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Five Reasons Why Republicans Should Abandon the Left’s Fake Civics Bill

Posted on Tuesday, July 5, 2022
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AMAC Exclusive – By Claire Brighn

Senator John Cornyn speaking at CPAC taken by Gage Skidmore.

Over the past few weeks, Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma have continued to face backlash from everyone from former President Donald Trump to media figures such as Laura Ingraham and Mark Levin, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over their support for the “Civics Secures Democracy Act” (CSDA), a $6 billion bill that conservatives argue would create a de facto national curriculum dedicated to teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) and “action civics” in every American classroom.

In a clear sign that some of this criticism is breaking through, last Thursday, Senator John Cornyn, a co-sponsor of the bill, lashed out at one Twitter user who blasted the legislation, calling the criticism “a lie.” But as facts continue to emerge about the CSDA, it is obvious that the legislation would indeed be a boon for teaching CRT in our nation’s classrooms while transforming American public education into a leftwing indoctrination system. Here are five reasons why Senator Cornyn – and any Republican who might consider supporting this bill – should promptly rethink their position.

1. Biden’s Department of Education Has Clearly Expressed That CRT is a Priority

On his first day in office, President Biden signed an Executive Order on “advancing racial equity,” which ordered every federal agency to pursue equity in “everything” they do. In his accompanying remarks, Biden specifically mentioned that “today’s generation of young Americans” are “forced to confront systemic racism and white supremacy,” repeating one of the central tenets of CRT.

Shortly thereafter, the Biden Department of Education attempted to introduce new “Proposed Priorities” for the awarding of federal grants for history and civics instruction which held up CRT and the widely discredited 1619 Project as tools for teaching U.S. history and civics. The blowback to the new priorities was severe and included a letter from Senator Mitch McConnell to Biden’s Education Secretary, which was co-signed by Senators Cornyn, Cassidy, and Inhofe. McConnell’s letter read in part: “Our nation’s youth do not need activist indoctrination that fixates solely on past flaws and splits our nation into divided camps. Taxpayer-supported programs should emphasize the shared civic virtues that bring us together, not push radical agendas that tear us apart.”

Senator McConnell and his co-signers condemned the proposed priorities as leading to “a politicized and divisive agenda” and called for the priorities to be withdrawn. 

Biden’s Education Department eventually backtracked and deleted the explicit CRT infused language, but they had nonetheless revealed their true intentions. 

Now, the CSDA would give those same Biden bureaucrats who wrote the CRT-infused priorities $6 billion in funds to distribute to schools and education programs. Based on their previous actions, it’s a sure bet that money from the bill would flow exclusively to organizations that align with the Biden administration’s far-left worldview and would be used as a means to force schools into teaching a leftist interpretation of American history and culture. In other words, if your local public school has not yet been teaching that America is a systematically racist country, it will only be a question of time if John Cornyn has his way. 

It’s impossible to understand how any Republican who joined the McConnell letter in April 2021 can believe the Biden administration has changed its stripes in July 2022, is no longer focused on pushing “radical agendas that tear us apart,” and will not continue to push CRT on American schoolchildren if they get $6 billion in new funding to do so. 

2. The Biden Administration is Aggressively Defending CRT Against Criticism by Parents

Federal funds have already quietly been used to push CRT under Department of Education “guidance.” The $1.9 trillion stimuli passed last year, for example, was used to push CRT on the states by tucking away requirements for “culturally responsive” assessments in plans to “address the impact of lost instructional time.”

Moreover, when parents began speaking out against CRT and left-wing indoctrination in their children’s schools, the Biden Department of Justice labeled them with a domestic terrorist “threat tag.”

3.  iCivics – the Nonprofit Behind Cornyn’s Civics Bill – Has a History of Wokeness

The massive coalition behind the Civics Secures Democracy Act is led by a group called “iCivics” – a little-known nonprofit that has made its way into thousands of American classrooms. Although iCivics claims to be nonpartisan, it has a long track record of embracing woke ideology and CRT. In 2020, for example, iCivics published a white paper entitled “Equity in Civic Education,” arguing that equity – and not the timeless American principle of equality – should frame American history and civics instruction.

