In his victory speech on November 3, after winning a U.S. Senate seat in the previously Republican-dominated state of Texas, Senator-elect James Talarico redefined the modern United States by recalling an older era when Americans worked together to defend their country against those who would take all its wealth and power for themselves.
asserted
who → win → themselves
His words were especially piercing in Texas, where billionaire Elon Musk spent at least $225 million in the midterm elections to keep the state government in the hands of Republicans.
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Musk → spend → Republicans
And yet, voters elected a Democratic governor, a Democratic lieutenant governor, a Democratic attorney general, and a Democratic state house anyway.
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voters → elect → governor
“We just took back Texas,” Talarico told the cheering crowd.
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Talarico → take → crowd
“We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas.
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money → prove → Texas
We just showed that a politics of division is no match for a politics of love.
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politics → show → love
And we just sent a message to every billionaire megadonor, every trillionaire megadonor, every corrupt defender of this broken political system in this state, in this country.
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we → send → country
Power belongs to the people.”
asserted
Power → belong → people
Leaning into his religious faith and his own history as a middle-school teacher of underprivileged students and as the son of a single mother, he told the crowd: “Scripture has taught me, my own life has taught me, always bet on the underdog.”
asserted
life → lean → underdog
“We were the underdogs in this race,” he said.
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he → say → race
“We went up against nearly 40 years of doubt and disillusionment.
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We → go → doubt
We went up against more than $300 million, more than any Senate campaign in American history.
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We → go → history
We went up against all the negative ads, smear campaigns, foreign bots, and AI deep fakes that money can buy.
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money → go → that
Those attacks were the final howls of a dying establishment, the death rattle of a status quo that knows its days are numbered.
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days → die → quo
“They played dirty because they were desperate.
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they → play → ?
But we never lost hope.
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we → lose → hope
We never lost faith.
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We → lose → faith
And against big money and long odds, we took our power back.
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we → take → power
“We built a movement unlike any this state has ever seen.
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state → build → any
We united Texans from all backgrounds and beliefs onto one team to take on this broken, corrupt political system: first time voters, three time Trump voters, working people from every corner of this state who are fed up and ready for change.
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who → unite → change
This win is for every underdog who’s been counted out and left behind.
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who → count → underdog
For every young person who’s trying to buy a home.
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who → try → home
For every parent who’s trying to put food on the table.
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who → try → table
“This win is for every Texan who’s ever wondered if anyone is listening.
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anyone → wonder → Texan
I heard you.
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I → hear → you
We heard you, and tonight the world hears you.”
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world → hear → you
Talarico identified the moment the nation is in as monumental.
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nation → identify → moment
“This win is not about the Democratic party or the Republican party,” he said.
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he → say → party
“It’s much bigger than that.
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It → ’ → that
Our economic system is broken.
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system → break → ?
Our political system is broken.
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system → break → ?
Even our relationships with each other feel broken.
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relationships → feel → other
That’s because the most powerful people in the world want it that way.”
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people → ’ → it
Talarico rooted his political beliefs in his belief in the commandments to “love God and love neighbor” and noted that “despite our differences, we all want the same things.
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we → root → things
A safe neighborhood, a good job, a high-quality, well-funded public school, and the ability to see a doctor when we need one.
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we → fund → one
“But the billionaires who own the social media algorithms, who own the cable news networks, who own the politicians fighting on our screens, they want us at each other’s throats.
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they → own → throats
They want us focused on how we’re different instead of on how we’re the same.
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we → want → ?
They want us looking left and right at each other instead of looking up at them.
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us → want → them
“The people at the top work so hard to keep us angry and divided because our unity is a threat to their wealth and their power,” he said.
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he → work → wealth
“We saw it in this race.
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We → see → race
…and 31 more, not listed.
The Aporia
