Republicans attack Talarico’s masculinity — and it might work

After Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) defeated Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate last month, it wasn’t surprising that Republicans launched a barrage of attacks against Democratic nominee James Talarico.

What was surprising, though, and troubling, is that they attacked not Talarico’s record or past rhetoric, but his masculinity.

Paxton got things rolling on election night, calling him “Tofu Talarico,” “James Tala-freako,” and “low-T Talarico.” Trump aide Stephen Miller piled on, suggesting that Talarico was transgender. 

Others insinuated that he was secretly gay and that his girlfriend was fictional. (This is a bold strategy, because if politicians start getting disqualified for having imaginary girlfriends, a couple of Republican senators might be in trouble.)

Next, Fox News co-host Jesse Watters weighed in with questions he wanted local reporters to ask Talarico. Among them: Do you own a gun? Are you a Dallas Cowboys fan? Do you know the Spurs are playing tonight? Do you own a truck? Do you believe in premarital sex? Do you wear women’s underwear?

There is no evidence that Talarico is gay, transgender or vegan, but why are the Republicans taking things in this direction?

The obvious explanation is that Paxton’s nomination has created certain challenges for Republicans. When your nominee is so scandal-plagued that the Republican-dominated Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach him, the campaign becomes less about making voters respect him and more about casting savage and unfounded aspersions on the opponent. 

The strategy is simple: If you can’t make........

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