whether it's the Republican party or the Democratic Party. What's happening now because of the filibuster is they elect one party, they see nothing getting done, they don't see any improvement in their lives, and so they swing wildly to the other party and then they see more gridlock. And so I think what needs to happen is we have to improve this, this feedback loop between the voters and the people that represent them. And people deserve to see the results of their vote. And then they can make judgments about whether they want to continue slashing healthcare and slashing food assistance for hungry kids or starting more forever wars. And then they can make a judgment and adjust accordingly. Right now, they're not able to see the results of their vote because of the filibuster. So I'm all for a talking filibuster, but this situation where, you know, a certain number of senators can just veto any action, to me is just a recipe for more gridlock.

[Tim Miller]

Are there any senators up there you think are doing good? Are there anybody going to model yourself after?

[James Talarico]

Absolutely. I mean, I. This probably doesn't come as a surprise, but I'm deeply inspired by Reverend Raphael Warnock because not only, not only the way that he balances his, his role as a faith leader and his role as a public servant in a healthy and responsible way, but also because he knows how to flip a red state. And we, I think in Texas take a lot of inspiration from what they've done in Georgia and we're going to follow the same playbook so that we can end 30 years of one party rule in our state.

[Tim Miller]

That reminds me, I had one other question before we got to rapid fire, Reverend Warnock was invoked in your heated primary where, you know, there were some issues across racial lines. I think there's been some concern that, like one of the things that could hold you back in the general is whether black voters are going to be excited enough to turn out for you. And I'm just kind of wondering how you're thinking about that and how you're communicating with that constituency.

[James Talarico]

Well, thinking about a lot is my top priority right now and for the next few weeks and months is healing the divisions from this primary. And I talked earlier about taking people for granted, taking communities for granted, and that also applies to black voters in the state. And so I'm going to be doing the work to earn the trust and the respect and the support of every black Texan. And that means showing up in the community. In fact, I'm here in Dallas. Tomorrow morning I'm participating in a roundtable of Black faith leaders here in dfw. And that's just one example of the kind of work we're going to be doing in the weeks and months ahead so that we can bring our coalition back together and do something really special together and that's finally win statewide in Texas.

[Megan McCardell]

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[James Talarico]

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[Cool Stuff Daily Host]

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[Tim Miller]

All right, here we go. Rapid fire. We have a meat section and a Texas section. In the meat section first, how big is God's sausage would you say? We know God is a man and so I'm just wondering like how healthy his hog is. So

[James Talarico]

I know this is rapid fire, but let me just because

[Tim Miller]

two word

[James Talarico]

answer, yes or no. Listen, I know that I was being provocative with that comment. I made it on the floor of the House when the extremists in the Texas legislature were trying to pick on kids who were different. And while it's maybe provocative politically, I don't think it's controversial theologically. Most Christians believe that God is beyond gender and in fact the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians says that in Christ there is neither male nor female. So if you have a problem with what I said, don't take it up with me. Take it up with the Apostle Paul.

[Tim Miller]

Second Apostle Paul reference of this podcast. That's a first. I guess all Damascus is kind of close. Okay. Otherwise, in the meet, there's a video going around of you talking about, I guess one of your state rep campaigns was a vegan campaign, which I don't know, I'm looking side eye at. As a former Republican where Are you at on Texas Meats? What are your favorites? Are you a vegan one?

[James Talarico]

Yeah. Thank you for asking this very important question. Question because. Because this is a very serious allegation to make in Texas. So I want to just. I want to say this definitively and categorically that I deny all accusations of veganism. And, you know, our campaign basically runs on barbecue these days. You asked my favorite. I will give a shout out to, I think the best barbecue joint in Texas, which was in my old legislative district in Taylor, Texas. Louis Miller Barbecue. If you a check it out next time you're in Taylor, best brisket you're going to find. So that's my plug.

[Tim Miller]

I'm a hipster, so I'm going to LA Barbecue in Austin tomorrow. But sorry, guys, you know, it's not. I'll give you the authentic shit when you're asking me about crawfish at to. Okay, I'm going to the hipster tourist joints in Texas. All right. We closed the podcast with a song. We're here in Texas, obviously, Bob Wills is the king down here. I'm wondering if you could give us maybe, you know, I don't know, like, around. What's a hill in the Hill Country? If you did a Mount Rushmore, where would the hill be in Texas? Do we have a hill?

[James Talarico]

A hill.

[Tim Miller]

Do we have a hill anywhere?

[James Talarico]

Oh, oh, yeah.

[Tim Miller]

In the hill Country.

[James Talarico]

Yeah. We could do the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend.

[Tim Miller]

Okay, so in Big Bend, if we're gonna make a Texas musician, Matt Rushmore, who do you think we'd put up there?

[James Talarico]

Oh, my God.

[Tim Miller]

Who do you got? So.

[James Talarico]

One. I'm going to start with the king of country music, George Strait.

[Tim Miller]

Okay.

[James Talarico]

Then I'm going to add. I'm going to add Selena Quintanilla, the queen of Tejano music. Then I'm going to add the patron saint of Austin, Texas, Willie Nelson. And then I'm going to close it out with one more, one word, musician. And that's Beyonce.

[Tim Miller]

Beyonce, that's right. All right, Ain't no. Hold on. That's James Talico. He's running for Senate.

[James Talarico]

What do you think? Appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you.

[Tim Miller]

I wouldn't be a Willy fan. Nobody swam the Rio Grande. I wouldn't be an American

[James Talarico]

if it wasn't for Texas.

[Tim Miller]

The Borg Podcast is brought to you

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thanks to the work of lead producer Katie Cooper, associate producer Ansley Skipper, and with video editing by Katie Lutz and audio engineering and editing by Jason Brown.

[James Talarico]

Group chat getting quiet.

[Cool Stuff Daily Host]

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[James Talarico]

Keep the vibe alive.

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