Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R-OH) cowardice in the face of transgender activists and liberal media pressure is a characteristic of a weak Republican Party of the past that must be left behind.
DeWine’s decision to veto a bill that would prevent irreversible sex change procedures for children and prevent boys from playing in girls’ sports was a textbook example of Republican cowardice in the face of liberal cultural power. “These are gut-wrenching decisions that should be made by parents and should be informed by teams of doctors who are advising them,” DeWine said while dismissing the sports matters as just being about “four kids who aren’t dominating or winning trophies.”
DeWine gave in to every liberal narrative in the process of his veto. He cast the irreversible physical and hormonal damage to children as just something that should be between the doctors and parents. He dismissed concerns about the privacy and physical safety of girls in sports and instead accused parents with those concerns of directing “fear and anger” at “so few” children for being transgender. DeWine’s statement was indistinguishable from the comments of someone like Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).
Fortunately for parents and for the children being pushed into permanent damage based on an incoherent ideology, Ohio Republicans are not so spineless. The Ohio legislature overrode DeWine’s veto to make the bill law. DeWine had tried to placate his conservative critics with half-measures in the form of an executive order. He tried to co-opt limited government principles to justify doctors harming children (which he flipped on when it came to abortion). Ohio Republicans recognized neither was sufficient, powering through to a win and protecting children in the process.
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DeWine’s cowardice is how Republicans lost control of the culture to the point that children are being told through entertainment and their schools that they can change their sex. The adoption of liberal talking points to defend his decision is how Republican voters end up embracing more reckless leaders who are putting the party in a death spiral. Following DeWine’s path forward means losing cultural battles and elections and doing irreparable damage to children.
The path Ohio Republicans in the legislature followed is the path the rest of the GOP must follow. It is decisive, morally (and biologically) correct, and will protect children from a delusional ideology no matter how many liberals in media or activist circles complain. It doesn’t smear concerned parents as hateful and doesn’t ruin the lives of gender-confused children before they begin. That way, and DeWine’s cowardly deference to liberal narratives, is how the GOP wins.