texas republican critical thinking

New Hampshire
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Online hoaxes
Coronavirus
Health Care
Immigration
Environment
Foreign Policy
Kamala Harris
Donald Trump
Mitch McConnell
Hakeem Jeffries
Ron DeSantis
Tucker Carlson
Sean Hannity
Rachel Maddow
PolitiFact Videos
2024 Elections
Mostly True
Mostly False
Pants on Fire
Biden Promise Tracker
Trump-O-Meter
Latest Promises
Our Process
Who pays for PolitiFact?
Advertise with Us
Suggest a Fact-check
Corrections and Updates
Newsletters

Get PolitiFact in your inbox.

Weekly Email Newsletter
Daily Email Newsletter

Gail Collins

Gail Collins says Texas GOP platform calls for schools to stop teaching “critical thinking”

New York Times columnist Gail Collins’ latest book, "As Texas Goes," takes the state to task for, well, being Texas. And her Aug. 1, 2012, column did pretty much the same. Casting the nomination of Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate as a harbinger of doom, Collins wrote that Texas "does tend to treasure the extreme" in politics, saying, "The current Republican state platform calls for an end to the teaching of ‘critical thinking’ in public schools." Collins is actually a bit late to this party: Major liberal websites launched assaults on this part of the 2012 platform (adopted June 8) as early as June 26, and Comedy Central’s "Colbert Report" satirized it July 17. Mainstream media weighed in, too. A July 9 Washington Post blog entry was headlined "Texas GOP rejects ‘critical thinking’ skills. Really." Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts wrote July 21: "The Texas GOP has set itself explicitly against teaching children to be critical thinkers." Austin American-Statesman opinion columnist Ken Herman reported July 21 that the party’s deputy executive director, Chris Elam, told him the platform subcommittee did not intend to indicate that the party opposed critical thinking skills. We began our research by trying to contact Collins but did not hear from her. Her column gives no information about her claim beyond that single sentence. We pulled the complete wording of the "Knowledge-Based Education" plank from the 2012 platform:

We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.

Next, we contacted Elam, who told us by email that party chairman Steve Munisteri had given a good explanation in a July 24 interview with Austin’s KVUE-TV. Munisteri told KVUE, "The platform plank is against a specific type of teaching called 'outcome-based education.' "The reason why critical thinking is mentioned is some places try to disguise the program of outcome-based education and just re-label it as 'critical thinking.' " That’s supported by the wording in the platform. Following the lead of a July 6, 2012, Chronicle of Higher Education blog post on the Texas platform fracas, we looked back to the 2010 platform . Its "Knowledge-Based Education" plank said, "The primary purpose of public schools is to teach critical thinking skills, reading, writing, arithmetic, phonics, history, science, and character … We oppose Outcome-Based Education (OBE) and similar programs." Both platforms support critical thinking when it comes to "controversial theories" such as evolution, which "should be taught as challengeable scientific theories ... Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind." Next, we set out to see if we could determine whether opposing outcome-based education is also, de facto, opposing critical thinking in the larger sense. The debate over outcome-based education caught fire in the 1990s as outcome-based curricula were installed in U.S. school districts. In the Lexis newspaper archive and on the web, we saw a dozen news stories and opinion pieces from as many states -- Texas included -- describing public concern about the new approach. Opponents said the outcome-based approach was antithetical to critical thinking. They claimed it "dumbed down" curricula and influenced students to adopt liberal attitudes because the "outcome" of their studies was predetermined by academia. Supporters claimed it encouraged -- in fact, taught -- critical thinking. Rather than testing students on facts learned by rote memorization, they said, it required children to demonstrate that they had learned to analyze the material. So what the heck is it? The news stories we read indicate outcome-based education takes different forms nearly everywhere it’s applied. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave a description in an Oct. 30, 1996, news story about opposition to OBE-like elements in the state’s planned education overhaul:

Under outcome-based education, academic and personal goals are set for students before they can graduate. The program stresses that children are not allowed to fail, so they might be given the same test or report over and over until they do the work satisfactorily. It also may eliminate traditional grades, competitive student assessments and distinct subjects and grade levels.

Methods of implementing outcome-based education include awarding group grades instead of individual grades and eliminating honors programs.

Featured Fact-check

The "founding father" of OBE, education reformer William Spady, gave an example in an interview for the December 1992/January 1993 issue of Educational Leadership magazine, published by ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development). Asked whether an outcome might be "The student will be able to list the five causes of the Civil War," Spady replied: "No, sorry; that is not an exit outcome. But, ‘Identify and explain the fundamental causes and consequences of the Civil War’ would be an enabling outcome worth pursuing en route to some larger exit outcome." Today, a divide remains between the "OBE teaches kids to think" side and the "OBE suppresses thinking" side. We didn’t find allusions to "critical thinking skills" being used as a code phrase for OBE, but did note that a Feb. 15, 1994, news story in the Dallas Morning News said some educators were avoiding the name "outcomes-based education":

Because of the controversy, many educators are going to great lengths to avoid being associated with outcomes-based education.

"We've always had outcomes," said state school board member Diane Patrick. But "we'd be foolish to call it outcomes-based education right now. That would be very unwise."

Our ruling As Collins says, the Texas GOP platform does state that the party opposes "critical thinking." But Collins leaves out some important context. The platform makes it clear that its opposition is centered on one type of education model: outcome-based education. That’s just the kind of situation addressed in PolitiFact’s definition of Half True: "The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context." By those lights, Collins’ statement is Half True.

Read About Our Process

The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter

Our Sources

The New York Times , column by Gail Collins, "For God, Texas and golf," Aug. 1, 2012 Austin American-Statesman , column by Ken Herman, "Know your platforms," July 21, 2012 Republican Party of Texas 2012 platform KVUE-TV Austin news story, "Texas GOP chair explains controversial 'critical thinking' platform language," July 24, 2012 Chronicle of Higher Education, blog post "What were they thinking?," July 6, 2012 Republican Party of Texas 2010 platform Fort Worth Star-Telegram news story, "State's curriculum rewrite criticized at meeting," Oct. 30, 1996 ASCD Educational Leadership magazine, "On Outcome-Based Education: A Conversation with Bill Spady," December 1992/January 1993 Dallas Morning News news story, "A thorny road to results; Outcomes-based education seems like such a simple idea but it has created a complicated controversy," Feb. 15, 1994

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by sue owen.

