The House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services held a hearing Tuesday. The chair of the committee, Republican Rep. Lisa McClain torched Democrats and their witnesses at the hearing in her closing remarks.
The hearing addressed transgender athletes in women’s sports. McClain dealt with two women Democrat colleagues, in particular, one who sought to label those who object to men competing in women’s sports as transphobic and one who called Texas and Florida deplorable states. McClain’s closing remarks were a thing of beauty.
🔥🔥🔥
Rep. Lisa McClain GOES OFF on Democrats for endangering female athletes and sports in her closing remarks.
"I am a woman, and let me tell you, hear me roar because I will not stop protecting women. You want to know why? Because we have rights, too.
"Women have rights,… pic.twitter.com/DQa5IGRhM8
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) December 6, 2023
From the clips I’ve seen of the performances by Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), a 36-year-old member of The Squad, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), a former Texas state representative serving her first term in Congress, did not cover themselves in glory.
McClain said what many women, including myself, have been saying since the issue first became public. Riley Gaines is doing a terrific job in her hearing testimonies because she lived the experience of competing with a man for a title she worked for her entire swimming career. She is well-spoken and speaks up against slurs from others. Take, for instance, when Lee said that the hearing was important but it would likely move into transphobia and bigotry. That is a standard trope from Democrats when anyone objects to men in women’s sports.
Lee, a member of the so-called “Squad” of far-left lawmakers, accused Gaines and other witnesses on the panel of being “transphobic” in her opening remarks while arguing in support of the Biden administration’s proposed rule changes to Title IX that would outlaw banning transgender students from participating on teams consistent with their gender identity.
“It’s disappointing to me that although the title of this hearing implies a much-needed discussion we’re likely going to be forced to listen to transphobic bigotry,” the first-year House lawmaker said during the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing. “Because actually protecting female athletes and Title IX is important. Participating in sports provides so many benefits to our young people.
Lee also expressed her disappointment that she was participating in an oversight hearing on this topic instead of a different one.
“I would’ve hoped that the 1st [oversight] hearing I presided over would be on holding big oil, big pharma, or banks accountable for preying on hardworking families,” Lee tweeted. “Instead, it’s yet another extremist Republican hearing attacking trans kids. What a cruel, unserious party.”
Better luck next time, Summer.
Lee was speaking up in favor of the changes the Biden administration is trying to make to Title IX so that the social experiment of trans athletes in competitive sports in college continues. That change defeats the purpose of Title IX. Why did women fight so hard and so long for the protection Title IX offers to women’s sports if now men are included in the competitions?
Riley Gaines responded to Lee by saying that if Riley’s remarks were transphobic, then Lee’s opening statement made her (Lee) a misogynist.
🔥IWF Ambassador @Riley_Gaines_ calls out Rep. Summer Lee for her hypocrisy & falsely equating standing for women transphobic.
“If my testimony makes me transphobic then I believe your opening monologue makes you a misogynist.” pic.twitter.com/gZv62QeSvc
— Independent Women's Forum (@IWF) December 5, 2023
Yes. Common sense says that anyone promoting men to the detriment of women is a misogynist. Lee moved to have Riley’s remark taken down and staffers began circling Lee and McClain. Lee ended up withdrawing her point of order. The remark remains in the record.
Riley Gaines to Rep. Summer Lee: “If my testimony makes me transphobic then I believe your opening monologue makes you a misogynist.”
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 5, 2023
Rep. Crockett outdid herself with her clown act. Not only were her words about her home state ridiculous, but she also attacked the Heritage Foundation and conservative legislation. Her overly-animated gestures as she speaks make her look all the more ridiculous.
Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett dismisses Texas and Florida as "deplorable states" because their duly elected legislatures pass conservative bills pic.twitter.com/EnwA5MzrLH
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) December 5, 2023
You can see staffers sitting behind her smiling and enjoying her performance. Maybe Crockett patterns her behavior like that of AOC. It’s all about the performance with little substance. Texans sent Crockett to Washington. Perhaps they will consider sending her home in 2024. Did she learn nothing from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign? Half the country (or state) doesn’t appreciate being called deplorable by a politician. Here’s a mirror, Jasmine.
Riley Gaines did well in explaining that the issue is one of fairness and safety.
“There’s a place for everybody to play sports in this country,” Gaines said, noting transgender Americans were included in her view. “But unsafe, unfair and discriminatory practices must stop.”
“Inclusion cannot be prioritized over safety and fairness,” the NCAA legend concluded in her opening remarks. “And ranking member Lee, if my testimony makes me ‘transphobic,’ then I believe your opening monologue makes you a misogynist.”
Men are bigger, stronger, and faster than women. Sports competitions that mix men in with women are physically dangerous and give men an unfair advantage. It is not a coincidence that women aren’t vying to compete in men’s sports. Men who are not successful in their sport now feel entitled to compete as transgender athletes. How is that fair to women? A man will win the competition and deny a woman the title, the medal, and perhaps a scholarship. It defies logic.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene voiced an objection to Crockett’s use of the word deplorable in her remarks. MTG asked that the remark be taken down. That request was denied.
Jasmine Crockett just did her best Hillary Clinton impersonation and insulted half of the country by calling red states, deplorable states.
She thinks if you disagree with her radical trans sexual agenda, you are deplorable. pic.twitter.com/q6fP3diLR5
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) December 5, 2023
Crockett mocked MTG after the kerfuffle. Because of course.
“So the MAGAS think MTG is so amazing… right?” Crockett wrote on X. “To be clear, the senior member from Georgia was wrong! It’s a bad day when the Republican chair has to rule in my favor. LEARN the rules before trying to check me.”
So the MAGAS think MTG is so amazing… right? To be clear, the senior member from Georgia was wrong! It’s a bad day when the Republican chair has to rule in my favor. LEARN the rules before trying to check me. 💅🏾 https://t.co/mQdrpJXAlW
— Jasmine Crockett (@JasmineForUS) December 6, 2023
Some politicians like to bring some drama to congressional hearings to draw attention to themselves. Instead of arguing the facts of a policy and making a case against opposition, they choose to play to the camera. Name-calling is a lazy way to argue. It doesn’t advance an argument. Hearings like this one show that the residents in some congressional districts are not represented very well. We need more grown-up behavior in Congress.
After all this distraction, it was good to hear Rep. McClain passionately defend the rights of women in sports. She said she will not stop doing so. How refreshing. I wanted to stand and cheer.
