Democrat Sweetheart Cozies Up To Anti-White Lawmaker In High Stakes Texas Senate Campaign
'The embrace of blatant racism is disgusting.'
'That's not what I say': Allie Beth Stuckey takes David French to task over 'toxic empathy' smear in rare interview
BlazeTV's Allie Beth Stuckey sat down with New York Times columnist David French in a rare, candid debate about the concept of "toxic empathy," which Stuckey wrote about in her book "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion."
'You are using the title of my book, and you called me the foremost architect of this concept of toxic empathy.'
Stuckey confronted French's mischaracterization of her views on empathy in his NYT op-eds, in which he argued that some Christians who align with President Donald Trump have waged a war on empathy.
"My issue is, really, we don't have enough empathy, that empathy needs to be more holistic," French said.
"In my view, one of our big problems is not enough empathy and, particularly amongst very partisan people, very selective empathy, so that 'only my ally's experience really matters,'" he continued.
French called it a "cultural phenomenon," particularly among parts of "MAGA Christianity," to dismiss empathy for human suffering as "toxic." He claimed instead that it is "incomplete" or "selective" empathy.
Stuckey contended that "selective empathy" that leads to "immoral decisions is a form of toxic empathy." She continued to press French on his articles.
"I tell both sides of the story. ... I'm actually doing what you say needs to be done, which is expanding compassion, but I don't end there. Because I think you would agree, we don't get anywhere if both sides are just saying, 'Well, my story's sadder. No, my story's sadder,'" Stuckey stated.
She argued that ending there "actually paralyzes you from making a good moral decision." She instead called for Christians to be thoughtful and consider both sides of the story, giving the example of illegal immigrants and victims like Laken Riley, a 22-year-old college student who was murdered by a foreign national who was in the U.S. illegally.
"We have to ask discerning questions: What is biblically true? What's morally true? What's politically true, logically true, historically true?" she added.
RELATED: David French catches flak for claiming Talarico, a pro-abortion Democrat, 'acts like a Christian'
During the exchange, Stuckey noted areas of apparent agreement, stating, "It doesn't really sound like you disagree with me here, but it did sound like you did in the articles."
"In 2025, you said, for example, 'If people respond to the foreign aid shutdown and the stop-work orders by talking about how children might suffer and die, then they're exhibiting toxic empathy,'" Stuckey said. "That's not what I say toxic empathy is."
"Well, it's absolutely what I see a lot in the public discussion," French responded.
"You are using the title of my book, and you called me the foremost architect of this concept of toxic empathy. But I don't say that toxic empathy is someone caring about children dying, and that's how you describe it in the article," Stuckey remarked.
"I'm not putting this all on you," French said. "One of the sad things that has occurred is this global, larger attack and talk about empathy has led to an immediate response when you talk about human suffering. I will see many Christians say, 'That's toxic empathy.'"
RELATED: Pro-life support plummets among churchgoers despite faith resurgence
During the interview, the two also discussed gender, abortion, French's defense of voting for Vice President Kamala Harris (D) in the 2024 presidential election, and his support for Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) in the upcoming Texas Senate election against either incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).
As part of his argument for voting for Harris over President Donald Trump, French cited the abortion rates under Trump's administration compared to those under former President Barack Obama.
French, who considers himself pro-life, told Stuckey, "The largest drop in abortions actually occurred during the eight years of the Obama administration." While he admitted that the rise in abortion rates under Trump is the result of multiple factors, he argued that the Republican president perpetuates a problematic culture of "libertinism" that "is incompatible with a pro-life ethic."
"Complex social phenomena typically don't have singular causes. ... We've been dealing with some culture changes that I think are really negative. ... America is a lot more libertine, and Donald Trump is a very libertine man. He does what he wants," French said.
Megan Basham, a journalist for the Daily Wire, reacted to Stuckey's interview with French, criticizing the columnist for his abortion-rate argument.
"Oh my gosh, that is such a ridiculous response. French had said something similar about Obama. He said that the abortion rate went down under Obama because Obama gave people hope. Absolutely idiotic. The truth was, red states enacted more restrictions under Obama and that what was what was bringing the abortion rate down. And French is too smart not to know that," Basham wrote. "So what does that make him?"
Kylee Griswold, the managing editor for the Federalist, added, "Additionally, abortion #s under Trump 2 can't be divorced from the Biden-Harris administration removing the in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone — which is how most abortions are performed. An egregious move that puts women at SERIOUS risk and also causes abortion in red states to SKYROCKET."
In a separate post, Mollie Hemingway, the editor in chief of the Federalist, wrote, "David French struggles and faceplants with his attempt to justify to @conservmillen why he endorsed Kamala Harris, given her lengthy track record of persecuting prolife Christians and journalists."
Not the Bee commended Stuckey for the debate.