Support independent fact-checking. Become a member!

Social Media

Facebook Facebook Circle Icon
Twitter Twitter Circle Icon
Flipboard Flipboard Circle Icon
RSS RSS Circle Icon
Culture & Media
Economy & Labor
Education & Youth
Environment & Health
Human Rights
Immigration
LGBTQ Rights
Politics & Elections
Prisons & Policing
Racial Justice
Reproductive Rights
War & Peace
Series & Podcasts
2024 Election
Climate Crisis

Israel Kills 4 in Strike on Gaza Aid Convoy Led by US-Based Group

Covid vaccines may cost $200 for uninsured people due to federal funding cuts, broken temperature records are alarming, but more are not inevitable, solar development in mississippi faces resistance from state regulators, texas gop declares: “no more teaching of ‘critical thinking skills’ in texas public schools“.

The Texas GOP’s hidden curriculum against critical thinking and other educational threats to authoritarianism is now part of its official platform.

The Republican Party of Texas has issued their 2012 political platform and has come out and blatantly opposed critical thinking in public schools throughout the state. If you wonder what took them so long to actually state that publicly, it is really a matter of timing. With irrationality now the norm and an election hovering over the 2012 horizon, the timing of the Republican GOP announcement against “critical thinking” instruction couldn’t be better. It helps gin up their anti-intellectual base.

The Texas GOP’s declarative position against critical thinking in public schools, or any schools, for that matter, is now an official part of their political platform. It is public record in the Republican Party of Texas 2012 platform . With regard to critical thinking, the Republican Party of Texas document states: “Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.” (page 20, Republican Party of Texas, 2012 ).

Yes, challenging beliefs or claims is considered insubordinate, immoral and could lead to rebellion, disobedience or perhaps worse: revolution. For the Republican Party and their followers, thinking is subversive, imagination is a sin and the Republican Party in Texas and elsewhere is working to codify this into public policy. The plutocrats can’t have a working-class citizenry that is asking questions of those in power, be they parents or bosses; instead, the people must be taught the ideology of what is morally acceptable, what rules and regulations to follow. and even more importantly, how to accept and internalize hierarchical authoritarianism. Critical thinking is a direct challenge to the “leaders” and their claims on authority, and any opposition to vertical arrangements is ethically unacceptable to those in power.

Reactionaries have long known that enshrining ignorance and hierarchy in both thought and practice within the school curriculum is essential if the control of young minds is to be accomplished softly and quietly yet profoundly through propaganda and perception management. In the quarters of obedience training, “education” has nothing to do with “schooling” under capitalism.

Join us in defending the truth before it’s too late

The future of journalism is uncertain, and the consequences of losing it are too grave to ignore. To ensure Truthout remains fearless, tough, and 100 percent independent, we rely on reader support. Every dollar you donate goes directly toward the costs of producing news you can trust.

Please give what you can — because by supporting us with a tax-deductible donation, you’re not just preserving a source of news, you’re helping to safeguard what’s left of our democracy.

Texas GOP: No More Critical Thinking in Schools

Teachers, you may want to be sitting down for this one.

The 2012 Texas Republican Party Platform , adopted June 9 at the state convention in Forth Worth, seems to take a stand against, well, the teaching of critical thinking skills. Read it for yourself:

As a top commenter on a Reddit thread wrote about the language, “I was absolutely sure this had to be an elaborate fake ... .” It’s not.

We at Teacher think this may be a kind of first. While the push for accountability via standardized testing—which the current Democratic administration has stood behind—has frequently been characterized as potentially undermining instruction in critical thinking, blatant opposition to teaching students to think deeply has not often (ever?) been a part of the policy conversation.

In that same section of the document, labeled “Educating Our Children,” the Texas Republicans go on to state that they “oppose mandatory pre-school and Kindergarten.” And, in a statement that human rights groups (and many others) will find difficult to stomach, the platform says, “We recommend that local school boards and classroom teachers be given more authority to deal with disciplinary problems. Corporal punishment is effective and legal in Texas.”

While corporal punishment is in fact legal in Texas—and 18 other states, according to The Center for Effective Discipline —we’re still poking around to find the research backing its effectiveness in the Lone Star State. Nothing so far. Readers, let us know what you come across.

(HT: Huffington Post .)

UPDATE: A spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas said that the “critical thinking skills” language should not have been included in the document after the words “values clarification,” reports Talking Points Memo . The members of the subcommittee “regret” the mistake, he told TPM—however, since the platform was approved, “it cannot be corrected until the next state convention in 2014.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the Teaching Now blog.

Sign Up for EdWeek Update

September 04, 2024 82 °F PBS Passport .st0{fill:#0A145A;} .st1{fill:#5680FF;} .st2{fill:#FFFFFF;} UH Search for: Search MENU CLOSE News & Information Features Hello Houston inDepth Topics Local News Texas Education News Politics Criminal Justice Transportation Energy & Environment Weather Hurricane Tracker All Stories >>> Arts & Culture Arts & Culture Main Classical Music Music Opera & Musical Theater Dance Visual Art Literature Theatre & Film Voices and Verses: A Poem-A-Day Series Awareness Hispanic Heritage Pride Month: Better Together! Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Black History Women’s History Education Programs & Podcasts Local Programs Party Politics Houston Matters with Craig Cohen I SEE U Texas Standard UH 100 Years of Houston Bauer Business Focus Briefcase Engines of Our Ingenuity Health Matters UH Moment Features Dead and Buried Career Frontier Podcasts Below the Waterlines: Houston After Hurricane Harvey Party Politics Skyline Sessions Encore Houston All Podcasts >> Support Membership Update Payment Method Upgrade Your Monthly Gift Give a Gift Membership Giving Programs Affinity Council Studio Society In Tempore Legacy Society Innovation Fund Volunteers Foundation Board Young Leaders Council Mission Ambassadors Donations Vehicle Donation Giving Opportunities Employee Match Program More Ways to Give Partnerships Corporate Sponsorship About About Us Meet the Team Join the Team Contact Us Ethics and Standards Reports & Financials Press Room Listen Watch Donate Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Linkedin Mastodon googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1488818411584-0'); }); This article is over 3 years old Politics

Here’s what you need to know about a texas bill that aims to ban critical race theory.

