Democrats have held a majority in education polling for decades — including public education as a cornerstone in almost every campaign since the 70s. Entire teachers’ union infrastructures are built on this, with millions flowing every year from the unions to elect Democrat candidates.
Yet, when a recent Democrat poll showed voters trusted Republicans more than Democrats to “handle issues related to schools and education,” many were shocked. At a time when progressives and teachers’ union presidents had been shouting from the rooftops that conservatives had made education unbearable, the polls should logically have favored Democrats.
Surveys have shown a considerable upswing in parent and teacher concerns with racial gaslighting, progressive gender ideology, and record-low literacy and math scores.
These developments should indicate a necessity for some ideological inventorying, and that should be clear to any individual capable of reflection and critical thinking. What were Democrats doing wrong? Why were parents upset with the status of public education in the last few years?
Governor Youngkin’s election in Virginia dramatically turned from lagging behind former Governor McAuliffe to a gubernatorial victory by 63,000 votes after McAuliffe shunned parents’ rights to determine curricular needs in a televised debate.
Democrats are neither taking the hint, nor are they revising strategies or messaging to communities leaving en masse. More moderate voices in the Democrat party are thrown aside for suggesting a centrist approach.
Not a year after the Youngkin victory in Virginia, Beto O’Rourke is attempting McAuliffe’s anti-parent strategy against Governor Abbott of Texas. In a bizarre doubling down, Democrat lieutenant governor candidate Mike Collier called those supporting school choice vouchers “vultures.”
In a national environment that has swung to heavily favor school choice options, the Democrats have strapped horse blinders to their heads in a vain effort to maintain consistent messaging.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has gone as far as blaming reported teacher shortages on parents’ concerns: “The teacher shortage was bad before this year but it’s been made worse by the culture wars: the mask wars, the fabrication of CRT, the shenanigans of politicians like Gov Abbott in TX & Gov DeSantis in FL.”
Democrats continue to decry any conservative education bill as a “Don’t Say Gay” bill — to the opposite effect. More parents are reading state legislation for themselves, and trust in progressive media is quickly eroding.
Continual liberal cries of “inequity” have resulted in the abolition of advanced programs in dozens of school districts around the country. In San Francisco, the implementation of major changes that ignored or even bypassed the concerns of parents and educators led to shocking local developments like the recall of three Board of Education members. By June, the board reversed progressive policies to reinstate meritocratic admission and uncovered a mural of George Washington.
The response to parents’ involvement at the school board level from federal and progressive groups has been rather extreme. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly used counterterrorism tools to investigate parents in 2021, and the National School Boards Association reportedly asked the Biden administration to send the Army, National Guard, and military police battalions to monitor parents whom they deemed “domestic terrorists.”
Regardless of the clear writing on the wall, Democrats persist in scapegoating, passing off parents’ concerns with public education and labeling them as the tool of some conservative plot.
Former State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick of Indiana describes “any GOP vote for state senate/house & state-wide offices” as “ultimately an anti-public education vote.” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel suggested there should be a drag queen in every school.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, continues to claim the largest issue in education at the moment is low teacher salaries. Ignoring parent concerns, she instead calls for “schools everywhere” to adopt “LGBTQ+ book club[s].”
Political suicide is not an uncommon event in today’s age, but it is bewildering to see a group not only refusing to recognize the emperor without clothes, but to double and triple down as though that will suddenly start garnering support.
Democrats have become so comfortable with their de facto control of education that they missed it slipping through their fingers. Now it’s too late.
Tony Kinnett is the executive director of Chalkboard Review. He is a former STEM coordinator & developer in Indianapolis, with bylines in The Federalist, Fox News, The Daily Caller, and the Washington Examiner. Twitter: @TheTonus
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.