In an apparent reply to a particularly insipid Bill Otis post (deriding a private hospital company’s miscue in asking new parents, on a form, about the gender identity of newborns), Paul Mirengoff finally mustered the fortitude to tell the truth about this non-issue — even for most GOP voters. [Why oh why, though — has it taken him… (checks notes) nearly two decades, to do so? Is he finally fed up with Trump’s and MAGA’s blind “hater-ade” policies? Who knows?!]

This “issue” (such as it is — misframed by the GOP) ranks below 20^th place — and in the broader both GOP and Democratic voter bases, it probably ranks about 50^th). So here’s Paul’s scolding of Bill:

…The New Jersey [hospital holding company’s] policy doesn’t fall into any of these categories. It’s stupid and annoying, but that’s all.

I should add that a Gallup poll taken after the 2024 election showed that transgender issues ranked 23rd in importance to voters. And, again, I believe those who considered it important were focused on the kinds of policies described in my second paragraph.

At the margin, Democrats running in tough [r]aces need to get on the right side of hot button cultural issues like boys in girls sports and in their bathrooms. This, they can do, and already seem to be doing it….

Gender dysphoria is a vanishingly rare — but real — medical condition. Hilariously, in MAGA Gov. DeSantis’ Florida — in just the last five years, there have been eight separate pieces of legislation passed, and at least two dozen others introduced — on the topic.

But in the past two decades, the number of people under age 20 treated for the condition at any hospital in Florida has been… 12 people.

That’s on a population of over 23 million in Florida. And of those, about 4,363,870 people, or 19.3% of Florida’s population, were under 18 years old.

Twelve people — and the legislature spent probably $1.2 million writing laws about… a medical condition — trying to interfere in the patient physician privilege.

D A M N.

Watch as MAGA “ideas” — such as they are — tank candidates in moderate districts in 2026 — for just this sort of Bill Otis style / defective fear mongering.

Out.