“There are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.”
—Oscar Wilde
If progressives had only asked me, I could have saved them time and trouble. As a recovering Lefty, I know from experience that Democrats (and not a few Republicans) are all too happy to promise voters the sun, moon, stars, and everything between them, only to disappoint on delivery.
The Washington Examiner recently published an open letter from Kara Dansky to Kamala Harris. Dansky describes herself as a "lifelong progressive, a radical feminist, and a Democrat” who is politically active. She spends part of the letter praising Harris for her efforts on abortion rights, the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, and her questioning of Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court hearings. Dansky's point of contention with Harris and the Democratic party is their position on transgender ideology.
Dansky is in part upset that in siding with that ideology, Democrats have handed armloads of campaign ammunition to conservatives, specifically Donald Trump. But she also notes that she speaks daily with Democrats and ex-Democrats who are furious that the party has abandoned women and girls "at the sexist, regressive, authoritarian, homophobic altar of “gender identity.”
She speaks warmly of the few state-level Democrats who have moved to protect the rights of women and girls and also notes that while people like Bill Maher, among others, have become vocal critics of the gender identity movement, the party has not only remained steadfast in its support for the movement but. in Dansky's words, has "doubled down" on it. She concludes her letter with:
It’s not too late. You can still prove Democrats are reality-based, not ridiculous. Stand up at the Democratic National Convention and say that a woman is an adult human female and a lesbian is a female homosexual. Say that sex is real and that it matters. Say right out loud that sex is immutable and no man is ever a woman — even if he claims to be one, even if he adopts the traditional stereotypes of femininity, and even if he has his penis surgically removed. Apologize to women and girls for that utterly embarrassing letter you sent to “transgender” activist Dylan Mulvaney celebrating his “365 days of girlhood.”
You profess to care about American women and girls. It’s time to walk the talk. Many of us will be watching and hoping you do the right thing.
I am not going to criticize Dansky. I understand where she is coming from. I, too, once passionately supported the Left because I was under the distinct impression that the rhetoric and ideals that the Democrats spouted represented their true selves. I stood with them and voted with them until it became clear that self-interest was the greatest driver of the movement. But by then, we had what we wanted, and if I didn't like it, I just had to come to terms with the fact that I had voted for it for years.
As much as I despise the antisemites at home and abroad, it is worth noting the narcissism of Kamala Harris and the dysfunction of the Left that was on full display at a campaign stop in Michigan yesterday:
This is a splendid illustration of the progressive mindset. On the one hand, you have the protesters who loathe conservatives but still gave Harris a snootful over Gaza. On the other hand, you have Harris, whose main gripe seems to be that she is being interrupted. And then there is the warning: shut up and side with me. Otherwise, you will get a Trump win in November. Two very destructive sides of the same demographic, each concerned only with their own interests.
Kara Dansky is not going to don a MAGA hat and vote for Trump in November, and I wouldn't expect her to. But the masks are slipping on the Left side of the aisle, and yesterday's scene in Michigan is a stark indicator of the kinds of people that inhabit the Left.