Rusk County, TX Democratic Party

05/29/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18wJP4o2x3/

05/29/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HNwcv7ArT/

05/28/2026

The Great Depression was the disaster that exposed the lie of “let the market take care of everything.”

Banks failed. Jobs vanished. Families lost farms, homes, savings, and dignity. By the time Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933, nearly a quarter of the workforce was unemployed, and the banking system was in crisis.

Then came the New Deal.

Not socialism.

Not communism.

Not some foreign ideology.

It was the United States government stepping in because unregulated capitalism had failed millions of Americans.

The New Deal gave us reforms and protections that became part of the backbone of modern America: Social Security, banking reform, the FDIC, the SEC, public works jobs, rural electrification, and labor protections. The FDIC, for example, became a lasting protection for ordinary depositors after the banking disasters of the Depression.

So don’t fall for the socialism scarecrow.

Every time working people demand fair wages, safe workplaces, retirement security, healthcare, or basic protection from corporate greed, somebody starts screaming “socialism.”

They did it then.

They do it now.

But history is clear: the New Deal didn’t destroy America.

It helped save it.

05/27/2026

Who is James Talarico?
James Talarico is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate from Texas. He is a state representative, a former public school teacher, and a Presbyterian seminarian. He has built much of his public identity around public education, faith, ethics, democracy, and opposition to political corruption.
He is a progressive Democrat, but he does not fit the lazy stereotype Republicans often use. He talks openly about Christianity, not as a weapon against others, but as a moral call to serve neighbors, protect the vulnerable, and tell the truth.
That is exactly why Republicans are already trying to define him before voters get to know him.
Ken Paxton and MAGA Republicans are not going to describe Talarico as a teacher, seminarian, or thoughtful public servant. They are going to try to paint him as a “radical leftist,” weak on crime, weak on the border, anti-Texas, anti-Christian, and out of touch with “real Texans.” Paxton has already used mocking nicknames like “Tofu Talarico” and “Low-T Talarico,” while Republican allies are trying to portray him as dangerously progressive.
That is not an accident. It is a strategy.
When a candidate cannot run on integrity, he attacks character.
When he cannot defend his own record, he invents a cartoon version of his opponent.
When he is vulnerable on corruption, he changes the subject to culture war.
So here is the difference:
The real James Talarico is a Texas Democrat, former teacher, state representative, and person of faith running against Ken Paxton.
The Republican version of James Talarico will be a caricature designed to scare people.
Texas voters deserve to know the difference.

05/27/2026

05/24/2026

Message from the Chair
What does the Republican Party stand for today?
That is a serious question.
For years, Republicans told us they stood for limited government, personal freedom, fiscal responsibility, law and order, family values, moral character, and the Constitution.
But where are those values now?
Today’s Republican Party seems to have reduced itself to one overriding purpose: protect Donald Trump, excuse Donald Trump, defend Donald Trump, and attack anyone who tries to hold him accountable.
No matter what he says.
No matter what he does.
No matter how much damage he causes to our institutions, our democracy, or our sense of basic decency.
The party that once claimed to care about character now shrugs at cruelty, dishonesty, corruption, and abuse of power. The party that once claimed to support law and order now attacks judges, prosecutors, juries, law enforcement officials, and election workers whenever the law applies to their own side.
The party that once claimed to believe in personal freedom now wants government power used to force one narrow religious and cultural viewpoint onto everyone else.
And let’s be clear: protecting freedom does not mean forcing everyone to live the same way, worship the same way, love the same way, or believe the same things.
Freedom means your neighbor has the same rights you do.
Freedom means people have the right to live their lives, raise their families, make their own medical decisions, practice their own faith — or no faith — and love who they love, so long as they are not harming anyone else or taking away anyone else’s rights.
That is not “forcing liberal values” on anyone.
That is the Constitution.
That is America.
If someone else’s life does not restrict your life, then their freedom is not your oppression.
Somewhere along the way, today’s Republican Party lost sight of that. It has traded principle for power, morality for loyalty, and patriotism for obedience to one man.
And now, even on issues where Republicans once loudly demanded transparency, accountability, and moral judgment, they suddenly fall silent when accountability might reach someone on their own side.
That is not leadership.
That is moral surrender.
So where does that leave the rest of us?
It leaves us with responsibility.
If we believe in democracy, we have to defend it. If we believe in freedom, we have to protect it for everyone — not just people who look like us, think like us, worship like us, or vote like us.
Right now, the Democratic Party is the organized opposition to this movement. It is a big tent. Not everyone in it agrees on every issue, and that is okay. Democracy is supposed to be messy. It is supposed to include different voices, different priorities, and different life experiences.
Here in rural Texas, we also have to be honest about something else: many of us feel that the Democratic Party has not always paid enough attention to rural counties, small towns, and working-class communities like ours.
But the way we solve that is not by walking away.
The way we solve it is by making our voices heard.
If we want the Democratic Party to understand rural Texas, then rural Texans have to show up inside the Democratic Party. We have to be in the meetings, in the conversations, in the planning, and in the work. We have to speak up about the issues that matter here — healthcare, jobs, schools, roads, broadband, property taxes, veterans, working families, and the basic dignity of rural life.
A political party is not some faraway building in Austin or Washington. At its best, it is the people who show up and help shape it.
So if you feel ignored, don’t disappear.
Get involved.
Help us make sure rural Texas is heard.
If you want this country to move in a better direction, you cannot sit on the sidelines and hope someone else fixes it.
Show up.
Volunteer.
Talk to your neighbors.
Support local candidates.
Help rebuild democracy from the ground up.
The Republican Party has abandoned too many of the values it once claimed to hold. That means the rest of us have to stand up for the values that still matter: truth, freedom, fairness, decency, democracy, and equal rights under the law.
That work starts right here at home.