“The Most Corrupt Politician In Texas”: James Talarico SLAMS Ken Paxton Over $27m Wealth Surge

Corrupt politician in Texas. Three years ago, Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party, by his fellow Republicans, for using his public office, his position of public trust to enrich himself and his donors at the expense of the people of Texas. Ken Paxton represents everything that's wrong with this broken, corrupt system. We just kicked off our Clear Eyes, Full Hearts tour. And at this time of year in Texas, there is no better place to be than a high school football game. The band, the roar of the crowd, the chill in the air. No matter who you are, no matter what you look like, everyone in town is there for the same reason. To root for the same team. When I was in high school, they were filming a TV show in our area. It was called Friday Night Lights. It's a show about the Dillon Panthers, an underdog high school football team, and their coach, Eric Taylor. In the very first episode, right before the big game, Coach Taylor gives a locker room speech. He says, they're going to come at you with everything they've got. I expect you boys to execute. I expect you boys to play football. And then he ends with six immortal words. clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose. Beaumont, there is a moment in every game, the last play, the last drive, when you have to leave it all on the field. We are in that moment. In the final days of this election, they are coming at us with everything they've got. The billionaire mega donors, the super PACs, they have already spent $200 million on attack ads to try to stop us. That is the most of any Senate race in American history. And more is on the way. They are scared. They are terrified. They see what we see, that we're about to win this election. We are building a movement to take back our state and take back our country. We are uniting Texans from all backgrounds and all beliefs onto one team to take on this broken, corrupt political system. We have recruited more than 60,000 volunteers to knock doors, to make phone calls, to send text messages. If you haven't signed up to volunteer yet, I hope you'll do so on our website when you go home today. We have shattered every grassroots fundraising record in American history, and we've done it without taking a dime from corporate PACs. And on November 3rd, we are going to do something extraordinary. We are going to do something historic We are going to shock the nation We're going to shock the world When we beat the billionaires and take back Texas We are going to end 30 years of one-party rule in our state And we're going to elect a senator who's going to serve all 31 million Texans We have forgotten that that's what politics is supposed to be about It's supposed to be about service Elected officials aren't supposed to serve themselves They're not supposed to serve their mega donors. They are supposed to serve us. They're supposed to serve the people. I first learned the meaning of service from my great-grandfather, my papi. He was a barber in Port O'Connor, Texas, on the Gulf Coast. And he served this country in World War II in the Pacific Theater. Papi was a member of the greatest generation, a group of Americans who asked not what their country could do for them, but what they could do for their country and whether he was cutting his neighbor's hair or fighting fascism on the other side of the world my poppy was always serving other people he was a a faithful man that's the best word i can think of to describe him he was a devout christian and he tried to actually live like jesus who in the words of scripture came not to be served but to serve and that's how my poppy lived his life my poppy came not to be served but to serve and that's what inspired me to go into public service first as a public school teacher on the west side of San Antonio where I taught sixth grade language arts at Rhodes Middle School home of the Fighting Wildcats I always I always say that teaching middle school is the best preparation for politics it's served me well so far in this campaign I entered the classroom In the fall of 2011, right after the Texas legislature cut more than $5 billion from public education, I saw the impact of those cuts firsthand. I saw programs get eliminated. I saw students slip through the cracks. I saw class sizes grow. At one point, I had 45 students in one classroom. There weren't enough desks for all those kids, So I had students sitting on the air conditioning unit in the wealthiest country in human history in the 21st century, children sitting on the air conditioning unit. And that made me mad. I ended up running an education nonprofit in central Texas that was helping students like mine. And then when a seat in that very same legislature that had cut those five billion dollars opened up in my hometown of Round Rock, Texas, I threw my hat in the ring. I was 28 years old. I had never run for office before. I was a Democrat running in a Trump district in a county that was so red it hadn't voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter. I was told by the powers that be in the Democratic Party that that race was a lost