1 week Ago By Matthew Medsger
The backlash to US Rep. Seth Moulton’s post-election remarks about the need for Democrats to openly debate tough issues, like participation of trans athletes in girls and women’s sports, has grown and now includes talk of a ban on interns from Tufts University. It’s a reaction he said proves the point of his post-election analysis.
Moulton has been facing blowback following an interview with the New York Times in which he said he has personal concerns about his children’s safety on the playing field should they be forced to compete against transgender athletes, a subject he noted he’s not even supposed to broach as a member of the Democratic Party. Moulton told the Herald Tuesday that the point he was trying to make was about the need to be able to discuss these issues, which were ever present in the last election, without the political left losing their collective minds over the matter. Instead of debate, his remarks brought calls for his resignation, uproar from former staff and the cold shoulder from the state party’s chairman.
On Tuesday, Moulton’s office said the chair of Tufts University’s Political Science Department reached out to say they wouldn’t be sending interns there any longer. The university said later in the day that it would not curtail any opportunities for students. All of it, Moulton said, just works to demonstrate the exact problem he was describing.
“That’s why it’s important for Democrats to win this debate. Because, if we refuse to have the debate, Republicans will settle it on their terms and that’s dangerous for trans people and all other kinds of minorities across America,” he said. A spokesperson for Tufts, responding to the Herald’s inquiry over a supposed ban on intern applicants to Moulton’s office, said that the university has “reached out to Congressman Moulton’s office to clarify that we have not limited — and will not limit — internship opportunities with his office.
” “We remain committed to fostering an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives, and our Career Center will continue to provide students with a wide range of employment opportunities across the political and ideological spectrum,” they said. In the New York Times piece , Moulton said that his party spends “way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face.” “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” he said, suggesting he isn’t the only American father who has this concern.
Moulton told the Herald that he also spoke to the Times about the economy, and immigration, but the only thing that made it through the noise was his assertion about his daughters, and even then everyone seems to be missing the point. “There are a lot of issues that matter to a lot of Americans, where we are out of touch as Democrats, and yet some fellow Democrats refuse to even have a debate about a better way forward. How un-American is that?” he said.
On Friday, Moulton’s campaign manager, Matt Chilliak, resigned his post in protest. On Saturday, a group of former staffers and interns circulated a letter expressing their concerns about Moulton’s statements, demanding an apology. On Sunday, Moulton appeared on MSNBC and said party leaders wouldn’t even return his calls.
MassDems Chair Steve Kerrigan said in a statement that Moulton’s comments don’t reflect the state party’s values. “The Massachusetts Democratic Party is proud to stand with the LGBTQ+ community, especially our transgender friends, neighbors, and loved ones across the Commonwealth. These comments do not represent the broad view of our Party,” Kerrigan said.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey weighed in on Tuesday, saying “what I saw in that comment, was playing politics.” “We shouldn’t do that.
We should have real conversations and not play politics with people, particularly young people and folks who are vulnerable,” she said. Despite the backlash, Moulton told the Herald that he is not anti-trans. “Absolutely not, I’ve been a long-time champion,” he said, noting that he’s got the voting record to back up his assertion.
However, it’s not bigoted to consider reasonable restrictions for new and uncharted circumstances, Moulton said, and some Americans are genuinely concerned about their kids’ safety. Moulton made no attempt at claiming to be an expert in sports, and didn’t offer a concrete solution to questions surrounding transgender athletes playing against women and girls, but said he knows the International Olympic Committee has come up with rules dealing with the subject. It shouldn’t be hard for Democrats to have the same conversations, he said.
“Part of this debate should be, how do we ensure that basic civil rights, access to healthcare and other fundamental things that trans people need in America are preserved while Republicans try to take it all away,” he said. President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign ran advertisement after advertisement making trans people a front and center issue for his constituents, Moulton said, and the whole time the left treated the subject like a hot potato, choosing to bury their heads in the sand. “Harris refused to respond.
How is that standing up for trans rights, when you just ignore an attack against them?” the congressman asked. Moulton said he isn’t concerned his office will be short of interns due to the debate, but he’s worried what impact even the question of a ban on internships might have. He also wondered how Tufts would react if a student informed them they wanted to intern with a Republican congressman somewhere.
“What are these political science professors going to say then?” Moulton said. Herald wire service contributed..
