Ruben Gallego's U-turn on transgender athletes is smart politics | Opinion
The reinvention of Sen. Ruben Gallego continues as Arizona’s freshman senator marches forth into territory where few Democrats dare to tread.
Gallego on May 29 said it’s "legitimate” to question whether transgender athletes should be competing in some women’s sports.
“As a parent of a daughter, I think it’s legitimate that parents are worried about the safety of their daughters, and I think it’s legitimate for us to be worried also about fair competition,” Gallego said in an interview with The Dispatch, a conservative digital magazine.I picture his once-fellow progressives fainting in a dead heap.
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And Kyrsten Sinema? She’s got to be laughing her head off.
Then-Sen. Sinema was excoriated by Democrats and Gallego, in particular, as she frequently broke with her then-party in a search for middle ground – most notably by holding firm on the filibuster after President Joe Biden’s election and refusing to allow progressive proposals to flow forth with a mere majority vote.
But over the last two years, Gallego has literally remade himself into the image of the predecessor he once despised, moving from liberal flamethrower to pragmatic moderate.
The Ruben Gallego makeover continues
In January, Gallego not only voted for the Laken Riley Act — the one that requires any undocumented immigrant accused of anything to be locked away indefinitely — he co-sponsored it.He’s one of just five Democrats who has thus far voted to confirm 10 of President Donald Trump’s 22 Cabinet nominees.
No. 1 on his five-point immigration plan , released earlier this month: "Secure our border and keep communities safe”.This, from a guy who once railed on the House floor against “Trump’s stupid, dumb, border wall.”
Gallego, who won election last year in a swing state that voted for Donald Trump, is just reading the room.
The country, that is.
Democrats went too far
Democrats went too far in pretending that all was well as Biden allowed the world to traipse across the U.S.-Mexico border. In pretending that no transgender athlete has an unfair advantage.
As a result, Democrats’ favorability numbers in national polls have fallen into the crypt beneath the cellar under the subbasement and Gallego has no intention of being buried alive.
He's one of the few Democrats who seems to not only understand that the party has to win back moderates but is quickly developing a game plan for how to do it.
With a complete and total makeover.
Gallego makes a U-turn
Gallego's campaign website touts his LGBTQ+ credentials, noting his support of the Equality Act, which would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity across key areas of life.
"Ruben has always and will continue to fight for the LGBTQ+ community," his website says.
Gallego in 2023 voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, banning trans athletes from girls’ and women’s sports.
Now he's advocating for at least a partial ban on trans athletes.“There are some sports that some of these trans children should not be playing,” Gallego told The Dispatch.
“Hey, listen, we love you. We want you to be part of our community, but this is just the one place you can’t play, and let’s find other activities for you to be involved."
He's not wrong
He is, of course, right. Witness former University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who obliterated school and national records while competing on the women’s swim team.
He also is right that such decisions should be left to “local institutions" rather than Congress.
In Arizona, before the Legislature enacted its blanket ban in 2022, the Arizona Interscholastic Association decided whether high school transgender athletes could compete on girls' teams. Decisions were made on a case-by-case basis, as not all sports, or athletes, are alike.
Gallego becomes one of just a few congressional Democrats to publicly oppose the full inclusion of trans athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another with his eye on the White House, broke with the party in March, calling the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sports “deeply unfair.”
Somehow, I doubt the transgender community and their advocates will see it that way.
Indeed, most Democrats will be appalled -- publicly at least. But then, most Democrats are consigned to the wilderness these days. In November, the pendulum moved, smacking them upside the head.
Gallego, with ambitions of a presidential run, is just embracing the swing.
Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@Single Sparkle . Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRobertsaz , on Threads at @LaurieRobertsaz and on BlueSky at @laurieroberts.bsky.social .
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ruben Gallego's U-turn on transgender athletes is smart politics | Opinion
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