A new poll, which surveys voters who will partake in the New Jersey and Virginia governor races, found that voters were not impressed with Republican anti-trans positions.
Well that's great and all. How do the polls look for them preferring democrats to republicans overall? Because it's only if they do that, that enough democrats get elected to do us any good.
Democrats need to follow a policy of inclusion and that includes every one of any persuasion. Welcoming and Supporting all people regardless of their proclivities is always the best answer
I think the idea that the anti-transgender component of Youngkin's campaign was the successful part is bad analysis (not by you, Erin).
On the ground, the people energized by Youngkin in Northern Virginia, where McAuliffe underperformed to his doom, were the ones who thought schools should have been open for the 2020-21 school year. They believed masking and distance was sufficient for most kids to avoid bad outcomes. The folks backing the school systems fighting back against Trump's unlawful demands to discriminate were not swayed by anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.
IOW, not surprised that the GOP learned the wrong lesson and is now paying the price. Love that for them.
Television news and the sellout papers are just amazingly bad. I will peruse the headlines on Google News, but I prefer interaction, as much as I hate Twitter it's where that happens, so I put up with it. Right here on Erin's Substack is more fun, though. :)
Thanks Erin for keeping us informed on these polls. And thanks to all your readers for keeping the love alive! Love is the answer! What was the question?
I trust the polls, but I don’t trust the right wingers to honor dem wins. I think they’re going to get bold and try to steal the VA gov election somehow even if the polls show a huge lead for Spanburger. Just ask Rep Grijalva
They 1) don’t want to show that Trump and the cult are losing support and 2) want to FALSELY reinforce that attacking trans people works in politics. These matters are existentially important to the maggot coup
Many other dems are shamefully playing right into the wicked right wing’s grand transphobic plans. I’d be thrilled to be wrong about all of this though!
Yes, go figure, beating up on what is allegedly 1% of the population isn't super-popular. I've even found common ground with right-wing people, about trans identity/rights.
Honestly, 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 of those numbers are terribly encouraging. Nine months and change of Republican-led fascist chaos, and roughly half of the electorate still hasn't caught a fucking clue. Even if we do beat these bastards in the end, I don't see how this country can ever repair my trust in its institutions. It'll always be one bad day away from trying to murder me again.
We need to keep informing moderates and independents! People have their head in the sand. When these policies affect them directly the pendulum will swing! Do not give up hope!
Agree 100%. I don't think gender is the deciding thing for most voters in those races and I know a little about Virginia and agree with what is said in the article. A moderate Democrat will be hard to beat there.
Yet Dems seem desperate to mimic Republican talking points and policies on trans issues. Frankly, I’ve completely given up on the Democratic Party. The fact that they are now standing around debating whether or not my life has value or is worth defending tells me everything I need to know. I’m not sure I could bring myself to vote for another Dem on principle alone.
I registered as a Democrat at 18, and have always voted that way, never missing the chance, but that being said, I owe them no loyalty if they turn against us in a vain attempt at appeasing swing voters, it won't work for one, the swing voters like people who stand for something, but moreover our issues are diehard importance, even if we have to take a risk (gasp) and tell it like it is to voters. I'd rather lose an election than my soul.
Gosh....I hope that the Dems will WAKE the F UP and start listening to George Lakoff......and pay attention to the way they speak......they can shape their strategy through being a whole lot smarter - using cognitive science and linguistics. They keep choosing to ignore this, but will this be a moment in hsitory where they actually listen to Lakoff? Perhaps use him as a consultant? COME ON DEMS!!!!!!!
We have to say straight out that we're not backing down from trans rights, pointing out the fallacies against it, but never flinching about what we stand for, voters don't like weakness. It's kind of like how John McCain picked Sarah Palin, a lot of people jumped to the conclusion that she was a drag on his campaign, well is that the truth or is it that he might've lost by *more* without her, balancing those disliked her vs. those motivated to turn out. I'm not saying I'm her *fan*, for the record, but I do think the boldness of choosing her didn't mathematically hurt Sen. McCain - he was going to lose, anyway, why not do what was possible?
The upside here is that it appears that the manufactured social panic over trans rights is moving fewer and fewer people, having less and less of an impact.
The downside is that the question isn't if people pretty consistently have been generally on the right side of LGBTQ+, including transgender, rights, because they have. It's do they vote on that basis in the face of other issues (Taxes! Inflation! Crime! Whatever!) that appear more immediate and pressing to them. All too often, the answer is no.
Which means that when elections are close - which seems to be almost a given these days - that shrinking number of people motivated by that social panic can still be enough to decide the outcome.
So yeah, it may not be getting worse - but unfortunately, that's not the same as getting better.
Well that's great and all. How do the polls look for them preferring democrats to republicans overall? Because it's only if they do that, that enough democrats get elected to do us any good.