In Illinois, iCivics was a driving force behind the state’s adoption of new “culturally responsive teaching and learning standards,” which, as Stanley Kurtz put it, essentially forced teachers into becoming “de facto leftist community organizers.” By embracing a new version of “civics” that counts political protest – invariably for left-wing causes – for class credit, iCivics is actively working to turn students into an army of unthinking radical left culture warriors. Now, iCivics wants to take the Illinois model national with the CSDA.

4. Shawn Healy of iCivics is Absolutely Devoted to Forcing Leftism on Schools

One of the leaders behind the push to fully nationalize woke education is Shawn Healy, the iCivics policy director. Speaking about the takeover of Illinois civics education, Healy said back in July of 2020 that “we need to do this everywhere… people are out in the streets literally demanding change.” As if looking to rioters burning down America’s cities for affirmation wasn’t evidence enough of iCivics’s decidedly ideological mission, Healy then said that he wanted to “match” what was happening in the streets with an “inside game” to “dismantle structural racism” in America’s schools.

Healy has also said that part of his success is due to his “skin privilege.” When he gets away from the self-flagellation, he talks about how he applies it to his life’s work. “Young people’s civic development,” he said, “particularly through a lens of racial equity, is really critical to my day job.”

Perhaps even worse, Healy has explicitly defended Critical Race Theory inclusion in K-12 curriculum. In a webinar titled “Culturally Responsive Teaching To Promote Ant-Racist Classrooms,” Healy said part of “culturally responsive teaching” is “critical consciousness and I think that is where CRT and anti-racism come together. For me, it is so critical in a school setting to examine systems of white supremacy, and frankly, I don’t think this is too harsh in saying: our K-12 system is essentially designed for white, middle-class kids…” Healy even cites as an example the issue of “police violence” as something that can be discussed as early as middle school, perhaps even with elementary school students.

But now that the CSDA is facing severe criticism that it would push the very radical left ideological agenda that iCivics and Healy have openly supported, Healy breezily dismisses such concerns, saying that “the bias in our [iCivics’s] education is not ideological.” Rather, he continues, “the problem is that outside of a few pockets, civics education is not universally offered in a high-quality way.” To Healy, it would appear, openly embracing CRT and leftism is not “ideological” or “unbiased,” but rather constitutes “high-quality” civics education.

5. The Authors of the Bill are Trying to Sneak Their Radicalism Into Law With Benign-sounding Language

The Civics Secures Democracy Act was introduced for the first time in March 2021 as a joint effort between Democrat Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and Republican John Cornyn of Texas. Immediately, several prominent conservative scholars co-signed an open letter calling on Congress to oppose the bill, pointing out how its grant structure would inevitably lead to left-wing activists infiltrating American schools and pushing Critical Race Theory and other left-wing ideologies under the dishonest framework of “civics” education. The bill failed to gain much steam and was quickly pushed aside.

The current version of the bill contains a number of supposed “fixes” – changes to the wording that seemed to eliminate references to progressive education theories like CRT. Ostensibly, this is the reason that Senators Inhofe and Cassidy have now joined Cornyn in backing the bill, evidence that it may indeed be gaining some bipartisan steam in the Senate.

However, as Stanley Kurtz, one of the leading conservative voices on education policy, has warned, the cosmetic fixes to the bill are only surface-level, and it would still amount to a $6 billion slush fund for left-wing activists. Despite benign-sounding references to “underserved” communities, the bill is really an invitation for “Biden educrats to award great sums of money to states willing to teach this politicized dogma under the guise of civics.”

***

Despite these mounting concerns, the three Republicans who have backed the bill have remained steadfast in their support for it. The question may thus now be which, if any, Republicans in the Senate will stand up to oppose it. Should none do so and this bill pass before the midterms, it would likely prove a devastating blow to both the integrity of America’s public education system and the millions of parents who have sacrificed so much to take back control of their children’s education.

Claire Brighn is the pen name of a conservative researcher and writer with previous domestic and foreign policy experience in the Executive Branch.

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Gilleysuited
Gilleysuited
2 years ago

He will be gone next time he comes up for re-election

Rush Glick
Rush Glick
2 years ago

CRT is but one more nail in the coffin of our nation as the Dems and willing RINOs seek her ultimate weakening and demise. We need to stand strong against the EVIL that has now been fully unleashed! Simply put, if our we do not turn to God in a big way, we are finished as a nation and a culture.

