From 'Critical Race Theory' To 'Grooming,' The Real Republican Agenda Is Ending Public Education

[appalachiablue]

- Christopher Rufo in one of his many Fox News appearances.

- Daily Kos, April 26, 2022.

There’s a common thread in some of the biggest battles of the Republican culture war over the past year and change—beyond the bigotry and dishonesty that is their bedrock. The specific common thread is Christopher Rufo. From critical race theory (CRT) to grooming, math textbooks to Disney, Rufo is on Fox News so often he has his own in-home studio, issuing the talking points of the moment. And all of his talking points are aimed at promoting a vision of the United States based on the cultural politics of the 1950s combined with the rampant privatization and lower taxes on corporations and the wealthy of the 2020s. Rufo wants the racism and gender norms of the 1950s, minus the public schools and government revenue.

Rufo hit big in 2021 with his promotion of a false version of critical race theory as a danger to white children everywhere. Like a Bond villain, he even explained what he was doing as he was doing it. “We have successfully frozen their brand—‘critical race theory’—into the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions. We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category,” Rufo tweeted in March 2021. “The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory.’ We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans.”

And yet, despite laying out his strategy right there in plain sight, he got many in the traditional media to bite, covering the critical race theory panic that Rufo created as if it were an organic grassroots phenomenon. Now he’s back, leading the charge against Disney and propelling “grooming” as an accusation to be used in a broader attempt to drive LGBTQ people out of public life. That work earned him a puff piece in The New York Times over the weekend, and a spot on the stage as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Stop WOKE Act.”

RELATED STORY: A look inside banned Florida math textbooks suggests Republicans simply lied about what's in them

After weeks of bashing Disney for “grooming” and highlighting mug shots of past Disney employees who have been charged with child sexual abuse unconnected to their employment at Disney, Rufo told the Times, “It’s wrong, factually and morally, to accuse someone of being a groomer with no basis and evidence.” About that:

Link to tweet

- More, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/26/2093946/-From-critical-race-theory-to-grooming-the-real-Republican-agenda-is-ending-public-education
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- WTF is PragerU and why is it all over my children's YouTube videos suddenly?, Daily Kos, April 22, 2022,
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/22/2092673/-WTF-is-PragerU-and-why-is-it-all-over-my-children-s-YouTube-videos-suddenly-An-exploration

A few weeks ago, my 11yo showed me an ad that had started appearing on some of his favorite YouTube channels for something called PragerU. In his words, “they sound reasonable and educated at first but then you see they are just giving conservative talking points about racism and anti-wokeness.” Yes. My 11yo is pretty aware of these things. We also have a tech-savvy household and are cognizant of the videos our children watch.

I didn’t think much of it until a few more parent friends started mentioning it. In the last month or two, we all have been seeing a flood of ads for PragerU in front of super popular YouTubers like MrBeast. It is particularly alarming that this organization is making animated short videos and clearly deliberately targeting children with their advertisements. It’s like if Joe Camel (the old mascot for Camel cigarettes, for those younger readers out there) was repackaged for the white nationalist and anti-science agenda...


- Praeger 'University' logo.

[Demovictory9]

1. Dennis prager is s piece of work..not in a good way

[appalachiablue]

2. IK, saw some of the videos..

[Demovictory9]

7. Prager states what he wants to believe...with no basis on facts

Particularly related to topics like gender..always spouting about the nature of women ...his 1950s.views.

[Irish_Dem]

3. Public health, medicine, nursing, education. Destroying public institutions.

That is the goal.

[appalachiablue]

4. For sure, the steady movement to erode

and privatize public, government services and programs on all levels by those opposed to paying taxes for public functions and seeking profit instead. Targeting the US Postal Service, public parks, roads, schools, govt. employees, etc.

[Irish_Dem]

5. The GOP wants to suck all US money into their own pockets. Like Putin did in Russia.

Total permanent power and all US assets.

[appalachiablue]

6. Yep, and the process is well underway. Sad state

[Irish_Dem]

8. Yes the US turning into a despotic autocracy is going smoothly. :(

[Rebl2]

9. I feel

like they have wanted to do this since the late eighties.

[Redleg]

10. Rufo is a person I would punch on sight

As you said, he proudly explained his methods on Twitter and elsewhere and is so fucking smug about how he cleverly took an obscure theory and made it into something to be reviled and mocked. He knows CRT isn't what he has made it out to be and he doesn't give a good god-damn about it so long as he can open another front in the culture war. This makes him a racist, pure and simple. Of course he would deny being a racist, claiming that we libs just use the word to disparage those with whom we disagree. Fuck him, the horse he rode on, and his smug fucking face. I would punch him on sight. It would be worth doing so to have the chance to explain my reasons to a national audience.

Please excuse my use of expletives. This topic gets me very hot around the collar. I don't like it when smug people brazenly lie about things to make others look bad.

[lambchopp59]

11. Well just looky that smug n' pouty mug

The perfect picture of white male dominance last gasping dual tantrum in that screen capture.
Both straight in line for a slap'em silly mama.
Was that over the top? I can never tell.