Why Do Republican Elected Officials Hate Public Schools?

Let's Look At Virginia And Alabama Conservatives

Recently, an electorally endangered Republican Delegate, Amanda Batten— who has never shown the slightest interest in public schools (just private ones)— took nearly 1,000 doughnuts to public school teachers to show, she claimed, her “appreciation.” Turns out that political communications, in the form of gifts, goes against school policy. She ran to Laura Ingraham’s show to whine about not be appreciated by the teachers. [I]f it was all about thanking teachers and not buying votes, why did she only deliver donuts to her newly redrawn 71st district schools and not the schools in the 96th that currently she still represents? Wouldn’t that suggest she’s ‘politicizing donuts’ despite her stating otherwise?… Let’s be honest, Delegate Batten knows none of the pushback on her donut debacle is about people being mad she thought of teachers for a change, it’s about them being a pawn in her political aspirations to win a 3rd term, that it’s appears to be getting further and further from her grasp. In a statement, [Jessica] Anderson called the doughnut delivery and accompanying social media post a ‘political stunt’ and ‘photo op’ by a candidate who has ‘voted against teachers’ best interests.’… With this much excitement 6 months out from an election, it looks as though the 71st District is the race to watch this November in the state of Virginia.”

And Batten wasn’t the only anti-education Republican thinking about teachers last week. Alabama MAGAt Tommy Tuberville, generally viewed as the most ignorant member of the U.S. Senate— and the most overtly racist— used an appearance on Donald Trump Jr’s podcast to remind anyone who had forgotten what it means to be a Republican senator from Alabama.

“The COVID really brought it out how bad our schools are and how bad our teachers are, in the inner city,” Tuberville said. “Most of them in the inner city, I don’t know how they got degrees… I don’t know whether they can read and write. And they want a raise. They want less time to work, less time in school. It’s just, we’ve ruined work ethic in this country. We don’t work at it anymore. We push an easy life… If you can’t read and if you can’t write, you can’t live in a country like this and not have somebody help you make it through life, which is what a lot of this government wants.”

Click here to listen to Tuberville spouting his racism

The Alabama Education Association issued the following statement after Tuberville's vicious racist remarks:

Hearing Senator Tuberville’s recent statements is disheartening to the men and women who choose education as their profession and work daily in Alabama classrooms. Our teachers put their total dedication and time into ensuring students can succeed and thrive— and as a former coach at an Alabama university, he should know the rigor and steps it takes for teachers to receive their degrees and certification.

AEA and many Alabamians know who our teachers are and the work they do. Their heroic actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and what they continue to do has not gone unnoticed and are commendable. As many teachers prepare for a well-deserved summer break, we hope they do not take Senator Tuberville’s statements to heart and understand it for what it is— a political soundbite.

This isn’t the first time Tuberville and Trump, Jr. have been together. The two of them were at the final planning session on January 5, for the J-6 coup and insurrection. Since then, Tuberville has been blocking American national security interests. He says he’s doing it because he’s anti-Choice but many people think he’s in the service of the Kremlin. He is certainly the most unpatriotic member of the U.S. Senate and the most damaging to national security.