The blind spot in David French's column about James Talarico

David French is one of those conservative evangelicals that I admire. While standing firm in his conservative positions, he's been consistently critical of MAGA Christian nationalists. That's why, when he wrote about James Talarico - the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas - I was interested in hearing what he had to say. 

After reading French's piece, I recommend it - even though I disagree with some of the things he said. I also see a giant hole in his reasoning. This is how he opens his argument:

Put simply, if the primary American divide is between right and left, then Talarico isn’t that interesting...

Yet if the primary American divide is between decent and indecent, then the equation changes. Talarico shines.

Or, to put it another way, Talarico is one of the few openly Christian politicians in the United States who acts like a Christian...

Here's what French means when he says that Talarico "acts like a Christian."

For example, when Talarico won his Senate primary, he said, “I am tired of being pitted against my neighbor. I’m tired of being told to hate my neighbor. It’s been more than 10 years of this kind of politics. Politics as blood sport, politics as trolling and owning, politics as total war. It tears families apart. It ends friendships, and it leaves us all feeling terrible all the time.”...   

One reason politics has been so exhausting — and even so frightening — is that we often know that opposing politicians don’t just disagree with us, but that they hate us. And if a politician hates us, then we know they won’t listen to us, they won’t care about us, and they may well actively try to harm us when they’re in office.  

This is what MAGA Christianity has become. In that world, cruelty in the name of Trumpism is no vice, and kindness in the name of progressivism is no virtue. 

I agree. "Politics as blood sport" is not only exhausting, it is both dangerous and unproductive. But French isn't looking very hard if he thinks that Talarico is one of the few openly Christian politicians who acts like a Christian. One that comes to mind is Senator Raphael Warnock - an actual minister.

But when reading French's column about Talarico, my mind immediately went to former President Barack Obama - who openly talked about being a "born again Christian." There was a theme that almost always ran through Obama's speeches. Here is what that sounded like during his 2016 State of the Union speech when the top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination were Ted Cruz and Donald Trump:

The future we want - opportunity and security for our families; a rising standard of living and a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids - all that is within our reach. But it will only happen if we work together. It will only happen if we can have rational, constructive debates...

A better politics doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. This is a big country, with different regions and attitudes and interests. That’s one of our strengths, too. Our Founders distributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, just as they did, over the size and shape of government, over commerce and foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of security.

But democracy does require basic bonds of trust between its citizens. It doesn’t work if we think the people who disagree with us are all motivated by malice, or that our political opponents are unpatriotic. Democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise; or when even basic facts are contested, and we listen only to those who agree with us. Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get attention. Most of all, democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn’t matter; that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow interest.

Obama went on to express his optimism about the future. But it wasn't based on politicians. He found it elsewhere and said, "I see you."

Voices that help us see ourselves not first and foremost as black or white or Asian or Latino, not as gay or straight, immigrant or native born; not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans first, bound by a common creed. Voices Dr. King believed would have the final word - voices of unarmed truth and unconditional love.

They’re out there, those voices. They don’t get a lot of attention, nor do they seek it, but they are busy doing the work this country needs doing.

I see them everywhere I travel in this incredible country of ours. I see you. I know you’re there. You’re the reason why I have such incredible confidence in our future. Because I see your quiet, sturdy citizenship all the time.

I have to admit that, when I read those words today, I wept. The tears are about my grief at where I thought this country was going back then compared to where we are today. But then I had to remind myself that, when it comes to the people Obama was talking about - they're still at it.

But back to French's column. The giant hole I saw is that he completely ignores one of the main themes of Obama's presidency. Perhaps that's because the MAGA era has taught him to look a little more deeply at what it means to be a Christian. But given the fact that he loosely compares Talarico to Jimmy Carter, it's hard not to question whether race has something to do with it. 

The truth is that French never bought into the fact that Obama is a Christian. Back in 2015, he wrote about those doubts. I have no way of knowing if French still agrees with that, but his portrayal of Talarico as somehow unique is telling. 

The Republican Party spent eight years demonizing President Obama. Now a lot of the never-Trumpers from the GOP are beginning to sound a lot like the former president. When they can embrace that, we'll know that they've confronted their blind spots - regardless of whether they're the result of racism or ideology.