A surefire way to beat Republicans in their war on trans athletes
A few years back, I was on “Meet the Press” with former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina (famous for his bathroom-bill nonsense). In the green room, he told me Republicans would counter their weakness on abortion rights with “women in sports.” I laughed and said, “What issues with women in sports? Equal funding between men and women? Protecting women from predatory coaches?”
The joke ended up being on me. Now, Republicans have wielded the issue as a “fairness” cudgel against Democrats. Polling-wise, this might be Republicans’ most popular issue. Sixty-nine percent of Americans told Gallup last year that transgender athletes should play on teams that match their sex assigned at birth. That’s why Republicans are so quick to lean on it.
Democrats are stuck between two crappy options: They either fully embrace a maximalist “trans women are women” position that, while morally correct, is poison with voters, or they do the thing they used to do with abortion and run away and hide—also poison with voters.
However, political strategist and Substacker Eric Schmeltzer has the perfect response. The goal is to stop playing defense on the issue and instead go on offense. And Schmeltzer has identified exactly how to do it.
- Acknowledge that sure, it can be an issue of fairness, and while there haven’t been any notable instances of trans-related unfair advantages, sports governing bodies are well equipped to handle them if they ever arise, just like they do with issues such as drugs and weight classes. Then, here’s the coup de grâce …
- How would the government enforce these bans, anyway? With beyond-creepy genital inspection schemes.
“In Ohio, [Republicans] passed a bill through the House that would have forced a physician to examine a child’s genitals, internal and external, if anyone so much as disputed that kid’s sex,” Schmeltzer wrote, referring to a 2022 bill. “Not the parents’ call. Anyone’s. A rival’s mother, a sore-loser coach, a stranger with a grudge could trigger a state inspection of a teenager’s body.”
Lawmakers there had to pull that language in the face of a horrified public. And the same thing happened in Florida.
“They didn’t retreat out of some ethical and moral epiphany,” noted Schmeltzer. “They retreated because they got caught and people were horrified, and that’s the only thing that has ever slowed them down.”
Boiled down, Schmeltzer has response he thinks Democrats should use when confronted with this issue:
“Honestly, I don’t know why a politician needs to be in the middle of this. When politicians did step in on sports, like Title IX, it was to get more kids into the game. This isn’t that, and I’m not even seeing any case that fairness or competitiveness has been affected. But I do know sports bodies can handle any competitiveness issue that does arise. And I do know Republicans keep trying to pass bills to have a state-sponsored doctor examine any kid’s private parts if anyone questions their gender. Any kid, not just trans kids. That’s not protecting sports or kids. That’s the government putting its hands on your daughter, and it makes me sick. So, frankly, I’m way more worried about how Republicans keep trying to use this issue to have government physically examine your kids than I am about any effect on competition.”
As Schmeltzer notes, “That answer recognizes some people may be concerned about fairness and provides an answer, while still stating fairness has nothing to do with the panic being sold. Then it moves the fight onto the only ground that matters, where Democrats win going away: keep the government out of your family.”
Paint Republicans as the party that wants to examine your daughter’s genitals, and Democrats are suddenly on solid political terrain, without surrendering the moral high ground on the issue.
Democrats, get on it.
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