CNN guest claims that Democrats are “moving too far” in the fight for transgender rights

Former RNC communications director Doug Heye: “What I hear so often from Democrats, privately, is concerns about how this movement is moving forward, and that they feel that they can't say anything publicly”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

From the March 3, 2023, edition of CNN Tonight 

DOUG HEYE (REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST): I think to Molly's point, there are, of course, politics involved in this. There are politics in everything that, you know, every healthcare bill that's put forth, whether by a Republican or Democrat. What I hear so often from Democrats, privately, is concerns about how this movement is moving forward, and that they feel that they can't say anything publicly. I'm thinking of a friend of mine who's watching me, right now, who's a Democrat, who I've traded notes with, who says our party is moving too far on this, and we don't know the ramifications are. 



ALISYN CAMEROTA (HOST): I hear you. We can say anything publicly tonight, basically, and so, do we believe parents should decide kids' health or not?



HEYE: Sure. 



MOLLY JONG-FAST (VANITY FAIR): So then why can't they? 



HEYE: Sure. Well, of course they should, but – 



JONG-FAST: Well, then you're making a law that says – 



HEYE: Well, we have a lot of laws on what 18-year-olds and 21-year-olds or under can do. They can't buy cigarettes. They can't buy beer. They can't do a lot of things – the decisions they may want to make for themselves. And when you then start talking about using certain hormone blockers or certain surgeries, even with their parents' consent, you can't go back from the age of 16 – if you do it at 16 – and then at the age of 22 or 32, then once you – 



PATRICK MCENROE (ESPN COMMENTATOR): I always hear this argument – 

[UNINTELLIGIBLE]



MCENROE: I always hear this argument that if you do it, then you're going to change your mind. I've never heard a trans person say they want to change their mind. That's absurd. That's just a silly argument.

HEYE: But 13-year-olds change their minds every day.

MCENROE: 13 is different, okay, but –

MONDAIRE JONES (FORMER REPRESENTATIVE, D-NY): The laws we have to say you can't smoke until you're a certain age or can't drink until you're a certain age. That's meant to protect the health of the individual. 



CAMEROTA: Yeah, but what don't these people think they're protecting the health of the teenagers?



JONES: But here, physicians and psychologists are saying it is harmful to children who are experiencing, for example, gender dysphoria, among other things, to not be able to treat them appropriately, and that is the fundamental difference between the laws that you just described and the law that, for political purposes, the governor of Tennessee has just signed. 



MCENROE: Can't people make their own decisions about how they want to live their lives if it doesn't affect –

CAMEROTA: Not, apparently, adolescents and teenagers. 



MCENROE: If it doesn't affect other people in a negative way. 



JONG-FAST: I also wonder what happened to the Republican Party of smaller government, right? I was hearing that governor say we're not going to tell you to vaccinate your kids, but we are going to tell you you can't – you know, you can't get them therapy – you know, this, I mean...  



CAMEROTA: Yeah, no, it is – I mean, it's the inconsistency is laid bare right there.