As the polls in the Virginia gubernatorial race continue to tighten (ed.: WTF, Virginia?!), it bears repeating what the Republican strategy is and who is funding it and carrying it out. Trumpist weasel Glenn Youngkin has made how schools are run and what is taught the closing argument in his demagogic campaign (we won't link to any of his race- baiting/ transphobic/ divisive videos). The strategy follows the successful approach taken by far- right organizations and plutocrats (e.g., the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity) after Barack Obama's election to create "astroturf" protests against his health care reform ("Obamacare"):
Here are some of the groups providing resources and support to school board protesters around the country. None have endorsed violence, threats or incitement. Nor are they all formally connected. What they do is offer help to parents who have questions or objections about what their children are learning in school or how schools are run. They issue press releases, sell T-shirts and lawn signs, produce flyers and publicize events on social media, supply information and legal advice, offer template letters, scripts for public testimony, and model legislation. They put out webinars and trainings to give practical assistance to those who want to target or disrupt school boards.
--The Manhattan Institute, one of the most established conservative think tanks, published "Woke Schooling: A Toolkit For Concerned Parents" in June.
-- Citizens Renewing America, founded by President Trump's former budget director Russell Vought, published a 34-page guide for activists also in June, dedicated to "combating critical race theory in your community." The toolkit states the following: "CRT holds that racism is not just a belief held by individuals; rather, it is a system of oppression that has been built into the very structure of our society."
Of course, CRT (or transphobia, etc.) is just a buzz phrase intended as a stand-in for another agenda:
The toolkit further says activists don't need any evidence that "critical race theory" is currently being taught in their local schools in order to mount a campaign against it: "It's important to note that whether CRT is currently in your school system is mostly irrelevant to the purpose of this document."
What is relevant to these far- right provocateurs is that, especially in the lead- up to an election, they manufacture issues that produce an angry reaction (and threats of violence), which produces a frenzy of uncritical wall- to- wall media coverage, which promotes turnout at the polls for the candidate (in this case, the weasel), which produces a far- right, reactionary Trumpist government.
In Virginia, purple exurb Loudoun County has become ground zero for weasel Youngkin's campaign to drive his voters to the polls and convince low- information voters that all hell is breaking loose thanks to Democrats, and particularly Terry McAuliffe (who hasn't been governor since 2018). All hell is breaking loose, but it's the Youngkin supporters and their astroturfing organizers who are responsible. Will Virginians get it?
BONUS: The Lincoln Project shows how it's done --
(Photo: AP/Patrick Semansky)
