Conventional wisdom has long been that Republicans have to avoid social issues if they want to win elections. It is widely believed that Americans have been gradually shifting to the left on social issues like abortion, same sex marriage, LGBT rights, etc., and the GOP is just behind the times, stuck in their old ways and outmoded Judeo-Christian values.
Many on the left would argue that the recent tightening of the generic poll in the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is proof that America is firmly on the left on social issues. And perhaps they’ve had a point. The last time a Republican won the popular vote in a presidential election was 2004.
But Democrats have grossly overestimated just how radical our nation is on social issues, and leftist talk show host Bill Maher believes that Democrats are shooting themselves in the foot with all the wokeness they’ve been pushing, like radical leftist gender theory.
“The biggest problem with the Democrats is their woke baggage,” Maher told Variety. “I think the Democrats could easily win every election if they didn’t do the kind of things that make people go, ‘Oh my god, this is the party of no common sense.’ Stop talking about pregnant men and stuff that makes people go, ‘Who are these f—ing people? What are they talking about? Men don’t get pregnant.’ It’s the stuff that makes them very vulnerable because it’s very close to home.”
He’s right, and I would argue the issue goes deeper than radical leftist gender theory. Americans don’t like schools indoctrinating (read: grooming) kids with LGBT propaganda in elementary schools.
But the left’s obsession with wokeness goes deeper. Their sudden concern over gender neutrality has resulted in them embracing made-up terms like Latinx—a term that most Hispanic and Latinos are actually offended by. According to a poll conducted by a Democratic firm called Bendixen & Amandi International, only 2% prefer the term, and a whopping 40% are actually offended by it. On top of that, the poll found that 30% of voters were “less likely to support” a politician or political organization that uses “Latinx” to refer to the Latin American community.
Polling also shows that while Americans generally support abortion rights, there are limits to how far that support goes. Only 29% of Americans say abortion should be legal in all circumstances, while 50% feel it should be permitted in only certain circumstances, and 20% believe it should be illegal in all circumstances, according to Gallup. So for most Americans, the Democrats in Washington are extreme on abortion.
Another social issue that the Democrats have gone too far on is crime. Whether it’s defunding the police or axing cash bail, the Democratic Party seems to care more about the rights of criminals than the safety of law-abiding Americans.
Do you remember when Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia in the 2021 election, held a commanding lead and was largely considered the favorite to win… and then he lost to Republican Glenn Youngkin? The topic of parental rights in education proved to be the deciding factor in the race, propelling Youngkin to victory and turning him from underdog to winner.
That race proved that Democrats have become too extreme, and that Republicans have a path to victory running on social issues, not running from them. The radical agenda of the Democrats has made them lose sight of the issues that average Americans care about, and it could benefit the GOP for years to come.