James Talarico

But Jesus tells his disciples something really weird.

He says to have the heart of a dove and the mind of a serpent.

Dr. King would later reinterpret this as, for the members of his movement, as tough minds, tender hearts.

The idea is that if you're gonna change the world, if you're gonna challenge the powers that be, you gotta be smart and strategic to do it.

And it's not something we should be ashamed of.

And my team, I think I have some of the brightest young minds in Texas politics on our team, which is a real joy and a privilege.

And I think we have figured out

how to use these platforms against the platforms themselves.

And so, yes, we are building things that can reach as many people as possible.

Because if no one hears a message, it doesn't really matter.

And we are learning what these algorithms like, what these platforms promote,

And we're using that against them.

So I would say my two simple rules for political connection, because that's what we're really talking about, is how do you connect with people?

And politics is connection all the way down.

The way that I think about political connections, the two rules I have are be yourself and tell the truth.

I think if you do those two things, you can stand out and get attention.

I think especially young people, my fellow millennials, but also Gen Z, they're looking for moral authenticity in this moment.

And that's going to look different, right?

For me, given who I am and how I was raised in my life, faith is at the center.

And I'm honest about that.