The Facts on Anti-Trans Ads: Years in, Anti-Trans Attacks Remain a Political Loser

https://www.hrc.org/news/the-facts-on-anti-trans-ads

Again I wish to thank Janet, whose link I will place below, for showing me the article that had this link.   I was in a bit of despair of having to fight all over the same fights I fought as a kid.  Not realizing for years my fight was over while hers has continued.  I realized how self centered I was being.  I am not sure if the links will come through, but if you go to the site linked above they list states where anti-trans attacks have failed.   Again thanks Janet.    Hugs

https://janetannelogan.com/

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by Brandon Wolf 

Voters have routinely rejected candidates who peddle transphobia and try to control their personal health care decisions, and polling shows widespread American support for equality, Democrats as defenders of young people, and a rejection of anti-transgender rhetoric.
 

In State After State, Anti-Trans Attacks Have Failed

 

In Arizona…

 

In Georgia…

 

In Kansas…

 

In Kentucky’s 2023 gubernatorial race…

 

In Michigan…

 

In Nevada…

 

In Ohio…

 

In Pennsylvania…

 

In Wisconsin…

 

In Virginia…

In 2022 Post-Election Polling, Equality Was a Winner and Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks Were A Dud

Equality Voters delivered huge margins to Democrats at every level of the ballot.

  • At the U.S. House level, 81 percent of Equality Voters supported the Democratic candidate. Equality Voters delivered similar margins for Democratic U.S. Senate candidates and Democratic candidates for governor.

  • That number was comparable to the level of support Equality Voters gave Joe Biden in 2020 (also 81 percent) and nearly matched the level of support Black voters delivered this cycle (87 percent).

  • Among self-identified LGBTQ+ voters, who made up a midterm record 7 percent of the 2022 electorate, fully 80 percent supported U.S. House Democrats. LGBTQ+ voters delivered similar margins for Democratic U.S. Senate candidates and Democratic candidates for governor.

MAGA efforts to spread propaganda about and attack transgender people failed.

  • In this survey, voters were asked which specific issues motivated them to vote this year. Inflation (52 percent) and abortion (29 percent) ranked first and second on this list. Less than 5 percent identified gender affirming care for transgender youth or transgender participation in sports as issues motivating them to vote – last on this list.

  • This confirmed extensive research prior to the election that found anti-transgender attacks were only effective in riling up extreme members of the conservative base

  • While the attacks were ineffective with the general electorate and in fact repelled swing voters, they still caused harm, including increasing stigma, discrimination, and violence against the transgender community.

A Super Majority of Americans Support Equality

New data from Navigator Research shows strong majority support for LGBTQ+ equality, and deep concern over MAGA attacks on fundamental freedoms.

  • Nearly two-in-three Americans support federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, including 58% of independents and 42% of Republicans.

  • 61% say they will not support candidates who want to ban health care for transgender people, including 59% of independents and 41% of Republicans.

  • 70% say they are concerned that politicians are attacking gay and transgender youth to divide us, maintain their political power and control, and score political points, a clear indication that the American people see through the MAGA anti-LGBTQ+ agenda.

  • A majority of Americans agree that parents, mental health professionals, and doctors are best equipped to decide the kind of care a child needs, not politicians.

The vast majority of Americans — 7 in 10 — think that politicians are not informed enough about abortion and gender-affirming care to create fair policies

According to September 2023 polling by The 19th and SurveyMonkey, Americans would prefer that politicians either protect transgender people or not focus on transgender issues at all. Only 17% of Americans, and only 29% of Republicans, say politicians should focus on restricting gender-affirming care.

Americans Believe the Amount of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Is Excessive, Agreeing It Is “Political Theater”

Likely voters across all political parties look at GOP efforts to flood state legislatures with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation as political theater. Polling indicates that 64% of all likely voters, including 72% of Democrats, 65% of Independents, and 55% of Republicans think that there is “too much legislation” aimed at “limiting the rights of transgender and gay people in America” (Data For Progress survey of 1,220 likely voters, 3/24-26, 2023).

This quote from Cuban-American former Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen sums it up:

“Intolerance is not a good look on anyone. I remain optimistic that voters will see through this charade and will encourage their elected officials to solve the real problems of America instead of masquerading as Moral Police Officers.”

