Democrats Lost Voters on Transgender Rights. Winning Them Back Won't Be Easy.
'Now I've done it many times,' she said, and with many lawmakers. When she does, she added, 'their faces squish up.'
At the time, Ms. Erickson was meeting with Democratic lawmakers in hopes of blocking a Republican bill to enact a blanket ban on transgender athletes' participation in women's sports. Awkward conversations, to her mind, were a necessary first step in escaping what many in and around Democratic politics had come to see as a sort of paralysis over the issue.
Stuck in a widening gulf between the views of the party's liberal voters and advocacy organizations on one side, and those of the broader American electorate on the other, many Democratic politicians had resolved to say as little as possible about the subject. In surveys, Ms. Erickson and other public-opinion researchers had found that this allowed Republicans, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars on ads attacking Democrats on transgender rights in 2024, to define voters' perceptions of Democratic policy positions.
'What they thought, in November, was that Democrats thought there should be no rules,' Ms. Erickson said. 'That's a caricature of the position from the right. And if you are too scared to articulate what your position is, that's what they hear.'
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Data center owners urge US Treasury to keep renewable energy subsidy rules
(Reuters) -The Data Center Coalition, which represents data center owners including Google, Amazon and Microsoft, called on U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to uphold existing rules for wind and solar energy subsidies, saying they have enabled the industry to grow quickly and stay ahead of competition from China. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Tougher rules on how projects can qualify for federal clean energy tax credits could slow development of new electricity generation at a time of surging power demand driven by artificial intelligence and the digital economy. KEY QUOTE "Any regulatory friction that slows down deployment of new generation today directly impacts our ability to meet AI-era electricity demands tomorrow," the coalition wrote in its letter to Bessent. The letter is dated August 4 but was seen by Reuters on Friday. CONTEXT President Donald Trump issued an executive order in July directing Treasury to tighten clean energy tax credit rules, including redefining what it means for a project to have started construction. The industry has relied on the existing rules for the last decade, and advisory firm Clean Energy Associates projected this week that the United States could lose about 60 gigawatts of planned solar capacity through 2030 if stricter "beginning of construction" rules are implemented. BY THE NUMBERS Between 2017 and 2023, the U.S. data center industry contributed $3.5 trillion to the nation's gross domestic product and directly employed over 600,000 workers, according to the DCC. WHAT'S NEXT The Treasury Department is expected to issue updated guidelines as soon as August 18. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump: 'I Would Walk' if Talks Don't Go Well
President Trump told Fox News he would walk away from the Alaska summit if the peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin don't go well. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
The Hill
23 minutes ago
- The Hill
DOJ examining state laws' impact on economy
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking at state laws with 'out-of-state economic impacts' that could hinder the national economy and interstate commerce. 'Today, the Justice Department and the National Economic Council announce an effort to identify State laws that significantly and adversely affect the national economy or interstate economic activity and to solicit solutions to address such effects,' reads the press release. The DOJ explained that President Trump has made a series of demands since his first day in office to deregulate American industry. For example, in the executive order ' Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,' Trump asked to 'alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people.' In another EO, ' Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting To Unleash American Energy,' Trump asked agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and others to cease some regulations concerning energy development. The DOJ, on July 9, for example, sued California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Attorney General Rob Bonta for 'prohibiting farmers across the country from using commonly accepted agricultural methods that helped keep eggs affordable.' In one example of Trump's deregulation goals, the Department of Labor is seeking to remove 60 'obsolete' workplace regulations, such as the minimum wage. Furthermore, the administration has removed many regulations imposed during the Biden era on environmental laws and climate change. 'We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more,' said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. In these continued efforts, the DOJ is asking for comments from the public to help identify 'Which State laws significantly burden commerce in other States or between States, thus raising costs unnecessarily and harming markets nationwide.' And, 'Whether the State laws identified may be preempted by existing federal authority and, if so, what authority.'