At the beginning of next month, more than 650 new state laws take effect. Leading up to Sept. 1, public radio reporters from across Texas are explaining some of the most high profile and consequential of those laws. Today: HB 3979, which targets teaching critical race theory in schools.

In Texas and across the country , critical race theory (CRT) has become a political lightning rod. Many Republican-led states are working to ban the school of thought from classrooms — even though teachers say they don't even teach it .

This spring, Texas passed two laws taking aim at CRT, including HB 3979. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott didn't think they went far enough, so he included CRT on the agenda for both special legislative sessions, including the one underway right now.

Educators say most people, including critics, don't even know what critical race theory is.

What Is Critical Race Theory?

Nikki Jones teaches African American studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Jones described CRT as a way to understand how race influenced the historical laws of this country — laws that justified everything from slavery to violence.

"It's a way to see race," Jones said. "To see understandings of race, to see racism, in places where it may not otherwise on the surface of it be apparent."

CRT is a decades-old intellectual movement born out of law schools. It teaches that racism is embedded in systems and structures in the U.S. — such as legal institutions — rather than just being the product of individual prejudice. It is taught in some law schools and universities, but there’s little evidence children and teens are learning the concept in grades K-12.

The Story (And Controversy) Behind The Law

Houston-area Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) says he wrote HB 3979 to help children.

"We need to teach about the ills but you can't blame this generation," Toth said. "Kids are being scapegoated."

Toth's legislation takes on CRT without ever naming it. He says the new law is aimed at teaching complex subjects like slavery and racism without making white children feel guilty.

"You can't teach that one race is better than the other," Toth said, describing what's outlined in HB 3979. "You can’t teach that one gender is better than the other. You can't discriminate either... and say that one race or one gender is responsible for the ills of the past."

Texas history teachers say they don't scapegoat anyone. Critics call the bill and others like it in other states, a political football.

State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) says Toth's approach could hinder what teachers teach and how they teach it.

He said to consider the prohibition that you cannot teach one race is better than another.

"There were instances in this country where even in the articles of secession in 1861, it was said that the Caucasian race is superior to the African American race,” West said. “That's history. I think that it would be totally unfair if you said you can't teach what history has shown us to be the position in the past."

Teachers worry the law could sweep certain subjects off the table, like slavery and the Civil War.

And school districts, like Fort Worth ISD, are concerned their efforts at attaining and teaching racial equity could be derailed because critics who complain CRT is in the schools often confuse it with a district's racial equity policies.

While the new law takes effect next Wednesday, it's unclear how any presumed violations will be proven or punished.

What Else Is In The Bill?

The legislation, which you can read in full here , directs the State Board of Education to "adopt essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic knowledge," including the founding documents of America and writings of the founding fathers.

During the 2021 regular legislative session, House Democrats successfully pushed for that list to include other historical figures, adding more women and people of color. Texas Democrats also added requirements to include "historical documents related to the civic accomplishments of marginalized populations" in social studies curriculum.

HB 3979 prevents schools from offering extra credit or course credit for any activism or lobbying activities and prohibits schools from requiring educators to take any "training, orientation, or therapy that presents any form of race or sex stereotyping or blame on the basis of race or sex."

Resources like these are made possible by the generosity of our community of donors, foundations, and corporate partners. Join others and make your gift to Houston Public Media today! DONATE

Texas GOP officially comes out against critical thinking

Who needs book larnin': the texas gop’s platform is explicitly opposed to critical thinking skills in education..

It’s not a shock that the Republican Party of Texas’ official platform, announced and adopted this month, is a seething morass of racism and homophobia . Republicans: That’s how we do! Nor is it surprising that the platform comes out in favor of employee discrimination and corporal punishment in schools, and opposed to comprehensive sex education, environmental protections, affirmative action, and the Voting Rights Act. Yawn, really. But get ready to hand your $10 to Nick Fury, because they actually managed to pull out something so blatant that it surprised even jaded old me: The Texas GOP’s platform is explicitly opposed to critical thinking skills .

Here’s the relevant text:

We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.

To be fair, I guess Texas is willing to grandfather in people who already use critical thinking skills — as long as those skills don’t cause them to support things like marriage equality, voter enfranchisement, environmental responsibility, social justice of any kind, or not hitting children. They just don’t want this stuff to SPREAD. Don’t pass your dirty Communist “logic” on to OUR children, buster, or by god we will have you drinking hemlock.

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one .

To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How

According to Talking Points Memo , the party is now backpedaling the whole “brain thoughts are for homogays” approach, claiming that it was “not the intent of the subcommittee” to come out against critical thinking and that they “regret” the oversight. But they don’t regret it all that damn much, apparently, because they also say what’s done is done: The convention approved the platform, so it can’t be changed until the next state convention in 2014. By which time, if Texas Republicans had their druthers, there would be nobody left who even knew how to read the thing.

A message from

All donations matched for a limited time!

Grist is the only award-winning newsroom focused on exploring equitable solutions to climate change. It’s vital reporting made entirely possible by loyal readers like you. At Grist, we don’t believe in paywalls. Instead, we rely on our readers to pitch in what they can so that we can continue bringing you our solution-based climate news. Donate now, and your gift has twice the impact. All donations matched for a limited time.

Here’s why the prettiest tomatoes taste the worst

Can the us census keep up with climate-driven displacement, gop-run districts get 85% of the benefit of climate law. some still hate it., they settled in houston after katrina — and then faced a political storm, what climate policies work best a new study has answers., as ‘doomsday’ glacier melts, can an artificial barrier save it, midwest grid operators submit $1.7 billion plan to build cross-border power lines, how climate change is expanding the reach of eee, a rare and deadly mosquito-borne illness, nyc’s food delivery workers are sweltering in the heat — and demanding more protection, modal gallery.

