Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) came under fire during the 2024 campaign when he committed the unpardonable sin of echoing the concerns of everyday Americans about progressive efforts to force their ridiculous gender ideology on the rest of the nation.
The lawmaker penned an op-ed for The Washington Post on Friday, in which he discusses the controversy and the reactions behind the scenes to his comments, and argues that the Democratic Party should stop dictating to people what they should think and instead listen to the people.
Chances are, he will get into even more trouble for this op-ed. But if Democrats finally do listen to folks like him, the Republican Party will have bigger challenges ahead when it comes to winning elections.
In the piece, Moulton laments that the party has become overly authoritarian in how they police speech, silencing dissent even on issues where most Americans agree. He recalls the backlash he faced for simply suggesting that biological males should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
“The blowback, which was swift, included the chair of a local Democratic committee calling me a Nazi ‘cooperator’ and about 200 people gathering in front of my office to protest a sentence,” he writes.
Yet, while the talking heads and Democratic politicians savaged him for his comments, Moulton notes how people responded behind closed doors:
“What has amazed me, though, is what’s happening behind the scenes. Countless Democrats have reached out, from across the party — to thank me. I’ve heard it again and again, from union leaders to colleagues in the House and Senate; from top people from the Obama, Biden and Harris teams to local Democrats stopping me on the street; from fellow dads to many in the LGBTQ+ community: ‘Thank you for saying that!’”
The lawmaker goes on to discuss how the left used to champion free speech. Yet, now, they are the main ones trying to suppress differing ideas and viewpoints. “Until not so long ago, we were the party of free speech. We welcomed real, rigorous debate when orthodox conservatives in the Republican Party were afraid of change,” he asserts.
“That’s how we delivered Social Security and Medicare when wealthy Americans already had good health care and retirement savings. That’s how we protected people with preexisting conditions under Obamacare, against staunch Republican opposition. And it’s how we expanded freedoms by allowing women to make their own health-care decisions and everyone to marry whomever they love, changing the status quo.”
Moulton delves into the reasons why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election, noting how they ignored or downplayed the very real concerns voters have when it comes to issues like immigration, inflation, and crime.
“When 94 percent of Americans said they worried about the border crisis, Trump said he’d fix it,” Moulton notes, while also pointing out how Democrats discouraged discussion on immigration.
The lawmaker points out that “As grocery prices soared, the Biden administration told us not to worry because it was ‘transitory,’ whatever that means.”
“When Democrats don’t engage honestly on real issues important to Americans, we give the impression that we either don’t understand or, worse yet, simply don’t care. According to one exit poll, the No. 1 reason swing voters chose Trump was ‘Harris is focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues rather than helping the middle class.’”
Moulton calls on his party to return to its roots and focus on solving problems and actually engaging with voters on the issues they care about the most. In this way, he believes Democrats can regain their political strength. “We didn’t do this by telling voters what to think or how to feel, but by listening when they told us,” he writes.
Moulton nailed it and expertly explained why Democrats lost so big this year. Democrats showed over and over again that they are out of touch with ordinary Americans, a weakness that President-elect Donald Trump gleefully exploited.
While people are struggling to make ends meet because of inflation, folks on the left responded by downplaying their concerns while trying to pressure them into pretending men can become women and vice versa. It was the absolute dumbest messaging strategy I have seen in quite a long time.
Fortunately for Republicans, Moulton’s words are likely going to fall on deaf ears. I can almost imagine the scathing op-eds progressives will write in response to his sensible observations. They might even call him a bigot for even daring to suggest that folks on the left made huge mistakes during this election season.
Since the election was decided, Democrats have responded by doubling down on stupid, blaming everyone but themselves for their ignominious defeat. They lashed out at Elon Musk for supposedly stealing the election. Many blamed Black voters for not falling in line as they have in elections past. They claim Kamala Harris lost because America is hopelessly racist and sexist.
They are making all the same mistakes that cost them in 2024 – and it doesn’t appear they will stop anytime soon. Republicans would be wise to continue taking advantage of this weakness while they can.
