Republicans have spent an estimated $183 million on television ads focused on transgender-related attacks against Democrats in the final phase of this yearās midterm elections, betting that struggling GOP candidates can leverage the divisive cultural issue to overcome votersā concerns about President Donald Trumpās leadership and the state of the economy.
The massive investment through Oct. 25 produced about 217,000 TV spots nationwide and exceeds the amount Republicans spent on similar ads in 2024, a presidential election year, at the same point before Election Day, according to tallies provided to The Associated Press by data firm AdImpact.
The spending campaign matched messaging from other Republicans on the campaign trail, led by Trump, who has played down surging gasoline prices and other rising costs, but highlighted what he described as an urgent threat to Americaās children from Democratic policies.
Yes, who plays what sports is definitely more important than wide-ranging economic policies that affect hundreds of millions of people
According to .ml and db0 accountsā¦
Yeah
But youād have to be completely ignorant of the American political system to ever listen to them.
Itās wild how many of them Iāve seen out of nowhere claim if a Dem isnāt unquestionably supportive of every trans person (including Caitlyn Jenner) then theyāre worse than the Republicans openly trying to institute literal christofascism, which is obviously going to be worse for LGBTQ specifically and everyone generally, even people who arenāt American.
Itās literally all they have to go off of to depress Dem turnout
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What are your thoughts on current democrat candidates actively running anti trans ads?
Every time I get a call or text or see an ad like this for a political campaign, I try to respond in a way that even idiots like these might be able to understand, something like: āThe country is pretty much on fire, people are hurting all over, and you idiots want me to worry about gender and sports?ā
Putting aside all the important arguments about bodily autonomy and liberty, I think itās best to meet these people with the argument that what somebody else chooses for themselves has nothing to do with the welfare of the country in any way, shape or form. Even if it were an issue, and it is not, we have far bigger fish to fry what somebody else chooses to do that affects no one else.
Theyāve shifted their arguments to being against children recieving gender affirming care. Theyāre saying that minors canāt decide for themselves, and parents who allow it are harming their children.
Adults can do what they want except use the bathroom or play sports apparently.
The country is pretty much on fire, people are hurting all over, and you idiots want me to worry about gender and sports?"
See? He was mean to me! Now I have to vote for the Gang Of Pedos!"
The party of hurt feefees.
āThe sounds of attack ads on innocent trans kids sure do help to drown out the sounds of my empty stomach and cancer cells teating my body apart as I miss a meal for the second day in a row and canāt afford healthcare!ā
Bumfuck MAGAs, probably.
Iād just like to know where the schools that are performing surgery are at, since the wait lists for adults are long. Also is it the cafeteria workers or the bus drivers that do it? Everyone else seems busy all day long.
Itās the same schools that make kids use litter boxes. Just go ask Joe Rogan, his totally real teacher friends talk to him about this stuff all the time.
GOP as usual spending extravagant sums to desperately maintain the power to willfully ravage the populace & the planet with their devious schemes to blame The Other for the consequences of their own morally bankrupt policies
I have read that headline literally every 6 months for damn near 20 years. Just replace transgender ads with whatever the boogeyman of the day is
Yep. Hereās hoping that this is the point where it finally stops working.
Republicans have nothing to run on, so they are trying to manufacture something to run against. Given what the polls look like at the moment, and some of the numbers from early returns, it hasnāt been working. Year after year after year, James Carville keeps being proven right:
Itās the economy, stupid.
I dunno if you wanna use James āDems should roll over and play deadā Carville as a source of good advice.
Ya, he sucks as a person, but he was right on that point. People vote based on how they perceive the economy to be.
Broken clock thatās wrong 22 hours of the day. Really wish that guy would just shut up and go enjoy retirement.
James Carville keeps being proven right:
Hes currently saying the dems need to lose so š¤·. Weird guiding star using a senile old man who is expressing being anti progress
Ya, the rest of his advice is basically crap. But, the economy thing remains on point. I attributed the quote as that seems the proper thing to do, not as an endorsement of the guy.
It will bring out their base. Home schooled gun and bible toting yokels, whose truck is worth more than their singlewide, will always take time out from their busy cow tipping schedule to vote red and own the libs.
The GOP does not have a problem bringing out their base.
This galvenizes their base away from actual issues like the economy to a moral panic issue thatās much easier for them to defend.
Their base can feel morally superior defending āthe childrenā than trying to defend $6 / dozen eggs.
What it comes down to in my opinion, is the creeps so concerned with whatās in strangersā and KIDSā Pants.
Gross
Itās stupid as fuck, but this strategy has worked for them plenty in the past. Itās obvious that the political will of the USA is more focused on culture wars, and less on fixing societal problems.
It didnāt āwork in the pastā, that was republicans vs neoliberals.
Races where ājust fix what we actually care aboutā wasnāt on the ballot.
If thereās an option to actually fix the shit that matters, thatās going to be the winner over any position about who can play what non-professional sport for zero money.
Hell, the only reason anyone cares about it is, is fear mongering over college scholarships, we get free higher education and that knocks the legs out from the entire argument.
Itās just neoliberals and Republicans donāt want us to talk about that.
Progressives love talking about actual solutions though, which is why this bullshit doesnāt work against them.
I see some good signs (primarily DSA) of actual solutions based governance. Iām cautiously optimistic that the existing national dynamic will shift away from reality TV rage bait bullshit. If the fear mongering stops working overall, then thereās a chance for real meaningful change.
If the fear mongering stops working overall, then thereās a chance for real meaningful change.
What?
It didnāt work in 2016, and it didnāt work in 2024ā¦
So in early 2025, the DNC pivoted away from neoliberalismā¦
The things youāre talking about hoping may happen, happened almost two years agoā¦
The idea that reactionary fearmongering rage bait identity politics werenāt used or didnāt have their intended effect in 2016 or 2024 is laughable.
If the fear mongering stops working overall, then thereās a chance for real meaningful change.
You said that, I assumed about neoliberalsā¦
I pointed out it didnāt work and neoliberals lost 2016 and 2024ā¦
And you seem to have taken it as no one was trying itā¦
Which, yeah buddy. If anyone said what you thought it might be ālaughableā but thatās only because youāre not understanding what anyone else is saying.
On the other hand, I got a pretty good reason now on why youāre 20 months late to the party. People probably have tried to you by now, hell I might have.
But I just donāt think youāre gonna understand it if you honestly donāt by now
Sounds like you made an incorrect assumption and now youāre trying to flip it around to make a point that seems nebulous and standoffish. Iāll just point you back to my original comment.
And Iāll do what I always do when facts and logic donāt work.
Best of luck buddy, youāll need it to survive with this level of critical thinking and reliance on first assumptions
It didnāt āwork in the pastā, that was republicans vs neoliberals
This is literally still fucking happening you just love to deny reality
Progressives love talking about actual solutions though, which is why this bullshit doesnāt work against them.
Itās not, only against the neoliberals who still respond to these ads by throwing minorities under the bus
