While Democrats in Congress are on the verge of passing President Biden’s $1.9 trillion rescue plan and delivering relief to millions of Americans, Republicans are throwing tantrums about transgender rights.
On Saturday morning, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) took to Twitter to whine about expanding transgender access to sports.
“It’s unfair to allow biological men to compete in women’s sports,” Rubio said. “COVID funding shouldn’t be used to pay for it.”
It’s unfair to allow biological men to compete in women’s sports. And COVID funding shouldn’t be used to pay for it. But that is what Democrats just supported.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 6, 2021
Rubio’s tweet is part of a larger Republican effort to find some type of culture war distraction that will divide the American people at a time when the GOP opposes Biden’s historically popular COVID relief bill.
As Politico reported this week, “Eager to find a winning culture war issue, former President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders are increasingly touting themselves as champions of women in sports by pushing back against President Joe Biden’s efforts to expand transgender rights.”
Republicans have no unifying agenda to offer the American people, so they are ginning up controversy about a social issue that riles up their base. It’s the same playbook Donald Trump used during his presidential campaigns.
Discrimination against people of color and the LGBTQ community is the GOP platform – nothing else.
“It’s the economy, stupid.”
The Republican Party will continue to make all kinds of noise about why they are opposing a piece of legislation that will give their constituents immediate relief and help the economy recover, but it’s unclear if it will have any effect.
As Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) pointed out on Saturday, the legislation is “wildly popular,” even among Republican voters.
“Over 70 percent of the American people support it, over half of Republicans support it, and they’re trying to figure out how they could possibly justify opposing it,” Rep. Yarmuth said. “We’re on very solid policy and political ground on this one.”
“Republicans are coming up with all sorts of cockamamie reasons to try and deflect from the fact that this is a wildly popular bill,” @RepJohnYarmuths says the GOP is desperate to distract from Joe Biden’s popular rescue plan. pic.twitter.com/jciN4fwsZB
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 6, 2021
Republicans are trying to gin up a new culture war while Democrats are on the verge of delivering real relief that the American people will notice in their bank accounts.
It’s no surprise they’re desperate to change the subject.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