TRT
TRT
2 years ago

The Federal Government has ZERO mandate to be involved in education; it is a States’ Rights matter! The Dept of Education should be abolished along with ALL federal monies going to schools with any strings attached. Education in this country has plummeted ever since the DOEd was created.

Bill Cross
Bill Cross
2 years ago

Cronyn just needs to be honest and state he is a pawn of the Democrats. He isn’t even a RINO he is a full fledge leftist.

Dotsster
Dotsster
2 years ago

I’m not surprised Sen Cronyn is involved in this bill as he truly is a Rhino and in my opinion should not represent Texas

Neal Valenta
Neal Valenta
2 years ago

There better be some Conservative Republicans who oppose CSDA For the left is quietly set up a 6 billion dollar slash fund….Really! Being from Texas I am ashamed of John Cornyn. I will be writing Ted Cruz and Lance Golden of my concerns. John Cornyn will not be getting my Vote. What a Joke.Another reason foe term limits. These multi term congressman must go or it will be SOS just a different day and sadly different year.

Abigail Forrest
Abigail Forrest
2 years ago

If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, even though you change the wording, it’s still a rat!

Kevin
Kevin
2 years ago

Disgusting to join the democrats on this and 99 percent of anything they are for. We just became the party that won races standing up to this kind of thing. Now they want to join them. Erasing the lines between the parties. I would vote them out today if possible. They should resign and join the Democrat party.

Henry
Henry
2 years ago

If we don’t stand up for our children or Grandchildren what else is more valuable?

Susan Miller
Susan Miller
2 years ago

There is no middle of the road now. Were must stop all Democrat agenda.

EPM
EPM
2 years ago

Have these Senators been bought off?Or does the left have information that could destroy them?

Gary F
Gary F
2 years ago

Another example of the dangers of bipartisanship! Look at our current fiscal status and how through bipartisanship it is destroying America.

James d
James d
2 years ago

These Repulsivecrats are democrats with red skirts on. They are part of the Deep State.

Sheryl
Sheryl
2 years ago

I’m surprised to learn Cornyn is a RINO. Never will vote for him again.

PaulE
PaulE
2 years ago

The same Senate RINOs that helped pass the Democrat Infrastructure Bill, with only 19 percent actually infrastructure spending in it, and the latest Gun Control legislation that was totally unnecessary and created a national Red Flag law to undermine the 2nd Amendment, are now “walking across the aisle” yet again to help the Democrats with more legislation designed to undecut the American education system. With Republicans like these, the Democrats don’t have to fear the midterms in the slightest. Even if the Democrats lose control of both chambers of Congress, RINOs like this will continue to help get the Democrat agenda enacted into law. This is why Democrats like Pelosi and Schumer don’t seem terribly concerned about the upcoming midterms. Even if they lose, they still get to enact their agenda with help from RINOs like these.

Bill on the Hill
Bill on the Hill
2 years ago

Senator John Cornyn should be run out of Texas, forcibly if necessary as the man is a disgrace to every American as well as that of every Texan…
The people of America do not want this garbage taught to their children, bad enough CRT & political activism has been taught at the college level for the last 50 years now & now it is our precious children’s turn?
It is being taught across Vermont, my home state & I hear NOTHING from the people of VT, how sad…. I call it indifferent apathy by the people themselves as they reelect the same bozos year after year like the good little sheep they are…:~(
Bill… :~)

Gary
Gary
2 years ago

Comrade Biden and the rest of his communist followers need to be arrested tried and convicted of treason! I don’t understand why any of this bull is still happening? He and the tramp are not elected! He is not nor ever will be our president! Why are these treasonous demented communist pedophiles still being allowed to masquerade as elected officials???

Doug
Doug
2 years ago

VOTE OUT ALL RINOs AND DEMOCRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael J
Michael J
2 years ago

Indoctrination is how the left destroys our heritage, introducing gender confusion, demonizing free speech, reintroducing segregation and race baiting. Their crowning glory, convincing the mindless that the killing of unborn children is a human right with no moral consequences at any stage.

