James Talarico’s Dallas rally offered Texas voters an unusual version of his supposed moderation: a speaker calling ICE “the new KKK,” followed by the Senate candidate thanking him for the introduction.
The speaker was Frederick Haynes III, a Democrat Congressional candidate and pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church. At Thursday’s stop on Talarico’s “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” tour, Haynes accused President Donald Trump and Republicans of terrorizing the country through immigration enforcement. Then he demanded that ICE be abolished.
Haynes left little room to mistake his meaning:
“You transformed ICE into the new KKK and brought about terror in this nation,” Haynes said of Trump’s use of ICE. He then called for the agency’s abolition: “It’s time to melt ICE. It’s time to abolish ICE.”
So much for winning over the Texans who want immigration laws enforced where the border crisis under Biden hit hardest. Haynes was asking them to regard ICE as the equivalent of the Klan, with abolition the only acceptable response.
After all that, Haynes got a thank-you and a prediction of victory from the candidate he was there to introduce:
“Give it up for your next congressman, Dr. Freddy Haynes. Thank you, Dr. Haynes, for those kind words and for your service to this community.”
The odd part is that Talarico says he wants to keep ICE. The Washington Free Beacon reports that he opposes abolition. Fair enough. Then why let Haynes make the opposite case at his rally without giving voters an answer? Talarico managed to find words of praise for the speaker. A few words defending his own position would have helped.
Haynes had been saying this before Thursday. His October 23 interview with Dallas Weekly included both the demand to abolish ICE and the “new KKK” line. He even explained why he thought changes to the existing system would be inadequate: “You do not tweak a system. You do not tweak a pattern. You have to basically undo it and redo it.” There was ample warning about the immigration message he would bring.
And some Democrats apparently doubt the moderate presentation themselves. As RC Maxwell reported for RedState, O’Keefe Media Group released undercover recordings of Williamson County Democrat Party Chair Kim Collins Gilby calling Talarico “very liberal.” She said some of his public comments were meant “to make himself appear more centrist,” adding, “we’ve got to get elected so that we can do something.” That is Gilby’s account, but it is a remarkably unhelpful explanation from a Democrat county chair on the eve of an election.
Talarico’s own description is more reassuring: “Our campaign has been able to show that you can be a more moderate, reasonable candidate and still be exciting,” he said in October. His campaign did not answer Fox’s request for comment about whether his praise endorsed Haynes’s platform or views on race in politics.
Haynes plainly felt comfortable bringing his abolition message to a Talarico rally. Texans who want ICE to stay should hear an equally plain defense of the agency from the candidate asking for their votes.
They got a “thank you, Frederick Haynes III” instead.
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