Dingus of the week: Democratic party spending $20 million on men
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This week, The New York Times reported that as part of its plan to take back America, the Democratic National Committee is considering a proposal to spend $20 million “to reverse the erosion of Democratic support among young men, especially online.”
In response to the news, conservative commentators were quick to argue that men vote Republican because they’re sick of Democrats hating on men. Which I think is just another way to say, “I haven’t given a woman an orgasm since the Carter administration.”
Midwestern Mussolini, Francisco Frankfurter himself, Scott Walker posted on X, declaring, “Men, particularly young men, are tired of being blamed for things they aren’t responsible for by liberals. They’re had enough! It is about time.”
Like, what do you mean, Scott? What specifically are men being blamed for? Because last time I checked, it was literally nothing. In 2017, we had a whole movement to hold men accountable for literal sexual assault, but the backlash to that was so swift and severe that many of the men, the ones who didn’t get put in prison, are back to work. Making more money because now they get to be the victims. And even some of the ones in prison are getting a second chance. Apparently, the restorative justice movement only worked if you were accused of being a sex pest.
Blamed for what, Scotty? Not doing the dishes? Not being able to find the ketchup in the fridge? Do you mean the consequences of your actions? Which messaging from the Democrats is it? Is it Democrats saying, “Hey, women should be able to access reproductive care?” Does that make you feel bad about all the times you refused to wear a condom?
The data reveals a picture more complicated and bleak than “Democrats have pushed men away.” Male support of Democrats drops off when they run a female candidate. Catalist, a company that collects and analyzes voter data for progressives, found that men’s support for Democrats in presidential elections had the sharpest declines when a woman ran. The share of men backing the Democratic ticket dropped from 48% in 2020 to 42% in 2024, mirroring the drop in 2016 when Hillary Clinton ran.
Democrats have been losing the young male demographic for years now. And it’s not because the party is actively anti-men. It’s just that the party works to include women. Imagine hating women so much that you will literally vote to destroy your country rather than let your ex-girlfriend who is raising your kid get SNAP benefits.
Is this what you want to pander to? The incel to divorced dad voting pipeline?
But listen, I am only joking.
Men are important and don’t get enough credit. And we Democrats have gone too far with our woke policies and support of bisexual chupacabras that look like Glen Powell. We need to get back to the basics. Democrats need a platform that promises a gaming system in every mom’s basement and a cybertruck in every garage.
Here are some ideas on how to do that.
A postcard with a picture of Sydney Sweeney in a swimsuit mailed to every man over 18.
The new DNC platform should include two guaranteed Hinge matches for men ages 20-55, even if their profile reads “no females with drama” and “i like tacos.”
The opportunity to kiss Travis Kelce on the mouth just for a little bit.
Making sea voyages to kill great white whales great again.
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A new federal law that makes it illegal for your ex to block your phone number.
Launching a new cryptocurrency called BEWBCOIN
All men, by law, are entitled to two-hour poop breaks, even if it’s bedtime for the kids or you have to leave in 10 minutes or you’ll be late to your sister’s wedding.
Dingus runner up: Melania Trump
To narrate her terribly written memoir, Melania Trump has chosen to use an AI-generated version of her voice. When I wrote about her book last year, I said that it felt like it was written by a chatbot and not a real person. Finally, our first robot first lady.
And now for something good
I love watching Harvard fight the Trump administration. I love a little rich white guy on rich white guy violence.
Some weeks, the good news is hard to find. But that’s why it’s important to be your own good news in the world. Next weekend, me and my team of friends are running 339 miles across the state of Iowa to raise money for trans mutual aid and the Iowa Abortion Access Fund.
Also, on June 11 in Brooklyn, the Freya Project is hosting a fundraiser for the Iowa Abortion Access Fund. We are calling it a Red State Rager, and I will be the host along with your favorite dingus writers Taylor Kay Phillips and Felipe Torres Medina. Also, the one and only Maris Kreizman will be there, along with the comedian Alison Leiby and the incredible poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva. Get your tickets here!
Something I am enjoying
I’ve been reading a lot of incredible books, Melissa Febos’s The Dry Season, Megan Greenwell’s Bad Company and Maris Kreizman’s I Want to Burn this Place to the Ground.
This week was my kids’ last week of school, and my daughter will officially be a high schooler. I spent a not-insignificant amount of time over Memorial Day weekend crying because somehow my kids became big and I am so happy. What a gift to have children who grow up. So many kids don’t get that chance in this world. So many parents aren’t allowed to witness their children grow up.
And yet, there is a real grief over the closure of one season of my life. I’m entering a whole new season as the mom of big kids.
I really struggled with becoming a mom. Not because I don’t love my children, but in the beginning motherhood consumed me and I lost myself in it. I finally came to love motherhood once I found myself. Once I found a way to be happy and ambitious in a way that was outside of who I am as a mother and a wife. Now, being a mom to my kids is one of the greatest joys in my life. My kids are not my whole life; they have their own dreams and ambitions, as do I. But walking parallel in this life with them is such a delight. I hope I always get to be in their lives. I realize more fully now that’s not a duty; it’s a privilege.
Also H/T to aspiring divorcee Tony Tran for finding this playlist.
The countdown to Relay Iowa is ON! Folks who want to follow the progress of High Fructose Corn Sweat should be able to do so at the link here starting next Friday 6/6/2025 at ~6am Central time https://www.relayia.org/gps
We'll be posting through it on Instagram @highfructosecornsweat as well.
Also huge thanks to everyone who has already made a donation in support of our team and to the folks who have generously purchased supplies for us from the Amazon wishlist.
Donate to Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund https://www.iowatransmutualaidfund.org/team-hfcw-relay-iowa-donation-page
Donate to Iowa Abortion Access Fund https://fund.nnaf.org/hfcs
You always pick the perfect dingus, and none have been so perfect as this one. (Okay, Secretary Roadkill McBrainworm’s brain worm was pretty much genius, too.)
On motherhood: I figured out before I had kids, but never said anything about it because I was fearful, that losing myself in my kids would be dreadfully unfair to them. After elementary school I had no part in any of their accomplishments and it would be extremely unfair of me to try. I could set an example, maybe enforce a schedule, and provide, say, the means to get science fair projects completed. I couldn’t and shouldn’t live through them because living through your children is as unfair to THEM as it is to you.
My parents, God love ‘em, made it clear to me that any mistake I made or problem I had devastated them. My father was so afraid of Something Bad Happening that he foreclosed a lot of chances for me to learn resilience and just how to be a normal person. It was a version of the Evangelical Bubble long before that subculture was invented. Knowing that making a bad grade in Algebra will send your father into a depressive spiral is one hell of a burden to place on a 14 year old, and just imagine how much worse that was when I was in single digits.
As bad is this is for your kids, it’s REALLY unfair to you, and what kind of an example does being unfair to yourself set for your children? Lyz, everything you do in your career IS a way of serving and helping your kids and I don’t mean just the money. Seeing their Mom achieve remarkable things teaches kids that women in general and mothers in particular are human and that being a mom is nothing to be afraid of if they want to have kids. It’s teaching your son that women are human and not merely sandwich vending machines. Those lessons will live forever for them.
Ya done good, kid!