James Talarico Demanded ‘Dismantling’ of Capitalism in 2020 – Now His Spox Calls Him ‘Proud Capitalist’

AP Photo/Eric Gay

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico (D) demanded the “dismantling” of capitalism in 2020 — calling it an “oppressive system” during a climate forum in resurfaced comments his campaign now seeks to distance itself from in his bitter race against Republican Ken Paxton.

CNN’s KFile unearthed video Tuesday of Talarico, then a 31-year-old state representative, speaking at a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Austin chapter of the Sierra Club.

“I am so thankful that you asked this question and also thankful that young activists have really drawn the link between climate change and White supremacy and capitalism in our country,” Talarico said when asked about climate change’s impact on communities of color.

“And I think only ending the ways that all three of those oppressive systems work together are we gonna be able to begin the process of dismantling them,” he said.

Six years later, Talarico is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas and running a campaign heavily focused on affordability, faith and challenging wealthy interests.

His campaign, however, insists the Democrat’s views should not be characterized by the newly surfaced remarks and called him a “proud capitalist.”

“James is a proud capitalist and agrees with the majority of Texans that racism, natural disasters, and a billionaire-controlled economy are all problems we need to address,” spokesman JT Ennis told CNN, adding past comments “missed the mark.”

“James supports the oil and gas industry and believes in an all of the above energy strategy that protects Texas oil and gas jobs,” he said.

The 2020 footage also shows Talarico delivering a bleak assessment of the future of Texas’ oil and gas industry.

“We all know that Texas has been a leader in oil and gas, but in many ways that’s like being the leader in cassette tapes in the 1980s,” he said. “That industry is not gonna last. And if we wanna ensure we have an economy that’s gonna work for our children and our children’s children, we gotta be ahead of the curve and Texas has to lead instead of follow on this issue.”

The rhetoric tracks language circulating within the climate left at the time. The Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) 2019 Green New Deal principles described “the fight for the climate as a struggle against capitalism itself” and called for a “revolutionary transformation to replace the capitalist social order.”

Talarico’s remarks came amid a wider push among progressive climate activists to explicitly connect climate change, capitalism and racial inequality.

The Democrat, meanwhile, now pledges to preserve Texas’ position as “the energy leader of the world,” while his campaign says he has cast numerous votes supporting oil and gas, but the resurfaced comments give Paxton fresh ammunition as Republicans seek to portray Talarico as significantly more progressive than his current campaign pitch.

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