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[–] 25 points 6 days ago (54 children)

Disappointing that he doesn't also want to be a senator for trans people

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  • [–] 17 points 6 days ago (3 children)

    The Overton window can be shifted left too! I know it sucks but I'm hopeful we can work it so that ALL people are afforded the same rights eventually... Too bad the bar for "good" candidates in Texas is in hell...

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  • [–] 11 points 6 days ago* (2 children)

    Yeah speaking of disappointment, it's disappointing when leftists see rightists and say "Oh no, they're shifting the Overton window right! I'd better disconnect entirely from the political process so they can do so unimpeded!"

    Assuming - of course - they're speaking in good faith and not just trolling to corrupt our democracy.

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  • [–] 79 points 6 days ago (24 children)

    So disappointing considering Paxton has a strong track record as a trans ally

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  • [+] -22 points 6 days ago (20 children)

    Thanks for telling me, a trans person, how I should feel.

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  • [–] 66 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (6 children)

    If that's how you interpret my comment that's on you. I feel Talarico will do more for marginalized communities than anyone TX had on the ballot in 50+ years.

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  • [–] 27 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (4 children)

    You've misinterpreted 2/2 of their comments and misinterpreted Talarico's beliefs about trans people.

    Editing your comment to add twice the content as well as chants we both agree with in massive font does absolutely nothing to contribute to this discussion and distracts from what you said.

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  • [–] -5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

    He won the primary by being an unapologetic ally, and then decided it was a losing strategy.

    It's the same shit CEOs and bad management throw QA, IT, low level programmers, nurses, teachers, or any other frontline workers under the fucking bus. I see right through it, and object to it.

    Trans Rights Are Worker's Rights

    Trans Rights Are Indigenous Rights

    Trans Rights Are Minority's Rights

    Trans Rights Are Women's Rights

    Trans Rights Are Human Rights

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  • [–] 17 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 child)

    Most Democrats in contested areas are actively disconnecting from engaging in Culture War talking points.

    One can quietly support and vote for trans rights while not openly engaging in arguments about trans people which scare off moderates/fence-sitters/"I'd vote for that Democrat because Trump is terrible, but I'm afraid of trans people" types.


    FYI to the user who replied to me below, I blocked you a while back when you were doing a bunch of bad faith arguments. I can't recall if you were one of the people straw-manning western liberals or one of the ones that tagged in to start the name-calling sideshow.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 days ago

    If the best defense you can make about a person is that they're lying to the voters, then how can we know if their real stance is actually better and not worse? How do you know that you're not the one being deceived as opposed to the "moderates" and "fence sitters?"

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  • [–] 18 points 6 days ago (11 children)
  • [–] -1 points 6 days ago (10 children)

    Am I not allowed to be disappointed in a candidate? Is the only option unrestrained enthusiasm for a candidate that isn't interested in protecting my rights?

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  • [–] 20 points 6 days ago* (8 children)

    You can be what ever you want, but trump might not be in office right now if the same thing wasn’t going on with people condemning Harris for not being anti Israel, loudly, when there were only two options left.

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  • [+] -6 points 6 days ago (6 children)

    So we just have to keep ceding human rights to fascists until the marginally less fascist party wins?

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  • [–] 7 points 6 days ago (4 children)

    In the american system, yes. Do that and pray it works out, since the only other option you have is get one of those bajillion guns and do a revolution thingy.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 days ago* (2 children)

    Trans people are not Russian bots because we care about our rights being stripped or being insulted to our faces by our representatives.

    It’s gone from restrooms and sports to denying federal funding for our healthcare. Each one of these concessions to anti-trans Dems has only seen escalation in their attacks on us.

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  • [–] 34 points 6 days ago (4 children)

    He almost certainly will be. He's got a long record of being an ally. We can debate the morality of empty grandstanding to win an election, but whether or not he'll be better for trans people than Paxton is beyond debate.

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  • [+] -10 points 6 days ago (3 children)

    He's on record being against trans people. The subtext is "trans people are a threat to normal girls and shouldn't be allowed to play if they're going to win"

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  • [–] 29 points 6 days ago* (2 children)

    That clip is exactly what I was referring to as empty grandstanding. He has a long track record of being an ally during the primary and before seeking the senate position at all, and the subtext you're alleging is not borne out by the totality of what he's said.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 days ago (1 child)

    So he won the primary by being an unapologetic ally, and then thought it was a losing strategy?

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  • [–] 13 points 6 days ago

    In Texas, he's probably right. There are no Republicans in the Democratic primary afterall, and there are definitely more Republicans in Texas.

    He has to overcome their lifelong soul seared hatred of Democrats and every bit of poison that is crammed into their eyes and ears 24/7. Like sure, he has reality on his side, but he's still fighting an extremely uphill battle.

    I honestly don't feel that hopeful for him.

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  • [–] 31 points 6 days ago (17 children)

    It's true. A Texas born and raised liberal Christian doesn't 100% match the dream liberal candidate.

    pikacu face

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  • [–] 12 points 6 days ago (15 children)

    Don't need a perfect candidate, just someone willing to defend human rights.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago (14 children)

    So what bad policy could Talarico have where you'd still support him?

