LGBTQ Activists' Extreme Standards Make Even Their Former Champions Into 'Bigots'
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "‘Homophobic’ Gavin Newsom | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." April 1, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author argues that LGBTQ activists have become so extreme that they're now calling their biggest supporter, Gavin Newsom, a homophobe just for making some crude jokes and suggesting Democrats should appear more mainstream. This shows how unreasonable and self-defeating these activists have become.
Conclusion
LGBTQ activists have become so ideologically rigid and intolerant of any deviation from their orthodoxy that they now consider even their strongest former allies like Gavin Newsom to be homophobic bigots for minor transgressions
Premises
- Gavin Newsom has an extensive record of supporting LGBTQ rights, including illegally issuing same-sex marriage licenses in 2004 and signing numerous pro-LGBTQ laws
- LGBTQ activists are now calling Newsom 'homophobic' for making jokes about conservatives using Grindr and saying Democrats should be 'more culturally normal'
- The only substantive policy position that triggered this backlash was Newsom saying it's 'deeply unfair' for boys to compete in girls' sports
- Progressive critics are attacking Newsom despite his radical pro-LGBTQ record, including elementary school sex education, sanctuary state policies for gender treatments, and funding for gender-affirming care
- This pattern extends beyond LGBTQ issues, with other progressives also turning against Newsom for any perceived moderation or centrism
Assumptions
- Newsom's jokes about Grindr usage are not genuinely homophobic but rather political attacks
- LGBTQ activists' standards for what constitutes bigotry are unreasonably strict
- There is a meaningful distinction between substantive policy positions and rhetorical choices
- Political movements that turn against their strongest allies are being counterproductive
- Newsom's attempts at political moderation are reasonable and should not be condemned