By Jon Keller
March 12, 2025 / 5:31 PM EDT / CBS Boston
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller’s, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
Massachusetts Rep. Bill Keating stood up for a transgender colleague during a subcommittee hearing on Wednesday but WBZ-TV political analyst Jon Keller said the fight may not be wise for Democrats, going by polls.
Tempers are short these days in Washington. So it’s no wonder normally mild-mannered Cape Cod Congressman Keating lost it at a subcommittee hearing when the Republican chairman, Rep. Keith Self of Texas, referred to Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, the only openly transgender member of Congress, as “Mr. McBride.”
Rep. Keating stands up for Rep. McBride
It’s the kind of casual dismissal of her gender choice that McBride said she’s become accustomed to and chooses to ignore, telling CBS News last fall as Republicans began publicly musing about banning her from House bathrooms, “I would like my approach of respecting everyone to contrast with the disrespect that we are seeing right now.”
But Keating wasn’t in the mood for tolerance. “You are out of order, Mr. Chairman, have you no decency?” he hollered at Self, who immediately adjourned the hearing and scurried off.
That’s an echo of a famous moment in our political history back in 1944 when Boston lawyer Joseph Welch pushed back on infamous red-baiting Sen. Joseph McCarthy by asking, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” It was the beginning of the end for McCarthyism. Is it possible history could repeat itself?
Now when you consider the central role a Republican campaign ad outlining Kamala Harris’ approval of using taxpayer funds to pay for sex change operations played in swinging the election to Trump. And the president has continued his crusade against transgender rights, including a ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Keating’s colleague Rep. Seth Moulton made headlines last fall when he said he also didn’t approve of transgender women in school sports and recently polling shows plenty of Democrats agree with him.
Polls show support for trans bans
A Pew Research survey found growing support over the past three years among all adults for restrictions on trans athletes, with Democrats’ opinions mirroring the overall trend. There’s been an even larger swing in favor of barring health care workers from helping minors undergo gender transition.
And the same trend can be seen in favor of restricting bathroom access. No wonder McBride chooses to fight back with grace and occasional humor, as she did in this hearing when she responded to Self’s rudeness with a police, “Thank you, Madame Chair.”
You may recall Maine Gov. Janet Mills clashing directly with the president on this issue a few weeks ago, telling him, “We’ll see you in court.” And that’s likely where most of these disputes will be resolved.
But the fact is that in the court of public opinion, time spent emphasizing this issue, as an obviously-offended Keating did in that hearing, does not appear to be a politically-wise decision for Democrats.
Jon Keller is the political analyst for WBZ-TV News. His “Keller @ Large” reports on a wide range of topics are regularly featured during WBZ News at 5 and 6 p.m.
