No One Gets Left Behind: Democrats Don’t Win by Selling Out Their Own

I’ve admired David Axelrod and David Plouffe for years. They helped shape campaigns that reminded America what conviction and message discipline could do. James Carville has always been too moderate for my taste, but I can’t ignore the fact that he did get Bill Clinton elected, and, for his time, had revolutionary insight into how to get Democrats elected.

But after reading about their fingerprints on the new “Deciding to Win” memo—reported by Erin Reed in Erin in the Morning—I feel nothing but disgust.

Lord, be my witness! When it comes to cis straight white male Democratic consultants, no one is quicker to sell their own mother down the river for another tantalizing bite at the apple of power.

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The document is a 58-page surrender note dressed up as strategy. It suggests Democrats should “moderate” on “identity and cultural issues,” a euphemism that translates to one thing: throw queer and trans people under the bus, again, for the sake of appeasing imaginary swing voters.

How many fucking times do we have to do this dance, begging for the scraps of our dignity?

Let’s be clear about what that means. Erin reports that the memo points to “protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans” as a liability, and even cites “defining sex as binary and based on biology at birth across federal agencies” as a so-called moderate position. That’s not moderation—that’s moral rot. It’s bureaucratic erasure dressed as compromise. It’s saying to our most vulnerable citizens, your dignity is negotiable.

This is what happens when political consultants confuse courage with calibration. The people behind this memo—men I once thought understood the stakes—seem to believe that the path to victory lies in mimicking the cruelty of the right, only with better fonts. But Democrats don’t win by acting like Republicans. We win when we stand for something. We win when we defend the people who need defending, not when we flinch because some focus group found “gender identity” uncomfortable.

Erin’s reporting reminds us of the data they conveniently ignore. When Democrats stood firm—in Montana, in Kentucky, in New York—they won. Governor Andy Beshear vetoed anti-trans bills and won reelection in a Trump +31 state. Montana Democrats fought like hell and picked up ten seats. Meanwhile, New Hampshire Democrats tried this exact brand of triangulating cowardice and lost twenty seats. It’s not just immoral—it’s bad politics.

This “Deciding to Win” mindset exposes a deeper rot in the party. It’s the same disease that led Democratic leaders to cover up Biden’s decline instead of telling the truth; the same reflex that prizes loyalty to hierarchy over loyalty to principle. It’s why voters think Democrats don’t believe in anything anymore. Because too often, they don’t. They believe in consultants. They believe in polling. They believe in chasing the approval of people who already despise them.

But here’s the truth: people want moral clarity. They crave conviction. They respect leaders who know who they are and stand their ground. When Democrats lead with courage—when we say without hesitation that trans rights are human rights, that queer people are part of the American story, that no one gets left behind—we inspire faith, not backlash.

I’m a gay man. Many of my closest friends are trans. And I am telling you flatly: this memo is repugnant.

It betrays everything I thought the Democratic Party was supposed to be. You don’t win hearts by selling out the ones who need you most. You don’t win wars by abandoning your comrades on the field.

You win by standing shoulder to shoulder, even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard.

Did we learn NOTHING from the Civil Rights movement?

If this party still means to stand for equality, it must say so loudly and live it daily. Not “moderate” it. Not “triangulate” it. Not “message test” it. Because what’s on the line isn’t a talking point—it’s people’s lives, dignity, and freedom. And if Democrats forget that, they won’t just lose elections. They’ll lose their soul.