Some people say that "identity politics" causes the left to lose elections and that the left should compromise away the interests of certain groups to attract more centrist voters so they can win elections.
It's wrong on principle:
Imagine thinking that the key to beating fascism is sacrificing continuously more minority groups to the fascists.
— Katelyn Burns (@transscribe) June 19, 2022
Which may signal either that the leaders don't actually hold these principles or that they expect their voters don't:
This is exactly why the Democrats openly say they want to ignore the issue: Their own voters are becoming transphobic.
— Donnodubus (@donnodubus) June 22, 2022
It is going to take each and every one of us to chip into the effort to combat this wave of hate. There's no other way to end it. 2/9
If you do hold principles in support of trans people, then compromising them is wrong for pragmatic reasons:
Why would anyone vote for Democrats if they never actually take a stand on anything they promise?
— Katelyn Burns (@transscribe) June 19, 2022
Don’t you get it? If they give in on trans rights, they can give in on anything. Maybe something important to you.
The thing about that “trans rights are not a priority while we’re headed towards full fascism” tweet is that the fascism usually starts at liquidation of the minority groups perceived as a minor “fringe” and rapidly escalates from there. There’s a popular poem about this.
— ḃ̸̢̗̺̭͐̋e̵̳̾̌̾̐̌̎̓à̴̢̛̺̱̪͙̤̀̃̊̽r̸͖̗̭̙̗̮̉ (@w0jt3c) June 21, 2022
The idea that throwing trans people under the bus would mollify the right instead of emboldening the right is delusional
— Matthew Sitman (@MatthewSitman) June 20, 2022
Noah Berlatsky wrote on June 30: "You can’t save democracy by letting fascists pick their victims."
Thus, here's a recommendation that you have conversations with people. (Of course, consider whether it's safe for you to do so and if it won't be a total waste of your time.)
Here's what people need to know: The anti-trans movement is becoming a mass hysteria. This is not an exaggeration.
— Donnodubus (@donnodubus) June 22, 2022
It's not just right-wingers and activists anymore: there are many ordinary, apolitical, and liberal type people who have become obsessed with the topic. 1/9
So what does that mean? It means being an active advocate. It means being willing to delve into difficult or unpleasant conversations with people.
— Donnodubus (@donnodubus) June 22, 2022
It means doing what's called "deep canvassing": "engaging in long, empathic conversations to help shift someone's beliefs". 3/9
Unfortunately, sometimes the conversations can't be productive. It's not that they don't know facts. It's that they have different values.
Already blocked, but again, these fascists know the racist & repressive history of the U.S. & *embrace* it. We can't educate ourselves out of this fascism crisis bc the fundamental problem is not an absence of info but the presence of an ethnonationalist vision of power. pic.twitter.com/wpGn3yLICX
— Dr. William Horne (@wihorne) October 18, 2022
The voice of civility isn't leftism. LinkedIn
"It helps to think of Nazism and Fascism as both political projects and also a benders. Here, we have ideologies that are intentionally and relentlessly opposed to self-criticism or introspection. Both rely on crafting entirely incoherent and imaginary realities, stocking them with myths and pleasing stories that heroicize those who subscribe to the project. White, patriarchal, nationalist supremacy, which is integral to these authoritarian projects, works the same way. You don’t have to do anything to be special. You just are because you were born a certain race, a certain gender, and within a certain country. Because of those things, you should be given everything. Through this lens, you can see why their attacks on multiculturalism and things like DEI are so vehement. They’re projections of how they feel about themselves." — Jared Yates Sexton, November 2025
"Where are our leaders? That’s our next step. Finding leaders who know how to lead. Then we find the oppositions’ Achilles heels. Donald Trump and his regime have them. It’s their protectors who keep us from getting at them. They must go, too."
Everything Trump Orders Must be Challenged. Nothing good has ever come from him and nothing ever will. Action comes next. Ramona Grigg, Constant Commoner, Jan 15, 2026
Andrea Pitzer:
"Chad Stanton has been framing an idea that I think gets to the heart of the current institutional Democratic response. Whether they realize it or not, Democratic willingness to reach across the aisle and preemptively make concessions to counterparts who embrace racism and throw vulnerable communities under the bus end up being a movement toward the rejection of a diverse and pluralistic democracy. Instead, it’s a kind of longing for what Stanton calls “white reconciliation.”
I think many reactionary centrists would be surprised and even offended to hear what they’re doing talked about in those terms—it’s likely not how they picture it. But look panoramically at the arguments, how they’re framed, and the degree to which they rely on embracing this mistreatment and exclusion of whole groups to win back reactionary white voters. In that context, framing of “white reconciliation” as the priority seems accurate. But I don’t think it’s going to work, because reactionary white voters are not going to save democracy."
Andrea Pitzer, Does "No Kings" matter? Protesters understand the assignment. They're showing up to save democracy. March 31, 2026
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