James Talarico is the Democrat running for the US Senate against Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. I most recently wrote about him here. Paxton is a Texas Republican, which is to say he’s respectably conservative. Talarico is a Texas Democrat, which is to say he’d be far better off running for a city council in California. In appearance, speech, and increasingly rapid backpedaling from his lifelong leftist positions, he’s the living embodiment of the proposition that there is no such thing as a moderate Democrat. Since he has been a member of the Texas House, there’s plenty on record from which to backpedal. 

Advertisement

“…during the 2023 debate over SB 14, provided exclusively to Breitbart News, show Talarico arguing against the bill he ultimately voted against. The legislation was described as “relating to prohibitions on the provision to certain children of procedures and treatments for gender transitioning, gender reassignment, or gender dysphoria and on the use of public money or public assistance to provide those procedures and treatments.”

Talarico asserted that “gender … is a spectrum,” echoing his earlier claim during a 2021 Texas House public education committee meeting that “modern science” recognizes “six” biological sexes.

Advertisement

He further stated, “Before this bill was filed, there was plenty of evidence that not treating extreme gender dysphoria can not only lead to suicide, but can lead to psychological and physical harm to a child, and since this bill is filed, the New England Journal of Medicine released a study of 350 young people with gender dysphoria who were receiving hormonal therapy, and it showed that that therapy reduced anxiety and depression … I’m asking us to follow that evidence, follow that science, and I’m disturbed that this body is not willing to let doctors make these decisions,” Talarico said.

Talarico added that doctors had a “moral obligation” under the “Hippocratic oath” to treat children’s gender dysphoria.

Advertisement

By that, he didn’t mean psychological treatment to alleviate their mental illness. That would be far too sane.

The Presbyterian seminarian and former teacher previously described denying children sex-change treatments as “child abuse.”

Advertisement

Many Texans, from their first look at Talarico, without hearing a word he’s said, have called him “creepy.” And then he opened his mouth:

Advertisement

Talarico has also backpedaled from his assertions that God is “non-binary,” and Jesus is a “radical feminist.” He bragged that his Texas House office was the first to “add pronouns to our official business cards,” supported men playing on women’s sports teams, and so much more. He’s the guy—in  Texas(?!)—who called women “neighbors with a uterus,” and said men pretending to be women need abortion care.

Most Texans would label that crazy.

Advertisement

His latest backpedal might just be his most spectacular and damaging. Sure, he was caught on video while wearing a paper medical mask, announcing his campaign was reducing meat consumption—in Texas(?!)--and would only deal with local vegan businesses, the better to fight existential Climate Change, and later tried to deny it. In his Dukakis tank moment, he had himself photographed uncomfortably gnawing on a huge chunk of barbecue while wearing a Texas flag shirt that obviously came right out of the package. It’s a wonder the price tag wasn’t still attached. But that’s small toast to Texans compared with supporting the mutilation of kids’ genitals.

Texas Democrat James Talarico recently said he opposes gender reassignment surgeries for minors, despite voting against Texas legislation banning certain gender-transition procedures and treatments for children and arguing that restrictions on treatment for extreme gender dysphoria could harm minors.

Talarico, now a Texas U.S. Senate candidate running against Attorney General Ken Paxton, made the comment during a recent podcast appearance, saying, “I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors.” 

There’s video of Talarico saying the opposite on the Texas House floor too.

I wasn’t born in Texas, but as the saying goes, got there as soon as I could. Having lived and taught there for two decades and traveled constantly in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex and the surrounding North Texas suburbs and rural areas, I can confidently predict that even though some Texans might not consider Paxton the perfect candidate, they certainly don’t see Talarico as representative of Texas or American values.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription. 

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.