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No, James Talarico isn't coming for your brisket.
But the normally outlandish attack on the U.S. Senate hopeful this week is more dangerous than past attempts Republicans have tried on other Democrats for one key reason.
In a clip that the National Republican Senatorial Committee is pushing all over social media, Talarico, while running for the statehouse in 2022, talks about how climate change is making him and others cut back their meat consumption.
"It is now existential that we reduce our meat consumption and that we try to respect animals in all aspects of society," Talarico, wearing a COVID-era face mask, says in the video. "I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign. We are only buying vegan products."
It's not AI-generated. It's legitimately him and he is really talking to the Texas Humane Legislation Network about buying only vegan products.
Republicans accusing Democrats of coming for your BBQ isn't new. Back in 2018, when U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was being pushed to the brink by Democrat Beto O'Rourke, he took to then-Twitter with a warning to BBQ pits from the Rio Grande to the Red River. "If Beto wins, BBQ will be illegal!" Cruz and his campaign later said it was meant to be a joke.
Even if it weren't a joke, O'Rourke, famous for knocking back Whataburger and BBQ on the campaign trail, never said anything of the sort, which made it easy to brush off.
Cruz this week jumped at the chance to dust off the charge and try it on Talarico: "This freak wants to BAN BBQ. That's not Texas."
Talarico's camp playfully put out a photo to the media of their candidate eating BBQ. But they haven't addressed what he actually said in the video about needing to reduce meat consumption to combat climate change — a message that seems really important to clear up in Texas BBQ havens all over the state, where voters are just starting to learn who Talarico is.
This is more serious than a few internet memes because Talarico's campaign is at a critical juncture. With U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton still locked in a GOP primary runoff, Talarico, who is still building up his name identification, has a chance to use his money to define himself on his own terms to millions of Texans who didn't tune in to the primaries.
But in this case, the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee is helping do it for his would-be rivals. The clip is all over Fox News and other conservative media, without much of a response from Talarico's campaign.
Talarico's past responses to other culture war issues might offer a taste of his thinking on the latest jabs. He said during an appearance on MS NOW last week that with wars, rising prices and lingering questions over the Jeffrey Epstein files, his opponents just want to shift the topic.
"The people responsible are trying to distract us with the same old culture wars," he said.
That may be true, but with the video just lingering on the internet for days without much of a response from his campaign, Talarico risks the idea that he might be vegan sticking in the minds of millions of persuadable voters throughout Texas. While being pro-vegan doesn't make someone unelectable, it becomes part of the effort to make Talarico sound out of line with Texas values before Election Day.
CORRECTION: In yesterday's Texas Take, it was mistakenly stated that voters who participated in the Democratic Primary could not vote in the runoff elections in May. People who voted in the Democratic primary can vote in the Democratic primary runoffs, they just can't now switch to participate in the Republican Primary Runoff.
 | Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter |
Who's Up, Who's Down
A daily stock market-style report on key players in Texas politics.
Up: Islamic Schools.
Texas' private school voucher program admitted several Islamic schools this week after a federal judge ordered the state to invite previously-excluded schools to apply and extend the application deadline for families. The state agency overseeing the program, led by acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, confirmed that three schools were admitted to the program this week, but declined to comment, citing the ongoing lawsuit.
Down: Houston rodeo.
It's been a wild couple of weeks at the nearly 100-year-old rodeo, with crazy headlines and controversies that you know organizers don't appreciate. The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board tallied it up for us here. Fights, dress code controversies, euthanized injured animals, complaints that families are being priced out, and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo's cringy back and forth with rodeo leaders. That doesn't mean the rodeo is in trouble. It's still a big draw that brings the community together. But it's certainly dealing with a lot of issues that have nothing to do with the actual sport or musicians.
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.
What else is going on in Texas
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Pick of the day
Photo by: Susan Barber
This wait for President Donald Trump's endorsement in the U.S. Senate race is starting to feel like the worst episode yet of the TV series The Bachelor. Who will get Trump's rose? On this week's Texas Take podcast, we look into why this wait is costing Republican donors more money unnecessarily. Plus I'll dig into why this James Talarico clip about him talking about veganism is more serious than past outlandish attempts to claim Democrats want to take away your brisket. Finally, I may have been more directly responsible for that verbal sparring at the airport between Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Greg Casar than I intended. Sorry, not sorry.
What else I'm reading
On the anniversary of her birth, it's a good day to remember the legacy of Minnie Fisher Cunningham, whose leadership in the suffragist movement secured women the right to vote in Texas in 1918, two years before the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote nationwide. Read more about the New Waverly native's legacy here through Humanities Texas, or check out my social media video on Facebook or Instagram.
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