Today's news
Reviews and deals
Climate change
2024 election
Newsletters
Fall allergies
Health news
Mental health
Sexual health
Family health
So mini ways
Unapologetically
Buying guides
Labor Day sales

Entertainment

How to Watch
My watchlist
Stock market
Biden economy
Personal finance
Stocks: most active
Stocks: gainers
Stocks: losers
Trending tickers
World indices
US Treasury bonds
Top mutual funds
Highest open interest
Highest implied volatility
Currency converter
Basic materials
Communication services
Consumer cyclical
Consumer defensive
Financial services
Industrials
Real estate
Mutual funds
Credit cards
Balance transfer cards
Cash back cards
Rewards cards
Travel cards
Online checking
High-yield savings
Money market
Home equity loan
Personal loans
Student loans
Options pit
Fantasy football
Pro Pick 'Em
College Pick 'Em
Fantasy baseball
Fantasy hockey
Fantasy basketball
Download the app
Daily fantasy
Scores and schedules
GameChannel
World Baseball Classic
Premier League
CONCACAF League
Champions League
Motorsports
Horse racing

New on Yahoo

Privacy Dashboard

Texas GOP's swing to far right cemented with party platform

Republican convention texas.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten years ago, the Texas Republican Party used its platform to oppose teaching critical thinking in schools. In 2014, it declared homosexuality a chosen behavior contrary to God and endorsed “reparative therapy” to reverse it. By 2020, the party was ready to remind the world that “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States.”

But now the GOP platform in the country's largest red state — long an ideological wish list that even the most conservative Texans knew was mostly filled with pipe dreams that would never become policy — has broken new ground in its push to the far right.

Approved by 5,000-plus party delegates last weekend in Houston during the party's biennial convention, the new platform brands President Joe Biden an “acting” commander-in-chief who was never “legitimately elected.”

It may not matter who the president is, though, since the platform takes previous language about secession much farther — urging the Republican-controlled legislature to put the question of leaving the United States to voters next year.

The platform also says homosexuality is “an abnormal lifestyle choice” and rejects bipartisan legislation in Congress seeking to raise the minimum age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21, saying Texans under 21 are "most likely to be victims of violent crime and thus most likely to need to defend themselves.”

Though non-binding, the platform illustrates just how far Texas Republicans have moved to the right in the past decade — from championing tea party ideals in 2012 to endorsing former President Donald Trump's continued lies about nonexistent widespread fraud costing him an election he actually lost by more than 7 million votes.

“The platform reflects the direction that party activists believe the party should take,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in the Texas capital of Austin. He said that, rather than deciding elections or dictating legislative action, the platform is more relevant as a signal of "where primary voters are and what they care about.”

Mackowiak said items like considering succession won't be taken seriously, but “Trump’s policy agenda is here to stay.” He said that, as the former president continues to question 2020 election results, he will continue to find a receptive audience in the Texas GOP.

“Are people really in doubt that Republicans have concerns about how the election was conducted?” Mackowiak asked.

Matt Rinaldi, a former state lawmaker who now chairs the Texas GOP, said state Republicans “rightly have no faith in the 2020 election results and we don’t care how many times the elites tell us we have to.”

“We refuse to let Democrats rig the elections in 2022 or 2024,” Rinaldi said in a statement.

Democrats haven't rigged anything. An Associated Press r eview of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by Trump has found fewer than 475 — a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Texas' 2020 election was a romp even by the standards of Republicans who have dominated the state for decades . The party's candidates topped Democrats in key congressional and statehouse races as Trump easily carried its electoral votes.

But that didn't stop the former president from praising the party's 2022 platform, posting Tuesday: “Look at the “Great State of Texas and their powerful Republican Party Platform on the 2020 Presidential Election Fraud.”

“Such courage,” he wrote, “but that’s why Texas is Texas.”

Trump was cheering language declaring, “We reject the certified results of the 2020 presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected." That was a departure from as recently as 2014, when the Texas GOP platform questioned Barack Obama's “commitment to citizens' constitutional rights," but at least recognized him as president.

This year's platform also says that “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto.”

Ed Espinoza, executive director of the advocacy organization Progress Texas, said some of the adherence to open discriminatory language might have receded if not for the rise of Trump — who has demonstrated “he could double down on the crazy and not suffer a consequence yet.”

“Normally what happens is, when there’s crazy in a party, people try to soften it,” said Espinoza, former Western States Director of the Democratic National Committee. “In this case, they saw it worked for Trump so they think it’ll work for them.”

Texas was an independent republic for nearly a decade until 1845. With the coronavirus pandemic raging, the 2020 Texas Republican Party convention was held virtually and degenerated into a leadership struggle. But it also featured platform language declaring, “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States should a future president and congress change our political system from a constitutional republic to another system."

That caveat about governmental system was dropped in the 2022 edition, which seeks a referendum for voters "to determine whether or not" their state "should reassert its status as an independent nation.”

Texas' rightward push was clear in ways beyond the party platform. Delegates booed Republican Sen. John Cornyn — who has held his seat for 20 years and got more 2020 votes statewide than Trump did — for working on bipartisan legislation seeking to impose modest limits on guns. Those efforts began following last month's mass shooting in the Texas town of Uvalde, which killed 19 elementary students and two teachers.

Still, such state convention outbursts also aren’t new. Republican Gov. Rick Perry was booed in 2012 for praising fellow GOPer and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who was then locked in a primary battle for an open Senate seat with Ted Cruz. Some delegates also in the past walked out of a speech by then-Republican Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.

“It shows you how much QAnon may not be an outlier in the Republican Party," Espinoza said. “Some people are very susceptible to conspiracy theory, and that appears to be a higher percentage the deeper you go into the Republican Party of Texas.”

Texas' ban on critical race theory in schools proves the GOP still doesn't understand MLK's message

Photo illustration: Image of Martin Luther King Jr. shown through the state outlines of Texas and Florida.

Texas this week became the latest state to ban the teaching of critical race theory. The author of the bill, Republican state Rep. Steve Toth, has insisted that the measure was wholly in keeping with the vision of Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights activists like King called their protests “demonstrations” because they sought to demonstrate the realities of segregation and discrimination in undeniable terms.

“It echoes Dr. King’s wish that we should judge people on the content of their character, not [the color of] their skin,” Toth told a reporter this month.

