Nancy Mace Wants to Know Where You Pee

Imagine this: You’ve just been elected to Congress. After years of overcoming obstacles and fighting for your community, you’ve reached a historic milestone. You’re energized, hopeful, ready to serve. But instead of celebrating the significance of your win, there’s a Republican lawmaker from four states away, rallying her base and taking aim at you.

But it’s not your policies or campaign rhetoric that has caught her attention. No, it’s where you’re allowed to go to the bathroom.

Welcome to the world of Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender woman elected to the U.S. Congress, who’s now being targeted by Nancy Mace. In 2024, it seems there are still politicians who find policing public bathrooms more pressing than addressing issues like economic inequality, national security, or foreign policy—the very topics Mace campaigned on in the first place.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about real concerns. This is about fundraising. The GOP’s major critique of Democratic campaigns this cycle was that we focused too much on "trans issues" and not enough on the bread-and-butter issues that impact a majority of voters. And yet, now, Mace has decided to make bathroom usage the issue of the moment.

It’s an obvious play to raise money. Republicans don’t actually care where you go to the bathroom unless it serves their political agenda or pads their campaign coffers. And let’s not forget the hundreds of emails that Mace’s supporters will soon receive—each one featuring bathroom talking points with a shiny "donate now" button attached. Those emails will be a lovely complement to her 326 bathroom-themed tweets over just three days.

But here’s where Democrats can—and should—go on offense. The GOP is attempting to frame transgender issues as divisive and controversial, but McBride’s election proves that this line of attack is outdated and out of touch. Democrats should stand firm on the principle that everyone deserves respect, and we shouldn’t shy away from confronting these culture wars head-on. The majority of Americans believe the government should stay out of people’s private lives. This is the argument Democrats need to champion.

That said, we must also reconsider our own rhetoric. We can advocate for the dignity and rights of all people without falling into the trap of engaging with ridiculous hypothetical questions. When we allow Republicans to turn these issues into a circus, we play into their hands. If we let them spend millions on ads designed to blow up out-of-context policy debates—like the prison one—we’ll keep losing ground to politicians like Nancy Mace, who thrive on cheap distractions. They don’t care about the issue. They care about the election-winning, money-making power of outrage.

Through all this, there’s much to learn from McBride. Instead of getting caught in petty political squabbles, she’s maintained her dignity and composure—offering no soundbites or easy targets for Republicans to latch onto. By refusing to engage with the GOP’s cheap tactics, she’s denying them the outrage they use as currency in the MAGA world.

But hey, maybe we’ve been too hard on Nancy Mace. I mean, policing restrooms is at the top of everyone’s mind. I know the first thing I do as a man when I enter a public restroom is start asking everyone about their genitalia, right? Isn’t that standard procedure now? No?

Plus, it takes an incredible amount of time, energy, and resources to police restrooms. I suggest that if she wants to dictate who can use what restroom, she needs to be the one in the bathrooms, doing the necessary genitalia checks. Be the change you hope to see in the world, Nancy.

But here’s a small request: While you’re busy policing bathrooms, could you also make sure the soap dispensers are full and that people are actually washing their hands? Now that’s bathroom reform I can get behind.