Democrats are still reeling from the wave of defeats on Election Day. Kamala Harris He lost to Donald Trump. One of the theories floated during the disclosure process is that Trump won because the Democratic Party was out of touch with the concerns of average Americans. One example of this alleged disconnect is Democrats’ relative support for transgender Americans compared to Republicans. Coordinated attack against trans people.

“Democrats should stop pandering to the far left,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi, a moderate Democrat from New York who was re-elected on Tuesday. he told the New York Times the next day. “I don’t want to discriminate against anyone, but I don’t think biological males should play in girls’ sports. … Democrats aren’t saying that, and they need to say that.”

There’s no other way to say this but: No. Democrats should definitely not follow Suozzi’s advice here. This is a fear-based instinct that must be loudly and decisively rejected from every corner of the party. From the perspective of human kindness, this moment Trans people are the most at riskThis is not the time to throw them under the bus. It is also wrong as a political strategy for the party to try to attract voters who are no longer inclined to support the Democratic Party even if it abandons trans people.

Trump and other Republicans I went all out on anti-trans messages this election cycle. According to Ad Impact data, the GOP spent approximately 215 million dollars Only network TV commercials portray transgender people as a threat to the American way of life. including this At least $77 million in Senate races It airs in 10 states between mid-July and late October and does not contain any relevant online advertising. That was far more money than the GOP spent whipping up anti-trans sentiment during the 2022 midterm elections. At the time, this campaign strategy was a major failure for the GOP. There were no real gains the GOP could show based on this rhetoric.

So what was the response to this? spending deluge Are Democrats being targeted? Not much in Ohio and Texas, where most of the GOP’s spending is concentrated. Disturbingly, Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running for re-election in Ohio, and Rep. Colin Allred, who is trying to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, have chosen to accept the premise that transgender youth participation in sports is somehow wrong. “Let me be clear: I don’t want boys playing girls’ sports or any of the stupid things Ted Cruz says.” Allred said in an ad: It has faced harsh scrutiny from LGBTQ groups.

Similar to immigration and the GOP obsessive focus on “border security” This level of engagement with conservative attacks only confirms them. As Katelyn Burns wrote for MSNBC last monthThere’s no way to argue that trans girls who play sports in school are truly “biological boys” without implying a similar belief that trans women are like that, too. only “biological men” and that they are treated as such in policy and practice. (It’s also worth noting that Allred and Brown lost their races despite downplaying their previous support for transgender rights.)

There is also no evidence that backtracking on protecting transgender rights would benefit Democrats. A. Data for Progress’ latest survey showed that the majority of voters More They are more likely to support a candidate who supports transgender rights than a candidate who opposes them. It’s even more encouraging when you see that these numbers include 80% of Democrats and 46% of independent/third-party voters. Of the latter group, 27% said they “didn’t know” which hypothetical candidate they would support. It is worth noting that these findings may vary depending on geographical location, but are still useful from a national perspective.

While I can understand why this might give some Democrats pause, it seems unlikely that all undecided respondents would join the 33% of independents who prefer a candidate who attacks transgender rights. In fact, when given a choice between Candidate A, who “says the government should stay out of people’s private lives and that there is too much legislation targeting a small minority of the population,” and Candidate B, who “says we need new laws that restrict individuals’ access to transgender health care and ‘biological ‘keeping boys out of sports,’ 54% of independent/third party voters More Likely to support Candidate A.

Trans rights issues: trans athletes canardalso consistently ranks at the bottom is one of the priorities of most voters in the ballot box. This would lend some credence to the idea that Democrats are spending too much time focusing on the issue — or at least it would be if there were Democrats working on the issue. In its place, Axis declared In late October, Democrats were said to have “spent nearly $9 million to rebut GOP attacks or counter Republican opposition to broader LGBTQ rights.” That’s nine times less than the onslaught of ads demonizing transgender Americans. For those who think the problem is that Democrats are too vocal in defending trans rights, I ask you to explain this gap.

Besides can’t be said for sure I think a lot of anti-trans ads influenced the outcome of the election. A. Ground Media and GLAAD’s latest work The following year, it was found that watching a Trump ad against transgender people had no significant impact on voter choice, the likelihood of taking action, or voting, compared to an ad that did not mention transgender issues. But in deconstructing a race where any number of factors could be the so-called tipping point, The urge to find a scapegoat is strongAs predictions become narratives, they become conventional wisdom.

But what we do know is that LGBTQ crisis services There was a huge increase in calls Since Election Day. we know this anti-trans legislation pouring out of the states and soon moving towards the federal level. We know that Trump’s new administration will reverse any decision. protections put in place Under President Joe Biden’s administration. we know this despite the victory like Rep. Sarah McBride’s victory in DelawareNot only will trans Americans feel extremely unsafe in this environment, they will also face increased risks to their health and safety.

I know that I will not be in the most vulnerable category for the next four years. In this case, it is a moral obligation for me to speak on behalf of those in this situation. This is true at the individual level as well as at the party level. There is no excuse for cowardice in this moment of insurrection, especially the cowardice that would sacrifice transgender Americans on the altar of bigotry.