Is it too soon to congratulate Virginia??

Yes, exactly. Until June nobody here was concerned about the curriculum. But once Fox started talking about CRT, now it is an all out war on education like you see in other areas. Luckily we still have a Democratic governor, but all of the republicans on the state and national level have latched onto the idea that white kids are being taught to hate themselves because they are white. We have a great school district with great teachers. But I’m worried that between the pandemic and the harassment that they are facing from a group of parents, that will be changing very quickly. I would be even more concerned if I lived in a state where the legislature and governor were part of that group.

I know Younkin said that he would “ban CRT on the first day” but has he been clear about what that means and how far he is going to go in regards to the curriculum?

peppermintpatty I would be interested to hear more about the legislature when you have a Republican governor. Just like with the federal government, the legislature plays an even bigger role sometimes in making progress. Republicans in congress have blocked anything the democrats propose for years, making it look like democrats can’t lead. Then you have people like Joni Ernst in Iowa which are taking credit for the money coming into the state even though she didn’t vote for the program that led to that! People have to look at the bigger picture and not just “well, nothing got done when we have a governor who was a democrat so I’m going to vote for a Republican”. It isn’t that simple in many cases.

Ten years ago, I would have agreed with you that a Republican in office wasn't necessarily a disaster. Texas fared pretty well under GWB and even Perry, even if I didn't agree with things they did. We didn't see, at the time, the path the GOP was going down. And now it seems that every Republican who runs for major office is operating on a Trumpist framework. Performative legislation to keep the far right happy is part and parcel of what they do. A

I think taking a "wait and see" approach with any newly elected Republican is dangerous. People from other states love to hate on Texas. I'm telling you, Texas was not like this 20-25 years ago when we moved here. The Republicans who voted for GWB are not the same ones now cheering the repressive bills coming out of our lege. You're going to have to fight hard for your state. Don't be complacent. 

The GOP is playing a long game. By turning large, red-leaning states into hotbeds of anti-science, anti-choice, anti-immigrant, anti-lgbtq, anti-multicultural bigots through misinformation and stoking of white resentment, they've given a national platform to those leanings and allowed them to spread. Every single Republican now is well versed in using white grievance to get their voters fired up, and in order to keep them, they have to pass laws that reflect those leanings. And then they use extreme gerrymandering and voter suppression to solidify their hold on power.

I mean seriously, I hope I'm wrong. But I've lived in Texas for almost 25 years now, long enough to see the shift from reasonable conservatives to rabid crazy people running our state. Be aware and be careful.

💯

As someone who has lived in a red state for 20 years and watched the change in the GOP here - at the state level - driven increasingly by rhetoric at the federal level - perhaps you and I (and others) just have a closer perspective to what’s different now than others. I can see the agenda and direction of the Republican Party clearly now.

I tend to agree. Rather than GOP running FOR anything, they're running against everything, stoking fear, anger and hate. CRT is the new dog whistle for them. Most voters don't understand what it is, don't realize it hasn't been taught to their children and will still mark the spot for the candidate who hollers that they're going to make it illegal in schools. 

And in Maryland, Hogan is starting to beat the drum about bipartisanship in our nation's Congress and Senate by calling out only the Democrats and completely ignoring the fact that the GOP are responsible for the stonewalling of progress. He's pivoting to run for national office, so start watching for him to align himself with the new GOP values as his term ends and he throw his hat in for national office. It should be interesting to watch because I don't think a moderate candidacy will bring out the new breed of Trump loyalists. 

Have you noticed how there is nary a peep from the GOP about fraud or any of these races being stolen?

If that doesn’t make it crystal clear that their new election platform is that the ONLY legitimate elections are the ones they win (regardless of how democracy actually works) then I really don’t know what to say to you.

And *that* my friends is dangerously close to a fascist state. Yay.

I agree with every word. Republicans want to hold on to power at any cost, even if that means chipping away at democracy to keep it. They know they can’t win on their ideas, so they push fear. They know they can’t continue to win with fear, so they suppress the vote and gerrymander. It’s really sad to see how many people will skip right along with those ideas just because the person pushing them has a R next to their name. They’ll trot happily right into fascism to “own the libs”. 

I’m starting to wonder if we should revisit our plan to leave the country we thought we wouldn’t need after Biden was elected. (My husband’s job could easily move to Canada.) I guess we’ll see after midterms. 😔

m
Well teachers in VA have the second lowest average salary when compared to other average salaries in that state. Only place lower is DC. For such an affluent state VA pays its teachers poorly compared to other professions

www.business.org/hr/workforce-management/best-us-states-for-teachers/

Thank you! Thank you! thank you!

Might you be able to "infect" your fellow Repubs with your common sense, knowledge and desire to work for the common good?  I appreciate you, kluski!

You might want to start following Heather Cox Richardson. She's a political historian. Unless you're a super wealthy Republican you're not going to like the vision the current Republican party has for the country.

I also want to say that many people don't fully understand what "banning CRT" actually means. It sounds simple, and even this week I have heard many on CNN say, "Younkin says he will ban CRT, which isn't even taught in Virginia schools" but they and others are really missing the point here. When people started talking about CRT in the spring/early summer, we said that very thing. Why are they making such a big deal out of something that is taught in college law classes? And many left it at that. But they have now EXPANDED their definition of CRT to include many topics that are much different than CRT the law school theory. It has been so twisted and if people don't learn more about what their objectives are, things are not going to end well for the country. There are groups that are giving presentations around the country, and there is a toolkit that groups can use to attack their school boards and take over with their agenda.

citizensrenewingamerica.com/issues/combatting-critical-race-theory-in-your-community/

At one time I had a link to the list of words that they deem to be inappropriate, but I can't find it now. I think it might be somewhere in that kit that I posted above. But there was a very long list, including various forms of social emotional learning, equity, etc that they deem to be taboo topics that teachers shouldn't talk about.

I’ve read that document. It’s seriously alarming.

I had meant to go and find out who was actually behind that page.

What term should be used then?

How can one vote for racist policies and not be one? I mean, if you (speaking generally) think you’re not one, but you’re ok with voting FOR people who are clearly racist or for policies that are racist, then while you yourself may not feel you’re racist, you’re perfectly fine with enabling it or turning a blind eye to it. So I’m really not sure how to nuance any difference there.

She does seem like she was a decent candidate, in my observation. Her stated goals on a couple of things seem a little at odds with the governor in some respects though, so that should be interesting.