James Talarico
October 28, 2026 · Newsletter
I’m done picking up Ken Paxton’s tab
Lyle Lovett had a song called “That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas).”
There’s a line in that song that I love: “At a dance hall down in Texas / That’s the finest place to be / The women they all look beautiful / And their men will buy your beer for free.”
Every Texas bar has those regulars. The ones who pick up a round. The ones who check on the guy who’s drinking alone. The ones who share a laugh or a story or their fried pickles.
Every Texas bar also has that one guy.
He’s loud. He’s obnoxious. He makes all the women feel uncomfortable.
He hears you say your name to the bartender — and then adds his drink to your tab when you’re not looking.
That’s Ken Paxton — and I don’t know about y’all, but I’m done picking up his tab. If you’re fed up, please chip in a few bucks to help us defeat Ken and his puppetmasters.
This isn’t a partisan thing. Republicans know just as well as Democrats that there’s no place for guys like Ken Paxton in Texas.
That’s why these two parties that don’t seem to agree on anything these days came together to impeach the most corrupt politician in our state.
I was there. Those Republicans who put Texas before their party were my colleagues. Many of them are my friends. Some of them paid the ultimate political price.
Because when you go after the puppet, you have to deal with the masters who pull his strings.
You’ve likely heard how Elon Musk has bankrolled Paxton with over $200 million in this campaign. But you probably haven’t heard of Ken Paxton’s original mega-donors. Two billionaire pastors from West Texas (I didn’t know you could be a billionaire and a pastor).
Their names are Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. After Ken Paxton’s impeachment, Dunn and Wilks spent millions on attack ads against those brave Republican lawmakers who attempted to hold one of their own accountable.
And Dunn and Wilks succeeded: many of my Republican colleagues lost their seats. Because they dared to impeach the most corrupt politician in Texas.
Now, those same billionaires are helping Elon Musk install their puppet in the United States Senate.
But this Senate seat doesn’t belong to Tim Dunn.
This Senate seat doesn’t belong to Farris Wilks.
This Senate seat doesn’t belong to Elon Musk.
This Senate seat belongs to you. It belongs to the people of Texas.