民主党内部就如何最好地化解共和党在跨性别问题上的攻击展开辩论，导致党内人士在中期选举前几周互相攻击。
An intra-party debate over how best to deflect Republican attacks on transgender issues has Democrats angrily sniping at each other just weeks out from the midterm elections.
为何重要：这并非民主党在2024年大选失利两年后所期望的处境，许多党内人士将那次失利归咎于在跨性别问题上被共和党的信息战略甩在身后。
Why it matters: This is not the position Democrats hoped to be in two years after their 2024 election loss which many in the party attributed to being outflanked by GOP messaging on trans issues.
- “人们觉得你需要以某种方式回应这些攻击，因为两年前没人这么做，”国会LGBTQ+平等核心小组联合主席、众议员马克·波坎（D-威斯康星州）告诉Axios。
• "People feel you need to respond in some way to some of these attacks because people didn't do it two years ago," Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), a co-chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, told Axios.
- “但你也需要意识到我们目前在哪些方面占据优势，”波坎补充道，表示民主党候选人需要找到“一个平衡点”。
• "But you also need to realize what we're winning on right now," Pocan added, saying Democratic candidates need to strike "a balance."
- “沉默是致命的，我认为我们在2024年已经演绎过这一幕了，”中间派智库“第三条道路”高级副总裁拉内·埃里克森表示，她引用民调称，大多数选民认为民主党“主张体育比赛不应有规则，医疗保健也不应有规则”。
• "Silence is deadly, and I think we played that out in 2024," said Lanae Erickson, a senior vice president at the centrist think tank Third Way, citing polling that found most voters believed Democrats "thought there should be no rules in sports, no rules around health care."
新闻驱动因素：众议员马西·卡普图尔（D-俄亥俄州）于9月在一则直面镜头的广告中称，她“投了共和党一票，将跨性别意识形态挡在校园之外”，此举在其选区和国会山引发轩然大波。
Driving the news: Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) set off a firestorm in her district and on Capitol Hill in September by stating in a direct-to-camera ad that she "voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools."
- “家长最了解什么对孩子最好，男生不应参加女生的体育比赛，”卡普图尔在广告中说道——这是针对共和党人德里克·梅林的一则广告作出的回应，后者指责她“投票允许生物学上的男性参加女子体育比赛”。
• "Parents know what's best for their kids, and boys should not play in girls' sports," Kaptur said in the spot — a response to an ad from Republican Derek Merrin that said she "voted to let biological men compete against girls in their sports."
- 多个县级党部谴责该广告——特别是将跨性别女孩称为“男生”的措辞——并敦促卡普图尔撤下广告。
• Multiple county parties condemned the ad — particularly the reference to transgender girls as "boys" — and urged Kaptur to take it down.
- 一个LGBTQ+组织——卢卡斯县石墙民主党人——在声明中表示，卡普图尔和梅林“没有区别”，因为他们“都联合起来反对LGBTQIA+群体”。
• One LGBTQ+ group, the Lucas County Stonewall Democrats, said in a statement there is "no difference" between Kaptur and Merrin because they are "both united against the LBTQIA+ community."
各方观点：“这些广告深深冒犯了平等核心小组和我们所代表的更广泛的LGBTQ群体，”众议员里奇·托雷斯（Ritchie Torres）说，他是核心小组政治部门平等政治行动委员会的联合主席。
What they're saying: "The ads were deeply offensive to the Equality Caucus and the broader LGBTQ community that we represent," said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who co-chairs the caucus' political arm, Equality PAC.
- 他告诉Axios：“平等核心小组不会被动袖手旁观，允许任何人成为跨性别群体的替罪羊。这对我们来说是一条红线。"
• He told Axios: "The Equality Caucus is not going to stand by passively and allow anyone to scapegoat the trans community. It is a red line for us."
- 平等政治行动委员会“目前绝对不支持她的竞选活动”，该组织在给Axios的另一份声明中表示，称卡普图尔的语言“不可接受”。"
• Equality PAC "is absolutely not supporting her campaign at this time," the group said in a separate statement to Axios, calling Kaptur's language "unacceptable."
多位知情人士告诉Axios，卡普图尔的同事还私下向她的办公室表达了他们对该广告的厌恶。
Kaptur's colleagues also privately communicated their disgust with the ad to her office, multiple House Democrats familiar with the matter told Axios.
- 议员们预测，众议院11月复会时，将与卡普图尔进行面对面的对话，特别是如果她赢得选举的话。
• The lawmakers predicted there will be in-person conversations with Kaptur when the House returns in November, especially if she wins her election.
