Post by @mattsheffield@mastodon.social

2026-10-30 02:24 UTC

🧵 US Democrats are being tempted by right-leaning consultants to waffle on trans rights. The data and the recent drop in support for the UK Labour Party tell us that standing up for equality works much better. Join me for a deep dive into the data about why left-wing parties gain little by becoming anti-trans while risking quite a bit. Read along for the summary or click through for the entire 4,000 word analysis: https://plus.flux.community/p/standing-up-for-trans-people-isnt #lgbtq #TransRights

Replies (4)

@mattsheffield@mastodon.social 2026-10-30 02:26

Ever since the 90s, Democrats have been dominated by a consultant and pundit class that is often more libertarian than liberal (Matt Yglesias, David Shor, Ezra Klein...) which incorrectly believes that moving rightward on some stances brings votes. This belief is false because many voters don't choose their candidates based upon policy positions. If the "popularist" theory were true, Republicans would never win elections because Democrats have always had more popular positions.

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@vruz@mstdn.social 2026-10-30 02:34

@mattsheffield@mastodon.social The only firm convictions Dems have are their belief in the US Dollar and military invasions. They are not the same thing as the US Nazis, but when everything else they care less about is removed, they do have a shared core.

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@adrianco@mastodon.social 2026-10-30 05:24

@mattsheffield@mastodon.social I just quit the UK Labour Party, support Green now, and told them that Trans rights was one of the reasons along with drilling and criminalizing protests.

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@jdread@mastodon.social 2026-10-30 06:40

@mattsheffield@mastodon.social The mistake is thinking voters care about any of this. I want to be able to afford groceries and rent. If you're talking about gender stuff you're completely lost.

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