Dem
51
Ties
3
GOP
46
The Republican Party will be holding its first-ever midterm national convention Wednesday and Thursday in Dallas. Unlike the presidential nominating conventions, which have an important task—nominating (well, these days, coronating) the party's nominee for president—this one has no real function, other than shaking down Republican donors. A ticket at a roundtable with Trump goes for $250,000. Republican House members who want to attend the convention have to buy a $25,000 ticket and a second $25,000 ticket for someone else. It is not known how much Trump was charging Melania Trump to attend, but she turned down the opportunity to see her beloved spouse show off. Although Trump and J.D. Vance will headline it, there will be dozens of speakers. These include many Senate candidates in swing states and House candidates in competitive districts. It is doubtful that anyone other than dyed-in-the-wool MAGA supporters will watch the event.
Because the event will be in Texas, James Talarico decided to have some counterprogramming and do it in a way that might actually get more attention than the convention, which will be little more than a giant Trump rally. Talarico has organized a "Love Thy Neighbor" food drive to highlight the high cost of groceries. Last week, he said:
Next week, billionaire mega-donors and their puppet politicians will gather at a convention in Dallas to clink champagne glasses and toast their own corruption. They're paying $20,000 for entry to a Billionaire Ball celebrating corrupt tariffs, billionaire tax breaks, and a new forever war that are all driving grocery costs through the roof. We'll be doing something different. We're bringing Republicans, Democrats, and Independents together to collect groceries for our neighbors who have been screwed over by corrupt politicians.
What the project entails is mobilizing volunteers to collect, sort, and donate groceries to middle-class Texans who are struggling. It will run from yesterday to Sept. 9. There will be plenty of opportunity for people on both the collecting end and receiving end to talk about how they are having trouble staying afloat. The contrast between Talarico running a volunteer project to help feed hungry Texans and the billionaires in Dallas praising Trump will no doubt get plenty of good publicity for Talarico. (V)