The Atlantic published a piece yesterday titled "The Democrats Need an Honest Conversation on Gender Identity." The contents won't come as a surprise to most Hot Air readers but I'm sure it will to many Democrats reading the Atlantic.

Although most Americans agree that transgender people should not face discrimination in housing and employment, there is nowhere near the same level of support for allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports—which is why Donald Trump kept bringing up the issue. His campaign also barraged swing-state voters and sports fans with ads reminding them that Kamala Harris had previously supported taxpayer-funded gender-reassignment surgery for prisoners. The commercials were effective: The New York Times reported that Future Forward, a pro-Harris super PAC, found that one ad “shifted the race 2.7 percentage points in Mr. Trump’s favor after viewers watched it.” The Harris campaign mostly avoided the subject.

The reasons avoiding the topic didn't work for Harris is that the Biden administration, of which she is a part, has fully adopted the far left view on this issue. And that meant that Harris would need to say something if she wanted to differentiate herself from those views.

On sports—an issue seized on by the Trump campaign—Biden’s White House has consistently prioritized gender identity over sex. Last year, the Department of Education proposed regulations establishing “that policies violate Title IX when they categorically ban transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity just because of who they are.” Schools were, however, allowed to limit participation in specific situations. (In April, with the election looming, this part of the Title IX revision was put on hold.) Harris went into the campaign tied to the Biden administration’s positions, and did not have the courage, or strategic sense, to reject them publicly. Nor did she defend them.

The fundamental issue is that athletes who have gone through male puberty are typically stronger and faster than biological females. Rather than contend with that fact, many on the left have retreated to a comfort zone of claiming that opposition to trans women in women’s sports is driven principally by transphobia.

Author Helen Lewis then cites an example of this approach to the issue which happened on CNN last Friday. Conservative political strategist Shermichael Singleton was making the obvious point that most people don't agree with boys competing in girls sports and fellow panelist Jay Michaelson freaked out and said he wouldn't tolerate "transphobic language" as part of the discussion. What transphobic language? Using the word "boy" to describe trans girls who compete in girls sports. Note that because of their age it's very unlikely any of the these kids have had any kind of trans surgery, though some may be taking hormones. Here's the clip.

"I am NOT going to listen to transphobia at this table!"

CNN panelist loses their mind over "slur" used by Republican strategist during trans sports debate. pic.twitter.com/5PXnSJW4A0

— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) November 9, 2024

Shut up, he explained. That's really all the Democrats have. They can't allow any discussion on this issue because to do so undermines the core tenant of their faith, i.e. trans women are women. So all they can do is shout down anyone who disagrees by calling them a bigot. And of course the CNN host  Abby Phillips sides with Michaelson and effectively demands Singleton adopt the approved newspeak.

A similar process repeats itself whenever anyone in the Democratic party dares to speak up on this issue. After the election, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts told the NY Times, "I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that." The next day his campaign manager resigned in protest. Something similar happened in Texas.

Gilberto Hinojosa, the chair of the Texas Democrats, faced a similar backlash. He initially told reporters, “There’s certain things that we just go too far on, that a big bulk of our population does not support,” but he quickly walked back the comments. “I extend my sincerest apologies to those I hurt with my comments today,” Hinojosa said. “In frustration over the GOP’s lies to incite hate for trans communities, I failed to communicate my thoughts with care and clarity.” (On Friday, he resigned, citing the party’s “devastating” election results in the state.)

Democrats are a long way from being able to have an honest conversation on this. They are also a long way from convincing the public to back them on it. That puts them in a difficult position both now and for the foreseeable future. Unless they moderate their views, they will likely be a losing future elections to more moderate politicians.