girl with brown hair crying
Adam Jentleson has some people scratching their heads over his recent comments on corporal punishment of children. In a recent interview with Ezra Klein, the political commentator remarked that Democrats embrace spanking children as "a very powerful signal" that connects with voters "on a values basis," as also reported on X by author Dr. Genevieve Guenther.
“So if you say: If kids fail the test or the requirements of their grades, they should not be promoted – that sends a really powerful signal to voters that you’re a different kind of Democrat. Being against homeless encampments is a very powerful signal. Being open to things like spanking – those issues are incredibly culturally loaded but I think connect with voters on a values basis,” Jentleson said.
Jentleson essentially argues that Democrats can maintain their progressive economic priorities while taking more moderate positions on cultural issues to appeal to independent, moderate, and working-class voters. He believes the party must be more politically flexible and avoid letting cultural disagreements stand in the way of building a broader coalition. But Dr. Guenther, founding director of End Climate Silence, argues that his assessment is flawed.
“Scientific research overwhelmingly shows that spanking and physical punishment are bad for children, with major medical and psychological organizations finding no long-term benefits and significant harms,” she writes in a post to X. She continues, But hitting children and hurting them in the long term is ok in the service of performing "heterodoxy"? He is a soulless f–king ghoul.”
Sarah Jones, Senior Writer with New York Magazine, also found his comments to be troubling. “We're talking about child abuse here. The research says it's bad for kids. I know from my upbringing in a fundamentalist home that it's bad for kids! Fortunately, no one is out there begging Democrats to run on a pro-child-beating platform. Except you, I guess,” she wrote on X. Jentleson fired back, saying his words are being taken out of context, replying to Jones in a thread,” I think that’s a pretty bad faith reading of what I said.”
Jentleson founded the Searchlight Institute in 2025. The Washington, D.C.-based public policy think tank aims to develop and promote more centrist positions within the Democratic Party. It encourages Democratic leaders and candidates to reconsider or downplay polarizing cultural and environmental issues, such as aggressive climate policies and certain LGBTQ+ positions, while emphasizing widely supported, pragmatic stances on the economy, health care and national security. Jentleson previously served as deputy chief of staff to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.