This talking point is apparently the new Republican orthodoxy. At a campaign rally last year, then-President Donald Trump claimed that “critical race theory is a Marxist doctrine that rejects the vision of Martin Luther King Jr.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis likewise asserted that critical race theory was “basically teaching kids to hate our country and to hate each other based on race,” adding: “It puts race as the most important thing. I want content of character to be the most important thing.”

In making such comments, Republican officials reveal that they don’t really understand critical race theory — and don’t really understand Martin Luther King Jr., either.

Despite the moral panic from conservative politicians that it was designed with “kids” in mind, critical race theory has largely been limited to law schools and advanced graduate programs. (As many joked on social media, if your “kids” are really being taught critical race theory, you should be proud they’re in law school.)

Moreover, far from stressing that race is “the most important thing,” critical race theory challenges the idea that race is a thing at all. It starts with the premise that there is no biological or scientific justification for racial categories and that race was a socially constructed invention — a fiction, but one that has nevertheless been written into our laws and legislation.

Those who work on critical race theory are baffled by the seemingly deliberate mischaracterizations of their work.

Those who work on critical race theory are baffled by the seemingly deliberate mischaracterizations of their work. Kimberlé Crenshaw, the noted law professor at UCLA and Columbia and a pioneering scholar in the field, dismissed Trump’s and DeSantis’ specific claims as “false and slanderous.” As she explained in a recent interview , “Critical race theory just says let's pay attention to what has happened in this country and how what has happened in this country is continuing to create differential outcomes, so we can become that country that we say we are.”

Contrary to Republican cries that this scholarship is “ un-American ,” Crenshaw asserts that “critical race theory is not anti-patriotic.”

“In fact, it is more patriotic than those who are opposed to it, because we believe in the 13th and the 14th and the 15th Amendment,” Crenshaw says. “We believe in the promises of equality. And we know we can't get there if we can't confront and talk honestly about inequality.”

Talking honestly about inequality, it turns out, was a special point of emphasis for Martin Luther King Jr. He devoted a considerable amount of his activism and authorship doing it. But the limited knowledge that Trump, DeSantis and Toth all have of King’s work apparently begins and ends with that one line about “character.”

To appreciate this reality, and to see how wrong those are who see MLK and critical race theory as diametrically opposed, look no further than two iconic moments the Texas law encourages teachers to use: “Martin Luther King Jr.'s ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ and ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.”

In his landmark address at the March on Washington in August 1963, King did note his hope that “one day” his children would be judged by their character and not the color of their skin, but that was only one line in a more nuanced address.

While King looked ahead to that day, his vision remained firmly fixed on the realities of racism and discrimination in his own time.

More important, while King looked ahead to that day, his vision remained firmly fixed on the realities of racism and discrimination in his own time; he devoted the bulk of his address to identifying and articulating them. King chronicled the ways African Americans faced systemic patterns of discrimination and inequality, from “the unspeakable horrors of police brutality” to the discriminatory public and private policies that put African Americans on “a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.”

“We’ve come here today,” King patiently explained again, “to dramatize a shameful condition.”

In his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail , which he wrote four months before the March on Washington, King had already sounded out these same things, in greater length.

The letter, which was King’s response to chiding from moderate white ministers, patiently explained that the first “basic step” in his activism was the “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist.”

Asserting that “privileged groups” fail to see how others often lack the same privileges and therefore dismiss their complaints, King rattled off for them — and us — a litany of the systemic and structural inequalities that faced African Americans, including police brutality, voting discrimination and an unequal economy that locked “the vast majority of your 20 million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society.”

Notably, King spent a great deal of the letter outlining how “the unjust law” — which he defined as “a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself” — worked to prop up those racial and economic inequalities. The racist intent or racial impact of such legislation might not be overt, King noted. “Sometimes a law is just on its face,” he wrote, “and unjust in its application.”

Civil rights activists like King adopted the word “demonstrations” to characterize their protests, because they sought to demonstrate the realities of segregation and discrimination in undeniable terms. In the letter, King explained that he sought to expose the hypocrisies in Jim Crow laws and demonstrate the inequalities they obscured.

“We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive,” he wrote. “We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”

King’s summons to identify and illuminate the racial, economic and political inequalities in American life runs counter to the conservative culture war against critical race theory and related publications like The 1619 Project. (In full disclosure, I am one of several historians who have written chapters for the project’s forthcoming book .)

Politicians like Trump, DeSantis and Toth are certainly welcome to believe that we should not, in fact, acknowledge the deep roots of racism in American society and how that shaped the nation around us, but they shouldn’t invoke the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. when they do so.

At the very least, they should follow their own recommendations and study what the civil rights icon actually wrote and actually said. It seems they might be in for an education of their own.

Kevin M. Kruse is a professor of history at Princeton University. A specialist in modern American political, social and urban/suburban history, he is the author and editor of several books, including "White Flight" (2005), "One Nation Under God" (2015) and "Fault Lines: A History of the United States since 1974" (2019). He grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his master's and doctoral degrees from Cornell University.

Several Texas Republicans against “critical race theory” advance in State Board of Education primary races

All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and there were more than 50 candidates vying for their parties’ nominations.

Students and teachers walk between classes at Blanco Vista Elementary School in San Marcos on Aug. 23, 2021.

Several Republican State Board of Education candidates who ran in opposition of so-called critical race theory in public schools advanced in Tuesday’s GOP primary election.

All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and there were more than 50 candidates vying for their parties’ nominations. There were 31 Republicans and 25 Democrats on the ballot. Currently, the board is made up of nine Republicans and six Democrats.

Usually, voters pay little attention to races for the body that sets the state’s public school curriculum. But this year, how Texas schools operate has been a particularly hot topic. The pandemic’s impacts on school closings and mask mandates — as well as a new law restricting how students should learn about America’s history of racism — have made the state board races much more visible.

Because the state board is responsible for curriculum standards, the critical race dilemma may open the door for more censorship in schools even though Texas already has its so-called critical race theory law, said Chloe Latham Sikes, deputy director of policy at the Intercultural Development Research Association.

The law is vague, Sikes said, and leaves the door open for interpretation, so state board officials who are trying to oust such teaching from schools could potentially censor materials that are inclusive of people of color and the LGBTQ community.

This has already happened with book bans around the state, she said.