Majorities Disapprove of Banning LGBTQ+ Content in Schools – and Seem Prepared to Punish Candidates Who Do So

When asked if middle school libraries should include materials related to “gender identity” (57% “should”) and “sexual orientation” (56%), the majority of Americans believe this content should be available. In fact, by a margin of 32 percentage points, Americans are more worried that “materials that could be valuable to students will be removed from school libraries” (62%), than worry that “materials that could be harmful to students will remain in school libraries” (30%).

Yet again, Democrats and Independents are in a different place than their GOP counterparts suggesting headaches for Republicans in the 2024 elections. (Grinnell College National Poll, 3/14-19, 2023)

 

Indeed, it looks like this issue could be a disqualifier for elected officials who support curriculum censorship and book bans, based on recent polling (Ipsos, 4/24-25, 2023 among 1,005 adults nationwide, the vast majority of whom are registered to vote). More than six in 10 Americans say they would be less likely to back a candidate who “supports policies that ban books in schools and in school libraries on subject matter that deals with sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity” (38% more likely, 62% less likely).

And Americans Trust Democrats to Defend Equality, Youth Wellbeing

The 2024 Navigator Research poll showed that President Biden and the Democratic Party are more trusted than Republicans to safeguard LGBTQ+ equality and protect America’s youth.

 

  • 60% of those polled say they trust Democrats to protect the LGBTQ+ community, compared to just 19% who say they trust the GOP.

  • 54% say they trust Democrats to protect the rights and freedoms of the community, compared to just 22% who say they trust the GOP.

  • 46% say they trust Democrats to care for children’s wellbeing, compared to just 37% who say they trust the GOP.

ICYMI: New Survey Finds Anti-Trans Ads Ineffective, Disliked by Voters

https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/icymi-new-survey-finds-anti-trans-ads-ineffective-disliked-by-voters

I admit I was getting very discouraged lately.  I fought the hate generated by hyper religious Anita Bryant as a gay kid growing up, listening to adults around me from my adoptive parents and hell spawn who were abusing me to teachers / adults around me.  They bought in to her save the children as all gays are monsters who abuse little boys.  Yes the irony was not lost on me that my adopted family bought into the lies.  But we gay people fought for acceptance.  In my last two years in the Army I was able to live almost fully out, until a new company commander came in who was an infantry officer who told me that if I did not leave the service when my time was up he would have me court marshaled for being gay.   During the following years as a civilian in the late 1980s and 1990s I fought for acceptance living as an openly gay man.  I got beat up at work, I lost promotions despite being told I had the best scores for a supervisory position, I was told no man was going to take direction from a fagot.  I lost jobs when the bosses realized I was gay.  It was a horrible time.  But in the early 2000 it got better and as time moved on it got better.  Schools were pushing acceptance and tolerance for those different.  In 2015 in January we were the first gay couple in our county in Florida to be married by the county clerks and the entire office wanted to be involved.   They gave us so much time, photos, and love it was incredible.  When I go into doctor’s offices and mention my husband the people, especially younger workers are all supportive.  I really though things were really moving forward.  Then came the Libs of TikTok and Chaya Raichik who admitted to lying with the hate she spewed because as a Christian woman lying was not illegal was it.  She found fame creating the most horrible attacks on innocent people demonizing the LGBTQ+ and their supporters and she glorified in it.  Red state politician jumped on the bandwagon and the Christian nationalists thinking they found a way to force their morality / god on everyone in the nation led the charge to try to return the society to the 1950s and roll back the rights of everyone not white cis and straight.  To hell with the rest of the population as long as their god is happy because of forcing their ways on everyone else.  

