Another Bush Boards the Talarico Train, Delivers Lecture on Character, Saving Our Democracy
“My vote was motivated by two things: deep concern about Ken Paxton’s record and genuine admiration for the character and principles I see in James Talarico.”
Last week, it was widely reported that Barbara Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, had donated $2,500 to Lone Star Rising PAC, which supports Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico. The news wasn’t all that surprising. After all, she campaigned in Pennsylvania for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 and spoke at a Planned Parenthood rally in 2017 in support of reproductive rights.
The animosity between President Donald Trump and the Bush family, which began with Trump’s attacks on Jeb Bush during the 2016 Republican presidential primary, is well known.
Barbara Bush is backing a Democrat in Texas, adding a new twist to her family's complicated history with President Trump.
The daughter of former President George W. Bush donated $2,500 to Lone Star Rising PAC, which supports Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico's bid to… pic.twitter.com/yCeUfKyTMk
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 20, 2026
On Saturday, it was reported that Neil Bush, the former president’s brother, had voted for Talarico. But the bigger story was the lengthy endorsement he had posted on Facebook earlier in the week, explaining his decision, which began:
“I have never posted a political message on Facebook not wanting to offend friends whose views may be very different than mine. I’m breaking that tradition because I voted early today, and I voted for James Talarico for the United States Senate.
My vote was motivated by two things: deep concern about Ken Paxton’s record and genuine admiration for the character and principles I see in James Talarico.”
Bush wrote that he has been “deeply troubled by [Republican Senate candidate Ken] Paxton’s conduct as Texas Attorney General, particularly his decision to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election … to help Donald Trump remain in power.”
He sees that “effort as an affront to our democratic institutions and the peaceful transfer of power.”
“I believe Donald Trump and those who have enabled him have done enormous damage to the Republican Party. I worry about a political culture in which loyalty to an individual takes precedence over loyalty to principle, and where those who hold power begin to believe they are no longer accountable.”
Then Bush lavished so much praise on Talarico, whom he’s never met, that I was almost embarrassed for him.
“I have been enormously impressed by the way he approaches complicated and controversial issues. He speaks with respect, seeks common ground, and seems genuinely interested in bringing people together rather than driving them apart. His faith appears to be a deeply rooted source of humility, compassion, and conviction rather than a political weapon.
I see in him the qualities I admire most in public servants: integrity, civility, humility, and a willingness to listen to those with whom he disagrees. My impression is that he is a principled, pragmatic leader who understands that public office is a responsibility to serve, not an entitlement to power.”
He explained that while he’s been a Republican for most of his life,
“Character matters more than party affiliation. Our democracy depends on leaders who respect our institutions, tell the truth, accept accountability, and seek to unite rather than divide.
Today, I voted against a style of politics that I believe has damaged our country. More importantly, I voted for the kind of character and leadership I hope will help heal it.”
I wonder if Neil Bush thinks that packing the Supreme Court will help heal our country. Below, Talarico tells a Fox News reporter he is “open to a discussion about expanding the number of justices.”
Fox News’ Brooke Taylor: “If you win this, should our voters expect you to vote for or against adding Supreme Court Justices more than 9?”
Texas Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate James Talarico: “The Supreme Court needs to be overhauled… I WILL vote for overhauls to the Supreme… pic.twitter.com/BpdSJ5yqwe
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) September 9, 2026
Does Bush support Medicare for All, an entitlement that the White House projects would cost the U.S. $47.4 trillion over the next decade? In a recent interview with Fox News, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) pointed out that 16 states currently have Democratic trifectas, meaning the party controls the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. The reason none of these states have adopted Medicare for All, he said, is, “because every state that’s looked at it realized it would bankrupt the state and destroy their health care system.”
How does Bush feel about rolling out the welcome mat at our southern border for foreigners, then asking American taxpayers to foot the bill for their health care?
