i have to give it to the right. this issue is one that sees people from all walks of life - left and right, black and white, men and women - agreeing that the trans movement has gone too far.
i was recently discussing this very topic with my mother. she leans left, votes democrat, and despises the republican party. but she opposes trans women competing with women. she also doesn’t support parents losing the right to exercise the power of guardianship when their children seek gender affirming care.
she thinks the democrats have a significant blind spot when it comes to the trans debate. it’s so determined to appear like the party of inclusivity that its lack of empathy for women is turning off those who would have previously never considered voting for republicans.
the republican party is paying attention to this, noticing the rift this issue has caused within the democratic base, and is now peeling off voters who think democrats have gone too far.
republicans know they’ve lost the abortion debate, their midterm losses largely attributable to that miscalculation. but they feel, with good reason, that they can pivot to the trans debate and make that the focal point of their culture war.
instead of focusing on black people, the group that actually wins them election, delivering us tangibles that guarantee our support on election night, they’ve hitched their wagon to a cause that’s being assailed from all sides.
