The James Talarico Show appears to be coming to a grinding halt. Texas' Democrat candidate for the U.S. Senate has been missing from the campaign trail for 13 days now, with indications that his campaign staff is melting down on how to spin it. First, it was that he had to be rushed to urgent care and was suffering a bad bout of flu. However, the day he claimed to be in urgent care for the flu, evidence showed him in New York fundraising.

Oops.

Now the Democrats are trying to spin Talarico's health issue of Type 1 diabetes as the reason why their man is down. Republican fundraiser Caroline Wren noted on X.

Why indeed? Either way, with 24 days to the midterms, Talarico's chances of overtaking Republican U.S. Senate nominee and TX Attorney General Ken Paxton may well be going from slim to none. Which is probably why the legacy media has decided to "report" on Talarico's pivot from his stances on LGBTQ rights, so-called gender affirming care, and biological men being able to play in women's sports.

As James Talarico sought the Democratic nomination for Senate in Texas last year, he invoked his long-standing support for LGBTQ+ rights as among the reasons his party’s voters should elect him in a heated primary.

The Austin-based state representative had spent years advocating for transgender people and other minorities in Texas, opposing Republican efforts to pass a bathroom bill and ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports, among other issues.

But since emerging as Democrats’ best chance of winning a Senate seat in Texas in nearly 30 years, Talarico has distanced himself from some of his past comments on issues related to transgender rights, including sports participation and access to gender-transition care for minors. He is under pressure in a red-leaning state, where his well-funded but scandal-plagued Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, has bombarded voters with ads about those positions. Democrats nationwide increasingly see transgender rights as a topic on which to tread carefully.

Captain Obvious flew in a bit too late. RedState has been reporting on this for... oh, a while. As my colleague Becky Noble reported, Talarico first did the moderation dance on Fox News back in early September. 

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In a recent Fox News Channel interview, he now says that instead of six genders, there are only two. His explanation: “I’ve missed the mark on some of my past statements.” Then there is this election-season conversion on men playing in women's sports: "I oppose trans athletes playing in girls sports if it endangers safety or fairness." Good answers, Scooter.

It's just a new face to the same old story. Democrats who claim to be one thing to the faces of voters, and then the real story comes out. 

This legacy outlet is shocked, shocked, I tell you! that commitments Talarico made for when he is elected to the U.S. Senate are now being walked back.

In seeking support from LGBTQ+ groups and other allies, Talarico made specific commitments about what he would do in the Senate.

He pledged in writing at least twice during the primary contest to support the Equality Act if elected — a measure championed by LGBTQ+ rights advocates to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.

But Talarico has not discussed that same pledge on the campaign trail or in interviews, and the commitment does not appear among his policy positions online. When asked by The Washington Post whether he would sponsor or support the legislation in office, his campaign did not affirm his support.

“If elected, James will review every bill he’s asked to vote on and do what’s best for the people of Texas,” campaign spokesman JT Ennis said in a statement.

Talarico’s written commitments, which have not been previously reported, date back to last fall.

Just like the scene in "Die Hard," where John McClane yelled from Nakatomi Plaza's window at Sgt. Al Powell: "Welcome to the party, pal!" 

Legacy media is reporting this as though it is NEW news, when leaked audio by Talarico's pastoress and staffers clearly indicates he is playing to the cameras and deceiving the electorate in order to win the race.

Amazingly, WaPo managed to discover that same Fox News interview which RedState reported on a month ago.

Talarico and his campaign have maintained that he has not shifted any of his stances. But he said on Fox News last month that he “missed the mark on some of my past statements” when asked about a 2021 comment that there are six genders. Talarico made the remark while opposing a state bill to require that students play on sports teams that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificate.

In the same Fox News interview, Talarico said he “will oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it risks safety or fairness,” and that he would “absolutely” support a federal bill to ban gender transition surgery for minors.

In the legislature, Talarico voted against a bill that banned gender transition surgery and access to puberty blockers for minors. He filed an amendment that would have exempted physicians from the bill’s restrictions if complying interfered with their Hippocratic oath. Talarico also voted in favor of a Democratic-sponsored amendment to limit the bill to a ban on surgeries.

Of course, they note that Talarico claims he was misrepresented in that interview and that his comments were "clipped."

Sure, Jan.

Days after Talarico’s interview on Fox, at a fundraiser in Houston sponsored by Pritchett and other LGBTQ+ leaders, including the Human Rights Campaign, the candidate told attendees that the full context of his comments wasn’t clear and that the interview was clipped.

During a briefing with reporters Monday, Kelley Robinson, president of the HRC, said people who attended the Houston event told her Talarico explained that transgender kids can participate in sports without interfering with safety or fairness. He also clarified his position on gender transition care, saying politicians shouldn’t interfere in decisions made in doctor’s offices, she added.

But in an ad released last week, Talarico emphasized his opposition to gender transition surgery for minors, an issue Republicans have used to attack him. [...]

The fact that legacy media is bothering to cover any of this is a solid indication that, no matter when Talarico decides to return to campaigning, his goose is adequately cooked. Paxton is doing a great job in playing offense on this matter, and the longer Talarico stays in bed, the more it works out to Paxton's advantage.

Next to the Talarico campaign, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and his ilk, who are dropping coordinated audio leaks from Ken Paxton to select media, are hardest hit. 

We love to see it.