The general election will take place Nov. 8. Board members serve four-year terms and set policies and curriculum standards for more than 1,200 Texas school districts and nearly 5.5 million students.

Some conservative candidates leaned hard into the rhetoric criticizing what they refer to as critical race theory even though no Texas school actually teaches the college-level academic theory in the classroom.

But as elementary and secondary schools work to diversify their curriculum and make lessons about history more inclusive, conservatives have used the term critical race theory to describe a variety of discussions about race and alleged those conversations are discriminatory against white children.

The fact that critical race theory is not taught before college in Texas has not stopped political candidates from their efforts to ban it or use their opposition as a campaign platform.

In Districts 2, 7, 11, 13 and 15, Republican candidates made critical race theory a central part of their campaigns, getting good results.

In District 15, which covers the Panhandle, Republican challenger Aaron Kinsey ousted incumbent Jay Johnson . Kinsey was endorsed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and former Gov. Rick Perry. Kinsey also received a donation from conservative megadonor Tim Dunn and large donations from the Charter Schools Now political action committee.

Kinsey has said that critical race theory is taught under different guises and that Texas needs teachers who can identify how it is being rebranded.

In District 2, which covers part of the Gulf Coast, Republican LJ Francis won the open seat and based his campaign on banning critical race theory from schools, claiming that “woke liberals” are pushing a critical race theory agenda.

He’ll face either Victor Perez or Pete Garcia, who advanced to a Democratic primary runoff election. Democrat Ruben Cortez Jr. currently holds the seat.

Republicans Julie Pickren and Michael Barton were the top vote-getters for the open District 7 seat, which also covers part of the Gulf Coast. Both Barton and Pricken made opposition to critical race theory a top priority. It wasn’t clear Wednesday afternoon if Pricken would win outright or face Barton in a runoff. The eventual winner will face Democrat Daniel Hochman.

In District 11, which covers parts of Tarrant and Parker counties, incumbent Pat Hardy won the nomination. She was first elected in 2002. Going into the primaries, Hardy made it a priority to get critical race theory and The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project out of classrooms. Current law already prohibits teaching about the 1619 Project.

Republican Kathryn Monette led the race for the District 12 seat but couldn’t avoid a runoff. Monette made opposition to critical race theory a focus of her campaign while her runoff opponent, A. Denise Russell, didn’t.

In District 14, which includes Denton County and reaches to Lampasas County, neither Republican candidate appeared to make critical race theory a part of their campaign, but incumbent Sue Melton-Malone lost to Evelyn Brooks.

Socorro Morales, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who has expertise in critical race theory, said it’s not true that talking about race, inclusivity or ethnic studies means schools are placing the blame on white children.

Stephanie Knight, dean of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University, said candidates are using critical race theory this election season as a way to mobilize voters.

“Those who are using critical race theory as a rallying cry are not really thinking about the curriculum, per se,” she said. “They’re thinking about an issue that they want to emphasize.”

The ongoing rancor over race and whether students should be required to wear masks to prevent coronavirus infection has resulted in louder calls for more school choice and so campaign cash followed, with more than $500,000 given to both Democrat and Republican candidates this year from the Charter Schools Now PAC.

Of that, more than $200,000 was given to Democratic candidate Omar Yanar, who ran to replace Georgina Pérez in District 1, which covers the El Paso region. Pérez, who has been an advocate for more charter school accountability, isn’t running for reelection. Yanar lost; Democrats Melissa N. Ortega and Laura Marquez will head to the runoff election.

Ortega and Marquez raised less than $10,000 combined.

Disclosure: The New York Times, The University of Texas at San Antonio and Southern Methodist University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here .

Correction, March 4, 2022 at 2:04 p.m. : A previous version of this story misspelled a School Board of Education candidate's name. She is Julie Pickren, not Julien Pricken.

Wait! We need your help.

Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?

Information about the authors

Brian Lopez

Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies , including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.

Explore related story topics

Politics Public education State government State Board of Education Sue Melton-Malone

Texas GOP's Swing to Far Right Cemented With Party Platform

By will weissert • published june 22, 2022 • updated on june 22, 2022 at 11:22 am.

Ten years ago, the Texas Republican Party used its platform to oppose teaching critical thinking in schools. In 2014, it declared homosexuality a chosen behavior contrary to God and endorsed "reparative therapy" to reverse it. By 2020, the party was ready to remind the world that "Texas retains the right to secede from the United States."

But now the GOP platform in the country's largest red state -- long an ideological wish list that even the most conservative Texans knew was mostly filled with pipe dreams that would never become policy -- has broken new ground in its push to the far right.

Streaming 24/7: Watch NBC 5 local news and weather for free wherever you are

Approved by 5,000-plus party delegates last weekend in Houston during the party's biennial convention, the new platform brands President Joe Biden an "acting" commander-in-chief who was never "legitimately elected."

It may not matter who the president is, though, since the platform takes previous language about secession much farther -- urging the Republican-controlled legislature to put the question of leaving the United States to voters next year.

Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.

The platform also says homosexuality is "an abnormal lifestyle choice" and rejects bipartisan legislation in Congress seeking to raise the minimum age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21, saying Texans under 21 are "most likely to be victims of violent crime and thus most likely to need to defend themselves."

Though non-binding, the platform illustrates just how far Texas Republicans have moved to the right in the past decade -- from championing tea party ideals in 2012 to endorsing former President Donald Trump's continued lies about nonexistent widespread fraud costing him an election he actually lost by more than 7 million votes.

"The platform reflects the direction that party activists believe the party should take," said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in the Texas capital of Austin.

News from around the state of Texas.

Harris County constable's deputy fatally shot in his car on the way to work

Abilene Christian University football team involved in Texas bus crash, leaves 4 injured

He said that, rather than deciding elections or dictating legislative action, the platform is more relevant as a signal of "where primary voters are and what they care about."

Mackowiak said items like considering succession won't be taken seriously, but "Trump's policy agenda is here to stay." He said that, as the former president continues to question 2020 election results, he will continue to find a receptive audience in the Texas GOP.

"Are people really in doubt that Republicans have concerns about how the election was conducted?" Mackowiak asked.

Matt Rinaldi, a former state lawmaker who now chairs the Texas GOP, said state Republicans "rightly have no faith in the 2020 election results and we don't care how many times the elites tell us we have to."