- Kaptur竞选发言人凯莉·布利泽（Kylie Blitzer）表示：“马西为俄亥俄州西北部选民澄清了自己的立场：给予家长在课堂上更多发言权，并确保家长、教练和当地体育协会--而不是华盛顿的政客--在他们的社区制定规则，以确保女孩的体育运动保持公平。”
• "Marcy set the record straight for NW Ohio voters on where she stands: giving parents more say in the classroom and ensuring parents, coaches, and local sports associations — not politicians in Washington — set the rules in their communities to ensure girls' sports stay fair," said Kaptur campaign spokesperson Kylie Blitzer.
- “她专注于降低成本，并利用特殊利益集团的巨额资金和巨大的影响力来对抗他们，让竞争环境向他们有利。"
• "She is focused on lowering costs and standing up to special interests using their big money and outsized influence to tilt the playing field in their favor."
缩小：这不仅仅是Kaptur。纽约州众议院民主党候选人布莱克·根德比恩（Blake Gendebien）和爱荷华州的莎拉·特朗·加略特（Sarah Trone Garriott）以及阿拉斯加州的参议院候选人玛丽·佩尔托拉（Mary Peltola）也发布了包含类似言论的广告。
Zoom out: It's not just Kaptur. Democratic House candidates Blake Gendebien of New York and Sarah Trone Garriott of Iowa, and Senate candidate Mary Peltola of Alaska, have put out ads featuring similar rhetoric.
- 众议员唐·戴维斯（DN.C.）上周发布了一则广告，他在广告中表示“对公平和安全存在真正的担忧”，并且“各州应该决定什么是正确的保护妇女和女孩。"
• Rep. Don Davis (D-N.C.) released an ad last week in which he said there are "real concerns about fairness and safety" and that "states should decide what's right for protecting women and girls."
- 这则广告和Kaptur的一样，在LGBTQ+众议院民主党人私下中引起了人们的不满，尽管没有人公开批评他。
• That ad, like Kaptur's, raised eyebrows privately among LGBTQ+ House Democrats, though none have called him out publicly for it.
另一边：中间派团体和议员表示，民主党必须对卡普图尔所在的这类选区保持现实态度，特朗普在2024年大选中以11个百分点的优势赢得了该选区。
The other side: Centrist groups and lawmakers say the party has to be realistic about districts like Kaptur's, which President Trump carried by 11 percentage points in 2024.
- “马西·卡普图尔和唐·戴维斯正在做民主党政治中最重要的工作：在特朗普选区获胜，”中间派团体Welcome PAC的联合创始人利亚姆·克尔表示。
• "Marcy Kaptur and Don Davis are doing the most important work in Democratic politics: winning Trump districts," said Liam Kerr, cofounder of centrist group Welcome PAC.
- 克尔认为，来自LGBTQ+团体的攻击只会帮助摇摆选区的民主党人：“在一个80比20的议题上站在20%那边可能是糟糕的政治策略，但捧红那些反驳你的大赢家则是更糟糕的倡导策略。”
• Kerr argued attacks from LGBTQ+ groups will only help swing-district Democrats: "Taking the 20% side of an 80/20 issue may be bad politics, but elevating the big winners repudiating you is even worse advocacy." Between the lines:
深度解读：“我们最新的[研究]显示，如果任由反跨性别攻击发酵，会让民主党的得票率下降约8个百分点，”第三条道路组织的官员埃里克森告诉Axios。
"Our latest [research] showed that anti-trans attacks take about 8 points off of the Democratic vote if you just let it sit out there," Erickson, the Third Way official, told Axios.
- “但有应对方式能让你反超10到12到14个百分点，”她继续说道。“有很多种表达方式……只要明确表示需要有规则。不是法律，而是规则。”
• "But there are ways to respond that get you back up 10 to 12 to 14 points," she continued. "There are a bunch of different ways to say it ... just being clear that there need to be rules.
- “在医疗保健方面，应该由父母而非政客来负责关于孩子医疗保健的决定。”
Not laws, but rules." • "When it comes to health care, that parents, not politicians, should be in charge of decisions about their kids' health care."
核心观点：中间派和LGBTQ+民主党人都表示，可以也应该找到微妙的平衡。
The bottom line: Centrists and LGBTQ+ Democrats alike say a careful balance can and should be struck.
- 几位议员指出，参议院候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科和谢罗德·布朗是巧妙处理这一问题的典范。
• Several lawmakers pointed to Senate hopefuls James Talarico and Sherrod Brown as examples for deftly maneuvering on this issue.
- 埃里克森表示，“称跨性别女孩为‘男孩’……是不尊重的”，候选人“不必这么做。有更好的方式来谈论这个问题。”
• Erickson said "calling transgender girls 'boys' ... is not respectful" and that candidates "don't have to do it. There's better ways to talk about this."