Letter from subscriber Matt Osborne, who featured on the 2020 HBO documentary, After Truth on electioneering the 2017 US Senate race. Matt also posts here. Mr. Linehan, The following comment from an Alabama Democratic Party insider was just passed along to me:
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.
The same is playing out with left or liberal parties all over - perhaps to a lesser extent, depending on how much they have embraced trans ideology. LGB organisations and a young generation of party functionariy hopefuls, freshly out of university or college with diplomas in some corrupted academic discipline or other, serve as echo chambers. The top brass think that while this is something they don't understand they should adopt it nevertheless, because the young generation runs so high on it. So there must be something to it, right? Besides, it is easier to play the radical than to be one. Which is precisely the role Identity Politics have served for the past few decades. In German speaking countries this is taking a turn into the obviously grotesque. Due to grammar the necessary changes to political language to accomodate gender ideology are so great that (previously) leftist movements basically now use a parallel language that is almost incomprehensible for the public. (It would be even worse in French, but there a stop has been put to language games for the time being.) Essentially it is changing the entire makeup of the language, of course without any basis in linguistics.
In the UK it's even worse. Not only is every left-wing party captured, but we can't even look to the Tories for some sanity on this issue - not with the likes of Caroline Nokes around, and Liz Truss is now preoccupied with Brexit. It's an issue no UK political party dares take a stand against. To paraphrase a quote, it's like they are all so preoccupied with appearing open-minded that they haven't noticed their brains falling out.
By the way if you're looking for the singular reason as to Why William Hit Peak Trans In 2017 and how I fell into the GC movement, two words: Matt Osborne.
Nice share. I’m neither D or R - I’m British in America so I don’t have the lifelong history that many cling to. However there is nothing that would make our household vote for Democrats, they are too far gone and our position is not rare. Also “progressives” are the worst - it’s all branding for them, as they establish a pivot from politics to something more corporate & lucrative.
Not that he's my oldest and bestest friend (he is) but he's predicted this, exactly this, would happen and has called it for the last handful of election cycles.
The headline should read "Another Disaster ahead for Democrats". The arrogant and out of touch Dems have not learned from their electoral failures since 2010. They haven't examined the reasons for their wins all that closely either. It's pretty incredible. If abortion rights gets kicked to the states by SCOTUS later this year, the ties that bound many women to the Democratic party will come undone and free them to vote R on other issues. And if they don't see that coming, then they're more arrogant and out of touch than we could ever imagine.
In Britain it's cross-party; literally, the recent Women and Equalities Committee which reviewed the proposed changes to the GRA was cross-party, with Conservative MP and full-blown imbecile Caroline Nokes as spokesperson.
Liz Truss has, in the past, shown some backbone on the subject of gender fairy tales but recently she was singing the praises of Boris Johnson's new 'Stonewall Ambassador' advisor. As with Brexit, she's for whatever's in her interest at any given time.
The only national UK party which is prepared to be honest on gender dysphoria, women's rights, child safeguarding etc, is the SDP. They have no MP's and iirc stood seven candidates at the last election. So no, there are no UK parties to vote for if you don't want blokes in your mum's changing room.
If history teaches us anything, it is that we are coming to the end of an era. It is easy to get caught up in red and blue, but the genderwoo is symptom of a much bigger malady. The people living in the waning days of Roman Empire would have had no idea that their world would soon be plunged into darkness. I think our civilization could well fall, and who knows what will replace it?
I am English, I have lived in the US for more than 20 years, and I am not a citizen. I keep up with the news from home (UK) and but I am better acquainted with US politics. I do not have a positive view of either the Democratic or Republican parties. Both want to win at any cost. The Democratic Party *appears* to be the better of the two, but that is largely a matter of media presentation.
The Democratic Party is out of touch, and has been for a long time with ordinary people. If you read the Washington Post, (which I used to enjoy reading), the Loudoun County effect is that there are a vast number of “deplorables” and “racists” organizing to win elections. Completely obfuscated is that the poor man dragged from the school board meeting had been heckled by a trans activist who claimed that his daughter was lying about being assaulted by a boy in a dress. And then there is this charming teacher in Texas who affects a “southern drawl” to make fun of parents who are not happy about the school library offering books like, “Gender Queer.”
I know this is slightly off topic but is anyone listening to Trisha Goddard on talk radio now..jeez! A mother with a transitioning 14yr old saying you can buy puberty blockers privately as registered docs won't/can't. Now talking to Jeffrey Marsh..omg!! He's sliming all over her with his creepy voice! Groomer!!
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.
I don't have a home in either party any more. Lots of us feel that way, because of the genderwoo.
Exactly the same thing is happening with the left in the UK...