DigustedwithElitism
DigustedwithElitism
2 years ago

“The term idéologie was coined during the French Revolution by Antoine Destutt de Tracy, an anti-clerical materialist philosopher who believed that reason offered a way of uncovering general laws of social relations. Tracy conceived of idéologie as a social science of “ideas” that would inform the construction of a rational progressive society governed by an enlightened elite, whose technical expertise would justify their claim to rule. … It is now widely understood that the subordination of public life to ostensibly scientific guidance and the effective transfer of sovereignty from the body of citizens to an unelected overclass are fundamentally inconsistent with liberty and individual dignity.”

from “Ideology has poisoned the West” (unherd. com/ 2022/07/ ideology-has-poisoned-the-west/)

‘As a practical matter, the modern state comes out of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, which launched a large bureaucracy and empowered it with broad governing authority. Also, as a practical matter, the agencies comprising the bureaucracy reside within the executive branch of our national government, but their powers transcend the traditional boundaries of executive power to include both legislative and judicial functions, and these powers are often exercised in a manner that is largely independent of presidential control and altogether independent of political control. …

[Woodrow] Wilson’s first sustained work on administration came right at this time in an unpublished essay written in November 1885, titled “The Art of Governing.” This work led to the writing, the following year, of Wilson’s seminal essay, “The Study of Administration,” where the case for separating politics and administration and for freeing administration from the confines of constitutional law is made explicitly for the first time in the United States. Wilson subsequently elaborated on this case in notes he prepared for an annual lectureship at Johns Hopkins from 1888 to 1897.’

from “The Birth of the Administrative State: Where It Came From and What It Means for Limited Government” (www. heritage. org/ political-process/ report/ the-birth-the-administrative-state-where-it-came-and-what-it-means-limited)

“The modern administrative state was born during the New Deal Era, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought a way to respond to the economic crisis quickly, bypassing bureaucratic red tape – or even congressional intent.”

from “SCOTUS Decision May Limit More Than Just the EPA” (www. realclearpolitics. com/ articles/ 2022/07/05/ next_for_scotus_gutting_the_federal_agencies_147842.html)

‘We are simply assuming that all those bureaucrats are there to do something. This, he points out, is a terrible mistake. When we see a whole legion of bureaucrats, we assume they are doing something very important—an even greater blunder. There is no basis at all for such assumptions. Bureaus, as we have seen, do not operate in the world of doing things with concrete purpose and clear goals. Their only purpose is to be what the reigning politicians say they should be, and move as far as they can up toward the fat end of the public trough. Certainly they are not there to “do something important” as the rest of us would understand the term. Nor does the number of bureaucrats, however great, mean anything, as Professor Parkinson observes. The work in a bureau has no relation whatsoever to the number of people who do it. For all anyone knows, millions of bureaucrats are employed to send each other memos. …

A fourth explanation might be called the drug addiction theory of bureaucracy. It can be stated as follows. Every bureaucratic intervention (“fix”) where it does not belong causes economic damage and dislocation. This will create a need, or at least provoke an outcry, for new interventions to correct the damage. Another “fix.” The bureaucracy intervenes again, ineluctably doing more damage, provoking yet further outcry, and so on. In this process, society becomes progressively more dependent on the bureaucratic drug, even as the drug ravages the social body.’
from “Why Bureaucracy Grows” (isaacmorehouse. com/ 2018/10/29/ why-bureaucracy-grows/)

Natural laws of bureaucracy:
!. Always spend all budgeted monies, thereby ensuring next year’s budget is the same or larger.
2. Never solve the problem related to the bureaucracy’s creation, as that is the bureaucracy’s raison d’etre, without which the bureaucrats lose their power, titles, salaries, benefits, and pensions.
3. Never criticize one’s own bureaucracy or its leadership.

See “The Seven Rules of Bureaucracy” at mises. org/ library/ seven-rules-bureaucracy for more.

Granny
Granny
2 years ago

This must be stopped!!!! Writing and calling seem to make no difference. Prayer is the answer….to lessen the corruption and indoctrination of our smaller children. College age and now even high school are lost. 99% of colleges are teaching sedition and insurrection to “our” more adult children. This generation is lost. As the drugs from China through southern borders are killing the 18-45 year-olds off in massive numbers, our military is being destroyed by mandates and ‘social’ cultural issues and CRT training….parents can still save their little children. Train them up the way they shall go and they will not depart from it. Parents are strong influencers and must continue to battle this evil.