Then Janet who has had a fight as hard or in a lot of ways far harder than I ever did to gain acceptance for who she is gave me some rays of sunshine and hope.   Amazing how when people stick together and help each other the gloom and doom can be pushed back and strength be gained.  Thank you, Janet, for this article.  Hugs.

by Kathryn Smith 

<img class="block w-full" src="data:;base64,” sizes=”100vw” srcset=”https://hrc.imgix.net/Trans-flag-share1200.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=178&q=90&w=320&s=47f5df4d135393049ae0c17420fe8199 320w, https://hrc.imgix.net/Trans-flag-share1200.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=289&q=90&w=520&s=0c8c4b5bf52c05c8c0cef83c2ede69e7 520w, https://hrc.imgix.net/Trans-flag-share1200.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=400&q=90&w=720&s=b88cf83598ba1b09170357bb017e10ab 720w, https://hrc.imgix.net/Trans-flag-share1200.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=511&q=90&w=920&s=379da6a4519ba28b2a3f7a2cf3dbea44 920w, https://hrc.imgix.net/Trans-flag-share1200.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=622&q=90&w=1120&s=d51add2d866ea2362cbd8b5fc2d827be 1120w, https://hrc.imgix.net/Trans-flag-share1200.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=667&q=90&w=1200&s=0943d4391b82a48c2051d751218d98be 1200w” alt=”” width=”320″ height=”178″ />

Data for Progress finds that among likely voters, Democrats, Independents and Republicans alike don’t want to see “mean-spirited” ads targeting the transgender community.

74% of voters say that transgender people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

Polling released today from Data For Progress shows just how ineffective and unpopular the anti-transgender ads being run by MAGA candidates really are with voters.

Key findings from the poll back up the long-supported claims that anti-transgender rhetoric is not what wins elections:

  • The use of political attack ads against transgender people was described as “sad and shameful” by the majority of Democrats (61%) and Independents (58%), and even by a plurality of Republicans (41%). The majority of voters also said that they feel that these ads are “mean-spirited” and “out of hand”

  • 85% of Republicans said candidates should back away from transgender messaging, more than the share of Democratic (75%) and independent (82%) voters who said the same

  • By a more than 20 point margin (52% to 31%), voters would back a candidate who supports transgender rights versus a candidate who opposes transgender rights; by similar margins (52% to 29%), voters trust the Democratic Party over the Republican Party to handle transgender issues

In addition, a study from Ground Media found that a recent Trump anti-trans advertisement yielded “no statistically significant shift” in voter choice, mobilization or likelihood to vote.

It’s not just the ads that voters dislike, it’s also the policies. Data for Progress found that among likely voters:

  • Nearly three in four (74%) say that transgender people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect

  • 58% of respondents believe the government should be “less involved in regulating what transgender people are allowed to do, including health care they can receive”– including 61% of Independents and a plurality (45%) of Republicans

  • 55% of respondents there is too much legislation targeting transgender people, and view them as “political theater”

Without a positive message or any plans to improve the lives of families, MAGA politicians continue to resort to these ads to try and distract voters from their failures and unpopular positions. But voters continue to prove that their efforts to spread hate and division are a political loser. Read more about the long history of the failure of anti–trans ads here.

Stressed about the election? Try this Kansas-centric playlist.

(You may not like them all, or any of them. Listen to what you like; that’s what I’m doing. All the commentary is good. I saw this last night in my Women for KS newsletter, and wanted to share. Enjoy! -A)

MAX MCCOY OCTOBER 20, 2024 3:33 AM

Let’s talk about Trump’s plans for the White House and election day….

Let’s talk about claims about Walz, Harris, and influence….

Fox News edited Trump’s rambling answers and false claims in barbershop interview, full video shows

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/24/media/fox-news-edit-trump-barbershop-interview/

 

Raskin Sends Trump And Vance A Warning

This is your TPM evening briefing.

By Nicole Lafond | October 23, 2024 5:42 p.m.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) warning that their much-hinted-at plan to flout transition rules could end up endangering national security.

Vance and Trump won’t even commit to accepting the results of the election if they lose, so the odds of them adhering to precedent in order to participate in a peaceful transition of power were low to start with. And the pair have run their entire campaign on ideals that run counter to the longevity of democracy. But in his letter, Raskin outlines the uniquely dangerous position it could put the U.S. in.

In refusing to, he wrote, the Trump campaign’s “actions depart from well-established norms of the federal government and demonstrate a spectacular disregard for the successful continuation of the essential institutions of American democratic government. Without these MOUs in place, federal agencies are unlikely to be able to securely and effectively communicate with your staff, which will endanger ‘the orderly transfer of the executive power’ and threaten our national security,” he wrote in a letter first obtained by NBC News, referencing the memorandum of understanding that both the Kamala Harris campaign and the Trump campaign were meant to sign with the General Services Administration and the White House this fall.

