But Mr. Ramirez also has some wise words from Bree Lindquist to accompany his cartoon, and there's a New Hampshire angle:
I’m vocal about how unusual sanity is on the left right now. I make no secret of it. When my leftist and liberal friends (and many of my conservative ones) complain to me about Donald Trump’s administration, an easy comeback is, “Well, are you surprised? You’re allowed to argue with some nuance as an independent or a republican. The democrats eat any dissent alive. Who wants to support anyone who is so incredibly cruel to people who just might vote for them?”
Moderation has become so incompatible with the apparent philosophy of the left that when a democrat steps outside of his or her party line, it’s an act of courage and swift consequence. A few days ago, New Hampshire state representative Jonah Wheeler delivered a speech on the house floor explaining his support for a bill that upholds single-sex spaces in certain circumstances, attesting that women have a right to safety and privacy from males. Half of his democratic colleagues walked out to show disdain for this commonsense viewpoint. A few days later, in a vicious struggle session, he was attacked by democratic constituents over Zoom, including old childhood friends and teachers who said he was making the world a more terrible place. He had the conviction and grace to stand by his words, weathering the storm until the stream ended with a barrage of racial slurs and a flood of pornography, because of course it did.
NH Journal describes the abuse visited upon Jonah Wheeler at that "struggle session":
Democrat Jonah Wheeler stood alone before a capacity crowd in the Peterborough Town Hall as critics, leaders in his own party, and even some childhood friends railed against the 22-year-old state representative’s vote for legislation deemed “transphobic” by progressive activists.
Wheeler (D-Peterborough) was unapologetic during Tuesday night’s question and answer session sponsored by the Peterborough League of Women Voters as he explained why he broke with his party and voted for HB 148. The bill protects the right of local institutions to keep biological males out of women’s locker rooms and bathrooms.
“Nobody should be discriminated against because of who they are,” Wheeler said. “We can respect trans women, and we can respect the rights of women who object to having trans women in their spaces.”
Reader, I hear you asking: "Hey, what about the porn Michael mentioned?" Well,…
At one point, the League of Women Voters’ video stream of the event was hijacked, replaced with graphic images of sex, along with a racial slur. The stream had to be shut down.
Click if you must; the porn isn't very explicit, but the racial slur is.
If NHJournal's tilt is too far to starboard for you, New Hampshire Bulletin leans more to port: After votes rolling back transgender rights, a reckoning for progressive Peterborough. The porn and racial slur go unmentioned there, but there is a devastating query aimed at Jonah Wheeler by one of his constituents:
Another woman, who called herself Elizabeth, asked a basic question. “I think you know your constituents,” she said. “I believe that you do. Why did you vote in a manner that would upset us?”
Reader, there were more upsets in Peterborough that evening than in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The story also reports:
Outside of the Peterborough library, some advocates were in tears after the meeting.
Just spit-balling here, but I think this reveals the downside of using political activism as self-care.
As Bree notes, Wheeler was also vilified by members of his party in Concord a few days earlier. Which was gleefully reported by NH Journal: NHDems Invoke 'Jim Crow' In Attack on Black Progressive Over Bathroom Bill Vote. Apparently no porn was involved, but:
Angry House Democrats unleashed public attacks on a member of their own caucus Thursday over his support for legislation protecting women-only spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms. One Democrat even invoked ‘Jim Crow’ in his remarks targeting progressive Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough), who is Black.
The bill (HB 148) that would allow the separation of locker rooms, changing rooms, and bathrooms for males and females that align with their sex — revived this session by Republicans after Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed similar legislation last summer — advanced 201-166. Two Democrats, Wheeler and Rep. Peter Leishman, both of Peterborough, joined the GOP in support.
Immediately after the final tally was announced, several cries of “Shame on you!” and “Shame!” could be heard throughout the chamber. The bill now heads to the Senate where it is expected to pass.
And, lo, it came to pass that the bill did pass in the NH Senate, as did a passel of other GOP-favored legislation, as reported by the Concord Monitor: Legislators advance ban on sexual content in schools, plus 5 GOP-led bills on transgender issues Porn is mentioned here, because one of the bills…
… prohibits schools from providing any materials to students that meet the legal threshold for obscenity or fall under what the state deems as age-inappropriate or “harmful to minors.” This includes descriptions of nudity and sexual conduct, a predominant appeal to “prurient, shameful or morbid” interests and a lack of other literary, scientific, medical, artistic or political value for minors.
But skipping down to the transgender stuff, my own state senator makes an appearance, with a "message for the transgender people of New Hampshire."
“No matter how unnecessary or misdirected or, to some, seemingly cruel Senate Bill 268 may seem, we know you were born this way, so dance on,” said David Watters, a Democrat from Dover. “You are heard, you are seen, you are loved. Be fabulous, be fierce, be free. Live free or die. Live queer or die.”
No word on whether Senator Watters will be proposing legislation requiring that alternate motto be embossed on special-issue New Hampshire license plates.
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