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  • [–] 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (13 children)

    All he would have needed to do was object to the fox news question by asking them to define what they meant by biological men. Because there are XX male and XY female phenotypes. There are people with born with both sets of genitals, and operated on to "normalize". There are Y chromosome polysomies, affecting their secondary sex chararistics.

    They wanna talk about biology, then they better fucking talk about whole god damn thing.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 days ago (12 children)

    Nice try at deflection, not what I asked at all. Since you're already going for such underhanded tactics I'm not going to entertain this discussion anymore. I asked what bad policy he could have because I question your statement about not wanting a perfect candidate, just one that defends human rights. Because I think you're going to have a hard time coming up with a bad policy that also isn't infringing on human rights. Which means you actually do want him to be a perfect candidate.

    Personally I don't see a big deal with him not publicly supporting trans people considering the state he's running in. Being openly pro-trans in a deeply anti-trans state means you're not going to have any shot at doing anything good. Just look at how much he got attacked for saying God is non-binary, something that Catholic church (in a different wording) agrees with. And from what I've gathered he's not anti-trans, he's simply publicly not pro trans because that would be a political suicide in Texas. And if your issue with him is that he's not publicly pro trans then you actually do expect him to be a perfect candidate.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 days ago* (11 children)

    He's billing himself as an advocate for queer rights. Well it's not Lesbian Rights, Gay Rights, Bisexual Rights, Trans Rights, Queer Rights, etc., it's LGBTQ+ Rights.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 days ago (9 children)

    An ally wouldn't throw trans people under the bus.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 days ago* (8 children)

    I wonder who I believe more? A pro-LGBTQ site stating he's an ally or some rando who acts like a bad actor claiming he's not.

    I think I'll stick to you're full of shit and I don't believe what you've said.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 days ago (7 children)

    Cute fallacy. Haven't seen Appeal to Authority from a leftist space in a little while

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  • [–] 0 points 6 days ago (6 children)

    Another play from the bad actor playbook. Keep going, continue proving you're a bad actor.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 days ago (5 children)

    Then tell me why a news outlet appealing to a demographic is more authoritative than a literal, actual person from the demographic.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago* (4 children)

    Because if you had bothered to open that article you would've noticed they cite examples of why they come to that conclusion. You on the other hand have offered nothing except a single video (forgot to add, from the same authoritative site) you deliberately interpret in a way that suits your opinion. If nothing else you've proven you're clearly biased, they haven't.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 days ago (3 children)

    So I’ve read all that, and all I can see is a man who has changed and abandoned us.

    “Trans people deserve dignity and equality, those are certainly principles and values that I still hold, and that stem directly from my faith.”

    Insulting us, and banning us from sports is exactly what he claimed to be against.

    When someone tells you who they are, you listen. Maybe he had a stroke, maybe he believes he can win if he sacrifices us, either way I cannot support it.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago (2 children)

    Insulting us, and banning us from sports is exactly what he claimed to be against.

    I keep seeing this being brought up and not a single time do I see anyone actually citing where he's done that.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 days ago (1 child)

    My bad, looking into it he wasn’t one of the ones calling us “biological men” must be getting mixed up with Andrew’s or Kaptur who said that during the same week.

    “Every sport has to be safe and fair,” Talarico said on Fox News. “As a former public school teacher, I care a lot about our student athletes, I care a lot about our students. And so I will oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it risks safety or fairness.”

    “There are going to be rules where sometimes it’s not allowed. That’s actually how you solve a public policy problem with love for trans folks but also for our athletes, who need a fair shot at competition.”

    He does cede to bullshit transphobic talking points on sports however. Weasel words about safety or fairness don’t change the underlying message.

    Why couldn’t we still have the 2021 Talarico out there, instead of the more conservative 2026 model.

    “Some things are more important than perfectly fair competition in sports,” Talarico said in 2021.

    https://www.texastribune.org/2026/09/09/james-talarico-trans-sports-reversal-lgbtq-rights-texas-us-senate-race/

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago

    Why couldn’t we still have the 2021 Talarico out there, instead of the more conservative 2026 model.

    I've already addressed this.

    Being openly pro-trans in a deeply anti-trans state means you’re not going to have any shot at doing anything good.

    And to go back to the root of this thread, what you're wanting is him to be the perfect candidate instead of a viable candidate. He can either be a perfect candidate and have no shot or give some concessions and have a shot to actually do something good.

    Also the concession in question isn't even that bad of a concession. You view it through the lens that only the first part of the sentence matters and the rest doesn't. If you look at it as a whole what he's actually saying is that he doesn't oppose trans athletes UNLESS someone proves it risks safety or fairness of the sport. From my point of view he's approaching the same issue from the perspective of the conservatives to get them to agree with him.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 days ago (1 child)
  • [–] 2 points 6 days ago*

    An ally with nuance. Probably the best ally I've seen of a politician whose main personality trait is his religion.

    I'd probably give him a B or C. Which I don't believe is high enough to be offended* at members of the LGBT community's decision not to vote for him. Even if I personally think he would generally be a yes vote for senators that have great track records on supporting lgbt folk. I believe Talarico has an ability to learn and agree to pass more "controversial" bills unlike someone like Gavin Newsom

    *to be clear, I have no right to be offended even if they a 100

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