"I love your way of confronting men like French. I'd say in this case, it would have made sense to bring up the fact that if you follow his logic, speaking to somebody about the Gospel could be equated to telling them an unkind truth. They are sinners. They are incapable of saving themselves, and they need Jesus. That's not 'kind.' But it's necessary. If you avoid unkind truths, you will never share the Gospel," Not the Bee wrote.
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James Talarico's dangerous rise to prominence
It’s not just James Talarico’s recent win against Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Texas) in the Democrat primary for Senate that has turned Talarico into one of the most talked-about politicians in the state.
After first being elected to the Texas House in 2018, he gained national attention when clips of his speeches went viral online — especially his opposition to legislation involving the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
“How did this person with all of these kooky beliefs rise to such prominence?” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey asks on “Relatable.”
“He was first elected as a Texas House representative in 2018 after he defeated Republican Cynthia Flores. And he rose to prominence a couple of years ago, when he went viral for his videos of speeches on the Texas House floor opposing the legislation to display the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms,” she explains, before playing a clip of Talarico explaining why he is against the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
“Forcing our religion onto Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and atheist students is not love. Forcing teachers to put up a poster in their classrooms against their wills is not love. Love does no harm to a neighbor,” Talarico said.
“I bet he would argue, though, that Christian teachers could be forced to call a child by the wrong preferred pronouns or could be forced to teach things about the acceptance of LGBTQ ideology even though it opposes their worldview,” Stuckey comments.
Stuckey also points out that in order to understand Western civilization or American history, children should be taught about Christianity.
“You can’t understand America without understanding Christianity, without knowing the Bible, without understanding the Ten Commandments,” she says. “So even just from a literary or historical educational perspective, displaying the Ten Commandments, I think, is really foundational in understanding the country that we live in.”
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Texas just got a preview of how Democrats take over
Last week, Democrats flipped a formerly red county blue in a special election in Texas Senate District 9, which covers part of Fort Worth and the neighboring suburbs of Keller and North Richland Hills. Taylor Rehmet, a young machinist with no political experience, beat Republican Leigh Wambsganss by more than 14 points.
Political commentator Bill King flagged the scale of the shift. He noted that Republican Kelly Hancock won the seat by 20 points in 2022 and that Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in the district by 17 points in 2024. A loss like this should worry Republicans heading into the midterms later this year.
In Texas and other red states, Republicans need to meet voters where they live.
So, what happened?
Some Republicans blame turnout. They argue the county hasn’t turned left; Democrats simply showed up and Republicans stayed home. On that theory, the result reflects motivation, not the district’s real preferences.
That explanation doesn’t hold.
A Republican candidate has the same opportunity to motivate voters as a Democrat. In a district with a large conservative majority, the Republican should enjoy a built-in advantage. She needs only a fraction of her base to turn out. The Democrat needs near-perfect performance from his side.
King also argues the result fits a broader trend. He says the numbers match polling over the last year and signal growing negativity toward Texas’ Republican leadership. Low turnout didn’t create the result so much as reveal it.
Rehmet’s win still doesn’t guarantee Democrats will take over Texas. But it does show a tactic that keeps working: Democrats run as generic moderates, keep the party label in the background, and dare Republicans to make the race about cultural signaling instead of daily life.
As writer Bill Scher noted in Washington Monthly, Rehmet didn’t “wrap himself in a Democratic flag.” Much like his counterparts in Virginia and New Jersey, he leaned on military service and blue-collar credibility. That presentation persuaded enough voters.
RELATED: This is what happens when a state elects a ‘moderate’ Democrat
That strategy works in the short term. It doesn’t last.
If and when he’s seated, Rehmet will vote as a Democrat. He will support open borders, softer law enforcement, higher spending, expanded abortion access, and the full suite of progressive social priorities. At best, he will block conservative reforms. At worst, he will push the same policies that Texans have seen wreck other places.
Voters in Tarrant County will learn the hard way what “affordability” talk usually delivers under Democratic rule: higher taxes, fewer opportunities, rising crime, and sanctimonious lectures about “reproductive rights,” all while public services strain under the load.
So, what does this election signal?
More Democrats will copy the Rehmet template. They will present themselves as normal, moderate, and practical. They will try to bait Republicans into fighting on secondary culture-war terrain instead of hammering a concrete agenda on costs, housing, and public safety. Wambsganss fell into that trap.
RELATED: Democrats are running as Bush-era Republicans — and winning
In Texas and other red states, Republicans need to meet voters where they live. Prices keep climbing, and housing tops the list. I live in this part of the state and see the pressure every day.
Massive in-migration from other states (particularly California and Illinois), along with continued inflows from abroad (especially from South Asia), has driven up prices and changed the character of communities fast. Many newcomers are decent people. The economic effect still hits hard: higher rents, higher home prices, heavier traffic, and more strain on schools, roads, and emergency services. Property taxes keep rising to cover it.
Republicans should say that plainly, then offer an agenda that meets the moment. They should outline feasible steps to lower costs, expand housing supply where it makes sense, reduce regulatory friction, and protect public safety.