“I strongly urge you to expeditiously sign both MOUs and submit your ethics plan.”

While the Harris campaign met both the GSA’s deadline on September 1 and the White House’s deadline on October 1, Trump’s team still has yet to engage. In his letter, Raskin questioned whether the Trump team was trying to skirt rules for fundraising for the transition team — all money privately raised for the transition has to be reported and contributions are limited to $5,000 per person.

“It appears your decision may be at least partially driven by your intent to circumvent fundraising rules that put limits on private contributions on the transition effort and require public reporting,” Raskin wrote. “You may also be acting out of a more general aversion to ethics rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest in the incoming administration.”

“Alas, your recent public statements and your conduct four years ago provide cold comfort to the American people, who have sought to create continuity and legitimacy in the transition between administrations,” he said, warning the two — whose transition team has already been hit with conflict-of-interest accusations — that not complying could evolve into a national security threat.

“If the new President and the new Administration are not ready to govern on their first day in office, our nation’s adversaries may well see and take advantage of the situation,” he wrote.

Read the full letter here. (snip)

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things-stand/raskin-sends-trump-and-vance-a-warning

The republicans are at it again.

We voted and I am worn out 10 23 2024

we could all use a Good News Tuesday by Jeff Tiedrich

(More good news, after Scottie’s video, as to the early voting news! Blue language alert, so no reading until you’re not somewhere the f-word is not acceptable. Else scroll just a bit, because of course the first sentence is joyous and contains the f-word. Also, italicized script beneath the suns are by the author, Jeff Tiedrich.)

Kamala’s up and Donny’s down Read on Substack

LA LA LA LA no reading here if you’re at work,

LA LA LA LA no reading here if you’re at work.

LA LA LA LA no reading here if you’re at work,

LA LA LA LA no reading here if you’re at work!

🌞 🌞 🌞 🌞 🌞

Okay. Next line,

fuck this fucking nail-biter of an election. good news is out there — let’s have a look.

undecideds are deciding — and they’re breaking towards Kamala Harris.

A majority of voters (80%) say they made up their minds about which candidate to support over a month ago, while 11% made up their minds in the last month, 6% made up their minds in the past week, and 3% still have not made up their mind. 

“Voters who made their decision on who to support over a month ago break for Trump, 52% to 48%, while voters who made up their mind in the last month or week break for Harris, 60% to 36%,” Kimball said. “The three percent of voters who said they could still change their mind currently favor Harris, 48% to 43%.”

I know, right? who could be undecided in a race that’s basically everyone gets a puppy vs diarrhea forever?

but there are huge swaths of votes who just don’t pay attention to politics until the very last minute — and now that they’re finally tuned in, it’s dawning on them that wait, one of the candidates is ass-spraying mayhem? oh, fuck that shit.

think back to 1980. polling showed the race was a dead heat — but in the final weeks, just about every goddamned undecided broke towards Reagan, and what looked like a nail-biter ended up being a blowout.

this year, however, it looks like the fence-sitters are doing the right thing.


hang on, you need some more good polling news? fine, be that way.

Kamala leads dong-obsessed fry chef Donny Convict in favorability by 11 percentage points, while 58% of registered voters fucking loathe Donny.

The nationwide poll, conducted last week, found Harris’s favorability to be significantly higher than Trump’s, with 51 percent of registered voters viewing Harris as a favorable candidate compared to just 40 percent who felt the same about Trump. Independent voters, notably, were equally split on their opinions of Harris, while the majority of independent voters—58 percent—felt negatively about Trump.

don’t forget that this is going to be the first post-Roe national election.

But perhaps no Democratic stance resonated more with voters than abortion, which saw Harris lead Trump by 23 percent.

reproductive rights continues to be a losing issue for Donny, and he’s still bragging about being the guy who shitcanned Roe.


Donny is being abandoned by his base.

white folks who never went to college have long been Donny’s most hardcore cultists — but this year they seem to be suffering from Dear Leader Fatigue.

here’s CNN’s Harry Enten to explain.

“it’s been a key demographic for him — his base. and this is what’s so interesting … in fact, it’s moving away from him. this is Trump’s margin with non-college white voters. this group is not moving towards him. it’s moving slightly away. go back eight years ago, he won it by 33. you go back four years ago, he won it be 31. now we see he’s only up by 27.”

