State Rep. James Talarico is one of many impressive young Democrats who are running for office in 2026. Talarico is running to be the Democratic US Senate nominee in Texas.
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Talarico is a Democrat who is also a Christian who is attending seminary, and he had a great answer on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House when he was asked about our current moment in American politics.
Talarico said:
You know that in addition to being a lawmaker, I’m also a seminarian. And if you read the New Testament, Jesus doesn’t spend most of his time preaching or teaching or even praying. He spends most of his time healing the sick. Right now we have politicians in Congress with Christ follower in their Twitter bio, but they are kicking the sick off their healthcare.
We as lawmakers, especially those of us who proclaim. A devout faith have a special obligation to heal people, not make them sicker. I feel like we oftentimes sanitize this discussion about healthcare by talking about premiums and continuing resolutions, but a budget is a moral document. What happens to people when they can’t afford their health insurance?
Diabetics ration their insulin. Seniors skip their medications and ultimately people die. And that’s exactly what will happen if these Republican cuts are all passed. Uh, there’s an estimate that 51,000 Americans will die needlessly if all of these cuts go through.
That’s 51,000 flesh and blood human beings, that’s a, a moral crime and we have to do so much better. In this country, and, and again, this isn’t really just about policy, it’s not about politics. This is about morality and, and I think we need to talk more about that.
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The Republican Party has been transformed fully under Trump into a party that warps faith and uses the Bible to justify cruelty and harm.
Talarico echoed a statistic that has been used by many Democrats and allies to highlight the fact that this government shutdown isn’t about a policy debate related to healthcare, which is how people like JD Vance and Mike Johnson think of it.
The shutdown is about life and death for 50,000 Americans a year.
It might sound dramatic, but without the return of the ACA subsidies, people will die.
That is the part of the conversation that Republicans are trying not to have.
Talarico called out Republicans and exposed them as hypocrites, because if they were real followers of Christ, they would take care of the sick and restore the subsidies.
What do you think about Talarico’s comments? Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
