{"id":2643453,"date":"2026-08-12T05:44:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/football-echoes-slavery-battleground-dems-face-anti-americana-baggage\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T05:50:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:50:26","slug":"football-echoes-slavery-battleground-dems-face-anti-americana-baggage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/football-echoes-slavery-battleground-dems-face-anti-americana-baggage\/","title":{"rendered":"Football echoes \u2018slavery\u2019: Battleground Dems face anti-Americana baggage"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffootball-echoes-slavery-battleground-dems-face-anti-americana-baggage%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2643453&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-left-celebrated-predictable-2025-victories-dem-rep-made-2026-move-that-indicates-how-party-will-fare-in-midterms\/\" title=\"As Left Celebrated Predictable 2025 Victories, Dem Rep Made 2026 Move That Indicates How Party Will Fare in Midterms\">article discusses recent political developments<\/a> as Republicans gain momentum through attacking Democratic candidates, with footage from the past fueling criticisms. Progressive Democrats, including members of the Democratic Socialists of America, are achieving wins in the 2026 primaries, presenting President Donald Trump and GOP leaders with new targets to portray Democrats as radical.Senior aides plan to spotlight figures like Texas State Rep. James Talarico as representatives of left-wing extremism. <\/p>\n<p>Candidates such as Abdul el Sayed and Francesca Hong face scrutiny over past comments that could be used against them in the general election. El Sayed previously criticized fireworks and questioned football&#8217;s safety and ethics, with some remarks resurfacing that compare football to oppressive narratives, though his campaign defends his current stance. Hong&#8217;s past tweet suggesting the U.S. should cancel Thanksgiving has also become a point of contention, but she maintains her position and emphasizes evolving views.<\/p>\n<p>Talarico, a Democrat, is targeted by republicans over past statements about reducing meat consumption to combat climate change, which opponents use to question his values. Despite these attacks,Talarico counters by highlighting his longstanding dietary habits and defending his progressive positions. Republicans are leveraging past comments and cultural issues to energize their campaign messaging ahead of the midterm elections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans are jumping for joy as old clips continue to provide new ammunition for attacking <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"288\">Democratic<\/a> candidates ahead of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11675\">2026 midterm<\/a> elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Progressives continue to notch wins in 2026 primaries, including a growing number of avowed Democratic Socialists of America members, giving President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4681777\/trump-under-the-radar-campaign-strategy-2026-elections\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> and GOP leaders fresh targets as they seek to counter Democrats\u2019 affordability-focused messaging by casting the party as increasingly radical. Senior political aides to the president had previously told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that they planned to make \u201cradical leftists\u201d like Texas state Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/james-talarico\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"17710\">James Talarico<\/a> the face of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4683133\/battleground-democrats-face-anti-american-baggage\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Fireworks \u2018suck,\u2019 football echoes \u2018slavery,\u2019 and \u2018cancel Thanksgiving\u2019: Battleground Democrats face anti-Americana baggage<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4682782\/trump-eyeing-federal-action-block-mamdani-pied-a-terre-tax\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump eyeing federal action to block Mamdani\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-eyeing-ways-to-block-mamdanis-tax-targeting-second-homes\/\" title=\"Trump eyeing ways to block Mamdani...s tax targeting second homes\">pied-a-terre tax targeting<\/a> second homes<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4681777\/trump-under-the-radar-campaign-strategy-2026-elections\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump doubles up on under-the-radar campaign strategy<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTalarico is going to be a standard-bearer for how left-wing Democrats are, because of how much attention he\u2019s gotten, how much he\u2019s said on the record,\u201d one person close to the president told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThey\u2019re going to support him. They\u2019re going to say they can play. Okay, well, let\u2019s play.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And now, Talarico will have to share the podium with former Michigan public health official <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abdul-el-sayed\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"23138\">Abdul el Sayed<\/a>, and Wisconsin state Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/francesca-hong\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"23344\">Francesca Hong<\/a>, whose own resurfaced comments are giving Republicans even more room to give their attacks some anti-Americana flair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe beautiful part about negative ads are that once a story breaks containment, there\u2019s simply no going back,\u201d one veteran Republican aide who works closely with the president\u2019s team told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cThey can disavow or try to fight it or whatever, but the ads write themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhether it\u2019s a jihadi jester in Michigan or trans kid lover in Texas, Democrats are nominating candidates who are chronically unhinged and wildly out of touch,\u201d Republican National Committee spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre added in a statement. \u201cWe will continue to contrast their clown car of socialist extremists with our strong slate of commonsense Republican leaders who will put Americans first.