Are you worried sick about parental concerns regarding health care and social support for transgender children? Well, some centrist pundits are, and they think it’s a potent wedge issue for conservatives. I mean, why wouldn’t it be? It ticks all the boxes for an effective culture war hot button: it involves things that conservatives aren’t quite familiar with, like social and medical practices that are out of the norm, and sometimes, children are concerned. But guess what? It’s not working out for them as they expected. Surprise, surprise!
The culture war has taken a drastic turn, and I have to say, it’s hilarious. The conservatives have won the biggest victory of them all, and they’ve lost the war. Way to go! Apparently, state legislatures across the country are enacting draconian abortion bans, and as we all expected, tragic outcomes are occurring. Let’s face it: when the Republicans start messing around with women’s sex organs, things go haywire. Imagine risking your life because a doctor won’t perform a necessary medical procedure because of some anti-abortion law. Yikes! As they say, you reap what you sow, and in this case, it’s not too pleasant.
You know what conservatives have been doing for years, even before things got this bad? They’ve been using hard-edge anti-trans messaging in both red and swing state races, hoping to gain some ground. Sadly, it never really works out for them. They tried it in North Carolina’s 2016 governor’s race, and despite the hail of anti-trans ads, the Democrat still won. They also tried it against Andy Beshear, the Democratic candidate for governor in deep-red Kentucky in 2019, and, you guessed it, failed. In 2022, G.O.P. candidates attempted to use L.G.B.T. issues as a wedge in swing state races across the U.S. But the data suggest that opposition to trans rights cannot overcome, (or possibly even make a dent in), the advantage that comes to Democrats in swing states for supporting abortion rights. Sorry, conservatives, but it looks like you can’t have it both ways.
Allow me to quote the anonymous, but eerily prescient polling analyst, who refers to themselves by the name Ettingermentum, “Transphobia was, and is, the dog that couldn’t hunt.” I couldn’t have said it better myself, but hey, thanks for trying.
And here we have the most recent example of failure: Wisconsin. The American Principles Project, a Virginia organization that is a driving force behind the harsh anti-transgender laws sweeping red states, spent almost $800,000 on ads supporting Kelly in the State Supreme Court race, according to Wisconsin Watch. A video paid for by the organization’s PAC accompanied text messages that described his liberal opponent, Judge Janet Protasiewicz, as “endorsed by all the woke activists that are stripping parents of their rights in Wisconsin schools and forcing transgenderism down our throats.” And still, they lost. What a shame!
Serious News: nytimes