The same is playing out with left or liberal parties all over - perhaps to a lesser extent, depending on how much they have embraced trans ideology. LGB organisations and a young generation of party functionariy hopefuls, freshly out of university or college with diplomas in some corrupted academic discipline or other, serve as echo chambers. The top brass think that while this is something they don't understand they should adopt it nevertheless, because the young generation runs so high on it. So there must be something to it, right? Besides, it is easier to play the radical than to be one. Which is precisely the role Identity Politics have served for the past few decades. In German speaking countries this is taking a turn into the obviously grotesque. Due to grammar the necessary changes to political language to accomodate gender ideology are so great that (previously) leftist movements basically now use a parallel language that is almost incomprehensible for the public. (It would be even worse in French, but there a stop has been put to language games for the time being.) Essentially it is changing the entire makeup of the language, of course without any basis in linguistics.
In the UK it's even worse. Not only is every left-wing party captured, but we can't even look to the Tories for some sanity on this issue - not with the likes of Caroline Nokes around, and Liz Truss is now preoccupied with Brexit. It's an issue no UK political party dares take a stand against. To paraphrase a quote, it's like they are all so preoccupied with appearing open-minded that they haven't noticed their brains falling out.
Twitter Democrats would shrug off every word of this with "He's from ALABAMA? They're all Deplorables, so who cares what they have to say?"
Good. Time for the left to reap what it's sown here. I grieve, as a life-long working class leftist. Let it die.
By the way if you're looking for the singular reason as to Why William Hit Peak Trans In 2017 and how I fell into the GC movement, two words: Matt Osborne.
Nice share. I’m neither D or R - I’m British in America so I don’t have the lifelong history that many cling to. However there is nothing that would make our household vote for Democrats, they are too far gone and our position is not rare. Also “progressives” are the worst - it’s all branding for them, as they establish a pivot from politics to something more corporate & lucrative.
Not that he's my oldest and bestest friend (he is) but he's predicted this, exactly this, would happen and has called it for the last handful of election cycles.
He's been right. Every. Single. Time.
In case you missed it, Amy Schneider is the “winningest woman” in the history of Jeopardy- which is interesting because “she” is not actually woman.
https://www.Washington post.com/arts-entertainment/2021/12/29/amy-schneider-jeopardy-record/
The headline should read "Another Disaster ahead for Democrats". The arrogant and out of touch Dems have not learned from their electoral failures since 2010. They haven't examined the reasons for their wins all that closely either. It's pretty incredible. If abortion rights gets kicked to the states by SCOTUS later this year, the ties that bound many women to the Democratic party will come undone and free them to vote R on other issues. And if they don't see that coming, then they're more arrogant and out of touch than we could ever imagine.
In Britain it's cross-party; literally, the recent Women and Equalities Committee which reviewed the proposed changes to the GRA was cross-party, with Conservative MP and full-blown imbecile Caroline Nokes as spokesperson.
Liz Truss has, in the past, shown some backbone on the subject of gender fairy tales but recently she was singing the praises of Boris Johnson's new 'Stonewall Ambassador' advisor. As with Brexit, she's for whatever's in her interest at any given time.
The only national UK party which is prepared to be honest on gender dysphoria, women's rights, child safeguarding etc, is the SDP. They have no MP's and iirc stood seven candidates at the last election. So no, there are no UK parties to vote for if you don't want blokes in your mum's changing room.
If history teaches us anything, it is that we are coming to the end of an era. It is easy to get caught up in red and blue, but the genderwoo is symptom of a much bigger malady. The people living in the waning days of Roman Empire would have had no idea that their world would soon be plunged into darkness. I think our civilization could well fall, and who knows what will replace it?
I am English, I have lived in the US for more than 20 years, and I am not a citizen. I keep up with the news from home (UK) and but I am better acquainted with US politics. I do not have a positive view of either the Democratic or Republican parties. Both want to win at any cost. The Democratic Party *appears* to be the better of the two, but that is largely a matter of media presentation.
The Democratic Party is out of touch, and has been for a long time with ordinary people. If you read the Washington Post, (which I used to enjoy reading), the Loudoun County effect is that there are a vast number of “deplorables” and “racists” organizing to win elections. Completely obfuscated is that the poor man dragged from the school board meeting had been heckled by a trans activist who claimed that his daughter was lying about being assaulted by a boy in a dress. And then there is this charming teacher in Texas who affects a “southern drawl” to make fun of parents who are not happy about the school library offering books like, “Gender Queer.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1473061766045188101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1473061766045188101%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fus%2Fparents-outraged-after-teacher-mocks-bigots-evangelicals-in-dr-seuss-style-poem-at-school-board-meeting
I know this is slightly off topic but is anyone listening to Trisha Goddard on talk radio now..jeez! A mother with a transitioning 14yr old saying you can buy puberty blockers privately as registered docs won't/can't. Now talking to Jeffrey Marsh..omg!! He's sliming all over her with his creepy voice! Groomer!!
Democracy given over on a queer platter.