cause. I was told that even if you could win a district like that, I was too young, I didn't have the money, I didn't have the political connections to pull off an upset of that kind. But my neighbors and I, we came together and we ran an aggressive, authentic, at times unorthodox campaign that brought people together. And on election night, we flipped that district with 51% of the vote. Now, now I'm in my fourth term in the Texas House where I have brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass 60 bipartisan bills, bills that bills that raise teacher pay bills that cut property taxes, bills that lower the cost of housing and child care and prescription drugs, including insulin. I ran for office not to be served, but to serve. And then there's Ken Paxton, the most corrupt politician in Texas. Three years ago, Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party, by his fellow Republicans, for using his public office, his position of public trust to enrich himself and his donors at the expense of the people of Texas. Ken Paxton represents everything that's wrong with this broken, corrupt system. He doesn't serve us, he serves himself. Since taking office, Ken Paxton has increased his net worth by $27 million, all while our pay has remained stagnant. He now owns 15 homes, while most Texans are struggling to afford one. It's hard to get 15 homes in a game of Monopoly. I don't know how Ken Paxton got 15 homes. He was impeached for taking bribes from wealthy donors all while he blocks our overtime pay and guts our health care. This is the rot at the core of this broken system. It's why so many Texans can't get ahead no matter how hard they work. It's why we can't afford the basics in this economy. Because the system has been rigged by billionaires and their puppet politicians like Ken Paxton. But Beaumont, we can change that. We can turn this around in this election, in this state, in this race. If we come together, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as Texans, to defeat the most corrupt politician in our state, then we can come together to defeat this entire corrupt system. I've already said that the first bill I'm going to file as your U.S. Senator is a comprehensive anti-corruption agenda. getting getting big money out of our politics by overturning Citizens United banning banning corporate PACs and super PACs so billionaires can't buy our elections banning members of Congress in both political parties from trading stocks and enriching themselves while they're in public office banning gerrymandering in every state in the union red states and blue states And finally, passing term limits so we can show these puppet politicians the door. This is why they're spending $200 million against us. This is why those billionaire mega donors are coming after us. Actually, it's really just one billionaire mega donor. Elon Musk is trying to buy this Senate seat in Texas. We just found out that the richest man in the world is almost single-handedly bankrolling this effort to install Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate and stop this movement that we're building in Texas. In all likelihood, if you've seen an attack ad on your TV, that was Elon. If you've gotten lies in your mailbox, that was Elon. If you've received a text message saying scary things about me, that was Elon, too. our movement is funded by 1.3 million individuals who have donated their hard-earned money to this campaign Ken Paxton Ken Paxton is funded by one dude Elon Musk wants our land he wants our water he wants our taxpayer dollars and he wants his very own personal United States Senator he is trying to buy Texas but on November 3rd we're going to deliver a crystal clear message to the world's first trillionaire Texas is not for sale this this election reminds me of that story from scripture of a shepherd boy who goes up against a giant for 40 days Goliath taunts and teases on the day of the fight he shows up in full armor he's carrying so many weapons he needs someone else to carry a shield. We are going up against our own Goliaths, those billionaire mega donors, those corporate special interests, the entire Washington DC establishment. Their power is real, but so is ours. David, David may not have been as big or as strong as Goliath. He may not have had as many weapons, but he had hope. He had faith and he had a slingshot. Beaumont, you are my slingshot. The people of Texas are my slingshot. And on November 3rd, those Goliaths aren't going to know what hit them. We are going to do something historic, Beaumont. We're going to do something extraordinary, but we have a lot of work to do in these final two weeks. A lot of work. But if we do that work, if we do it together, I am confident, I feel it in my bones, that we are going to win this election. And we are going to elect a senator who will serve and not be served. This is the last play of the last drive. This is that moment. We have to leave it all on the field. Because, as every Texan knows, clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose. Thank you for being here, Beaumont. God bless you. Subscribe to One India and never miss an update. Download the One India app now.