Bush notes that Talarico’s faith “appears to be a deeply rooted source of humility, compassion, and conviction rather than a political weapon.” I would argue that Talarico uses “his faith” to justify his political positions. At a recent town hall, he claimed the Bible is silent on abortion. The voter he was speaking to wisely replied that was not true. She cited one of the Ten Commandments, “Thou Shall Not Kill.”
Does Bush agree that “God is nonbinary” and Jesus Christ is a “radical feminist”?
Is he a big supporter of transgender rights? Does he think it’s okay for biological men to compete against women in sports?
Talarico once bragged about being one of the most progressive members of the Texas House.
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) summed up the Democratic candidate perfectly in a March post on X, “Texans should not be fooled. Talarico might not have BLUE HAIR, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a full-on RADICAL LEFTIST!!”
Bush noted that he “worries about a political culture in which loyalty to an individual takes precedence over loyalty to principle.”
But isn’t Bush putting loyalty to his brother Jeb (and the decade-long family grudge that followed) ahead of what’s best for Texas, and indeed, the nation?
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Comments
I never thought I would advocate for putting members of the Bush family in GitMo.
I think a lot of us were taken because the father was on Reagan’s ticket.
For years we felt they were a good American family but the truth is they’re nothing but a bunch of wealthy scumbags who think like the democrats.
True. The family has always been part of the Patrician New England big government elite.
The man who dubbed Ronald Reagan’s economic proposals “voodoo economics” was George H. W. Bush.
George H Bush, former CIA traitor, like Slutkin.
I keep telling people that the “Intelligence Community” IS the Deep State, but I still don’t think they’re convinced yet.
What’s your evidence that he was ever CIA, other than a brief stint as an outside director?
What’s your evidence that Booth was ever an assassin, other than that Lincoln thing?
Huh? “That Lincoln thing” is what made him an assassin, whereas a stint as CIA Director does not make someone CIA. Presidents, especially Republican ones, often appoint directors precisely because they’re not CIA.
You need to familiarize yourself with the phrase: “demonstrating absurdity (your pedantic and juvenile comments and posts) by being absurd” (the replies to your pedantic and juvenile comments and posts) brought to us by the late, great Rush Limbaugh.
You need to familiarize yourself with basic logic and common sense.
Booth was an assassin because he assassinated someone. That’s what makes someone an assassin. Serving as CIA director, particularly for a short stint, does not make someone CIA. As far as I know the idea that Bush Sr was CIA is a leftist myth without even the slightest shred of evidence to back it up.
Talarico’s CHARACTER? He’s a freak with a host of weird fetishes.
She’s always been a lefty. Can we stop listening to people related to former Presidents? She grew up in a bubble and isn’t the sharpest crayon in the Bush box.
Last week I watched a part of a video where Chelsea Clinton extols the spiritual virtues of cannibalism. I thought it was probably a fake, but I’m not going on the record either way.
I voted for GWB TWICE! He is the reason we have to accept mooslimes/islam as a religion of peace! The entire Bush clan is still butthurt because DJT ousted !jeb! in 2016!
My daddy was president. My big brother was president. Now it’s my turn, right mama?
Neil Bush has always been an entitled, scumbag mediocrity. The alleged “oil man” in Denver never found a drop of oil to my knowledge. He was up to his eyeballs in the Silverado Savings and Loan scandal, which was entangled with the Keating Five fiasco, IIRC. He skated with no consequences due to his family connections. Imagine a Jeb Bush of far less consequence. Pitiful loser. I fart in your general direction.
JEB never had a chance only eight years out from the pariah W.
It’s no accident they refer to our Republic as a ‘democracy’
Let’s label them targets of opportunity for the next civil war…
The founders repeatedly referred to our republic as a democracy.
But the Founders knew it to be a republic.
They knew it to be both. They repeatedly used each term, and saw no contradiction. The idea that it’s one and not the other has no basis.
