trying to be optimistic and see it as a sign of progress? they clearly lost the gay battle, so time to move on to something more "shocking"
I think it's all smoke and mirrors. Trump knows that the left has to focus on this now and it therefore distracts them from his potential criminality. It's awful. He's awful. But I think he's just using this strategically. Question is, how should the left and the media respond?
This is an excellent point. Yesterday while reading the headlines, I thought "since when is twitter the official place to announce governmental policy changes?" I mean - I know he has tweeted on every other subject - but I feel like people are taking these tweets as already delivered policy... won't this have to march through some official channels and have a chance to be fought over and challenged? I'd like to be clear - I'm not suggesting that we sit idly by while the naked emperor screams out ridiculousness.... but at the same time - I really don't want to be distracted by the shiny object he's waving 140 characters at a time. He keeps turning up the noise... but I want to put on my noise cancelling headphones and try to focus on what's ACTUALLY happening.I think it's all smoke and mirrors. Trump knows that the left has to focus on this now and it therefore distracts them from his potential criminality.
In my mind, they should essentially ignore the sideshow and focus on issues that moderate Americans care about. 'Lack of Trans inclusion' is not what has alienated moderates from The Left. Bust up the 'too big to jail' banks, as a starter. That's something almost everyone can get behind.how should the left and the media respond?
I'm not asking for compromise on the issue of trans-rights in the armed forces. I am asking for us to patch the hole in the side of the ship before we worry about the what we are going to name it. I didn't put the hole there, you didn't put the hole there, and we both wish we had time to attend to less pressing issues than the leak in the hull.
I think there should be compromise. The US army shouldn't be used as free medical care. Instead, we should ban pre-op or mentally unhealthy trans people from serving, and have a medical system that would allow them to get care without signing their life away. Good compromise, in my opinion.
the idea is that it isn't a sideshow when it's you
I'm not trying to downplay the struggles of trans people. I am saying that it's super easy to distract 'The Left' and social progressives with dogwhistle phrases and issues. The Republicans want to get rid of healthcare for 20 million people and know that they can take media coverage/public attention away from these issues by being superficially mean to specific groups. There are bigger fish to fry.
Reportedly, it was because there was a divide amongst the people developing the defense budget -- some did not want the military to fund trans surgeries; others did. So Trump takes the nuclear option just so he can get funding to build the wall.