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s what you need to know about the pending attack wave.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-el-sayed-july-fourth-fireworks-suck-and-football-is-toxic\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">El Sayed: July Fourth fireworks suck and football is toxic<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El Sayed, who narrowly bested Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in Michigan\u2019s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate earlier in August, has spent the past seven years hosting a podcast in partnership with Crooked Media. However, prior to announcing his Senate campaign last year, he scrubbed his channels and social media accounts of more than 100 videos featuring potentially inflammatory commentary, according to reporting from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/08\/11\/politics\/el-sayed-youtube-videos-fireworks-2nd-amendment\">CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One now-deleted episode in particular seems tailor-made for Republican attack ads. In the video, el Sayed outlined four reasons why \u201cfireworks suck\u201d and urged viewers to \u201cplease\u201d find a new, different way to celebrate the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of the content that el Sayed declined to scrub could still be potentially damaging in a general election, especially in a state like Michigan. CNN noted that, in a 2023 episode, el Sayed questioned whether or not football could ever be \u201csafe\u201d and \u201cethical\u201d and claimed that the sport \u201cechoed\u201d narratives justifying slavery and other forms of oppression.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El Sayed\u2019s campaign dismissed CNN\u2019s reporting with a statement, though the candidate himself has not spoken on the issue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAbdul is the former captain of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-would-rather-kids-die-than-stand-up-to-teachers-unions\/\" title=\"... Would Rather Kids Die Than Stand Up To Teachers Unions\">high school football team<\/a>, loves Michigan football on Saturdays, and celebrates the Fourth of July with fireworks like the next Michigander,\u201d the campaign wrote. \u201cCherry-picked comments from old podcasts don\u2019t reflect his beliefs today.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-hong-cancel-thanksgiving\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hong: \u2018Cancel Thanksgiving\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate and former chef threw a wrinkle into her own race when one of her 2020 tweets resurfaced just a week before the state\u2019s August 11 primary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the deleted post, Hong argued that the United States \u201cshould cancel Thanksgiving,\u201d adding that the country \u201cshould have done this in 1621.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed Indigenous folx and women so be it,\u201d she wrote at the time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A number of Hong\u2019s Democratic primary opponents took umbrage with her comment, but Hong herself has stood by the remark, albeit with a more moderate twist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThanksgiving is also a time that\u2019s incredibly painful for many people in our communities. So I think there I wanted to make sure that people understood there are multiple views, but views can evolve,\u201d she told CNN in an interview, days before telling USA Today that she\u2019s \u201cnot going to cancel Thanksgiving\u201d if she wins in November.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-talarico-a-vegan\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Talarico: \u2018A vegan\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Texas takes its barbecue seriously, so it\u2019s no surprise that Republican Senatorial nominee <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ken-paxton\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"4370\">Ken Paxton<\/a> has spent months claiming that his opponent doesn\u2019t eat meat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vegan line stems from comments Talarico made back in a 2022 video in partnership with the Texas Humane Legislation Network. At the time, Talarico stated that \u201cit is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption,\u201d as a means of combating global warming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4682782\/trump-eyeing-federal-action-block-mamdani-pied-a-terre-tax\/\"><strong>TRUMP EYEING FEDERAL ACTION TO BLOCK MAMDANI\u2019S PIED-A-TERRE TAX TARGETING SECOND HOMES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Talarico is not a vegan and has largely rolled with Paxton\u2019s punches, claiming that he\u2019d \u201cbeen eating barbecue since before Ken Paxton\u2019s first indictment.\u201d Furthermore, he\u2019s parlayed the food-based barbs into conversations on social media about elevated food costs, blaming Trump\u2019s economic platform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, a May 2026 campaign appearance alongside former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"360\">Barack Obama<\/a> gave Republicans just enough wiggle room to keep up the attacks. During the stop, Talarico ordered potato, egg, and cheese breakfast tacos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP uses old clips to attack Democrats ahead of 2026 elections<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2645,"featured_media":2643454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-collage-4ipbse8lx-1786479885687-e1786481506473.jpg?1786467102&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[65729,3685,5541,5894,12295],"class_list":["post-2643453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-american-heritage","tag-democrats","tag-football","tag-politics","tag-slavery"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-collage-4ipbse8lx-1786479885687-e1786481506473.jpg?1786467102&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2643453"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2643457,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643453\/revisions\/2643457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2643454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2643453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2643453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2643453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}