#1453 The Tea Party Too (School Board Backlash and the Dark Money Behind It)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2021
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date 11/6/2021
Today we take a look at the raucous school board meetings where parents have been expressing their displeasure with protecting one another from a deadly pandemic or making children aware of the existence of systemic racism in America. Just as with the Tea Party, the Dark Money behind the movement didn't light the fire but is very adept at fanning the flames.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: School board brawl - Today, Explained - Air Date 11-2-21
It's Election Day in the USA. This time around, the nasty political fights and insurrections are going local. NPR's Anya Kamenetz explains.
Ch. 2: School Board Members Face Violent Threats - Zerlina. - Air Date 10-6-21
Angry parents have been flooding local school board meetings to protest critical race theory, school diversity initiatives, and mask mandates. Dr. Uché Blackstock and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Maya Wiley join Zerlina to discuss the latest threats.
Ch. 3: Why Are School Board Officials Getting Death Threats? - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 10-19-21
School boards are the latest frontier in the culture wars, as incensed community members and right-wing activists protest mask mandates and anti-racist curricula.
“These things that were considered non-partisan, just the administration of schools are now being charged and really put under a magnifying glass in a way that is intended to extract maximum political benefit,” says Judd Legum
Judd Legum explains how Virginia school boards are being weaponized to elect a republican governor.
America’s lack of media literacy and historical affinity for conspiracy theories have allowed QAnon to move from the dark corners of the web to violence at the US Capitol.
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 7: GOP’s Critical Race Theory Crusade Is The New Tea Party Movement - Zerlina. - Air Date 6-28-21
The GOP’s tea party had success in the 2010 midterms with its low-key racist rhetoric. But now, conservatives have pivoted to more overt racism with their grandstanding on critical race theory. MSNBC columnist Hayes Brown breaks it down.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 9: Complicated feelings on policing - Maureen from Boston
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments on the nature of the debate over the present and future of policing
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of Left Podcast in which we shall |
| 0:07.0 | take a look at the Rockest School Board meetings where parents have been expressing their |
| 0:11.0 | displeasure with protecting one another from a deadly pandemic or making children aware |
| 0:16.0 | of the existence of systemic racism in America. |
| 0:19.7 | Just as with the Tea Party 11 years ago, the dark money behind the movement didn't light |
| 0:23.9 | the fire, but is very adept at fanning the flames. |
| 0:28.6 | The clips today are from today Explained, Zerlina, the NPR Politics Podcast, all in with |
| 0:35.0 | Chris Hayes, the Tom Hartman program, and Battleground, with additional members only clips |
| 0:41.2 | from Zerlina and Battleground. |
| 0:50.4 | You've been covering these extremely vitriolic school board fights for NPR. |
| 0:54.9 | What's going on? |
| 0:56.3 | And why? |
| 0:57.3 | I think the best description that I've heard is from Melissa Ryan, who tracks right wing |
| 1:02.3 | kind of organizing, and she said, you know, school board meetings are kind of the new Tea Party. |
| 1:07.5 | That's range of activists are really choosing to confront various things that they see as |
| 1:13.1 | being winning culture war issues. |
| 1:16.0 | And though these fights and races are small and local, there are bigger implications? |
| 1:21.6 | Well, absolutely. |
| 1:22.6 | I mean, I think most prominently in the governor's race in Virginia, Glen Youngkin, the |
| 1:27.2 | Republican has chosen to make a version of the school board confrontations, basically |
| 1:32.0 | his closing issue in the race. |
| 1:33.5 | The same moment where Terry McCall have said, the parents don't have any role in their |
... |
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