If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote. It may clog the administration, it may convulse the society; but it will be unable to execute and mask its violence under the forms of the Constitution. When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens. To secure the public good and private rights against the danger of such a faction, and at the same time to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government, is then the great object to which our inquiries are directed. Let me add that it is the great desideratum by which this form of government can be rescued from the opprobrium under which it has so long labored, and be recommended to the esteem and adoption of mankind.
Specious reply. I know you know the huge difference between a democracy and a republic. This is not something to be cute about.
To the extent that the US has become more of a democracy than a republic, our country has become weaker and more dangerous.
I’m not being “cute”. The USA was always intended to be a democratic republic. The idea that these are contradictory ideas is completely false and destructive.
OMG, I never thought I would agree with something you wrote, Milhouse. But , yes, that is 100% correct.
Thing is when Democrats say “democracy”, they mean authoritarian rule with them in charge and mob rule by their sycophants.
We are a republic based on democratic principles. France fancies itself a democracy, and look what that has gotten them.
Yet they specifically avoided creating a democracy.
No, they did not. They specifically created both, and said so.
The US Is Both a Republic and a Democracy Eugene Volokh, Jan-19-2022
Perhaps you’d cite a few examples of them doing that.
See Volokh’s article that I linked. You surely do not dispute his expertise on the matter.
Faith is a side-effect, not a cause, of good character. So he’s got it backwards.
Neither that nor its inverse statement is “even wrong.”
Faith-based groups invent moral codes in the guise of “revealed truths.”. When these moral codes achieve social consensus, they define what that society recognizes as “good character.” Judah bedded his brother’s widow because that was the duty of a good man; Hunter did as well, but society no longer recognizes it as the action of a good man.
One can belong to a faith without obeying its moral code (see Biden and Pelosi) and not be of good character. One can honor a particular moral code as beneficial and follow it despite not belonging to its faith (see Paine and Jefferson), and be of good character.
I worry about a political culture in which antipathy to an individual takes precedence over loyalty to principle. I don’t like Trump; I never have. I didn’t vote for him in 2016, because I didn’t trust him to have truly abandoned his past as a liberal Democrat and the Clintons’ BFF, and expected that if he won he would bring the Clintons into his administration. But that didn’t happen. For whatever reason, he did a relatively good job in his first term, at least as good a job as circumstances allowed him to do, so I did vote for him in 2020, and again in 2024, and despite not agreeing with everything he’s done in this term I’m still overall happy with his performance. I think he’ll go down in history as one of our better presidents, despite all his many flaws. Supporting Democrats over him strikes me as allowing antipathy to take precedence over principle.
That’s one of the best posts you’ve made in years.
Two thumbs up!
“I worry about a political culture in which antipathy to an individual takes precedence over loyalty to principle.”
Nice. Bang on.
I’d add to it: “…over loyalty to principle, or consideration of outcome.” The reason is principle, however clear, doesn’t always reach to a prescription in the really real world. (Some of our math-y folks hereabouts may have a succinct elaboration. Mine becomes a novella.)
I do wonder how much the Bushies are also bothered by the wrong kind of people making the wrong kind or progress. Their bass boats n beers are so gauche.
Wow…where did that little bit of refreshing normality and real world common sense come from? You are either on…or off…the meds/booze/hash?
Usually you argue on the side of those who are destroying our Representative Republic (we are NOT a democracy, no matter what you say that someone else said).
The modern democrat party loves to virtue signal about how they support “democracy” and now we’ve got a “democrat socialist” movement which is all about wealth confiscation, the destruction of small businesses and the middle class, and big government control…which means totalitarianism and authoritarianism, which are light years from “democracy.”
Please step out of character again…don’t be pedantic about the word “democracy.” You can say it: America was founded as a Constitutional and Representative Republic.
I always argue on the side of truth and conservative principles, without regard for whose ox is gored. You have just clearly shown, once again, that you don’t even understand the concept of objective truth. For you it is always and only a matter of whose ox is gored, and you can’t even imagine that everyone else isn’t like that. That decent people aren’t like that. Go to Hell.
