Some Democrats, locally and nationally, are in denial about the huge Trump and Republican win on Nov. 5.
But the sleeper issue of males playing in girls’ spots that I pointed out in my column just before the election proved to be a winner for the Trump campaign.
The Trump campaign spent about $33 million on ads showing Vice President Harris supported taxpayer-funded surgeries for prisoners who were here illegally and wanted to change from male to female. That snapshot of Harris’ policies, along with Democrats’ support for boys/men to play against girls/women in various sports, moved the needle to Trump for a variety of voters.
Some Democrats, like Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, see this issue as an indicator that his party needs rebranding.
Moulton said, “Democrats spend way too much time trying to not offend anyone. I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd echoed that, saying, “Democrats learned the hard way in this election that mothers care both about abortion rights and having their daughters compete fairly and safely on the playing field.”
That thought process did not seem to register with many Democrats, particularly the very liberal Central Bucks School Board. At its most recent meeting, the board doubled down on the vote to overturn of the previous Republican-led board’s barring biological males from participating in female sports.
It even cited the fact that the school district had a female player on the boys’ football team to push back against safety concerns. My advice to those arguing against males in female sports is to lead with the argument of fairness, not safety. Females have worked for years to compete at high levels, and mediocre males with distinct physical advantages should not be allowed to overwhelm them.
I have also noted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, had not recently spoken out on the issue. In the past, he has accused those who oppose males playing in female sports of discrimination. This issue that impacted the presidential election could also be a sleeper issue for the governor’s race in Pennsylvania in 2026.
The most outrageous response to the 2024 election results has been the Bucks commissioners’ antics as they sat as the county Election Board in counting votes between the Pennsylvania race for the United States Senate between Sen. Bob Casey and Dave McCormick.
McCormick still has a lead that is mathematically impossible to overcome. So, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia tried to change the rules. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled twice that misdated and undated ballots cannot be counted. Marseglia admitted she knew it was illegal to count these ballots, but she was going to do it anyhow.
She said, “I think we all know that precedent by a court does any matter anymore in the country. And people violate the law anytime they want. For me, if I violate the law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it.” Democratic Commissioner Bob Harvie also voted for it.
And, ironically, Marseglia sits on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Once again, Gov. Shapiro has been silent on this. People in Bucks County have not been silent, and there are calls for her impeachment.
The bottom line is that many Democrats still reject the voters’ will in the 2024 election cycle. Let’s see how long they continue that stance.
