Right now the political left and middle of America don't think the Democrats could win a god-damnned cardboard boat regatta if their lives depended upon it, or even a rousing bout of toilet hockey, much less regain national power. BUT, we know GOPMAGAs are going to keep coming after transgender and LGBTQ Americans. They want us DEAD and GONE and they're saying it out loud and proud, maybe except for the multisyllabic words they struggle with.
Dems UNITED, can actually WIN on this issue, and demonstrate they're still capable of winning, still able to wield competence if sufficiently motivated and existentially terrified.
So Dems, what's it gonna be, are you going to FIGHT for AMERICA by defending Queer Americans, or are you feckless tear-slurping surrender monkeys still whining about the historic ass-THRASHING you just took in November?
No, we should demand BETTER, 7 House Dems abstained or voted present, 2 voted with the GOPMAGAs. We need the 44 Senate Dems and 2 independents to vote for us down the line and deny the GOP cloture by a substantial 6 votes, unable to surmount the filibuster.
It'll make the Senate GOP a little more gun-shy about taking up obviously discriminatory and unconstitutional bills.
Of course they'll just go back to sticking anti-Trans bill in the Farm bill, the Continuing Resolutions, VAWA, the Magnitsky Act reauthorization, and every other piece of legislation, but at least we'll have made the stupid bastards WORK for it and not just keep kicking transphobic and queerphobic boilerplate from ALEC and the Heritage Foundation and the ADF up the Hill.
I had a thought the other day, isn’t banning from sports discrimination on an employment level? Without participation in youth sports, transgender individuals will have zero ability to be present in professional sports. Thereby discriminating against gender, and last I checked that has already been ruled on by SCOTUS. How tf did we get to the point the Constitution became tp?
Ivee, Bostock was ruled on an interpretation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, an intentionally very narrow one, but this is based upon a nouveau if not novel interpretation of 1973 Title IX, if that's helpful.
Also, this GOPSCROTUS has no scruple about wrecking case law precedent based upon judicial stare decisis going back to the 1936 NLRA or Roe 1973, so they won't give two fucks for a flying fritter about FUBARing Bostock 2020, especially with Comey on board now instead of RBG.
I was so happy to see that my Congressperson and another important DEM in my area voted NAY on this bill. Not NV, but NAY! I called both of their DC offices to tell them how much I appreciated their votes. I encourage you to check this website to see how your representative voted, and to call them to let them know how you feel about their vote! https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202512
Agreed Democrats have not been stepping up enough. But there are exceptions! See Ayanna Pressley below from January 16, 2025 Renee Graham opinion piece in Boston Globe:
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TARGET TRANS PEOPLE. AGAIN. Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts blasted the passage of a House GOP-led anti-trans bill, the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, which bars trans and other gender non-conforming children from participating on sports teams that match their gender identity. “This bill not only erodes federal protections for our kids, but it puts the physical and emotional safety of every child in our public schools at risk,” Pressley said on Tuesday. “Imagine you are 8 years old, trying out for the soccer team, and your coach demands that you show them your genitals. That is abuse. That is exploitation. That is egregious. But it is exactly what this Republican bill does. It allows adults — not medical professionals — just random adults to demand to inspect your child’s genitals without parental consent. As a survivor of nearly a decade of childhood sexual abuse, as a bonus mom to a school-age daughter, I am horrified. To the members of Congress who support this legislation, you are putting the safety of children across this nation at risk. And why? Because you want to vilify and harm trans kids.”
From January 16, 2025 newsletter Boston Globe by Renee Graham
I need some new t-shirts: How about a photo captioned “AOC: Real LEADERSHIP for ALL Americans!” And please call your reps & Senators to tell them your evaluation of their voting /your expectations for the Senate vote!
Thanks for the report Erin! Glad there is some reason to have some hope. 2 dem defections in the house != 60 votes in the senate.
One thing I worry about though is that when H.R. 28 likely fails, the GOP tries to include it in a budget reconciliation bill. Since the "ban" is technically a rule based on eligibility for federal funding, I wonder if that would qualify. The senate parliamentarian decides that but they are of course appointed by the majority leader.
Hi Erin, your point is well taken, thanks for your perspective!
I very much appreciate the work that you and Zooey do. You are my #1 source for news on these matters and when you post, I share the information in other groups to amplify the signal.
Another disappointment: “President Biden declared on Friday that he believes that the Equal Rights Amendment has met the requirements of ratification and therefore is now part of the Constitution. But he said he would not press a legal fight by ordering the government to finalize the process by officially publishing it. The amendment, which took a circuitous and decades-long route to ratification by 38 states, essentially is a single sentence: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” NYT
It’s refreshing to see the gloves off from the Democrats. This “child predator” line seems very powerful to me, and it’s not at all misleading.
We may find over the next couple of years that AOC is the de facto leader of the party, pointing the way and setting the tone.
Kudos to (most) Democrats for growing a spine!
Dems need us more than WE need THEM.
Right now the political left and middle of America don't think the Democrats could win a god-damnned cardboard boat regatta if their lives depended upon it, or even a rousing bout of toilet hockey, much less regain national power. BUT, we know GOPMAGAs are going to keep coming after transgender and LGBTQ Americans. They want us DEAD and GONE and they're saying it out loud and proud, maybe except for the multisyllabic words they struggle with.
Dems UNITED, can actually WIN on this issue, and demonstrate they're still capable of winning, still able to wield competence if sufficiently motivated and existentially terrified.
