The left is obsessed with the LGBT community. They think it triggers conservatives. Maybe for a few from the olden days of the Moral Majority, but seldom do I come across conservatives who aren't total boomers who care about the gays and what they do. We are worried about unnecessary and graphic sex discussions between teachers and minors, dudes erasing women's sports, and overall keeping total perverts and freaks out of our schools. That's hardly a controversial topic, but the left wants full-blown sex tutorials being taught because it's natural.
There are levels of decency and decorum that must be adhered to, especially in public education institutions. No, teachers don't have to explain how to give different forms of sex. We don't need to know who they are having sex with, and we sure as hell don't need teachers telling fourth graders that they're trans. How does that help with their comprehension of the core curriculum? There is a difference between comprehensive sexual education, which I feel should be taught, and creepy tutorials on sexual activities that venture well beyond what is appropriate in a school setting.
Florida was ground zero for the latest culture battle, which conservatives won. The so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill drove liberals insane, but the bill doesn't mention that word. It's merely a "shut up and stop tossing in sex advice to minors" bill. The main criticism from those who aren't frothing progressives who haven't left Earth is that some provisions regarding enforcement are vaguely written.
Yet, the left's shift to hoping Disney would derail the legislation didn't work. Josh Barro, a former editor at Business Insider and New York Times columnist, zeroed in on the irony concerning this move by progressives and how this "one weird trick" is not working anymore.
For starters, he noted how the left would rather use big corporations to push their agenda items which would have been viewed as anathema. Second, the conservative reaction to these corporate blitzkriegs has changed. We want a fight. It's a good post that summarizes the whole Florida debate and why Disney can't help the left here (via Very Serious/Josh Barro):
Recommended
It’s true that over the past few years, liberals have had some success pressuring corporations to pressure Republicans in state governments against pursuing conservative culture-war wedge politics. Corporate outrage led Indiana to gut a law that would have undermined non-discrimination protections for LGBT people, and was one factor that drove (after years of wrangling) the expiration of HB2, a North Carolina law that prohibited local anti-discrimination ordinances and banned transgender people from the bathrooms in government buildings that match their gender identities.
But it’s important to note a few ways that the Florida situation is different. Conservatives are no longer caught off guard by these tactics. They have adopted a more hostile rhetorical position toward the corporate sector, and are more inclined to pursue these fights in the face of corporate opposition. Corporate opposition has not given pause to Georgia Republicans imposing new voting restrictions or Texas Republicans seeking to restrict access to abortion or certain treatments for transgender minors. Regarding Disney’s opposition to this law, DeSantis declared, “I don't care what Hollywood says. I don't care what big corporations say.” To the extent using the increased social liberalism of the corporate sector as a political lever amounted to One Weird Trick for liberals, that Trick is losing its power.
Another difference is that we’re not talking about the siting decision for a convention or an all-star game. Walt Disney World is the world’s largest theme park complex, and it’s not going anywhere. Disney can “pause” political giving until the heat dies down, but it can’t credibly threaten to leave Florida (and won’t try to), and that limits its leverage over politicians in the state. Ultimately, so long as Republicans win elections in Florida, Disney will find ways to work with them.1
[…]
What would it take to actually control the government of the state of Florida? Well, getting there is a much less pleasant process — one that would require stakeholders in liberal politics to have some arguments with each other instead of just agreeing about how terrible the other side is. And that’s another reason it’s more attractive to rage at Disney than to make the compromises that would be necessary to win elections and govern in Florida and block the adoption of laws like this.
Barro is a liberal writer worth reading since his takes are not soaked in "woke" nonsense. He knows where and when progressives will shoot themselves in the face. On the global warming debate, the left harasses people for eating hamburgers, which he cited as an example of the left becoming the moral busybodies of America, which in turn has alienated large swaths of voters. What good is that going to do for your cause? He makes the same point here. Liberals are going to have to venture outside of their CNN/MSNBC echo chamber because no one really cared about this bill. It sailed through, and the reactions were beyond unhinged. I would also add, again, it would have been best if these folks read the bill.
For now, it looks like the progressive left will have to start from scratch regarding how they push their agenda items.
