James Talarico has long praised and defended Texas drag performers.
Page A3From§Eachthe milkman edition — 16 September 2026
Down four points, Texas Republicans spend the week fact-checking Talarico's drag queen knowledge and love of European democracy.
“They're not losing to a guy who likes Europe too much, they're losing to a guy who's up four points in a state they used to own outright. When your best play against a four-point lead is "he liked a drag show and read a book about Denmark," that's not opposition research, that's panic with a press release attached. Come November that panic's either something you laugh about or something you live with, depending who's actually running the state.”
“Look, this is simple: a Democrat telling Texans to be more like Europe is disqualifying, full stop — voters don't want a Brussels bureaucrat, they want someone who understands Texas culture, which is exactly why the drag queen answer is also disqualifying, because he's too plugged into — wait. Those can't both be the problem. Forget I said that. He's un-American and also suspiciously in touch. Next question.”
The receipts
James Talarico said Americans should look to Western Europe for democratic inspiration in a resurfaced clip that drew a blunt response from Elon Musk.
· Talarico leads Paxton in Texas by 4 points: Poll from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Vance takes aim at Talarico in Texas convention speech from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· James Talarico lies about his ‘new’ position on transgenderism from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· James Talarico needles Ken Paxton amid GOP midterm convention from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.