Les Jones
Les Jones
2 years ago

Our biggest civic problem is that our election system is broken; the last several elections have been disasters in a technologically advanced country like ours. We need to rebuild trust in the system by punishing those who fraudulently manipulate elections and we need to regulate the counting process.
Without taking charge of national elections, the Federal government could easily solve the problem by insisting that elections only use a federally produced, sequence numbered, ballot form. States would be responsible for distributing and collecting them as well as providing citizens an easy, fast route to identity proofing.
Finally, if you won’t go to the trouble of preparing yourself to vote in person or in a bona fide, timely mail-in, then your voice will not be heard.
What the heck is so difficult about that?

Tum
Tum
2 years ago

I agree CRT should never be taught in Public Schools, but those same schools have been socialist indoctrination centers much longer than most believe. As for Mitch, he sold out the American public when he and several other turn coats voted for and approved another gun control bill that will do nothing to curb gun crimes. It will result in an illegal gun confiscation scheme, and will increase crime like strict gun control laws have done in NY, CA, IL, HA, and MA to name a few. I guess having armed, law abiding citizens does create a hostile work environment for thugs and gang bangers. We can’t have that can we.

Chris
Chris
2 years ago

Why are there Republicans that are Democrats but No Democrats that are Republican?

Bob L.
Bob L.
2 years ago

Education, public or otherwise is not the domain of the federal government, there is no authorization in the Constitution for it. Education is a Tenth Amendment item.

Philip Hammersley
Philip Hammersley
2 years ago

Cassidy and Cornyn DO NOT surprise me. Imhofe doesn’t usually go for this crap; he’s retiring and surely doesn’t want his last act to be this bill!

Donald L Kennedy
Donald L Kennedy
2 years ago

Where is Mitch McConnell on this bill. He has to come out against it. Republicans will lose voters if this bill passes prior to the midterm election. Where are the conservatives in the Senate.

Hal Lemoyne
Hal Lemoyne
2 years ago

????CHRISTrumpOwens and all our US TRUMPlican Lawmakers successfully US 2022-2036 Reelected Landslide
Amen & Amen????

Hal
Hal
2 years ago

Being a Texan, Cornyn is unlikely to get my vote if a true Conservative runs against him in the next election… I think he must be trying to smooth out his next few years and appease the DemocRats. Just another case where maybe term limits might fit well.

tika
tika
2 years ago

by this time you must have figured out there is only one reason; and ONLY one action needed to stop it.

johnh
johnh
2 years ago

Put CRT in a dark closet & do not get in out for next 100-years.

ezed2109
ezed2109
2 years ago

There is nothing in the Constitution that empowers the Federal Government to set a national Educational agenda! Why are they wasting time on this? Education should be first and foremost a parents responsibility… working with Local School Boards and overall direction should be a States Rights issue. Not DC!
Take back control from an out-of-touch Federal government beholding to lobbyists and unions; return control back to the states, local school boards and the people/parents! 
Article V empowers the States to put forward Amendments! A Convention of States. This starts with us the people. 
– Impose fiscal restraints on the federal government
– Limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress
– Limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government
Congress will never fix these issues.
Become informed and engaged consider this movement which is already millions of Americans strong and growing. Consider signing the petition. 
conventionofstates.com/?ref=53458

Hal
Hal
2 years ago

Biden and the DemoCRAPS are desperately trying to charm the minority vote in favor of the DemocRat Party …. the Party, I might add, which embraced slavery/racism during and for a time after the Civil War. The DemocRat Party, with a little cooperation from the lib news media, is still trying in its devious ways to boss the minorities using deceit.

Daniel Penny
biden and harris speaking in black and white
A row of supercomputers running simulations of quantum cryptography algorithms to test their efficiency and effectiveness
President Joe Biden, son Hunter Biden and sister Valerie Biden walk across the South Lawn of The White House on July 28, 2024 in Washington, DC. President Biden is returning from a weekend trip to Camp David. (Photo by Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images)

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