You might think that after the butt-whooping Democrats received at the hands of the American people on election night, it would almost be a knee-jerk reaction to engage in a bit of self-reflection, maybe some collective soul-searching. A few here and there have been sufficiently slapped around enough and are now doing some examination. But for the most part, it's just not going to happen. Those who are seeing the light are getting scolded by those who still refuse to see what they might be doing wrong.
From @GlobeOpinion: The left will continue to lose credibility with voters if it can’t see that demonizing people with reasonable concerns about the fairness of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports is a losing strategy, writes @carinemhajjar. https://t.co/9Ufx4NtkFf
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) November 12, 2024
On Tuesday, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) made an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Moulton was blunt and stated that one of the things his party needs to do is put an end to canceling people who have opposing viewpoints on biological men competing in women's sports. Moulton has been outspoken about his opposition to transgender athletes competing in women's sports. As might be expected, he has received plenty of blowback from his fellow Democrats. In a recent New York Times interview, he stated:
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face. I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
Moulton's views are in line with the vast majority of Americans. A recent NORC survey done by the University of Chicago found that 69 percent of U.S. adults believe that biological males should "either never or rarely" compete with biological females. In addition, 66 percent oppose biological boys competing in girls' sports at all. Moulton told hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that his party "talks down" to those who have a differing viewpoint on the issue, and it will continue to cause them to lose elections. He added:
“When people like this in our party try to cancel me or whomever else, they’re also talking down, they’re canceling the views of a vast majority of Americans. And so, how on Earth are we gonna win elections if that’s our approach, that we just want to preach down to people and tell them that they’re morally wrong if they don’t meet some strict ideological purity test?”
Moulton went on to point out that his party needs to remember the "foundational value" of Americans' right to freedom of speech to talk about controversial issues. He continued:
“The founders had this crazy concept called freedom of speech, and we Democrats would do well to remember that foundational American value, because if we can’t talk about these tough issues, we’re never gonna win on them.”
Unable to blame itself for its loses, the left is looking to blame the only people preaching sanity, like @sethmoulton. The Marine Corps vet was likened to a Nazi cooperator by Democrats in his own hometown: https://t.co/7R7fN90LWX pic.twitter.com/LoCF0uuuyE
— Carine Hajjar (@carinemhajjar) November 12, 2024
It didn't take Moulton's fellow Democrats long to launch into exactly the behavior he was talking about. During a Tuesday night appearance on CNN, House Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) lit into Moulton's comments and added the standard blaming of Republicans.
“I just find that to be an offensive comment, actually. We’re talking about half of 1 percent of people in the country. And I think that we have to really be clear. There was one party that tried to initiate a culture war, a so-called culture war, against a tiny group of people. That was the Republican Party that poured billions of dollars into this...I don’t think that… instilling fear in people for a tiny, tiny group of population, group of people that we’re talking about, is the right way to go about this.”
In addition to Jayapal's comments, the political science department at Tufts University has cut ties with Moulton and will not accept internships from his office. It gets better — Liz Bradt is the chair of the Democratic City Committee in Moulton's hometown of Salem. She relied on the tried and true method of comparing Moulton to a Nazi cooperator, and Salem City Councilman Kyle Davis tweeted, “I’m not looking for an apology from @sethmoulton, I’m looking for a resignation.” So much for self-reflection.
To Pramila Jayapal's point, let's say that her number is right, and the transgender population really is one-half of one percent. To Seth Moulton's point, why does that minute percentage of the population get to hold the rest of us hostage? And why can't Democrats, or anyone else for that matter, speak on this issue without getting canceled and called a Nazi?
Eventually, Democrats will be forced to do a GOP-style "autopsy" on their party. But it is going to take a few more losing election cycles and a lot more canceling before they realize that people like Seth Moulton have been right all along.
I’m not looking for an apology from @sethmoulton I’m looking for a resignation.
— Kyle Davis (@KyleForSalem) November 8, 2024
