That photo of the newly elected Texas Senator James Talarico and newly elected Governor Gina Hinojosa tapping their oversized cups together while sitting in a Whataburger in Austin after the election has a lot of people invoking one of my favorite memes. “Hang it in the Louvre,” is echoing all over the internet, and the people saying it are right; this is a moment worthy of the critique of any masterpiece hanging in a museum.
First, there is the Whataburger of it all. This Texas-born chain that started in 1950 is beloved, even after the original owners sold a majority stake to private equity in Chicago (get a rope). Choosing this iconic orange as the background for a victory is ripe with meaning. The first harkens back to a talking point from the campaigns and an existential conversation in the state: What is the “real” Texas, and who is a “real” Texan? Whataburger, all through the ‘90s and ‘00s, used the slogan “A Texas original” to define its roots in the state. This duo has positioned themselves as iconoclastic but also deeply Texan throughout their campaigns, with Talarcio touting his eight-generations-deep ancestry, and Hinojosa calling herself a “daughter of the Rio Grande Valley” and a “mom, Texan, and soon-to-be governor.” The branding alignment is obvious but brilliant.
It also speaks to Talarcio and Hinojosa’s joint message that they want to serve everyone in the state, not just the people who voted for them. Whataburger is the kind of place Texans of all ages, genders, classes, and ethnicities go together — after football games, after church, at 2 a.m. for a study break, after a night out, multiple times on a road trip through the state that lasts more than eight hours, or just for dinner when they don’t want to cook. It is a place for regular people, irregular people, annoying people, and the best people. Whataburger is a Texas melting pot.
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Talarico and Hinojosa have repeatedly promised to serve regular Texans — that’s something Whataburger does every day. This election wasn’t an endorsement of the Democrats for many Texans; it was a rebuke of the incredibly corrupt Republican candidates who have been in power for multiple terms and over the years decided to make the wealthiest Texans, businesses, and technology their constituents. So the constituents aren't watching Talarcio and Hinojosa get drunk in an expensive hotel ballroom, which is where so many Republicans had their parties planned for the night. They are sending the message that it's out for an affordable bite that anyone can have access to and early to bed, because there is work to be done. That this isn’t a victory they want to rub anyone’s nose in. It’s a mandate from the voters, and they know it.
Whataburger is something that the majority of Texans grew up with. It’s a known entity and a place where you can get a damn good jalapeño and cheese burger made with yellow mustard only (no mayo) and served with a Dr. Pepper and spicy ketchup for your perfectly crispy fries — we like our food spicy here. The burgers are bigger than the average fast food place, on purpose. In 2001, the Texas Legislature named it a Texas Treasure. It’s been in Friday Night Lights, King of the Hill, hell, even in Hunting Wives. That iconic orange color and the flying W signs are like a beacon for Texans, looking for food 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If we see an A-frame serving burgers anywhere in Texas, we know it was once a Whataburger. Whataburger is Texas. Talarico and Hinojosa couldn’t have picked a better place to say they are Texas, too.
