This clip was yanked from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert because Trumpian sycophants did not care at all for James Talarico’s lefty message, criticism of the Christian Right, and opposition to the Republican scumbags of Texas. So I’m doing my small part to disseminate it further.
My opinion: he’s fine, but I’m sick of all the pandering to non-right-wing Christians. Maybe it’s too far for Texas, but I’d rather see a forthrightly secular candidate just dismiss all the imaginary saintliness of the Christian faith. It’s never been this idealized “love your neighbor” belief that they preach.
I’m donating to Jasmine Crockett, who’s far more experienced.
I would hesitate to say it’s never been the “love your neighbor” religion, but it’s never been a required position. Yet, I was thinking the last few days how much better the world would be if all religions just disappeared, evaporated into the thin air they emerged from. None of them are worth the pain they cause individuals or human society as a whole.
Alas, Christians are a rather large demographic group.
Politicians need to get elected to do any legislating.
Not appeasing them is not a good electoral strategy.
Those 3 considerations explain the lack of saintliness dismissal.
(Another reason I could never ever have been a polly)
I appreciated the way Colbert explained why he wasn’t including the segment in the broadcast. Sometimes it’s better to spell it all out for people instead of just saying “It’s because of corruption.”
@robro: You reminded me of when I first came across John Lennon’s song Imagine. I was a young child surrounded by religion and its PR messaging. Listening to the song’s lyrics, their suggestions sounded counterproductive. And then they had the intended effect and I thought about it.
[OT]
lanir, re ‘John Lennon’s song Imagine’, I think Roxy Music’s More Than This is a nice atheistic anthem.
If CBS had allowed this to air, I probably would not have seen it. Since they decided to be censorious assholes, I saw it. Good job CBS.
@ ^ The Streisland effect strikes again – justa sit did with Kimmel.
Also the interview itself linked here was pretty innocuous, very Christian-y and bland and I wouldn’t have paid it much attention myself and didn’t know really anything much about Talarico till they tried to stop his Colbert interview after which I looked him up on wikipedia and now a) know about him, b) respect him and c) kinda support him and will encourage others to do so as well.
Also @lanir (17th February 2026 at 7:37 pm) absolutely agree – last night’s Colbert intro here – Why CBS Didn’t Broadcast Stephen Colbert’s Interview With James Talarico (9 mins long) – was superluminously brilliantly well done.
@ ^ was @ #6 larpar natch & sorry, forgot to cut’n’paste nymn..
Only sorta. Not canonically.
Yes, there was a censorship attempt, but then the virality wasn’t accidental. Colbert deliberately told his audience on air that CBS blocked the interview, explicitly calling out the censorship, then it was officially released on YouTube and social channels, not leaked or discovered.
So, unlike the classic case where attention arises despite the subject’s wishes, here Colbert intentionally weaponised the censorship by announcing it, ensuring maximum visibility.
cf. https://time.com/7305512/stephen-colbert-post-cancellation-monologues/