Talarico Is Offering New Rhetoric but Old Policies

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, May 5, 2026

Is the liberal pipe dream of turning Texas purple becoming reality? Everything in me says no. And yet, I wonder.

James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for US Senate, is leading both of his potential Republican opponents, according to new polling. This, in the heart of deep-red Texas.

A recent survey by Texas Public Opinion Research has Talarico leading Senator John Cornyn by three percentage points, 44% to 41%. If Attorney General Ken Paxton is the Senate Republican nominee after the May 26 runoff vote, Talarico’s lead grows to five percentage points, 46% to 41%, well exceeding the 3% margin for error.

Conservatism Could Save America. The Small-C Kind

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, April 29, 2026

“Conservatism is in decline. True, it’s not dead — in 2025, a larger share of Americans described themselves as conservative (35%) than liberal (28%) — but this seven-point difference is the smallest Gallup has measured since 1992.

This is bad news for American politics. As a philosophy, conservatism possesses the key virtue that’s missing from modern political life: humility. “What is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness,” wrote Edmund Burke, one of the fathers of conservatism. He was right.”

Why MAGA Takes the Evangelical Vote for Granted

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, April 21, 2026

“White evangelical Christians helped bring President Donald Trump to power. They remain among his most ardent supporters. This, even as the president seemingly has gone out of his way to mock Christianity and its first commandment.

One year in, the vast majority (69%) of White evangelicals continue to approve of Trump’s job performance, according to 2026 Pew Research data. This is compared to his 39% approval rating nationally.

It’s true that support for Trump among all religious groups — including White evangelicals and White Catholics — has steadily dropped since he took office, with the exception of Black Protestants who were already near rock-bottom approval levels and are largely Democratic. But it has not collapsed.”

Can RFK Jr. Save Republicans’ Midterms Hopes?

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, April 15, 2026

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, is once again out in front. This week, he launches his new podcast, which promises “fearless conversations” because “the government lies to us.” He’s scheduled to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. And he’ll be going out on the campaign trail alongside vulnerable members of Congress in advance of the midterms. This has pros and cons for Republicans.

Let’s start with the pros. According to recent Pew Research polling, Kennedy is the most popular member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, and these days, he’s more popular than the president himself: 44% of US adults have a favorable opinion of Kennedy, compared to just 40% who see the president favorably.

And he’s famous. In our age of celebrity politicians, few can compete with Kennedy’s celebrity status. Only 6% American adults have not heard of him. Compare that to other prominent folks in the administration: Nearly a third of voters haven’t heard of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a fifth haven’t heard of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. . . . “

I Love Data, But K-12 Standardized Tests Have Lost the Plot

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, April 6, 2026

“Student test scores aren’t looking good, and schools aren’t being held accountable for poor results. That’s not even considering whether the right things are being tested.

I learned this the hard way. My family is zoned for a high-performing public elementary school in Texas — one where students consistently score above average on standardized tests. And there are so many tests. My first and third grader took about a dozen standardized exams annually, including STAAR tests, i-Ready tests and MAP tests. Each year, my children came home with great test results.”

Classroom iPads Are Teaching Kids the Wrong Skills

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, March 29, 2026

“Ask parents of school-aged children how screens are used in the classroom. If their experience is anything like mine, it goes far beyond such targeted interventions. Screens are used for indoor recess, core curriculum, testing and YouTube for lessons, but maybe also for a break.

This has parents concerned and states across the political spectrum starting to act. Most states have already imposed some type of restrictions on personal cellphone use in the classroom in recent years, although only three states are truly “phone-free.” Now adults are realizing they can lock up kids’ phones during the school day, and it’s not enough. Kids are still spending much of their classroom time hunched over a glass rectangle.

In the 2026 legislative session, 16 states introduced wide-ranging legislation to reevaluate screen time in the classroom.”

Universal Child Care Isn’t Always Good for Kids

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, March 25, 2026

“Free child care is starting to take root in the US. But is it good for kids?

