June 28, 2026

DATA REPUBLICAN: The grants behind David French’s convenient theology.

In March 2026, David French wrote in the New York Times that James Talarico is “one of the few openly Christian politicians in the United States who acts like a Christian.” I challenged him on this, and he blocked me for it.

Talarico has cited the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas as scripture in a sermon. He told Ezra Klein that all religions “point to the same truth.” He said on the Texas House floor that “God is nonbinary.” He preached that Matthew 25 tells us “exactly how you and I are going to be saved. By feeding the hungry, by healing the sick. Nothing about going to church.”

Every one of these is a doctrinal claim. Every one contradicts historic Christian orthodoxy.

French addressed none of them. When Allie Beth Stuckey pressed him on April 17, 2026 — “these aren’t policy positions, David, these are theological claims” — French said: “I’m just not willing to say James Talarico is not a Christian… I’m just not writing these people out of Christianity.”

Fair enough.

But here is French in August 2024, endorsing Kamala Harris in the New York Times: “There are many churches and Christian leaders who are now more culturally Trumpian than culturally Christian.”

That’s a claim about what Christianity is — and it excludes.

David French won’t question one man’s Christianity when that man cites Gnostic fan fiction as scripture. But David French will question the Christianity of entire denominations when they vote wrong.

Related: Where Are the Bill Kristols and Michael Steeles on the Democrat Side Today?

When the Bushie Republicans were turned out of power in the GOP by the MAGA crowd, many of them updated their belief systems to meet the new reality, and several profited from the change. Others delighted in their obsolescence, mostly because they found paymasters willing to make it worth their while. And that’s how we got the Bill Kristols, David Frenches, Michael Steeles, and the Lincoln Projects of the world, who for the last 10 years have bitched and complained and performatively declared alliances with the Left.

What now of the Clinton Democrats? Why are we not seeing a similar turning of the coats?

What say you, James Carville? For years, you’ve screeched at the Hard Left and complained that they would destroy your party. Well, now that you’ve been proven correct, now that you had the power to stop it, are you going to knuckle under to the DSA? Are you going to champion a third party to replace the loons of the Hard Left? Will you say, as some of the NeverTrumpers said, that your home must be with the GOP until the contagion on the Left burns itself out?

We won’t hold our breath.

For about 60 years now, you could make a very good living in the Northeast Corridor as a columnist who appears on the Sunday talking head shows as a would be Republican who somehow could just never seem to find actual GOP politicians suitable enough to vote for. With the exception of one or two cable TV news channels, the reverse has never been true.

As for rank and file Dems:

Posted at 12:14 pm by Ed Driscoll