I admit that delving into these school board elections and trying to raise the alarm has me feeling a bit Cassandra-like; it is so easy to assume there wouldn't be any weird plotting behind something as wholesome as school boards. Aren't they more likely to disrupt the meeting than to sneak into power?
(Many fact-checking sites have assured us that in Arizona, the election of a new school board and overturning of the mask mandate wasn't real, so no harm done, right?)
Anyway, it still seems a little unusual for groups of candidates to run together, including funding. In the request for support that candidate Saralynn Dougall sent to the parents of her release-time Seminary students (an LDS scripture study class), she mentioned the other candidates and requested that financial contributions be directed to Jeanette Schade. I mention that, because it is Schade who has drawn scrutiny for a $1000 campaign from Free Oregon, founded by Ben Edtl, who just last month spoke at a pro-Trump rally with Proud Boy Tusitala Toese.
Edtl denies having any affiliation with the group of self-described "Western chauvinists", describing them as a biker club, but of course he still spoke at a pro-Trump rally in March, after a new president was successfully inaugurated and despite a failed insurrection.
(The following article should really be more concise, but it covers the key points.)
Regardless, Edtl gave a good-sized chunk of change to a slate of candidates who are most concerned about Critical Race Theory, which -- despite their constant misrepresentation -- is geared at getting to the root of systemic racism and ensuring equality for all people, including students.
That doesn't seem like a coincidence.
It is also important to note that the way these candidates are positioning themselves seems designed to appeal to those who are not whole-heartedly progressive but perhaps appalled and dismayed by Trump.
These candidates seem to be more on the side of loving Trump, so if that is a problem for you, you should figure that out before you vote.
That was a point I made Monday when talking about Scott Presler, a man currently touring the country training conservatives on how to win local elections.
I have not been able to confirm that he has himself done any training in Oregon this time around. His Facebook indicates that he was here in January, but I can only find news stories about his attempts to organize an anti-Muslim march last June.
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2017/05/organizers_cite_mayors_opposit.html
(There is going to need to be a post about how the media has failed us, and why.)
However, I wanted to leave you with an idea of the mindset of these very pro-Trump people who are taking such an interest in school board elections:
https://twitter.com/ScottPresler/status/1387418840783593475
The tweet says...
If you want to oppose the democrats’ culture war:
-Make babies
-Homeschool
-Buy property
-Grow a garden
-Start a business
-Run for local office
-Take over school boards
-Boycott “Made in China”
-Support alternative news/print/social media
My first thought at the time was that hippie Democrats love our gardens; why do you think we want to stop you from that? We'll help you! Let's trade plant samples!
Also, both homeschooling and taking over school boards seems like a mixed message. It's greedy, if nothing else.
But I think maybe the more important point is this idea that Democrats are waging a culture war. To think that, I would have to guess that you are existing in kind of an echo chamber, where you don't know the first true thing about Democrats. That apparently turns the world into a very scary place, and is unfortunate.
However, if your whole identity depends on maintaining white supremacy and sexism, then yes, a lot of things Democrats say and our very existence could feel very threatening.
And if you don't really want that, and you know wanting that would be wrong, but you don't really like having to think about it either, Democrats could be pretty frustrating then too, but you have to know that the attempts to ignore uphold white supremacy and all other bigotries just as surely as do the other options.
This is a moral choice.
Think about the company you keep.
ETA: The request to direct funds to Jeanette Schade was on Saralynn Dougall's Facebook page, not in the letter sent to parents. I apologize for the error.
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