cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/13118934
Josh Turek of Iowa, Democrat, comes out with one of the worst anti-trans ads yet.
Not only is it an anti-sports ad, it proposes a ban on federal funding for gender affirming care. That would hit all medicaid and medicare patients, and any ACA federally-subsidized plans as well.
From his site
Guess thats not really true huh? So which is it, are trans people not Americans or are they not human?
If you want to abandon an entire set of people to win an election then dont ask people to care about his other opinions. Why should anyone who is or knows a trans individual believe him after this take?
Also from his site
Guess that freedom only applies to some people.
Look at you, out here campaigning for right wingers.
Really? Their comment didn’t seem to support Turek at all.
The “all or nothing” approach to voting is not realistic. If Turek checks all but a few of your boxes and Hinson checks none, then vote Turek into office. THEN you can work on him to change his mind about whatever issue you have. You’d have zero chance to do that with Hinson.
I’d argue you should even stump for him. Go out to your trans friends and say “what he said is gross and awful, but his stance on expanding healthcare, lowering the minimum wage and refunding SNAP will help all marginalized people, including trans folk.”
As a trans woman who’s an army veteran using VA healthcare, this sentiment would deny me my right to medicine and treatment.
I served my country. I shouldn’t be penalized just because I also happen to be transgender.
Regardless, it shouldn’t matter that I’m a veteran. Anyone with access to government funded health care who happens to have gender dysphoria should be allowed to get treatment for it.
Grow a spine.
Complete bullshit, this is a lie you tell yourself and others to make you feel better about it. The best time to pressure a candidate to change a stance is before they have your vote, because once they’ve got it, why on God’s green earth would they ever give a single shit what you think?
Fuck that completely. An attack on one is an attack on all. Cutting trans people off their health care will not “help” trans folk, and this divide and conquer shit is exactly how the ruling class keeps us weak and divided.
All marginalized people should pay attention to the fact that the liberals will throw groups straight under the bus the very moment they see it as electorally convenient. They did it to Palestinians, now they’re doing it to trans folks, there’s no limit to it. These people would ban interracial marriages if they thought they could appeal to the right with it and get away with it. These politicians do not believe in anything and do not care for anyone but themselves and their own political status, their own power.
Did you even listen to the ad?
Or did you just read OPs headline?
What do you think he meant when he said “I oppose tax-payers paying for anyone’s sex changes too”? Is that not a promise to gut health care for trans people that depend on medicaid or medicare to get the care they need?
You really need to understand the context is Turek’s actual support on LGBT issues:
https://politifact.com/factchecks/2026/jun/05/ashley-hinson/josh-turek-sex-changes-for-kids-iowa-senate/
He was accused of wanting to pay for surgery on kids without their parents consent.
We can’t get society to pay for anything, why the fuck would an Iowan Senator decide to start paying for gender affirming surgery?
He supports preferred pronouns in schools, he supports hormone blockers for minors, he supports adults having surgery.
Have you even fucking looked at what his Republican opponent wants to do on this topic?!
You’re ripping all context out of this, and trying to decrease Dem turnout, seemingly somehow aware that is a million times worse…
Where are you getting this? I’m not seeing anything about it on his platform. That would be good to hear, but as it stands all I have him saying “I oppose tax-payers paying anyone’s sex changes too” in his latest ad. Right after saying “women should not be in women’s sports if they’re trans” too, which is already plenty transphobic before threatening to take away the healthcare of literally any person that needs a sex change (and lets not pretend that this isn’t a widely used statement to mean all gender affirming care).
Because it is making gender affirming health care less or in-accessible to trans people that rely on medicare or medicaid. Getting a gender affirming surgery is quite different from getting ice cream and definitely not something someone does “just because they wanna”. It’s incredibly intense surgery, with a whole lot of after-care. And again, let’s not pretend that “sex change” is not widely used code, especially in politics, for all gender affirming care.
He is obviously courting republican transphobes with this ad. He is capitulating to the fascists on the cultur war they started in an transparently desperate attempt to win over some of them, as if anyone who cares this much for getting a transphobe elected would go for the transphobe-lite when they can have the real deal.
He said something that anyone with basic critical thinking easily can understand, because they know a male who transitions to female is no longer male…
Will republicans hear it differently and think he’s “anti-trans”?
Yeah …
That’s literally why all these red state candidates to keep fucking phrasing it that way.
What the fuck is wrong with tricking stupid bigots?
Again, take a look at what his opponents stance is on this.
And try to give me some sort of answer based in logic for why you’re trying to get the Republican alternative in Iowa elected.
If Turek loses, how do you think that’s better for the trans community?
Again, if you have anything that demonstrates that he is not planning to take health care away from trans people or have women banned from womens sports if they trans then please do share it! I would love it if he isn’t actually anti-trans, that would be really great news! Why wouldn’t I be happy about that?
But they don’t know that he knows that. His platform doesn’t even mention trans people (or queer or LGBT or any of those terms) at all. All there is right now is him repeating what the republicans are saying they want to do to trans people verbatim. Hopefully there is a clarifying statement in the next days, I would love nothing more than to eat crow on this. Because if people have to defend someone so hard after his own ad then it clearly is a shit ad and will get pulled and buried. Why confuse your electorate by saying the exact opposite of what you’re planning to do just to maybe pull like a 0.1% percent advantage…
Buddy…
Why do I have to prove it, when you don’t?
Again:
Look at the Republican candidate for this Senate seat, she openly wants all the things you think the Dem might want…
You do understand that if Turek loses, it’s worse for everyone nationwide, right?
Everyone in America will be worse off if the Republican wins.
And you are spreading propaganda to help that Republican, which helps trump.
Based on your assumptions.
Why the fuck would anyone not try to stop the Republican by voting Dem?
Edit:
Not even just everyone in America will be worse off…
Look at all the shit trump is causing internationally.
A Dem Senate would reign him in.
The list of countries that would benefit from Lurek losing is very short, and it will only not get worse for the wealthiest there.
I don’t care what country you live in, you should want to limit trump, unless you agree with him of course
What do you mean, my assertion that he is blowing the pro-discrimination dogwhistles like “no males in womens sports” and “no taxpayer money for GAS” is well proven by this ad that I shared. Your assertions that
a. He supports preferred pronouns in schools
b. he supports hormone blockers for minors
c. he supports adults having surgery
aren’t. What have I forgotten to give proof for? I’ll provide it. All I’m asking for is anything to hold on to that this guy isn’t the transphobe he is making himself out to be (supposedly to “trick stupid bigots”).
I’m spreading his own fucking ad! He literally delivered and then endorsed the message! I’m spreading what he wants everyone to know about him!
Because some people are lucky enough to have state healthcare who would lose their care. And because we all know this wont’ be applied to other Gender Affirming care like hair restoration or Viagra.
There’s so many ways to see this as an attack on people it’s confusing how people refuse to understand it
This is kinda off-topic but the juxtaposition of “Health care is a human right. All Americans deserve access to basic care” just jumps out at me. Are non-americans not human? Do foreigners living in the US not have the same human rights as citizens of the US?