RINOs just keep giving me more reasons to vote for Paxton!
Maybe the Bush endorsements will be the kiss of death for Tallys campaign.
Hope springs….
Hope floats
Vote for? This news is the first good reason I’ve had to send Paxton a check tonight, like he’s been begging me to do for two months.
There’s a reason the Old Testament spent so many column inches talking about burning Bushes.
Sure why wouldn’t the same family of ‘compassionate conservatives’ who worked to create the WTO and NAFTA bring the ChiCom into ‘international financial community’ oversaw the outsourcing of jobs and ravaged middle class prosperity all the while pushing for more open borders to include creating the dang H1B visa also support the faux christian twinkerbell, socialist? Its totally on brand for the Bush Family and their neocon, establishment allies, advocates and supporters.
‘Does this guy realize he’s a Bush? In politics?
I’m proud I protested bush at his ranch in Waco with Cindy Sheehan
This endorsement confirms everything we already knew about the imp. He is an irredeemable, worthless self-serving, incompetent piece of garbage that should be kept as far away from public office as possible. Texas, you know what to do.
Oops. I forgot to add “UnAmerican” to the list of the imp’s good side above
“Islam is a religion of peace.” – GWB
“And love,” added Condoleezza.
Wisdom from the guy who gave us the so-called Patriot Act. Kids obviously are no brighter.
The Bush family’s “compassionate conservativism” was always Democrat policies plus Christianity.
Now, here they are openly supporting a Heretic.
Talarico’s fervent religious beliefs are all anti-Christian. He’s basically a cult leader.
Their support for him is really more about opposition to Pacton anf the long fought internecine war in TX between the Bush led RINO’s vs actual Republicans.
If the Bush family had any character at all, they’d support a fellow R in the general election against a radical extremist D, but as we’ve seen nationwide in every election cyclr ever, spurned RINO’s that don’t get their preferred candidate through a primary will always show their true colors and support the D in the general election.
If Paxton loses, this will be the reason.
Same thing happened to Kari Lakein AZ.
It was Progressivism. Always. Not Christianity, though they stayed closer to inside the lines than Talarico.
I won’t say that “if they had character they would support a ‘R’.” But I would say that if they had true Christian character, they wouldn’t back a lying heretic over a sinner who has been slandered.
Texas is infested with Bushes; Arizona with McCains.
The elections were stolen from Lake. But you knew that.
I hate all Bushes
Stay out da Bushes.
You’ll get dirty and they’ll like it.
The Bush family showing their true colors. A real freak they are supporting.
They haven’t changed. They were this way all along.
Confirms why I could never have voted for either of the Bushes. I would never vote for a communist democrat, but I can stay home when they give me such crappy choices.
If you have “genuine admiration” for Talarico’s character, I want nothing whatsoever to do with you or your kind. He is a heretic and liar, supporting hedonism and denying Christ. And you deny all of your own claimed Christianity if you support him. Period.
Where would you expect a family of globalists to turn up.
Arrogance in full bloom. Being a RINO 101. They should all move to their Maine compound. They’d feel more at home. I’m not sorry that I voted for W and HW, but what a disappointment as a family in trying to make themselves relevant to their RINO buddies.
Neil bush is on the board of a chicom front company
Character? Bit*h is impressed with Little Jimmie’s CHARACTER? The freak is all in favor of surgical mutilation of children, for God’s sake. He is in favor of calling parental non-support of ‘transition’ child-abuse!
These people are sick, demented and evil, and they have no business anywhere near public office.
I’m really tired of children of politicians “entering the family business”, happening in Indiana as well with “Bo” Bayh. Bayh seems to be a fine young man and a former Marine officer but I will not vote for him…he should seek “honest” employment.
Dear God, I am SO sorry I ever advocated for and defended George W.
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