Last year, New Mexico became the first state to offer free universal child care. This year, New York began offering free child care for children ages 0-3 in certain cities, with a goal of reaching all children under 5 by 2028. Massachusetts has set its sights on universal, high-quality preschool access for every 4-year-old in the state’s major cities by the end of 2026.

Even politicians in conservative states like Texas are jumping in. Senate candidate James Talarico, a Democrat, has called for establishing universal pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old nationwide.

To the working mom writing this column, the need for better care options is clear. Most parents of young children work. Roughly a quarter of families with young kids are single-parent households. Half of American parents don’t live near grandparents, who are the most likely to provide backup care.

But not all kids benefit equally…”

Trump’s gas price Teflon

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, March 20, 2026

”You have to admire President Trump’s brass. It’s not any president who – facing low national approval ratings, slim midterm margins, including in the Senate, and high Democratic energy – would stomp on the neck of widespread affordability concerns.

Gas prices are up almost 20% since the start of the Iran war Feb. 28, reaching an average of $3.50 a gallon. New polling by Reuters/Ipsos suggests that most Americans (67%) expect gasoline prices to keep going up, with Democrats (85%) feeling this more than Republicans (44%). Few Americans of any political stripe expect to see price relief. “This is going to be huge!” you can imagine Trump saying, as bombs drop in the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz chokes off, and retirees on a fixed income in Florida fill up their hatchbacks for $4 a gallon.

It says something about the partisan moment we are in, doesn’t it? The bets keep getting bigger. The consequences seem more and more disconnected. Especially considering that it’s Republicans, not Democrats, who disproportionately pay for higher prices at the pump. Democrats are three-times as likely to want or have an electric vehicle. Republicans are more likely to live in rural places with longer commutes, and rely less on public transit.”

Republicans Are Squandering Their MAHA Moment

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, March 16, 2026

“The MAHA base is bigger than you think. And the GOP is going to need all the support it can muster to survive what’s likely to be a bruising midterm.

Roughly four in 10 parents (38%) identify as supporters of the Make America Healthy Again movement, according to a KFF/Washington Post poll. I think this underestimates the movement’s political reach. For example, I wouldn’t put myself under the MAHA label, but I have my moments. I’ve thrown away any black plastic utensils exposed to heat, cook almost every night for our family and shudder at ingredient lists full of unpronounceables. I’m deeply concerned about the rise of chronic health conditions in kids and microplastics wafting out of the ocean.”

Is MAHA Alive and Well?

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, March 16, 2026

“Supporters point to MAHA wins over a short year’s time. Many companies have promised to curb artificial food dyes. The food pyramid has been remade. Schools are serving 2% milk again. Coca Cola is offering real sugar Coke! In Kennedy’s rallies, he calls for more family cooking and family dinners, which are cheaper, healthier and more social. Put the phones out of sight at the dinner table. Good advice.

But rattle off the list out loud and it feels a bit like it’s nipping at the edges, not getting to the heart of it. The reason why the MAHA movement had so much steam to begin with was because it touched on the real emergency in children’s health.”

Staggering US Deficits Call for a Debt-to-GDP Limit

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, March 10, 2026

I recently went to the doctor about a minor health issue. “Is what I’m experiencing normal?” I asked her. “No, it’s never normal,” she said, “but it happens to almost everybody.” I thought: That pretty much sums up the problem of national debt.

After all, it’s been normal for America to run up the federal deficit since the mid-1980s. In fact, it’s become normal for almost every developed country to carry burdensome debt. But what’s considered normal should not be confused with how a healthy government should work.

We need a guardrail against things getting worse, lest the prognosis turn lethal.

The State of Our Union

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, March 4, 2026

A skeptic might ask why Trump needs this speech. He already commands attention unlike any modern political figure.

Answer: Because there’s nothing else quite like it. Even for a nation disenchanted with politics, there’s a mystique to the State of the Union. At no other time do Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, and millions of Americans sit at attention for the president. The Founders included this speech in the Constitution to balance the branches of government. For the president to take the witness stand before members without term limits and tell them: This is the nation as I see it and what should come next. Congress might seem these days like a china shop nervously awaiting its bull, but it was designed to be the most powerful branch of government — the greatest democratic institution on Earth.

