James Talarico

To me, that means that we have a dead religion, a religion that no longer moves people, a religion that no longer speaks to people's hearts.

If we have to prove our legitimacy by micromanaging what teachers put up in their classroom, I mean, to me, that means we have a real crisis in our faith.

We should be leading by example, not by mandate.

How did this get proposed, and what is the support for it?

Well, the support is pretty broad within the Republican caucus.

Again, I serve in the state.

Yeah, I don't think there was a single Republican who voted against it this time around.

And again, I serve in the state legislature.

A lot of people think that I'm a congressman.

I serve here in Austin at the state capitol.

So I'm a state representative.

So I serve.

There are two chambers, just like the federal government, a Senate and a House.

I serve in the House, in the state House.

So the Republicans have a majority in the House and in the Senate.

I'm a member of the Democratic Party.

So I literally can't get anything done without working on a bipartisan basis.

It's actually a blessing in this modern era where we're all tribalized and polarized that I am forced to work with people who have completely different views than I do.

And actually, you get to know them.

In D.C., from what I hear, I have only been to D.C.