{"id":6627,"date":"2023-08-30T08:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T12:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=6627"},"modified":"2023-08-30T08:55:05","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T12:55:05","slug":"walk-a-mile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/08\/30\/walk-a-mile\/","title":{"rendered":"Walk a Mile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Precedent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Just nineteen years ago, Ohio\u2019s Secretary of State Ken Blackwell pressed a state constitutional amendment onto the ballot. The Amendment guaranteed that marriage in the state would only be between a man and a woman.\u00a0\u00a0it wasn\u2019t even a big debate in the state before Blackwell\u2019s amendment.\u00a0\u00a0But there it was, a key issue on the November 2004 ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why put an extraneous amendment on the ballot?\u00a0\u00a0His purpose was to increase the Republican voter turnout.\u00a0\u00a0The goal:\u00a0\u00a0to defeat Democrat John Kerry for the Presidency and secure the state for incumbent George W Bush.\u00a0\u00a0Folks might not come out to vote for Bush, but they\u2019d show up to keep gays from marrying.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And it worked \u2013 Bush won by 119,000 votes, 51% to Kerry\u2019s 49%.\u00a0\u00a0(Flip Ohio\u2019s twenty electoral votes to Kerry, and he wins the Presidency).\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Ohio’s Constitution now banned same-sex marriage.\u00a0\u00a0And that stood as law until 2015 when a Cincinnatian, James Obergefell, won the right for same sex marriage nationwide in the US Supreme Court (Obergefell v Hodges<\/em>).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing on Children<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today there is a national discussion about transgendered kids in sports.\u00a0\u00a0But let\u2019s start with reality. 300,000 kids under eighteen identify as transgendered nationally (Williams<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s out of almost 21.5 million kids, 1.4%.\u00a0\u00a0In Ohio, 350,000 kids participate in high school sports.\u00a0\u00a0Last year, six, just six, transgendered kids participated in girls\u2019 sports.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s .002%.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And over the last eight years, there was a total of nineteen (10 middle school, 9 high school) participating in girls\u2019 sports.\u00a0\u00a0(By the way, no one seems concerned about transgendered kids participating in boys sports).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we have a huge national conversation about an extremely small number of kids, struggling with gender identity:  Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ken Blackwell strategy that worked so well in 2004 set the precedent.\u00a0\u00a0In order to turnout the radical right\u2019s voters, politicians have to keep generating \u201cenergy\u201d in the electorate.\u00a0\u00a0They create issues built on the struggle of a very few to \u201cgin-up\u201d their base.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a \u201cstraw man\u201d issue, a set-up, to drive their voters to the polls.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s happening in \u201cRed\u201d states like Ohio, but petitions to put anti-trans amendments on the ballot are circulating in California as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of their argument, they want to restrict how doctors medically treat children.  They want to \u201cprotect\u201d children from medical treatments that delay puberty.  The Republican-Right, the party of \u201cparent choice\u201d in so many other areas, are dead set against parents choosing what\u2019s right for their trans-child.  Many states are restricting the use of drugs to support the child\u2019s gender decisions, regardless of what parents want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Tragedy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Republicans are doing the same with the abortion issue.  In the Milwaukee Republican debates last week, we heard it from candidate after candidate. Democrats are \u201c\u2026in favor of abortion up to birth\u201d.  That\u2019s simply not true. Here\u2019s the facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n