Republicans are the masters of “boomerang politics.”
For decades, they have been waging the same culture war—throwing out the same attacks against the LGBTQ community because, for their base, nothing sells better than fear of “the gay agenda.”
And with the GOP poised to steamroll Democrats in the midterm elections, the LGBTQ community ought to fight back with an all-out media campaign of their own, revealing to the world the GOP’s real agenda—which is to make America cis, hetero, and whites-only, again.
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The right is stoking a moral panic that children will be “indoctrinated” by teachers into an unholy “lifestyle”—merely by acknowledging that gay, trans, and non-binary people exist.
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law—which is written so broadly that it leaves the door open to lawsuits if a teacher acknowledges having a same-sex partner—the only people that were truly shocked were the ones that haven’t been paying attention.
You see, Republicans have nothing to offer the American people. It’s hard to sell climate change as a hoax to people who have lost their homes and livelihood to yet another “historic flood,” “historic fire,” and “historic tornado season.” It’s difficult to sell tax cuts to the rich when millions are living under the crushing debt of student loans or when so many Americans were forced to stand in miles-long lines at food pantries during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Republicans' desire to make big government the intrusive boogeyman in people’s lives doesn’t have the same ring to it when that very same government is delivering life saving vaccines and checks to those in need. So, they have to return to what always works–division and hate.
Conservatism is literally all about preserving “traditions” and opposing change at all cost. The future, to the right, is inherently frightening. That’s why Republicans are playing their old homophobic hits.
In recent weeks, many companies were called upon to denounce Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill—most notably, Disney, one of the state’s largest employers and that operates a literal, massive playground for children. As the bill was making its way to the governor’s desk, Disney put out a series of tepid responses that left opponents of the bill frustrated. But rather than calm tensions, DeSantis’ chief spokesperson Christina Pushaw went with an old-school escalation—she began referring to anyone that detests this hateful bill as a “groomer.”
“Groomer” has an actual meaning; it’s used to describe the tactics of pedophiles and how they begin a practice of manipulation to gain the trust of children in order to abuse them. It was also the practice of right-wing white Evangelical Christians to label the entire LGBTQ community as pedophiles who want to “groom” your children into the “gay lifestyle.” They were so devoted to this lie that in the late 1970s they created an entire organization called “Defend the Children” to wage a campaign against gay and lesbian teachers in schools in California.
This horrific (and age-old) slander of the LGBTQ community led directly to some of our most egregious anti-gay bills. From the laws against gay adoption to employers being permitted to fire you over your sexual orientation and gender identity—it all of stemmed from the original big lie, that LGBTQ people aren’t to be trusted with your children (or even their own).
Republicans are peddling the same lie they began back in the 1970s that was used in the 1980s during the height of the AIDS epidemic and just as practically every popular old TV show and movie is getting a reboot—so is the right’s vitriol. The problem, of course, is that it worked then and it’s working again now. While Democrats love to believe in the best of people—Republicans actually understand people. They know what makes them tick, what makes them fearful, and once they have found it they exploit it to high heaven.
If you look at the laws that are being passed in Florida, Iowa, Texas, Tennessee, and most recently in Ohio—they are all using children as their dog whistle-turned-bullhorn. Whether it’s abortion or “Don’t Say Gay,” Republicans have returned to what worked in the 20th century—scaring the hell out of parents and providing their base with an “other” to villainize. But what’s legitimately terrifying is that these red states falling in line with their “anti-gay” agenda are just testing grounds. Republicans are saying the quiet part out loud and yet, no one is really listening.
For those of us who are watching the anti-gay madness unfold from the safety of our blue states—recognize that your safety is an illusion. The quiet part that Republicans keep saying is “wait until we get power back.” Republicans are chomping at the bit to once again hold the House Speaker’s gavel, so that they can pass laws that turn the clock back to a time when calling LGBTQ people (and our allies) pedophiles was in vogue.
Florida, a once-purple state turning increasingly red, is considered and often seen as a bellwether for American politics. And that’s why LGBTQ people need to take the next elections seriously—both by voting and getting out the vote—because our lives might literally depend on it.