They should also draw the contrast without flailing: Democratic governance has turned too many prosperous places into expensive, dysfunctional messes. Texans don’t need to import that model.
Voters in red states also need to stop falling for the same performance. Democrats haven’t changed. They’ve changed the packaging.
They will do to the Lone Star State what they did to the Golden State. They will do to Dallas-Forth Worth what their allies have done to New York City. Texans should treat this moment as a warning, not a fluke: Stay alert, see through the ruse, and vote like it matters — because it does.
A Texas political shock Republicans can’t ignore
Until Saturday night, Texas Senate District 9 had been represented by a Republican for over 30 years. In 2022, Kelly Hancock won the seat by 20 points. Last November, Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in the district by 17 points. So when Hancock stepped down to accept the appointment as controller, Republicans had little reason to think the seat would be in jeopardy.
But on Saturday, Democrat Taylor Rehmet trounced his Republican opponent by over 14 points — a 31-point swing since the 2024 election. The results have sent shock waves through the Texas Republican establishment.
For the last two decades, Republican leaders have governed the state to satisfy their base — pandering to the issues important to those voters and ignoring what most Texans wanted.
Some Republican pundits have discounted the results because it was a special election with a very low turnout. It is certainly true that the turnout in Saturday’s election was much lower than last November (15% versus 64%). But the results are consistent with polling over the last year, signaling that Texans have been turning increasingly negative on the Republican leadership of the state.
Over the last year, the University of Texas Polling Project has conducted seven polls asking voters whether they approved or disapproved of the job various state leaders were doing. Trump and all statewide Republican leaders began the year with positive approval ratings. By the end of the year, all were in negative territory. The average move downward was 24 points.
The crosstabs in the polls show that the groups who have turned most negative are independents, Latinos, and young people. Of course, there is considerable overlap between these because Latinos and young people eschew both parties at higher rates than other groups. Nonetheless, the moves within these groups in 2025 were breathtaking.
Even more startling is that Trump’s approval rating with Republicans dropped by 17 points (from 88% to 71%) — and this was before the debacle that has played out in Minnesota or his threat to invade Greenland. One political operative I spoke with, who closely followed the Tarrant County race, estimated that 15%-20% of Republicans voted for the Democrat candidate.
RELATED: Conservatives can’t barbecue their way through national collapse
I think the poll’s questions on what issues Texas voters are most concerned about are telling. The issues garnering the most response were “political corruption/leadership” (18%), inflation (16%), and the economy (14%). Another 67% said they were very concerned about the cost of health care. Two-thirds of Texans believe that Trump’s tariffs are leading to higher prices. Texans also disapprove of state leaders’ handling of abortion (-17), regulation of marijuana/THC (-20), and public education (-23).
Let me tell you what was not on the list at all: the danger that Sharia law would take over the state.
For the last two decades, Republican leaders have governed the state to satisfy their base — pandering to the issues important to those voters and ignoring what most Texans wanted. That was largely because independents, even though they frequently disagreed with the positions state leaders were taking, found Democrat candidates even farther outside their comfort zone.
But the Tarrant County results and the polling trends over the last year suggest Republican leaders may have gone so far that independents now view Democrats as the lesser of the two evils.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
Jasmine Crockett polling CRATERS as US nears 2026 midterm elections
Everyone’s favorite Democrat, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, is fighting for a Texas Senate seat — and while she once had a commanding lead — new polling shows that changing.
Just last month, an article from CBS News read, “A poll last month from Texas Southern University showed Crockett leading Talarico by eight percentage points, 51% to 43%, with 6% undecided. During a recent campaign stop in Fort Worth, Crockett told CBS News Texas, ‘I will always run like I’m behind. That’s the only way I know how to run. So let me tell you, if I’m not in D.C., I will be here in Texas fighting to earn every single vote that I can.”
“That’s our girl. Inspiring, an inspiring candidate, Jasmine Crockett. Now you might say, ‘Wait a minute. Isn’t she a crazy leftist? Why are you saying she’s our girl?’ Because I want her to win this primary so very badly. I want her to run in basically every race that I follow because she’s just absolutely fantastic,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere comments.
However Stu has terrible news for those who love Crockett as much as he does.
“I hope you’re sitting down. ‘Texas 2026 poll: Talarico leads Crockett for Democratic Senate nomination,’” Stu reads.
“This is crushing. It’s crushing. And look, it’s not over yet. Still got plenty of time here to turn this around, but I am a little nervous in that she was up eight last time. And now James Talarico 47%, Jasmine Crockett at 38%,” Stu says.
“Still 15% undecided though. That’s 15% that could go to our girl Jasmine Crockett. She is losing now and that’s a 17-point swing from the last time,” he continues.
“Of course, if people are hearing her speak and listening to her policies, well of course she’s going to lose. That’s unfair. We shouldn't be focusing on those things. That’s not what Jasmine’s here to do,” he says, adding, “Very disappointing. I’m disappointed in you Texas.”
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