Talarico can't rebrand his progressive politics with barbecue | Opinion

You can learn a lot about a political campaign from the photos it chooses to post. The Democratic Party and Texas Rep. James Talarico's team chose barbecue. In the Lone Star State, where barbecue is practically a civic religion, that choice wasn't accidental.

On May 27, the day after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican runoff, the Democratic Party's social media account shared a photo of Talarico wearing a Texas flag shirt and eagerly devouring what appeared to be a barbecue-basted turkey leg. Talarico looked chummy, relatable, even ordinary. But the photo wasn't really about barbecue. It was about rebranding Talarico as a Texas everyman.

The problem is that Talarico's record tells a different story.

His recent move toward the center looks less like a genuine change of heart than a political calculation. Many of his past comments and progressive positions are out of step with the values of most Texans, and trying to walk them back now comes across as calculated rather than sincere.

Texas knows the real James Talarico

The Democratic Party posted that barbecue photo for a reason. Talarico has already taken heat for previously embracing veganism. During a 2022 fundraiser supporting animal welfare legislation, he proudly announced that his campaign had gone vegan.

"I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign. We are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses," Talarico said.

Democrats can try to repackage his image, but veganism isn't the biggest hurdle. In a speech about reclaiming American symbols, he made comments that struck many as dismissive of traditional patriotism.

"The American flag is such a complicated symbol for most of us. In many ways, like Jesus, like the cross, it's been coopted and in some ways its true meaning has been betrayed," Talarico said.

I'm sorry, what?

He has also taken aim at the economic system that has helped make Texas one of the fastest-growing states in the country.

On Sept. 9, Talarico said, "Billionaires have taken over Texas and taken over America ‒ but together, we can take power back for working people."

That's a strange message in a state that has attracted companies, jobs and investment from across the country. Texas is home to dozens of billionaires whose businesses help drive the economy that Talarico himself benefits from.

The Texas lawmaker supports abortion, too. That's hardly unusual for a Democrat. What is unusual is the way he uses Scripture to defend that position.

During an appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" on July 18, Talarico pointed to the story of Mary and the angel Gabriel as evidence that consent is central to creation itself: "The angel comes down and asks Mary if this is something she wants to do. And she says, if it is God's will let it be done. ... To me, that is an affirmation in one of our central stories, that creation has to be done with consent."

Many Christians, especially pro-life Christians, would find that interpretation astonishing.

Talarico embraces abortion, a policy the left often frames as pro-woman. But he isn't pro-woman enough to call women "women."

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Talarico said, "Every one of our neighbors with a uterus became the property of the state. And nothing, nothing, is more un-Christian than that."

In 2020, Talarico posted what read like an apology for being White on X: "White skin gives me and every white American immunity from the virus. But we spread it wherever we go ‒ through our words, our actions, and our systems. We don't have to be showing symptoms ‒ like a white hood or a Confederate flag ‒ to be contagious."

Taken together, these comments don't sound like the views of a moderate Democrat. They sound like the views of a conventional progressive activist.

If Texans come to see Talarico that way, his barbecue-and-blue-jeans rebrand may not get very far. Texas remains a state full of voters who are pro-life, pro-woman, pro-capitalism and skeptical of progressive identity politics.

Talarico is following Beto's playbook

Talarico is a seasoned politician, so he hasn't run from these comments. Instead, he's tried to soften them.

In a May 27 interview with CBS News, Talarico said his remark that "God is nonbinary" was meant to be "intentionally provocative" and acknowledged that some of his comments had "missed the mark."

"There are some statements that I've made that I certainly regret," he said.

He struck a similar note at a Houston campaign stop the following day.

"They're going to throw everything they've got at us. They've already called me a radical leftist. They've already called me a fake Christian. They've even called me a vegan. And those are fighting words in the state of Texas," Talarico told an enthusiastic crowd. "You know, I'm an eighth-generation Texan. I've been eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton's first indictment."

It's a great line, I'll give him that.

But Texas Democrats have tried this before. I remember watching Robert "Beto" O'Rourke run against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, launch a presidential campaign and then challenge Gov. Greg Abbott. Each campaign featured a familiar pitch: Don't focus on the progressive positions. Focus on the personality.

Talarico's effort to make his liberal record seem less liberal reminds me of O'Rourke, though he lacks O'Rourke's natural charisma. Like O'Rourke, he's betting Texans will overlook the comments and positions that could alienate swing voters and focus instead on his biography and personal appeal.

That didn't work for O'Rourke. Voters ultimately looked past the media excitement and judged him on his record and ideas. They rejected him three times.

Talarico appears to be following the same playbook without learning the lesson of those losses.

Talarico is running to represent a state that Trump carried by roughly 1.5 million votes in the 2024 presidential election. That reality helps explain the sudden emphasis on barbecue, faith and Texas roots. But rebranding only works if voters believe it.

In a podcast interview with Rick Wilson of "The Lincoln Project," Talarico explained his philosophy of political communication this way: "My two rules are be yourself and tell the truth."

That's good advice. But Texans already know who Talarico is and what he believes. No amount of rebranding will change that.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.