The people whom you're afraid to engage on trans rights and systemic racism and misogyny, because you've been led to believe these are distracting "culture wars" that will hurt Democrats, have spent this week attacking Big Bird for making kids feel safe getting a COVID shot.
My point here is that there is no such thing as static "culture wars". If you stopped talking about all these others things under the assumption it'll make Democrats more appealing, "culture war" proponents would simply and easily find something else to make a "culture war".
These people spent enormous time earlier this year falsely claiming that school districts and public libraries were banning Dr. Seuss. It wasn't true. At all. But it got significant media attention. Soon, people were asked which side they're on: ban Dr. Seuss or not?
Dr. Seuss has not been banned. If you go to your kid's school library right now--I don't care where you live--Dr. Seuss will be on the shelf.
How did it happen? The estate/publisher for Dr. Seuss stopped publishing six books with blatantly racist imagery.
How did it happen? The estate/publisher for Dr. Seuss stopped publishing six books with blatantly racist imagery.
If you wanna go look up which six books they stopped publishing, you'll see why. It's pretty obvious. It's beyond common sense in 2021.
But Fox News, etc. denounced this free market approach by the Dr. Seuss estate and claimed his books are now banned.
But Fox News, etc. denounced this free market approach by the Dr. Seuss estate and claimed his books are now banned.
Meanwhile, Dr. Seuss books are found everywhere you look, including the books that the estate stopped publishing, and yet, there are still folks who claim Dr. Seuss was banned this year from schools.
And yet... the books most often banned have LGBTQ and anti-racism themes.
Huh?
And yet... the books most often banned have LGBTQ and anti-racism themes.
Huh?
This is what they do. These people attacking trans children and wondering aloud if kids should learn about racism early (never mind that children of color experience racism very early) and on and on aren't trying to have a good faith concern addressed. Controversy is the point.
It's on all Democratic leaders to wake up and stop being scared of their own shadow.
While the people decrying "wokeness" exercise direct censorship and propaganda and viciously attack marginalized communities, some Democrats seem hellbent on pandering to them.
While the people decrying "wokeness" exercise direct censorship and propaganda and viciously attack marginalized communities, some Democrats seem hellbent on pandering to them.
And these Democrats do that under the incredibly misguided belief that treating trans people and BIPOC and other marginalized folks as a distraction from winning elections will somehow clear the way for broad policy discussions that Democrats can win.
Talk about naïve.
Talk about naïve.
If you're a Democrat or moderate who thinks hiding us--your base, the folks who show up for you election after election--will somehow translate to a huge victory next year, I can only imagine your reaction when the GOP simply pivots to another "culture war" for votes.
While Terry McAuliffe was getting roundly beaten because he had no compelling central message other than "I'm against Trump", Virginia State Delegate Danica Roem won her third consecutive election as a nationally known openly-trans woman in a historically GOP district.
There are Youngkin voters in these precincts (not many but they exist) who pulled the lever for a progressive trans woman. Whatever else they believe, however much you may disagree, they found her message compelling enough to earn a vote while ~relatable~ McAuliffe fell short.
Mr. Auliffe, a white cis, straight male + former governor (a vote-getting machine, we're told) was outperformed by Del. Roem in numerous conservative precincts. Why? Because he didn't convince voters he cares about them, and she's obsessed with the struggles of her constituents.
Stop blaming trans folks and BIPOC and religious minorities and marginalized folks generally for your inability or unwillingness to communicate a very simple and direct message of what you'll specifically do to help families in this country. Families first. It's that simple.
It's not trans folks or Big Bird or whatever the hell else that's keeping Democrats from winning. Democrats are keeping Democrats from winning when they cower before bullying and forget why they're Democrats in the first place: to fight for people.
Stop whining and fight back.
Stop whining and fight back.
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