Texas Democrat Senate hopeful James Talarico is once again leaning on theological theatrics, this time invoking Scripture to sell a big-government healthcare agenda that bears little resemblance to the Gospel he claims as his foundation.
According to RedState, Talarico posted a lengthy social media message on Sunday insisting that his policy platform rests on biblical grounds, using the life of Christ as a prop for his campaign talking points. He declared, When Jesus healed the sick, he didnt ask for a deductible. When he fed the hungry, he didnt price gouge for a profit. When the Hebrew prophets saw corruption, they spoke truth to power. When I take on this corrupt system, Im doing it on biblical grounds. He then doubled down: When Jesus healed the sick, he didnt ask for a deductible. So when I fight for universal healthcare, I'm doing it on biblical grounds.
Talarico continued the comparison by tying Christs feeding of the multitudes to his own welfare-state ambitions, saying, When Jesus fed the hungry, he didnt price gouge to turn a profit. So when I say that no child in the state of Texas should go to bed hungry, I'm doing it on biblical grounds. He also tried to wrap his political crusade in the mantle of Old Testament prophecy, adding, And when the Hebrew prophets saw corruption in high places, they spoke truth to power. So when I take on the politicians who are serving themselves and not the people, Im doing it on biblical grounds.
For many Texans of faith, the performance called to mind the famous rebuke from Sen. Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy. Applied here, the sentiment is unmistakable: Talarico, you are no Jesus. The contrast is stark Christ healed and fed through divine authority, not by confiscating taxpayers earnings or expanding federal bureaucracy.
When he healed the sick and fed the hungry, Jesus wasn't demanding more tax money from us to do it; he was exercising his power as the Son of God. When Jesus performed his miracles, he was not running for office or approving a political platform; he was working to bring us all closer to God.
That is why using Christs miracles as a campaign brochure for government-controlled healthcare is not merely clumsy but, as many critics noted, particularly gross. Scripture contains no endorsement of centralized, coercive healthcare schemes, and the attempt to equate the state with the Savior blurs a line that Christians should be eager to defend.
Jesus is not the government, and the government is not God, no matter how much progressive politicians might wish otherwise. Talaricos vision, like that of many Democrats, would empower the state at the expense of churches, families, and individual responsibility and experience shows such schemes tend to make everything worse, not better.
There is also the matter of Talaricos own confused theology, including his past claim that God is non-binary, which now sits awkwardly beside his repeated references to Jesus as he a bit of serious misgendering by his own ideological standards. For a self-described Christian who has said he hates Christianity, his attempt to lecture voters on what Jesus demands from public policy rings hollow.
Voters noticed, and Talarico was promptly ratioed online, with critics blasting the stunt as hypocritical and sacrilegious. One response captured the mood: And when Jesus preached to the crowds, he didnt ask for their votes. Youre a hypocrite, James.
Others were even more blunt, calling his rhetoric really obscene and posting Youre doing it wrong alongside his video. The backlash underscored a growing weariness with politicians who selectively weaponize faith while undermining its core teachings and institutions.
Beyond the rhetoric, Talaricos record hardly inspires confidence, as he has reportedly missed hundreds of votes and failed to fulfill basic duties in the state legislature. Texans who want competent governance, constitutional limits on federal power, and policies aligned with faith, family, and freedom have a clear alternative in conservative leaders like Ken Paxton and in this election, they should vote red to save the country.
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