Moving Beyond the Culture Wars

Like far too many of us, my post-election coping mechanism has been endlessly scrolling through social media and consuming a flood of political takes. In the aftermath of such a consequential election, media narratives quickly crystalize, transforming passing moments into defining cultural touchstones. One such moment was the "Kamala is for they/them, Donald Trump is for you" ad, which rapidly became a flashpoint in post-election analysis and political discourse. The ad's cultural impact has been so significant that it now has its own Wikipedia page¹, with countless think pieces exploring its implications. Future Forward claims the ad was tremendously effective² in moving people away from Kamala Harris and GLAAD argues the opposite³ (regardless, though, they were incredibly damaging to support for the trans community).

This topic may have come and gone already by now, but I'm wading into this discourse because we risk drawing the wrong lessons from this ad about the election. If our takeaway is that we should be less vocal about, or less supportive of, the trans community or any other marginalized group, we'll be abandoning our core values and undermining the principles of equity and justice for all that should define the future of the Democratic party.

Particularly given that transgender Americans have been targeted so aggressively in the first month of the Trump administration.

In truth, I think "Kamala is for they/them" isn't really about trans people at all. While it undoubtedly rallied a base of people who already held anti-trans views, that's not its primary persuasion element.

The core of the ad's message was a calculated attempt to portray Kamala Harris as having misplaced priorities and being out of touch with "your" reality. This strategy echoes a successful approach we employed in 2022 with "The Deep End" ad, which centered on election denial, hard-line views on abortion, and extreme ideological positions.

That campaign worked by doing more than simply energizing the base—it reached moderate audiences by arguing that Republican state legislative and Gubernatorial candidates were too focused on conspiracies and extreme stances, rather than the kitchen-table issues that directly impact voters' daily lives.

As the post-mortem of the 2024 election continues, a crucial lesson emerges: Democrats can be relatable to and in touch with average voters without sacrificing the inclusivity and diversity that defines our party. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez articulated this precise point in a post-election interview⁴, highlighting a fundamental truth about voter behavior. Most voters aren't choosing based on logical, thorough analysis of policies. Instead, they're making decisions based on who they believe is listening to them—or more precisely, who they're being told isn't listening to them.

The nuance here is critical.

Effective political communication isn't about abandoning principles, but about finding ways to articulate those principles so they resonate with a broader audience. To move forward and win in future cycles, we need to create a narrative that makes more people feel heard, understood, and represented.

1. https://change.fyi/wiki

2. https://change.fyi/nyt

3. https://change.fyi/glaad

4. https://change.fyi/aoc