Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe seems to have finally realized that demonizing concerned parents who want to be involved in their children’s education is not exactly a winning electoral strategy.
In a new ad released this week, McAuliffe claimed he really does value “the concerns of parents” and accused his opponent, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, of taking his words “out of context.”
The only context missing is a new poll that shows McAuliffe trailing Youngkin and a majority of Virginia voters saying they disagree with McAuliffe’s anti-parent screed. McAuliffe knows he’s in trouble, and he’s trying to do damage control.
But McAuliffe’s position is already crystal clear. On at least seven separate occasions, McAuliffe said he does not want parents helping school boards determine what should be taught in public school classrooms because the state government knows better than they do.
Here are just a few examples: During a September debate, he said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” In a follow-up interview after the debate, he reiterated, “You don’t want parents coming in in every different school district saying this is what should be taught here and this is what should be taught there.” Earlier this month, when asked if he still stood by his anti-parent screed, McAuliffe confirmed: “You do not want 25 parents picking books.”
If his recent comments aren’t evidence enough, take a look at McAuliffe’s past record. As governor of Virginia, McAuliffe vetoed a 2016 bill that would have required schools to notify parents if a teacher intended to use “instructional material that includes sexually explicit content.” He also vetoed a number of school choice bills that would have allowed families to transfer their students out of underperforming school districts into better ones. Meanwhile, he sends his own children to a private school in McLean where tuition goes for $45,650 per year.
McAuliffe meant every word of what he said. He wants the government to have total control over what students are taught, and he wants parents to sit down, shut up, and deal with it. Virginia voters should be wary of his attempt to pretend otherwise.
