Democrats Complain: GOP Gains by Opposing Transgenderism

Democrats are complaining that the GOP is trying to win elections by protecting children from the increasingly unpopular transgender ideology.

The complaints poured out from Democrats during a July 27 hearing at the House judiciary committee where several Republican-invited witnesses explained how transgenderism hurt them or others.

“Today’s hearing is not about protecting children’s or parents’ rights,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), the top Democrat on the judiciary committee’s  Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. She continued:

It’s a cynical and frankly dangerous that transgender children and their families, driven not by science or facts, but by polling and political strategists determined to mobilize conservative voters through fear … [It] is fear-mongering at its worst, picking on already vulnerable kids in order to stir up chaos that they hope to ride to success at the ballot box.

“Undoubtedly, transgender youth participation in sports will be discussed because Republicans think it is a winning political talking point,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the top Democrat on the judiciary committee.

“These things need to be discussed and determined in a scientific manner, in a logical manner, not [via] emotions, not behavior, and attitudes that appeal only to voters and to try to gain votes at the ballot box,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN).

“It should be done responsibly” by relying on Democratic-dominated professional groups, he pleaded, as he portrayed the Democratic Party as the champion of minorities:

This is an easy way for people to try to get points: Pick on a minority group that is the most minority and least understood in our country. It’s gone on for centuries. One hundred years ago it was African Americans. Later, it was Hispanics. Then it was gay people. Now transgender people. Find a group that is not understood and it’s easy to use to gain political power. It’s bad for politics, it is bad for people.

The Republican chairman confidently pushed back against the Democrats.

“The science is on the side of what we all know deep down is morally and ethnically right,” said GOP chairman Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):

Contrary to what some of my Democratic colleagues believe, the scourge of radical gender ideology is very real. The efforts to cover up what’s being done to our children are extreme. … I look forward to the testimony from our witnesses as we unravel the narratives surrounding the so-called gender-affirming care.

The transgender ideology is increasingly unpopular because it pushes the government to reshape the sexual identity, behavior, and medical treatment of children and adults — regardless of the huge medical, civic, economic, and social damage.

Incredibly powerful plea from detransitioner @ChoooCole to the lawmakers seated before her: "This needs to stop. You alone can stop it. Enough children have already been victimized by this barbaric pseudoscience."

"Please let me be your final warning." pic.twitter.com/pdiOVyAHL1

— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) July 27, 2023

In May. Breitbart News reported on a poll pushed by the Washington Post:

The survey found that most Americans believe that the status of being a man or woman is wholly determined by biology. Fifty-seven percent across the board agree that gender is based on that alone. Just 43 percent believe a person’s sex is determined by a person’s sense of their “gender.”

…

The survey also found that most across the board, 77 percent, believe it is “inappropriate” for teachers to discuss transgender identity in public schools with students in kindergarten through third grade.

…

There is also a general consensus on limiting access to certain medical procedures for children who believe they are transgender as well, as 68 percent oppose allowing puberty-blocking medication for children between the ages of 10 and 14.

In March, Breitbart reported on a Reuters/Ipsos survey:

The survey asked respondents if they are more or less likely to support a candidate in 2024 who “supports allowing transgender children under the age of 18 to get medical treatment related to gender identity and gender transitioning.”

Overall, 61 percent said they are at least somewhat less likely, but of those, 37 percent said they are “much less likely” to support said candidate.

Eighty-three percent of Republicans, specifically, said they are less likely to support a candidate who supports “medical procedures” for children, and 67 percent of independents and 37 percent of Democrats agree.

Still, a Democratic-affiliated group — the Human Rights Council — posted a statement for the hearing claiming that “majorities of Americans oppose criminalizing or banning gender-affirming care.”

One of the two polls did not describe the transexual treatment for children, such as irreversible hormones, blockers, and surgery when it asked in March 2023:

Several state legislatures have proposed bills affecting the transgender community. Do you support or oppose a bill that criminalizes providing gender transition-related medical care for minors?

The skewed question showed 43 percent in support and 54 percent in opposition.

The HRC group did not mention that the pollster showed a huge shift from April 21 when the question showed 28 percent support and 65 percent opposition.

The second poll in March 2023 by Grinnell College got a similar result by also skewing the question and asking Americans “If they favored or opposed legislation that would ban transgender children from receiving [gender-affirming] care are with the approval of their parents or guardians and their doctors.”  Forty-one percent said they would favor it, and 53 percent said they would oppose it.

“Gender-affirming” is a skewed term because it suggests that children may have a “gender” identity different from their male or female bodies, and also that a lifetime of medical interventions are needed to reconcile their bodies with the unverifiable concept of “gender.”

In reality, adults and children have a wide range of body forms, self-images, and sexual behaviors, whatever their male or female biology.