Hasan Piker Says James Talarico Needn't Moderate on Israel or Medicare for All

Hasan Piker, the progressive streamer, says James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee in Texas, has no electoral reason to moderate on Israel or Medicare for All. In a video after the town hall, he argued that the hedging is meant for people inside Talarico's own party, not for Texas voters.

Piker was reacting to this week's town hall with Talarico, hosted by CNN and Jubilee Media. He said Talarico holds back on the two issues "because he is backed by some of these moderate forces in the party." That motive is Piker's own reading. He did not say who those forces are.

"Those are the two areas that you don't need to moderate to win Texas," Piker said. "He's not doing it because it's Texas."

The criticism comes less than three weeks before Election Day in one of the country's most closely watched Senate races. Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, by 3.5 points in PolitiKool's polling average.

Hasan Piker on Why James Talarico 'Won't Commit'

Piker connected Talarico's caution to the treatment of Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, who has faced Republican attacks tying him to the Muslim Brotherhood in his race against Mike Rogers.

"All these other forces that are coming after Abdul El-Sayed would be coming after him just the same and the race is too important for him to win," Piker said. "And that is precisely the reason why he won't commit."

He made an exception for immigration. In a border state, Piker said, "you can make a more reasonable argument as to why he's moderating on ICE." But "Medicare for all is not one of those issues and Israel is not one of those issues."

In Piker's view, the race will be won on turnout, not on persuading Republicans. "The goal here is to take advantage of the fact that Texas is deep red. But the deep red are not voting," he said.

What Talarico Said About Israel at the CNN Town Hall

Asked about Israel, Talarico said his criticism is aimed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not at the Israeli people. Speaking about Gaza, he said "seeing what's happening to children in particular makes me sick to my stomach."

"I believe that Israel, like any nation has a right to defend its people, but I don't believe that Benjamin Netanyahu has a right to wage war against civilians," Talarico said. He also accused Netanyahu of collective punishment and of restricting aid, Jewish Insider reported, and he ended his answer by calling for a two-state solution.

Piker mocked the focus on a single leader. "It's crazy when he did it on his own, bro," he said. He gave Talarico some credit, though: "At least he's saying the things that Israel has done."

On health care, Talarico has not endorsed a single-payer system. At the town hall he called for "a robust public option" to compete with for-profit insurers, The Texan reported. Fox 4 reported that his health care plan includes a Medicare buy-in option for people of all ages.

What Polls Show on Medicare for All and Israel

On health care, national polling supports Piker. A KFF Health Tracking Poll taken September 16–21 found that 66 percent of Americans favor a single government health plan. That includes 84 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of independents. A majority of Republicans, 66 percent, opposed it.

On Israel, the polling is less clear-cut. popular with ... Republicans at this point." The polls below measure Americans' general sympathies toward the Israelis versus the Palestinians, not support for the specific positions Talarico took. A Gallup poll taken in February found that 70 percent of Republicans sympathize more with the Israelis and 13 percent more with the Palestinians. That 70 percent was still the party's lowest level since 2004. Americans overall sided more with the Palestinians, 41 percent to 36 percent, after the Israelis led 46 percent to 33 percent a year earlier.

In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March, 58 percent of Republicans viewed Israel favorably. Among Republicans under 50, however, 57 percent viewed it unfavorably, up from 50 percent a year earlier.

Hasan Piker Says Democrats Can Only Be Criticized From the Right

Talarico also promised to call out "Democrats like Joe Biden, who failed us on our southern border." Piker said he liked hearing it ("I kind of love it, too") but called it an example of a double standard.

"You can only criticize the Democratic Party from the right. Never from the left," he said.

The election on November 3 will show whether Talarico's caution costs him votes on the left or wins over the swing voters he is courting.