Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Elizabeth Hummel's avatar

Thanks for sharing this. As a life-long Democrat who worked for Democrats in my state's Legislature for 12 years, I know every word of this is true. Sadly, terrifyingly, the Democratic leadership appears to be willing to die on this sword. It's not just in the South, and it's not just the Yellow Dog Democrats that will turn the suburbs red again, that will hand Congress and likely the presidency in 2024 to the Republicans. There are also more and more x-"progressives" like me from the left flank of the party who feel betrayed by the Democrats in part because of this issue, who will vote for independents.

Or who simply will not vote. My "progressive" member of Congress will not respond to my emails about the Equality Act with anything but insulting boilerplate responses written by an intern (I imagine with purple hair) for who she assumes are bigoted right-wing constituents. She has “different values” from me, apparently. It will make me sick to vote for her again, and I don't know if I can do that.

The dynamics have parallels with UK politics (which I have learned a lot about from this fight), but they are also very different because of just HOW terrifying the US Republican party has become. Not all Republicans, but the state and national party leadership are daily working to undermine democracy in state after state. They are not a good alternative to Democrats, even though more conservative people in the US are with us on this issue. Which should not be an issue of right and left! It is an issue of right and wrong. Kara Dansky, a lifelong progressive, must go on Fox News to be heard, and because she does this is branded as a bigot. The polarization in the US is hard to really imagine if you don't live here: there are only two sides. The illiberalism on the left, (including the wholescale embrace of nonsense dangerous queer policies) also is laced with dangerous authoritarianism, but it doesn't hold a candle to what is happening with Republicans. And the fall of the US into an authoritarian state will impact the entire world.

Expand full comment
JC_Collins's avatar

I don't have a home in either party any more. Lots of us feel that way, because of the genderwoo.

Expand full comment
110 more comments...

No posts