Donny’s losing the people who have been filing out of his hate-rallies early.

after a half hour of listening to him drone on about sharks and batteries and Hannibal Lecter wants to have you for dinner, they turn to their spouse and say Lurleen, let’s go home and see if NASCAR’s on TV.

plus-27 is still a fuck-ton of support from Donny’s base — but in a close election, he can’t afford to lose the additional 6% who voted for him in 2016. these people may never vote for Komrade Kamala, but enough of them may stay home on election day to make a difference.

we’re all worried about post-election fuckery, but let’s not forget that nearly all swing state governors are Democrats.

here’s WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin to talk us all down off that ledge.

Constitutional expert Richard H. Pildes reminded us that scenarios involving mischief by governors are unlikely. “In nearly all the swing states, the governors are Democrats, who are hardly going to be receptive to any entreaties by Trump,” he wrote. Even in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, “have done as much under fire as any political officials to prove their commitment to certifying an accurate, lawful count.” And although a few local boards might refuse to certify, there are remedies in court. (A Georgia court recently rejected the notion that officials could refuse to certify results.)

and, on that note, some Arizona dipshit who thought she could fuck around with certifying her state’s 2022 senate race is now learning that finding out truly sucks.

An Arizona County elections official has agreed to plead guilty after she refused to certify the 2022 election in which Kari Lake lost to Katie Hobbs.

The Washington Post reported Monday that Peggy Judd, who helps lead Cochise County southeast of Phoenix, was indicted last year for allegedly “flouting the state’s deadlines” for the 2022 election certification.

actions, consequences. it’s nice when things work out in that order.


Jill Stein might be hurting Donny this year.

perpetual Kremlin dinner guest Jill Stein is like some fucked-up asteroid. every four years, her weird-ass orbit swings her too close to the Earth, and she ends up dicking with the tides and screwing with our electoral magnetic field.

Jilly’s back, but a new poll apparently indicates that this year, she’s taking away votes from Donny.

A new poll suggests that Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is drawing more voters from former President Donald Trump than from Vice President Kamala Harris.

The poll shows Harris leading Trump 49 percent to 47 percent. However, with Stein in the race, Trump’s support dips to 46 percent, while Harris maintains her 49 percent backing, suggesting that Stein draws more support from Trump than from Harris. Though Stein’s voter base remains relatively small, at about 1 percent, it could prove crucial in an election that hinges on tight margins in swing states.


the five innocent and exonerated black men known as the Central Park Five are suing Donny for defamation.

The five men who make up the Central Park Five and now call themselves the Exonerated Five have filed a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump over his remarks during the presidential debate last month.

During the debate he said: “They admitted — they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty — then they pled we’re not guilty.”

At the time of the trials, each had pleaded not guilty, and the victim of the attack survived.

ok, this one is not election-related news — but it still makes me laugh to see Donny get served another big, fat slice of Justice Pie.


Donny continues to be an increasingly-deteriorating imbecile.

“it’s as big a water— y’know, it’s as big a water-storm, they say, as we’ve ever seen.”

‘water-storm?’ the word is hurricane, you decompensating dotard.

Alexa, what’s aphasia?

Aphasia is a language disorder that affects how you communicate. It’s caused by damage in the area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. Aphasia leaves a person unable to communicate effectively with others.

Alexa, can aphasia be a sign of dementia?

what the fuck do you think?


so, there’s lots of good news all around — but as a commenter under yesterday’s post said, “we still have to fight like we’re ten points down.” that person is exactly right. we don’t have the luxury of complacency. that’s how we fucked it up in 2016 — we all thought Hillary’s got this in the bag, and so we blew up the balloons and popped the champagne way too early, and too many of us decided it was totes okay stay home on election day. after all, Nate Silver promised us that Hillary had a 99% chance of victory, right? but polls don’t vote — people do.

this year, we all understand the assignment.

Kamala understands the assignment, too. unlike the email lady in 2016, Kamala and Uncle Tim are hitting all the swing states. meanwhile, Donny Convict is squandering his time doing vanity rallies in places like California and New York — states he hasn’t a snowball’s chance of winning.

14 days to the election. if we vote, we win.