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Jilly_in_VA

(9,854 posts)
Mon Nov 8, 2021, 01:12 PM Nov 2021

The Aristocrats Funding the Critical Race Theory 'Backlash'

In the immediate aftermath of Republican Glenn Youngkin’s Virginia governorship victory last week, many pundits credited an uprising against critical race theory as the key to the former Carlyle Group executive’s electoral success. But hardly anyone is talking about how critical race theory has largely been an “astroturf” issue created by GOP operatives with a backlash funded by billionaire donors.

The anti-CRT movement has descended with a vengeance this year into suburban school board meetings and Fox News programming. And while the movement may present itself with a local face, many of its most effective advocacy groups are propped up by wealthy, well-connected backers—right down to its connections to the billionaire Koch family.

The Daily Beast has identified eight recently created anti-CRT groups which operate at local levels across the country but bear ties to ideological right-wing aristocrats and political operatives. Their backers include former officials in Donald Trump’s administration, an executive at a notorious D.C. lobbying firm, as well as Koch entities and The Federalist Society.

In Virginia, one of the key leaders against critical race theory is Ian Prior. If Prior’s name sounds familiar, that’s because you may have been one of the tens of thousands of Americans who to receive emails from Prior in one of his many different former roles: press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Justice Department official during the Trump administration, communications director for the Karl Rove super PAC American Crossroads, and now, a GOP operative behind two organizations that have inflamed attacks on so-called critical race theory in Virginia’s public schools.

Prior runs Fight for Schools, a state-level PAC which emerged this year to challenge educational decisions in Loudoun County and mobilize behind Youngkin. The candidate turned to Prior’s group for fundraising and voter outreach efforts, and state election disclosures show that the organization raised hundreds of thousands of dollars during the campaign.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/right-wing-aristocrats-fund-critical-race-theory-backlash?ref=home
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Well, well! Quelle surprise!

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The Aristocrats Funding the Critical Race Theory 'Backlash' (Original Post) Jilly_in_VA Nov 2021 OP
The Republicans of course have Russian trolls supporting this Champp Nov 2021 #1
How do the Dems fight this? Jim__ Nov 2021 #2
I guess start small? Initech Nov 2021 #4
By looking at exactly what the "aristocrats" did and Scrivener7 Nov 2021 #6
Aristocrats are what they think they are... haele Nov 2021 #7
It must suck to be a school board member and have to deal with these cretins. Initech Nov 2021 #3
Don't Lie To Our Children! Mopar151 Nov 2021 #5

Jim__

(14,045 posts)
2. How do the Dems fight this?
Mon Nov 8, 2021, 01:55 PM
Nov 2021

The problem is that this stuff works. Tell people their kids are being propagandized in school and people react viscerally. How do we fight this?

Initech

(99,915 posts)
4. I guess start small?
Mon Nov 8, 2021, 02:16 PM
Nov 2021

They start small by getting their people elected to school boards and city councils. I think we need to start doing the same.

The thing is there's a group of voters who we'll never connect with - many of their minds have been warped by a steady diet of Fox News, AM hate radio, and Facebook propaganda.

But the middle of the road voters are the ones who the Dems need to start connecting with, and it starts with the smaller picture rather than the bigger one.

And I've said before that the Dems' biggest problem (and trust me I got a lot of shit for suggesting this) that it isn't the lower class, lower educated voters. It's the upper class country club people who are the real problem.

They're the ones more likely to have better internet connections and satellite TV, which allows them to have Fox News on every TV in the house and then they spend most of their time passing the garbage memes and posts around Facebook and bashing the government that they take advantage of. They're also likely to have a higher tier membership in their churches. I know a lot of these people, trust me.

Scrivener7

(50,774 posts)
6. By looking at exactly what the "aristocrats" did and
Mon Nov 8, 2021, 02:24 PM
Nov 2021

duplicating their messaging mechanism with our own message. By hiring our own psy ops guys and getting our own message into the same places.

This isn't brain surgery! After all, republiQans did it.

And they gave us a fekkin' road map! Now let's use it!!!

PS: "Aristocrats" ???? What the fuck???

haele

(12,581 posts)
7. Aristocrats are what they think they are...
Mon Nov 8, 2021, 02:47 PM
Nov 2021

Leaders of the GOP political and Nationalist religious movements -and most of them are either libertarian-minded new money or trust fund babies.
Low education, low class self-styled "Aristocrats", with no idea of the history, diplomacy, or the required noblesse oblige necessary to keep one's head that typically goes with the title.

Haele

Initech

(99,915 posts)
3. It must suck to be a school board member and have to deal with these cretins.
Mon Nov 8, 2021, 02:11 PM
Nov 2021

Though I'm sure a lot of these assholes are probably school board members themselves.

I have no respect for these people, in case you can't tell!

Mopar151

(9,965 posts)
5. Don't Lie To Our Children!
Mon Nov 8, 2021, 02:23 PM
Nov 2021

From these wack-o-nuts, to the Texas Schoolbook Comission - this is what they do, this is who they are. We should make them own their message, and fry 'em for it!

Besides, the kids are going to find out. How do you explain that you lied about one thing, but nothing else?

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