"We refuse to let Democrats rig the elections in 2022 or 2024," Rinaldi said in a statement.

Democrats haven't rigged anything. An Associated Press r eview of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by Trump has found fewer than 475 -- a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Texas' 2020 election was a romp even by the standards of Republicans who have dominated the state for decades. The party's candidates topped Democrats in key congressional and statehouse races as Trump easily carried its electoral votes.

But that didn't stop the former president from praising the party's 2022 platform, posting Tuesday: "Look at the "Great State of Texas and their powerful Republican Party Platform on the 2020 Presidential Election Fraud."

"Such courage," he wrote, "but that's why Texas is Texas."

Trump was cheering language declaring, "We reject the certified results of the 2020 presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected." That was a departure from as recently as 2014, when the Texas GOP platform questioned Barack Obama's "commitment to citizens' constitutional rights," but at least recognized him as president.

This year's platform also says that "Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto."

Ed Espinoza, executive director of the advocacy organization Progress Texas, said some of the adherence to open discriminatory language might have receded if not for the rise of Trump -- who has demonstrated "he could double down on the crazy and not suffer a consequence yet."

"Normally what happens is, when there's crazy in a party, people try to soften it," said Espinoza, former Western States Director of the Democratic National Committee. "In this case, they saw it worked for Trump so they think it'll work for them."

Texas was an independent republic for nearly a decade until 1845. With the coronavirus pandemic raging, the 2020 Texas Republican Party convention was held virtually and degenerated into a leadership struggle. But it also featured platform language declaring, "Texas retains the right to secede from the United States should a future president and congress change our political system from a constitutional republic to another system."

Texas' rightward push was clear in ways beyond the party platform. Delegates booed Republican Sen. John Cornyn -- who has held his seat for 20 years and got more 2020 votes statewide than Trump did -- for working on bipartisan legislation seeking to impose modest limits on guns. Those efforts began following last month's mass shooting in the Texas town of Uvalde, which killed 19 elementary students and two teachers.

Still, such state convention outbursts also aren't new. Republican Gov. Rick Perry was booed in 2012 for praising fellow GOPer and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who was then locked in a primary battle for an open Senate seat with Ted Cruz. Some delegates also in the past walked out of a speech by then-Republican Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.

"It shows you how much QAnon may not be an outlier in the Republican Party," Espinoza said. "Some people are very susceptible to conspiracy theory, and that appears to be a higher percentage the deeper you go into the Republican Party of Texas."

Election 2024
Entertainment
Newsletters
Photography
AP Buyline Personal Finance
AP Buyline Shopping
Press Releases
Israel-Hamas War
Russia-Ukraine War
Global elections
Asia Pacific
Latin America
Middle East
Election results
Google trends
AP & Elections
U.S. Open Tennis
Paralympic Games
College football
Auto Racing
Movie reviews
Book reviews
Financial Markets
Business Highlights
Financial wellness
Artificial Intelligence
Social Media

Texas GOP’s swing to far right cemented with party platform

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick poses for photos with supporters during the first day of the Republican Party of Texas convention at George R. Brown Convention Center on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A Donald Trump cutout stands at Patriot Mobile display at the Republican Party of Texas convention at George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Elaine Wilmore of Cleburne, poses for a photo with Tex, a longhorn, at a display for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller, during the first day of the Republican Party of Texas convention at George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Houston. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Copy Link copied

But now the GOP platform in the country’s largest red state — long an ideological wish list that even the most conservative Texans knew was mostly filled with pipe dreams that would never become policy — has broken new ground in its push to the far right.

Approved by 5,000-plus party delegates last weekend in Houston during the party’s biennial convention, the new platform brands President Joe Biden an “acting” commander-in-chief who was never “legitimately elected.”

The platform also says homosexuality is “an abnormal lifestyle choice” and rejects bipartisan legislation in Congress seeking to raise the minimum age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21, saying Texans under 21 are “most likely to be victims of violent crime and thus most likely to need to defend themselves.”

Though non-binding, the platform illustrates just how far Texas Republicans have moved to the right in the past decade — from championing tea party ideals in 2012 to endorsing former President Donald Trump’s continued lies about nonexistent widespread fraud costing him an election he actually lost by more than 7 million votes.

“The platform reflects the direction that party activists believe the party should take,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in the Texas capital of Austin. He said that, rather than deciding elections or dictating legislative action, the platform is more relevant as a signal of “where primary voters are and what they care about.”

Mackowiak said items like considering succession won’t be taken seriously, but “Trump’s policy agenda is here to stay.” He said that, as the former president continues to question 2020 election results, he will continue to find a receptive audience in the Texas GOP.

“Are people really in doubt that Republicans have concerns about how the election was conducted?” Mackowiak asked.

“We refuse to let Democrats rig the elections in 2022 or 2024,” Rinaldi said in a statement.

Democrats haven’t rigged anything. An Associated Press r eview of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by Trump has found fewer than 475 — a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Texas’ 2020 election was a romp even by the standards of Republicans who have dominated the state for decades . The party’s candidates topped Democrats in key congressional and statehouse races as Trump easily carried its electoral votes.

But that didn’t stop the former president from praising the party’s 2022 platform, posting Tuesday: “Look at the “Great State of Texas and their powerful Republican Party Platform on the 2020 Presidential Election Fraud.”

“Such courage,” he wrote, “but that’s why Texas is Texas.”

Trump was cheering language declaring, “We reject the certified results of the 2020 presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected.” That was a departure from as recently as 2014, when the Texas GOP platform questioned Barack Obama’s “commitment to citizens’ constitutional rights,” but at least recognized him as president.

This year’s platform also says that “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto.”

That caveat about governmental system was dropped in the 2022 edition, which seeks a referendum for voters “to determine whether or not” their state “should reassert its status as an independent nation.”

Texas’ rightward push was clear in ways beyond the party platform. Delegates booed Republican Sen. John Cornyn — who has held his seat for 20 years and got more 2020 votes statewide than Trump did — for working on bipartisan legislation seeking to impose modest limits on guns. Those efforts began following last month’s mass shooting in the Texas town of Uvalde, which killed 19 elementary students and two teachers.

