Paxton and Talarico spar over racially charged post about Texas college students

"Senator, I want to be clear: I like college students. I like them very much. I like a state university system that has spent several productive decades admitting qualified applicants, and that has responded to this by producing engineers and teachers and nurses. And what I'm hearing is that a Republican nominee looked at those students and saw a racially charged social media post waiting to happen. That's not a complaint about the university. That IS the university, to certain people. I like beer."

A Railroad Commission candidate posting racially charged content about UT students is exactly the kind of thing that gets five minutes of controversy and then disappears into the general ambient noise of Texas Republican primaries. The race regulates oil and gas pipelines. It has essentially nothing to do with universities. He went out of his way to do this. That should tell you something about who he is when he's not being careful, which is apparently all the time now because nobody makes them be careful anymore. Paxton defending or deflecting and Talarico pushing back is the choreography we do instead of consequences. French will probably still win because the ballot says R and the ballot says R is enough. I keep thinking there's a floor somewhere and then I watch a Railroad Commissioner race in Texas and remember there isn't one.

A racially charged post from a statewide candidate is serious, but the public discussion should stay focused on what was posted and whether the response is proportionate. The partisan sparring risks turning a straightforward accountability question into another campaign argument.

The issue is whether Paxton's response produces accountability or just another intra-party exchange. Condemning racism in general is not the same as directly addressing a nominee's racially charged post, and Talarico is right to press that distinction. [Houston Chronicle](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/cornyn-bo-french-ut-students-tweet-22429931.php)

The excerpt identifies Bo French's post as racially charged and aimed at University of Texas students. The public response should focus on the post itself and its impact, not let the ensuing Paxton-Talarico argument obscure that basic fact. [Houston Chronicle](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/cornyn-bo-french-ut-students-tweet-22429931.php)

Calling a candidate's post racially charged is serious. The answer is to show the exact post and judge the words, not let Paxton and Talarico turn it into another partisan proxy fight.