Abandoning Trans Kids Isn't A Political Strategy. It's Cowardice.
The wrong lessons from ‘They/Them.’
Third Way President Jonathan Cowan published what Third Way’s social media accounts modestly describe as “a must-read column” on how Democrats can “seize the center on transgender policy” in Politico. You probably know where this is going.
Can Democrats remain supportive of a small and vulnerable segment of the population without seeming out of touch with much of America? Is there a middle ground they can occupy on issues relating to transgender people and still find their way out of the political wilderness? I believe the answer to these questions is yes.
Cowan, who worked in the Clinton administration, cites a recent Pew research survey, which shows that a majority “wants some limitations on sports participation based on an athlete’s sex assigned at birth. And the same majority believes we must protect transgender people from discrimination in work, housing and healthcare.”
Of course, these positions aren’t static, and Cowan doesn’t acknowledge how politicians can influence voter opinion on an issue, especially one that most people only comprehend in the abstract. Just 300,000 Americans between the ages of 13 and 17 identify as transgender. That’s about half a percent. Meanwhile, guns have killed more children than vehicles since 2020, but Republicans won’t consider any real compromises on gun safety.
However, many Democrats perceive trans athletes in sports as an electoral silver bullet. Arizona’s freshman Sen. Ruben Gallego has joined California Gov. Gavin Newsom in declaring that so-called “concerns” about trans athletes are “legitimate.”
In an interview with the center-right Dispatch, Gallego said, “As a parent of a daughter, I think it’s legitimate that parents are worried about the safety of their daughters, and I think it’s legitimate for us to be worried also about fair competition. And I think the parents of these trans children also are worried legitimately about the health and wellness of their kids.”
That’s quite the tightly focus-grouped answer. Note the phrasing, though: “As the parent of a daughter” … who is not trans, and “parents are worried about the safety of their daughters” … presumably from other people’s daughters who are trans. This promotes the right-wing “othering” of trans kids. It’s hard to effectively “negotiate” an issue when you concede the other side’s position.
When Republicans pushed to ban gender-affirming care for minors, they argued that the treatment permanently altered children, yet they simultaneously claim that trans kids are practically full-grown men in drag curb stomping young girls in track and field. It’s as if they’re not being entirely honest. (Watch below.)
Gallego told the Dispatch that he supports letting “local institutions” determine whether to impose biological segregation in school sports. This is a clear break from congressional Democrats who have pushed for federal protections for trans people, and a supposed “states’ rights” position on the issue would leave trans kids at the mercy of Republican-run governments. Gallego suggests that this is easily explained to vulnerable children with some “compassionate” platitudes.
“Hey, listen, we love you,” Gallego said, and somewhere Inigo Montoya objects to his word choice. “We want you to be part of our community, but this is just the one place you can’t play, and let’s find other activities for you to be involved.”
My wife and I understand that there are certain activities in which our son can’t participate because of his physical challenges, but we also expect reasonable accommodations whenever possible. More importantly, we’d never stand for anyone saying our son can’t do something for no reason other than his identity. (“We don’t even need to engage with your child as an individual before concluding they are a problem.”) Trans-exclusionary policies aren’t about accommodating children who are different but marginalizing them, and Gallego suggests you can do that with a Coke and a smile.
The “fairness” argument regarding team sports is odd to me because sports are inherently unfair. Olympic medalist Ilona Maher is taller and stronger than many women and men. (Watch below.)
I also think this debate focuses far too much on competition among young people than team-building and camaraderie. I’m not even sure what “other activities” Gallego believes trans kids can participate in without bigoted backlash: “OK, trans girls can’t play sports but maybe they can be in the Drama Club.” Except as soon as a talented trans girl gets the lead in the school production of Matilda or Mamma Mia!, the Riley Gaines of the world will immediately cry foul and play the victim.
Centrist Democrats always hope to find a “safe” middle ground on an issue, but Republicans aren’t interested in any compromise regarding trans people. They’re seeking to erase them from public life.
Centrist Democrats are perhaps deliberately misreading the success of the “they/them” ads that the Trump campaign ran against Kamala Harris. They didn't work solely because they were overtly anti-trans. They worked because they focused on an extreme position Harris had taken during the 2020 primary — tax-funded gender-affirming surgery for prisoners. The 1988 Willie Horton ads played on racial fears but ultimately targeted the (admittedly goofy) weekend furlough program for convicted murderers. Bill Clinton moved the Democratic Party to the center in 1992, but it’s not like he said, “Wow, because of those damning Willie Horton ads, I must now oppose interracial couples at school proms.”
Harris never defended her former position or made a distinction between tax-funded services for prisoners and literal children. The Democrats who supported the Hyde Amendment, which barred the use of federal funds for abortion, still managed to defend abortion rights overall.
Unfortunately, the Harris campaign let the “they/them” ads go unanswered. The New York Times reported after the election that the Harris campaign knew the anti-trans attack ads were driving away swing voters, but none of their consultant-speak rebuttal spots tested well with whoever willingly participates in focus groups. So, instead the Harris campaign resorted to the classic ostrich maneuver and released an ad complaining that Trump had gone “negative” that didn’t even mention trans people.
This wasn’t an attack the campaign could afford to ignore, because it reinforced a MAGA narrative that Harris and Democrats didn’t care about working people. The best way to counter that arguments is to ... care about working people. This includes trans people, who struggle the most economically. LGBTQ people have a higher rate of employment discrimination overall, and studies show that they were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic that Trump botched: Two-thirds (66 percent) of LGBTQ households had at least one serious financial problem since the pandemic began, compared to 44 percent of non-LGBTQ households.
Harris could have even embraced “they/them.” Notice that Trump ran around dressed like a garbage collector to seize on Joe Biden’s “garbage” gaffe. “Trump says I’m for they/them. He’s right. I’m for everyone, especially you." Then show examples of policies she planned to roll out to help struggling people. “Regardless of who you are, I'm going to improve your life.” (Democrats can have this one for free.)
I support a big Democratic tent where there’s rigorous ideological debate among reasonable people. My issue with Democrats like Gallego and Newsom is that they’re not having a true debate within the tent. They’re trying to appeal to right-wingers who aren’t engaging in good faith. If Democrats genuinely believe the center offers the best path out of wilderness, they are welcome to take it, but they shouldn’t trample over the backs of children in the darkness.
Meanwhile, at least Tim Walz is getting it right. If we aren't the party of human rights, what good are we?
And one more thing—voters like fighters more than they like candidates who pander. The minute Republicans accuse you of being too pro-trans, turn it around on them. Accuse them of strange genitals obsessions, suggest that they not be allowed alone in the room with children, and remind everyone that these same bags of shit were forcing out gay teachers from their jobs right up until that became electorally inconvenient.