So Dems, what's it gonna be, are you going to FIGHT for AMERICA by defending Queer Americans, or are you feckless tear-slurping surrender monkeys still whining about the historic ass-THRASHING you just took in November?
Look at AOC.
AOC gets it.
Be more like AOC!
We need to proactively thank our reps who stood up against this travesty! We need to keep reinforcing them so they keep growing their spines.
Let's hope we have a similar party line vote if this comes up in the Senate.
No, we should demand BETTER, 7 House Dems abstained or voted present, 2 voted with the GOPMAGAs. We need the 44 Senate Dems and 2 independents to vote for us down the line and deny the GOP cloture by a substantial 6 votes, unable to surmount the filibuster.
It'll make the Senate GOP a little more gun-shy about taking up obviously discriminatory and unconstitutional bills.
Of course they'll just go back to sticking anti-Trans bill in the Farm bill, the Continuing Resolutions, VAWA, the Magnitsky Act reauthorization, and every other piece of legislation, but at least we'll have made the stupid bastards WORK for it and not just keep kicking transphobic and queerphobic boilerplate from ALEC and the Heritage Foundation and the ADF up the Hill.
We obviously don’t want any defections. But if only two join the GOP, the bill is filibustered and is shut down. The GOP would need 60 to overcome it.
Absolutely correct, Jaimie!
If you haven't already... if you know that your HoR rep voted against this bill, even though it passed, we should send them an email thanking them.
To let them know it matters, reinforce that it matters and show them that we are watching.
Yes!
Thank you, Erin!
I had a thought the other day, isn’t banning from sports discrimination on an employment level? Without participation in youth sports, transgender individuals will have zero ability to be present in professional sports. Thereby discriminating against gender, and last I checked that has already been ruled on by SCOTUS. How tf did we get to the point the Constitution became tp?
Ivee, Bostock was ruled on an interpretation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, an intentionally very narrow one, but this is based upon a nouveau if not novel interpretation of 1973 Title IX, if that's helpful.
Also, this GOPSCROTUS has no scruple about wrecking case law precedent based upon judicial stare decisis going back to the 1936 NLRA or Roe 1973, so they won't give two fucks for a flying fritter about FUBARing Bostock 2020, especially with Comey on board now instead of RBG.
Sadly, I feel this is very true. I am feeling that we are hitting a very scary time that needs to remind people of 250 years ago that are repeating.
Earlier than that, IMHO.
Have a read of Silvia Federici ("Caliban and the Witch") if you want to see what's really at foot.
I was so happy to see that my Congressperson and another important DEM in my area voted NAY on this bill. Not NV, but NAY! I called both of their DC offices to tell them how much I appreciated their votes. I encourage you to check this website to see how your representative voted, and to call them to let them know how you feel about their vote! https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202512
Agreed Democrats have not been stepping up enough. But there are exceptions! See Ayanna Pressley below from January 16, 2025 Renee Graham opinion piece in Boston Globe:
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TARGET TRANS PEOPLE. AGAIN. Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts blasted the passage of a House GOP-led anti-trans bill, the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, which bars trans and other gender non-conforming children from participating on sports teams that match their gender identity. “This bill not only erodes federal protections for our kids, but it puts the physical and emotional safety of every child in our public schools at risk,” Pressley said on Tuesday. “Imagine you are 8 years old, trying out for the soccer team, and your coach demands that you show them your genitals. That is abuse. That is exploitation. That is egregious. But it is exactly what this Republican bill does. It allows adults — not medical professionals — just random adults to demand to inspect your child’s genitals without parental consent. As a survivor of nearly a decade of childhood sexual abuse, as a bonus mom to a school-age daughter, I am horrified. To the members of Congress who support this legislation, you are putting the safety of children across this nation at risk. And why? Because you want to vilify and harm trans kids.”
From January 16, 2025 newsletter Boston Globe by Renee Graham
I'm glad democrats are actually growing a spine again. If they're forming a united front it could be blocked in the senate because of the filibuster.
I need some new t-shirts: How about a photo captioned “AOC: Real LEADERSHIP for ALL Americans!” And please call your reps & Senators to tell them your evaluation of their voting /your expectations for the Senate vote!
AOC is fire. ❤️ that woman. She fights for us, all of us. 👍
Thanks for the report Erin! Glad there is some reason to have some hope. 2 dem defections in the house != 60 votes in the senate.
One thing I worry about though is that when H.R. 28 likely fails, the GOP tries to include it in a budget reconciliation bill. Since the "ban" is technically a rule based on eligibility for federal funding, I wonder if that would qualify. The senate parliamentarian decides that but they are of course appointed by the majority leader.
Possibly! That said, budget bills are just 1 year at a time, so if they do it that way it’ll be easy to reverse eventually.
We want to avoid a fully passed perpetual law at all costs.
Hi Erin, your point is well taken, thanks for your perspective!
I very much appreciate the work that you and Zooey do. You are my #1 source for news on these matters and when you post, I share the information in other groups to amplify the signal.
Another disappointment: “President Biden declared on Friday that he believes that the Equal Rights Amendment has met the requirements of ratification and therefore is now part of the Constitution. But he said he would not press a legal fight by ordering the government to finalize the process by officially publishing it. The amendment, which took a circuitous and decades-long route to ratification by 38 states, essentially is a single sentence: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” NYT
Good to see Dens standing up for human rights!!!
Keep in mind that Henry Cuellar is a DINO (i.e. a Democrat In Name Only) so I consider his vote to be as if a Republican voted in favor. No big loss.