On Thursday, November 7th, Democratic Representatives Tom Suozzi and Seth Moulton made disgusting statements blaming the Democrats' election shellacking on the party's tepid support for the trans community. This adds to recent swings by prominent Democratic candidates releasing transphobic ads and comments during the campaign cycle. Exit polling showed that transgender people and the vicious anti-trans messaging during the campaign were unimportant to voters as a priority issue influencing their votes. The Democrats lost badly by failing to meet the actual concerns of voters and offer a strong alternative to the right wing policies of the GOP and Trump; doubling down on chasing to the right rather than policies that offered any difference from those of their opponents.

Now that the election is over, they are attempting to find scapegoats for their disastrous performance rather than do an honest introspective analysis of their failures as a party. Allowing these attacks and the scapegoating of the trans community to continue within the party will further embolden the right and endanger our community, especially the Black trans community and trans kids.

They followed a similar pattern in 1968; a set of Democratic party leaders blamed civil rights advancements and the increasingly visible demands for equality for Black Americans as factors for their election loss, attempting to appease conservative voters who were hostile to social change rather than addressing the root causes of economic and social dissatisfaction. This false narrative was designed to appease a fearful minority rather than to lead courageously in support of justice and equality. They are doing the same thing now by blaming the trans community for their faults.

Contact your Democratic representatives to let them know you demand they stand up to these disgusting attacks on the trans community, and that you condemn all elected officials who would scapegoat a marginalized minority group and further endanger our trans comrades!