Spanberger will win. I don't know beyond that.
Democrats need to follow a policy of inclusion and that includes every one of any persuasion. Welcoming and Supporting all people regardless of their proclivities is always the best answer
Yes, this is it! My words exactly; thank you for writing them!
I think the idea that the anti-transgender component of Youngkin's campaign was the successful part is bad analysis (not by you, Erin).
On the ground, the people energized by Youngkin in Northern Virginia, where McAuliffe underperformed to his doom, were the ones who thought schools should have been open for the 2020-21 school year. They believed masking and distance was sufficient for most kids to avoid bad outcomes. The folks backing the school systems fighting back against Trump's unlawful demands to discriminate were not swayed by anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.
IOW, not surprised that the GOP learned the wrong lesson and is now paying the price. Love that for them.
As a resident of NoVA I agree with this... there were a few local stories about trans kids, but it was much more about opening the schools.
Television news and the sellout papers are just amazingly bad. I will peruse the headlines on Google News, but I prefer interaction, as much as I hate Twitter it's where that happens, so I put up with it. Right here on Erin's Substack is more fun, though. :)
This certainly makes me guardedly optimistic! Any good news is better than what we have been bombarded with!
Thanks Erin for keeping us informed on these polls. And thanks to all your readers for keeping the love alive! Love is the answer! What was the question?
😘🥰😍🥰😘🥰😍🥰😘
I trust the polls, but I don’t trust the right wingers to honor dem wins. I think they’re going to get bold and try to steal the VA gov election somehow even if the polls show a huge lead for Spanburger. Just ask Rep Grijalva
They 1) don’t want to show that Trump and the cult are losing support and 2) want to FALSELY reinforce that attacking trans people works in politics. These matters are existentially important to the maggot coup
Many other dems are shamefully playing right into the wicked right wing’s grand transphobic plans. I’d be thrilled to be wrong about all of this though!
Yes, go figure, beating up on what is allegedly 1% of the population isn't super-popular. I've even found common ground with right-wing people, about trans identity/rights.
Honestly, 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 of those numbers are terribly encouraging. Nine months and change of Republican-led fascist chaos, and roughly half of the electorate still hasn't caught a fucking clue. Even if we do beat these bastards in the end, I don't see how this country can ever repair my trust in its institutions. It'll always be one bad day away from trying to murder me again.
We need to keep informing moderates and independents! People have their head in the sand. When these policies affect them directly the pendulum will swing! Do not give up hope!
Agree 100%. I don't think gender is the deciding thing for most voters in those races and I know a little about Virginia and agree with what is said in the article. A moderate Democrat will be hard to beat there.
Yet Dems seem desperate to mimic Republican talking points and policies on trans issues. Frankly, I’ve completely given up on the Democratic Party. The fact that they are now standing around debating whether or not my life has value or is worth defending tells me everything I need to know. I’m not sure I could bring myself to vote for another Dem on principle alone.
I registered as a Democrat at 18, and have always voted that way, never missing the chance, but that being said, I owe them no loyalty if they turn against us in a vain attempt at appeasing swing voters, it won't work for one, the swing voters like people who stand for something, but moreover our issues are diehard importance, even if we have to take a risk (gasp) and tell it like it is to voters. I'd rather lose an election than my soul.
Gosh....I hope that the Dems will WAKE the F UP and start listening to George Lakoff......and pay attention to the way they speak......they can shape their strategy through being a whole lot smarter - using cognitive science and linguistics. They keep choosing to ignore this, but will this be a moment in hsitory where they actually listen to Lakoff? Perhaps use him as a consultant? COME ON DEMS!!!!!!!
We have to say straight out that we're not backing down from trans rights, pointing out the fallacies against it, but never flinching about what we stand for, voters don't like weakness. It's kind of like how John McCain picked Sarah Palin, a lot of people jumped to the conclusion that she was a drag on his campaign, well is that the truth or is it that he might've lost by *more* without her, balancing those disliked her vs. those motivated to turn out. I'm not saying I'm her *fan*, for the record, but I do think the boldness of choosing her didn't mathematically hurt Sen. McCain - he was going to lose, anyway, why not do what was possible?
I am not impressed with the Democratic anti trans agenda.
A little half-full-half-empty for y'all.
The upside here is that it appears that the manufactured social panic over trans rights is moving fewer and fewer people, having less and less of an impact.
The downside is that the question isn't if people pretty consistently have been generally on the right side of LGBTQ+, including transgender, rights, because they have. It's do they vote on that basis in the face of other issues (Taxes! Inflation! Crime! Whatever!) that appear more immediate and pressing to them. All too often, the answer is no.
Which means that when elections are close - which seems to be almost a given these days - that shrinking number of people motivated by that social panic can still be enough to decide the outcome.
So yeah, it may not be getting worse - but unfortunately, that's not the same as getting better.