When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all. And though my lack of education hasn’t hurt me none, I can read the writing on the wall.
Paul Simon (Kodachrome)
This just in. Democrats are running away from the “woke crap” they’ve been trying to teach school kids for the last six years. For example, Beto O’Rourke just reversed course on critical race theory (“I don’t think it should be taught in our schools”), suddenly shaken to his senses by the political reality of trailing the incumbent Republican governor of Texas by 15 points. It’s no accident.
The GOP is attracting voters in droves by blaming Democrats for their destructive cultural agenda; thereby creating a new “silent majority” in America. And, to call it a trumped-up “culture war” is folly, because employees are tired of “diversity” mandates at work, parents hate “identity activism” in schools, and nobody is cheering the biological males running roughshod over the otherwise “best” female athletes.
Come November, America’s liberal party will face the perfect storm that’s philosophical (American ideals), structural (millennial maturation), and political (Joe Biden). This is the post-morten from Virginia 2021 and the growing message from my poll of polls.
The best example of the philosophical divide is Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which liberal media smear as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. In fact, it’s the “Give Parents A Say” bill to those who’ve read its text: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
Republicans are right (on many levels) to stop “school personnel or third parties” from orienting a young child away from the cultural and social values of his or her parents. In contrast, Democrats are wrong to support identity activists who teach kids America was conceived in irredeemable racism, make kids pledge allegiance to a rainbow flag, or send kids home for wearing MAGA apparel. A recent CNN poll found only 24% of voters think “teachers views are most important” in setting school polices.
Even worse, Democrat internal polls found 59% of swing voters believe “Democrats are too focused on pursuing an agenda that divides us and judging those who don’t see things their way.” So, it’s no surprise a Morning Consult poll found voters support a “Don’t Say Gay” bill by a 16-point margin, and a Daily Wire poll found voters support the actual Florida bill by a 44-point margin.
The Democrat internal polls also found 61% of swing voters believe “Democrats are teaching kids as young as five that America is a Racist country and that White people are Racist.” Bad, when the Manhattan Institute found 54% of all voters oppose “lessons based on critical race theory” in public schools. Really bad, when 66% of parents – including a majority of black parents – oppose race-based lesson plans, especially in elementary schools.
O’Rourke is the first Democrat to speak out against the “woke BS” that drove Virginia’s Gen X and millennial voters to the GOP last November. He’s ahead with 18-29-year-old voters (who don’t show up), but he has a serious “parent problem” because COVID has forced millennials (aged 26-41) to “grow up” at an astonishing rate.
It is a political fact that maturation begets more conservative views, and most millennials have passed the adult mileposts that separate self-reliant individuals from excuse-making slackers. Right now, 66.9 million (93%) have lived on their own, 56 million (78%) are employed, 37.3 million (52%) are married, 34.5 million (47.8%) own homes, and 41.8 million (58%) are parents. Since 2020, more millennials have married, bought homes and had kids than in any previous two-year period.
Hurdling past those adult mileposts, millennials are learning life’s lessons (like don’t trust “a village” to raise your kid). Here are the “life lessons” they’ll learn by forty:
- Self-serving protests don’t excuse one from group-serving rules
- Bosses reward those who make sales and profits happen
- Spouses can’t always get what they want
- One’s home is only as good as one’s neighborhood
- Good parenting requires time and treasure.
And, while Republicans advance common-sense propositions that are popular, Democrats defend policies that are confusing at best. To wit, everyone but anti-police protestors had to wear a mask, workers made more by staying home on welfare, blue-city shoplifters went un-arrested, and girls got dunked on by biological males. So, yeah Democrats have a parent (millennial) problem in 2022.
Not to be overlooked is the President, who walks on stage like a character from Night of the Living Dead. He can’t inspire confidence and optimism – not with the hot mess his presidency and party have created. Look at his bench. Harris? Pelosi? Schumer? No way that trifecta comforts a clear-eyed millennial!
Say what you will about DeSantis, Haley, and Scott. At least they can speak clearly and lift the big stick!
