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It’s been a year since the Biden administration declared war on parents. By announcing its intent to investigate parents who speak out at school board meetings, Biden’s Department of Justice framed concerned moms and dads as the enemy. Under Attorney General Merrick Garland’s direction, the FBI even created a “threat tag” to track troublesome parents—a tool traditionally used to monitor terrorists. The past two years have exposed Democrats’ overinflated view of their power over our kids. For parents like me, that’s unacceptable. Election Day gives us an opportunity to reclaim our rightful role as the most important influence in our children’s lives.
Democrats have a long history of putting their agenda over our kids’ best interests. For the third straight year, Democrats are forcing children to mask up in school. Democrat-run Prince George’s County, Maryland is forcing students as young as age 4 to wear masks this fall. Preschool students in Philadelphia as young as 3 years old will be forced to mask all year long. And in Kentucky, a liberal public-school board has refused to end its mask mandate on its 96,000 students.
None of this is rooted in science—and neither were the Democrat policies that kept schools closed for months on end. Instead, they were the result of teachers’ unions colluding with Biden’s CDC to delay in-person learning. The result? Irreparable damage to kids’ academic development. Nonsensical lockdowns erased two decades of progress in math and reading, with Black and Hispanic students being hit hardest. Low-income, Black, and Hispanic students were also disproportionately affected by school closures because their schools remained remote longer.
But it gets worse. According to estimates, 1.1 million K-12 students registered for the 2020-21 school year but never showed up to class. But Democrats aren’t the least bit sorry. Biden’s Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said it was the “right decision” to close schools and go virtual. And Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)—who’s facing a tough race against Republican Tiffany Smiley—insists it was “absolutely not” a mistake to keep students home during the pandemic.
When kids are in class, they’re too often indoctrinated rather than educated. In Democrat-run Portland, Oregon, schools are teaching kindergarteners the “infinite gender spectrum,” introducing first graders to basic “queer theory,” and using critical race theory (CRT) to divide students by race. In California, the Los Angeles Unified School District is encouraging five-year-olds to experiment with gender pronouns such as “they,” “ze,” and “tree” in addition to its “trans-affirming” policy requiring teachers to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns—and hide it from parents at the student’s request. And in Pennsylvania, the state Department of Education suggests “gender-neutral pronouns” for students and includes a lesson guide for “gender-neutral day” beginning in third grade, all with the blessing of Democrat Lieutenant Governor and Senate candidate John Fetterman.
No wonder Democrats are shutting parents out. In Michigan, Department of Education officials encouraged teachers to hide what a child says about their sexual orientation or gender from parents when discussing a student’s suicidal thoughts. In California, Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation making the state a “sanctuary” for youth seeking sex reassignment surgeries without parental approval. And in Arizona, Secretary of State and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs has done everything she can to keep families from applying for the state’s school choice opportunities.
Meanwhile, Republicans are fighting to protect students and empower parents. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is keeping parents informed and involved in their children’s education, particularly issues of gender identity. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has stood up for parental rights to allow parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children and to prevent children as young as 5 years old from being taught inappropriate sexual content. And in Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey signed the most expansive school choice legislation in the nation. In fact, Republican candidates all over the country are following their examples. The GOP is the party of parents.
Whether it is unscientific lockdowns and mask mandates, destructive ideologies, or an open border that’s allowing “rainbow” fentanyl targeting children to pour into our country, Democrats consistently put their special interests first, and our kids suffer for it. Parents are tired of being treated as obstacles to be avoided or threats to be punished. That’s a lesson Democrats will learn the hard way on November 8th.
Ronna McDaniel is a politician and political strategist serving as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) since 2017. She was chair of the Michigan Republican Party from 2015 to 2017 // Ronna McDaniel es política y estratega política, se desempeña como presidenta del Comité Nacional Republicano (RNC) desde 2017. Fue presidenta del Partido Republicano de Michigan de 2015 a 2017.