Trump is going to lay it on thick and hard. And he has a lot to work with. His detractors always underestimate this to their peril. . . . Just as telling will be what the speech leaves out.

Washington Can Help Families Without Spending More

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, March 4, 2026

what if the amount given to support families wasn’t either a trickling faucet struggling to keep up with inflation or a budget-exploding flood of spending? Something like a firehose — powerful yet targeted — that could actually douse the affordability fires families are facing?

I’m thinking about a bipartisan proposal now long forgotten. The Advancing Support for Working Families Act of 2019 would have allowed parents of a newborn or newly adopted child (under age six) to receive a lump sum of $5,000 immediately, paid for by a commensurate 10% reduction in child tax credit benefits thereafter.

At the time, the proposal was panned because it was framed by its cosponsors — former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy — as providing paid leave, which it most certainly did not. Then it got pushed aside by the Covid pandemic and the controversy of souped-up monthly child tax credit payments, a program resembling universal basic income.

But the idea of frontloading these payments is nevertheless a good one.

Texas Needs a Boring Senate Race. In Fact, We All Do

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, February 18, 2026

“Why can’t the Texas Senate race be between John Cornyn, the Republican incumbent, versus James Talarico, a Democratic state representative? Because that would be too sane for the times we’re living in.

Instead, a recent University of Houston poll shows Ken Paxton, the state’s firebrand Republican attorney general, and Jasmine Crockett, an equally fiery Democratic US Representative, in the lead for their respective parties. Paxton holds a seven-point lead, with 38% of likely voters saying they will support him, while 31% say they will vote for Cornyn. (A third GOP candidate, US Representative Wesley Hunt, has 17%.) On the Democratic side, Crockett leads 47% to Talarico’s 39%, with 12% undecided.”

How do we balance ICE's excesses?

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, February 15, 2026

I don’t know what’s happening next with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or how the U.S. moves away from political extremism on immigration. It’s a balance that hasn’t been met in a long time. The marauding masked officers; the work, church and school raids; the killing of American citizens and the violent rounding-up of immigrants (most of whom possess no violent criminal record, many of whom have papers) is way too far.

We have to have a secure border to know who is here, to not roll out the welcome mat for cartels. But that can be done without creating terror. And certainly some measure of compassion is called for in the most wealthy and free nation on Earth. You can’t wink and nod for generations at the people coming to fill empty jobs, clean our office buildings, pick our fruit and process our meat, and then suddenly pull out the assault weapons and tear gas and go door to door.

Here’s what’s not the answer. Politicians escalating the conflict for political gain while outside interest groups torpedo any potential congressional compromise because the issue is worth more to them unsolved.

Nor will the end of ICE overreach come from the protest I recently encountered in Dallas. Activists at a neighborhood intersection held up an anti-ICE poster. Others carried a Ukraine flag, LGBTQ flags, an American flag. A couple of people were playing banjos and singing while standing on a rug. It was as if the group had been plucked straight from Berkeley in the 1960s and dropped into Dallas in 2026.

As I drove past, I thought: This isn’t the answer. I think most people agree that ICE has gone way too far. That’s enough reason to protest. Don’t bring unrelated issues into it. It makes it seem like the peaceful immigrants being forcibly detained, or the kids separated from their parents, aren’t a big enough reason. And it alienates people who might otherwise consider changing their minds; makes them think that maybe immigration is the cover story to push through a progressive cultural agenda.

I’m Quitting the Valentine’s Day Parenting Olympics

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, February 13, 2026

“For those with means and minutes, intensive parenting is an arms race. Working parents feel guilt. Stay-at-home parents feel guilt. No one wants their child excluded or left behind. More time and money begets the need for even more time and money. It’s exhausting.

It almost feels normal to fill a Valentine’s basket with goodies from four different stores. I know, because I’ve been one of those moms in years past. And in truth, I felt pretty proud of pulling it off, in the midst of everything else. I’m not just surviving, but thriving-ish — I can prove it with the gifts!

