Living Transformed

It genuinely saddens me to see people lost in sin and self-deception. I have no joy in "owning" them or putting them down, nor do I believe this accomplishes anything good. OTOH, we cannot simply step back & never speak truth for fear of offense.

I would possibly vote for neither if I were in TX, but this is a good way of putting this.

@fire_starter457 Maybe neither are Christians? Talarico outright rejects basic & foundational aspects of Christianity. Paxton behavior, & lack of repentance, indicates he may be one neither.

Dear Texas evangelicals: If you think Ken Paxton is a better Christian than James Talarico, you have grievously misunderstood the gospel.

@ltbadpuppy @JennMGreenberg I corrected it the follow up... To me, someone being pro/anti Trump is irrelevant.

@B_Christs_Amb @JennMGreenberg Considering that one of the major factors in the primary was who Trump endorsed, wtf do you mean Trump is irrelevant....

Texans are facing an absolutely deplorable choice between Ken Paxton and James Talarico. Paxton was impeached in 2023 for unethical behavior, including accepting bribes and obstruction of justice. Before that, in 2015, he was indicted and arrested for fraud but managed to settle out of court to the tune of $300K (why that's allowed in criminal cases I have no idea). Over the past two decades he was exposed as a serial adulterer and his marriage ended in divorce. Talarico is a progressive radical; pro-abortion, pro-universal healthcare, wants to trans kids, wants to legalize marijuana, condemns Israel's "atrocities" and "war crimes" in Palestine, and justifies all this by lying about the Bible. He went so far as to suggest that the Angel gave Mary the option to abort Jesus, and claims that Jesus never asked us to worship him. The only thing good about Paxton is that he'll uphold conservative political talking points, at least in public while he's being watched. The only thing good about Talarico is that he's too young to have had any major scandals yet.

@ltbadpuppy @JennMGreenberg *to my

@ltbadpuppy @JennMGreenberg TBH, Trump is kind of irrelevant to political analysis. I simply do not evaluate people on the basis of being pro/anti Trump.

@ltbadpuppy @JennMGreenberg I don't live in TX & don't know Cornyn well (though I'm pretty sure that's untrue of his voting record). Regardless, if TX GOP wanted a more conservative option, they should have squeezed out Paxton immediately to make way for a more qualified conservative option.

@B_Christs_Amb @JennMGreenberg Just like you have to move on from your failed attempt to remove Paxton for a long proven establishment shill who votes more with the democrats than Trump

@APumpjack @EWErickson Or maybe neither are genuine Christians??? Talarico outright rejects the very basics of historic Christianity & simply adopts a Christian veneer for his secular progressivism. While I don't know Paxton's beliefs, I can say I haven't seen public repentance for his numerous sins.

@EWErickson Oh well since you’re so sure, wait until you get a look at Paxton!!

Erick: “don’t tempt me to vote for the actual Christian in this race!! He has a D next to his name!!!!!” Have a salad, Erick.

@ltbadpuppy @JennMGreenberg If you're talking about 2020 election, lol. Dems tilted the field, but Trump lost. There was never any merit to the cases otherwise. Gotta move on from that.

@B_Christs_Amb @JennMGreenberg Yeah and Barr was trusted by Trump to be his AG , that dude sat his fat ass on every single investigation that would prove Trump right. The same GOP that went out of their way to stab Trump in the back, are the same GOP telling me Paxton is bad because other republicans say so

@ltbadpuppy @JennMGreenberg The affairs are established. He was turned in by his own closest officials on the bribery charges, & 70+% of Repubs in the TX house chose to impeach him. And all you've got is "he's a victim of the machine!"

@JennMGreenberg Oh no a bunch of accusations from establishment candidates and left wing activists ! Where have I seen this before....maybe against every popular right wing canidates since 2000s

@Mnbl1992 @JennMGreenberg It was like 70% of the Republican in the house who chose to impeach him, not just a handful of moderates.

@JennMGreenberg I listened to the impeachment hearings and, by the way, he was not convicted. It was another example of establishment Republicans, working with Democrats to oust effective officials. Like Trump, Paxton has been the target of government weaponization.

@Texas__Bulldog @SouthernKeeks Oh yes, it should be totally irrelevant to me if he destroyed his family, so long as I get more policies I like. (Not to mention his other scandals) I'm not saying people should vote for Talarico, but this dismissal of personal morality is pathetic.

@B_Christs_Amb @SouthernKeeks He's not my husband and he fights for what I want, so I really don't care what his moral failings are. The left is filled with corrupt dirtbags including an actual Nazi, so spare me the pearl clutching.

I’ll be honest, and many of you will hate this, but neither Paxton nor Talarico would get my vote. Both are disqualifying for multiple reasons. Don’t beclown yourself and twist into ridiculous shapes trying to convince everyone your chosen disaster is somehow principled.

@SouthernKeeks Also, I may be reading it wrong, but it seems like some people almost see commiting deep moral failings, then continue to deny / be unrepentant towards them as a badge of honor that proves that you'll "fight".

@SouthernKeeks I don't know enough about Cornyn on policy, but my frustration is that: If you want someone more conservative than him, don't go with the man who has numerous & major moral and ethical failings. Paxton should never had the oxygen to be in the race.

@joshgivesup @HonestYPTweets The other condition under which I'd recommend abstaining is if you find yourself defending a candidate's bad actions simply because you'd prefer to see them win. However, it is also fair to be critical & call a "lesser evil" candidate "bad" & still vote for them.

@joshgivesup @HonestYPTweets I don't quite agree with you. Voting itself is a consequentialist choice- how will my vote bring the most good. This CAN look like abstaining, especially if the goal is get one party's attention that you won't vote for whomever they put up.

Christians have two options when voting. Either don’t vote because both candidates violate your conscience with their life, policies, or beliefs. OR Vote for the lesser or the two evils. Meaning the candidate whose life, policies, or beliefs align with yours.

@neeratanden Talarico is an even worse candidate in TX than Beto was, TBH.

Just a reminder, Beto only lost by 2

@JustinWStapley Paxton was going to beat Cornyn before the endorsement. I kind of feel like Trump put his finger in the wind on this one. Whether Paxton can win, IDK.

FYI, Talarico is going to represent Texas in the Senate until 2032. This was a big deal, and Trump and the voters that just do whatever he says handed Talarico this seat on a silver platter.

@InnocentEricson @EWErickson Erick multiple times has said TX should vote for Cornyn because of Paxton's multiple issues.

@EWErickson So Erick can I put you on record as supporting Ken Paxton’s adultery and him freeing a pedophile rapist from prison? You support and condone that behavior? That behavior show be put in the United States Senate?

When Edwin Edwards ran against David Duke, his campaign had a bumper sticker that read “vote for the crook, it’s important.“ Ken Paxton could have the same sticker against the trans weirdo.

@JohnWMcCarthy @jamestalarico He doesn't talk about faith with authenticity, he talks about faith subversively.

Tonight I keep hearing Republicans try to paint @jamestalarico as some kind of left-wing caricature. Good luck with that. He talks about faith and service with authenticity AND he has the kind of hopeful, aspirational tone people are starving for right now.

@jared_shult He doesn't actually respect Cornyn, he'd be attacking him now if he had won the primary. Talarico is simply courting leam-right moderated who voted for Cornyn & are put off by Paxton.

Here’s something Republicans will never understand: respect