Bet big on James Talarico

Look, James Talarico is still a long shot to win the U.S. Senate seat in Texas. Still, I agree with Jason Kyle Howard that Democrats should invest heavily in his race anyway. For one thing, it’s a covert way to win more House seats, by driving up turnout that will likely mean more down-ballot wins for Democrats. 

Also, there’s some evidence that a small but perhaps meaningful group of evangelical Christians, mostly women, is starting to feel queasy about things like ICE raids. They might not yet willing to defy their husbands, and the larger evangelical community, to vote for a politician who’s aligned with the Jesus of the Bible instead of MAGA Jesus. But Democrats will never find out if they don’t try.

The Christian right is driving the Iran war

The Iran war is a moral and international travesty, but what most political observers are struggling with, more than anything else, is the simple question of why. Trump has never truly been against war, as many of his supporters hoped, but he knew that myth was politically useful. But this war is too big and serious for even Fox News to spin it for people who believed his lies about being a “peace president.” 

Why would Trump do the one thing that is genuinely likely to divide his base, especially since he’s already lost so much support among people who voted for him but aren’t MAGA fanatics? Part of the answer has to do with the Christian right, which has been so instrumental in getting and keeping Trump in power. 

Trump’s pact with the Christian right has been simple: They give him power, and he gives them a chance to pursue their obsessions, whether it’s about banning abortion or undermining public education. His posture and tone of voice when he talks about this war is reminiscent of his behavior when he’s asked about those issues. You get the sense that he’s bored, but is offering payback to the people who got him what he wants, which is power and money. 

Many on the Christian right, like the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, do believe their prophecies that Israel's wars will bring about the biblical end times. I think Trump sees this primarily as a favor to them that’s meant to keep them onside, especially as the Epstein files are making it harder than ever for anyone to pretend he’s a devout and moral Christian. 

That said, there are lots of voices aligned with the Christian right who are skeptical of this war. They recognize that it’s unwinnable, and fear the likely political blowback. It will be interesting in the coming weeks to see which gang of theocrats prevails.

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Daylight saving is a symptom of larger political failures

Like many readers, I’m dragging ass this week. I’m a morning person, but even so, being forced to get up an hour earlier for the daylight saving time shift is really hard. And it’s also, crucially, utterly pointless. Any defense for changing the clocks twice a year is weak, especially compared to the extensive pain — and even death — caused by disrupting people’s circadian rhythms. Citing kids and school routes, for instance, doesn’t make sense when families suffer so much more by forcing kids to adjust their wake-up times. 

Instead of rehashing this, however, I’ll just note that most Americans want to stop changing the clocks. Polls show that 64% of Americans agree. It would be even more popular if implemented, because any poll like that comes with knee-jerk “fear of change” responses built in. In a functional political system, a law ending the time shift would have been passed already, with little muss or fuss. 

This isn’t a small thing. The fact Congress can’t get this one simple thing done is a symptom of deeper systematic failure. Inaction is easier than action. A handful of lobbyists, no matter how small an interest group they serve, matter more in D.C. than what most Americans want. That’s especially true if they’re providing an excuse for inaction, which is the preference of politicians who want to spend more time fundraising and less time legislating. 

This small issue helps us understand the widespread malaise infecting our political culture. Right or left, people see a D.C. establishment that is feckless, ineffective and out of touch. And they’re right. Congress can’t even do us the small favor of giving us our sleep back, even though it would be popular and basically cost-free. So of course it can’t deal with bigger problems.

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What we're reading this week

• “A Pro-Trump Billionaire Is About to Own CNN,” Dan Pfeiffer, Message Box

• “What Watching a Furious Hillary Clinton Showed Me,” Jessica Grose, New York Times

• “Choosing to Become a Single Mom by Choice,” Anna Louie Sussman, New York

• “He Gave His 14-Year-Old Son an AR-15. Now He’s Guilty of Murder. Good,” Austin Sarat, Slate

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