But this year, as I was perusing the Valentine’s aisle, I found myself thinking: Enough. Truly, I’m sure my own mother just drew a heart on a semi-rotten banana in our packed lunch. We passed out generic cards to our classmates and ate a few Hershey’s kisses. (Mom, if you did more, I love you, but I don’t remember it. And that in and of itself says something, doesn’t it?)

So this year, we are taking it down a notch. . . there’s something to be said about loving more with less.”

The Heritage Foundation Sees the Family Crisis — But Not the Fix

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, February 9, 2026

“Let me start by saying that I’m heartened by the right’s recent attention to family policy. I really am. I started writing about paid parental leave and child care more than a decade ago while at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. At the time it was the kind of thing that got you labeled as a RINO or relegated to the policy fringes while the big boys worked on tax and reg policy. Family policy has always deserved a seat at the adult table. It’s good to see the GOP is pulling up some chairs.

And we need some new thinking in this area. It’s not like progressives have had a family policy feast going. They have struggled to pass federal reforms. And some of the proposals they have enacted have had wide-ranging unintended consequences; for example, achievement gaps that have grown for four-year-olds — not closed — following New York City’s introduction of a universal preschool program.

But addressing the problems families face will require more and different approaches than what’s on offer in the Heritage report. Or on offer from the GOP more broadly, for that matter. The report highlights enormous challenges facing families, but the rhetoric and policies don’t ladder up to solutions.’

The Democratic Party Has A God Shaped Hole

Abby McCloskey, Dallas Morning News, January 22, 2026

“The Democratic Party has become the political home of religious nones. The sorting of religion between parties has deep implications for our politics.

About 40% of Democrats are religiously unaffiliated, according to Pew Research. This means they identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” Controlling for race, the numbers are even more stark, as statistician Ryan Burge has well documented: Nearly three-quarters of white Democrats in 2024 seldom or never attended a religious service. Only 12% of white Democrats attended weekly. This stands in sharp contrast to the Republican Party voters, nearly 76% of whom identify as Christian.

Here in Texas, the religion gap between parties is narrower. That’s because our state is more religious than the national average. But there’s still a gap. . . “

The Right May Rue Expanding Presidential Powers

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, January 29, 2026

“Do President Donald Trump’s policies have staying power? Conventional Beltway wisdom would suggest no. But we are not in conventional times. . . .

. . . .Trump has relied on executive orders. Last year, Trump signed 225 of them — the highest single-year total since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 — and quadruple the average of modern presidents. (Even President Obama with his infamous “pen and phone” never edged above 42 a year.)

Trump’s predilection for executive action over legislative dealmaking should concern supporters and bring some measure of comfort to his detractors. A Republican president of a different ilk — and certainly a Democratic one — could undo much of what’s been done, and if it’s unpopular, with gusto.

But. And an important “but.” There’s also more to the legacy of a presidency than policy. That’s the top of the pyramid, but beneath it are norms and institutions, many forged over a long time. Think of George Washington’s refusal of a third term. Or Abraham Lincoln’s mercy toward his Confederate opponents. Norms become a kind of bedrock that supports everything else, letting us build new laws and rules atop that foundation.

Not so in Trump 2.0.”

Republicans Have Ideas on Affordability — Just Not Conservative Ones

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, January 20, 2025

“Congressional Republicans are ideating about domestic policy. That’s a good thing. It’s too bad that few of the ideas are actually conservative.

Earlier this month, the Republican Study Committee released its “Reconciliation 2.0” framework, called “Making the American Dream Affordable Again.” The framework included ideas like: creating “The Don” Payment program, a zero-to-low down payment option for creditworthy borrowers; creating new tax-advantaged accounts for housing and healthcare; and establishing a parallel “MAHA” insurance marketplace.

The RSC is a caucus of conservatives, not a formal committee responsible for legislation. But some of these ideas may trickle into a reconciliation package this spring.”