OPINION:
Democrats, worried about their chances for winning their midterm elections, have now finally settled on the idea that men shouldn’t play in women’s sports because men, well, they aren’t women. And then they walked that back a bit. Well, some did — not all. And then they turned to their political strategists to ask: So what should we do? Which way do we go?
Even when Democrats try and clarify, they confuse. Even when Democrats seem to coalesce around a message, they complicate it. This comes from being political beasts without principles.
“Democrats revamp their midterm playbook for GOP’s anti-trans attacks,” Politico wrote.
Read between the lines and what’s happening here is that Democrats, longtime liars about the idea a man can become a woman simply by putting on a dress, have found that voters, by and large, outside of the dress-wearing pervy men market, that is, don’t really care for their little girls being subjected to beatdowns on the volleyball court by massive, muscular, obviously male players. They don’t really care for their daughters having to dress alongside girls with penises in locker rooms — to put it bluntly.
So these Democrats, facing tight political races, have suddenly determined that hey, men aren’t women! Then when the men pretending to be women object to their loss of recognition as female by their pandering politicians, these same Democrats then decide to walk it back a bit. Enter Third Way think tank, dispensing advice.
“Democrats have to be super clear that we want fair rules in sports made by sports associations and parents to be in charge of their kids’ health care,” said Lanae Erickson, senior vice president of Third Way, a political strategy firm for the left, Politico reported.
Yes. Because nothing says ‘principled stand’ like a carefully worded duck and dodge.
“Key Democrats oppose transgender athletes in female sports as issue hits the campaign airwaves,” NBC News wrote.
It’s odd to think that Democrats’ big campaign issue is to get ahead of the narrative that men can’t be women. Once upon a time, that was sort of a commonly accepted truth, even by Democrats; even by the dopiest of Democrats. Such is the progression of the party, however.
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is striking a bold move for the Democrats’ newfound narrative suggesting, gasp, there are only two sexes, male and female, by outright reversing his previous view that boys could be female athletes.
Well, kind of.
Sort of.
“Talarico,” The Hill wrote, “opposes trans athletes in girls sports ‘if it endangers safety or fairness.’”
He made the remark during a Fox News interview this past week — the same week President Trump’s MAGA PAC poured a bunch of money into the campaign of Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee running against Talarico for Senate. It’s probably coincidental, though.
“I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness,” Talarico said, The Hill wrote. “Every sport has to be safe and fair.”
And then he went on to say, “As a former public school teacher, I care a lot about our student athletes” — during a tight campaign — and “I care a lot about our students” — when polls say I ought — and “so I will oppose trans athletes playing in girls sports if it risks safety or fairness” — at least until such time I win the race for U.S. Senate and then I can go back to my former position of supporting males who pretend to be females so they can dominate girls’ athletics.
Curiously enough, the latest polling dwindles Talarico’s lead over Paxton to 4 points — nearing the margin of error. That’s after weeks of media reports that he was running away with the race and that Paxton was on a track to certain loss.
“Transgender issues, including the controversy over girls’ sports, were used effectively by President Trump and the GOP in the 2024 election against Democrats,” The Hill wrote.
A March 2025 New York Times/Ipsos poll found 79 percent of Americans think men shouldn’t be allowed to play in women’s sports. A June 2025 Gallup poll reported it was about 69 percent who thought similarly. An April 2025 NBC News poll put that number at 75 percent. And most recently, this year’s August Pew Research Center Survey showed it at around 66 percent.
But it’s probably just a coincidence that Democrats facing tight political races in two months are stepping back from their previous beliefs that men can be women if only they so believe. It’s not political at all.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
Follow the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.