“It shows you how much QAnon may not be an outlier in the Republican Party,” Espinoza said. “Some people are very susceptible to conspiracy theory, and that appears to be a higher percentage the deeper you go into the Republican Party of Texas.”

terms of use
site status

Texas GOP’s 2012 Platform Opposes Teaching Of ‘Critical Thinking Skills’

The Republican Party of Texas’ recently adopted 2012 platform contains a plank that opposes the teaching of “critical thinking skills” in schools. The party says it was a mistake, but is now stuck with the plank until the next state convention in 2014.

The plank in question, on “Knowledge-Based Education,” reads as follows:

We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.

Elsewhere in the document, the platform stipulates that “[e]very Republican is responsible for implementing this platform.”

Contacted by TPM on Thursday, Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Communications Director Chris Elam said the “critical thinking skills” language made it into the platform by mistake.

“[The chairman of the Education Subcommittee] indicated that it was an oversight of the committee, that the plank should not have included ‘critical thinking skills’ after ‘values clarification,'” Elam said. “And it was not the intent of the subcommittee to present a plank that would have indicated that the RPT in any way opposed the development of critical thinking skills.”

Elam said the members of the subcommittee “regret” the oversight, but because the mistake was part of the platform approved by the convention, “it cannot be corrected until the next state convention in 2014.”

TPM asked Elam what the intent of subcommittee had been in including the “Knowledge-Based Education” plank.

“I think the intent is that the Republican Party is opposed to the values clarification method that serves the purpose of challenging students beliefs and undermine parental authority,” he said.

Here are some other notable planks for the RPT’s 2012 platform:

On the Patriot Act:

We urge review and revision of those portions of the USA Patriot Act, and related executive and military orders and directives that erode constitutional rights and essential liberties of citizens. Emergency War Powers and Martial Law Declarations – We strongly urge Congress to repeal the War Powers Act and end our declared state of emergency. Any Declaration of Martial law should be approved by Congress.

On “Livestock and Pet Locations”:

We oppose a mandatory animal identification system.

On the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA):

We oppose this act through which the federal government would coerce religious business owners and employees to violate their own beliefs and principles by affirming what they consider to be sinful and sexually immoral behavior.

On Campaign Contributions:

We support full disclosure of the amounts and sources of any campaign contributions to political candidates, whether contributed by individuals, political action committees, or other entities.

On the “Voter Rights Act” [sic]:

We urge that the Voter Rights Act of 1965 codified and updated in 1973 be repealed and not reauthorized.

On Homosexuality:

We affirm that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans. Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable “alternative” lifestyle, in public policy, nor should “family” be redefined to include homosexual “couples.” We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. Additionally, we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction or belief in traditional values.

On the UN Treaty on the Rights of the Child:

We unequivocally oppose the United States Senate’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Read the whole thing here .

A new Tennessee law undercuts the Supreme Court’s 2015 landmark, closely divided decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, and marks a…

The true believers were buzzing.

One of the biggest potential spoiler candidates in next year’s presidential race is having trouble getting his 2024 campaign off…

Fulton County DA Fani Willis sorted Trump’s attempt to reverse his 2020 election loss into several distinct categories, or schemes,…

Start the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

Josh Marshall
David Kurtz
Nicole Lafond
Josh Kovensky
Hunter Walker
Emine Yücel
Khaya Himmelman
John B. Judis
Millet Israeli
Joe Ragazzo
Derick Dirmaier
Matt Wozniak
Jackie Wilhelm
Jacob Harris
Christine Frapech

Texas GOP’s swing to far right cemented with party platform

The Associated Press

June 21, 2022, 2:58 PM

Share This:
share on facebook
share on threads
share on linkedin
share on email

The platform also says homosexuality is “an abnormal lifestyle choice” and rejects bipartisan legislation in Congress seeking to raise the minimum age to buy assault weapons from 18 to 21, saying Texans under 21 are “most likely to be victims of violent crime and thus most likely to need to defend themselves.”

Though non-binding, the platform illustrates just how far Texas Republicans have moved to the right in the past decade — from championing tea party ideals in 2012 to endorsing former President Donald Trump’s continued lies about nonexistent widespread fraud costing him an election he actually lost by more than 7 million votes.

“The platform reflects the direction that party activists believe the party should take,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist based in the Texas capital of Austin. He said that, rather than deciding elections or dictating legislative action, the platform is more relevant as a signal of “where primary voters are and what they care about.”

“Are people really in doubt that Republicans have concerns about how the election was conducted?” Mackowiak asked.

“We refuse to let Democrats rig the elections in 2022 or 2024,” Rinaldi said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Texas’ 2020 election was a romp even by the standards of Republicans who have dominated the state for decades. The party’s candidates topped Democrats in key congressional and statehouse races as Trump easily carried its electoral votes.

“Such courage,” he wrote, “but that’s why Texas is Texas.”

Trump was cheering language declaring, “We reject the certified results of the 2020 presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected.” That was a departure from as recently as 2014, when the Texas GOP platform questioned Barack Obama’s “commitment to citizens’ constitutional rights,” but at least recognized him as president.

This year’s platform also says that “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto.”

Related News

Tuesday’s Scores

4 Las Vegas teens plead guilty in classmate’s deadly beating as part of plea deal

As Columbia resumes classes, student activists vow to carry on with protests against Israel

Recommended.

DC jury returns guilty verdicts for two gang members in 2018 murder of 10-year-old girl

Teen charged with attempted murder in shooting of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall

'A Night in Paris' kicks off National Gallery Nights new season

Related categories:.

Quick Takes

Texas GOP vs. Critical Thinking

By Scott Jaschik

You have / 5 articles left. Sign up for a free account or log in.

The 2012 platform of the Texas Republican Party contains a number of provisions raising eyebrows among Texas academics. For instance, the platform says, "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning), which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority." With regard to college tuition, the platform wants to end the policy (endorsed by Governor Rick Perry in the Republican primaries) of granting in-state tuition rates to some students who lack the legal documentation to live in the United States. And the platform wants "merit-based" admissions for all public colleges, and seeks to eliminate the "10 percent" plan -- which admits students from the top 10 percent of high school classes and which has helped to diversify Texas colleges.

Person trying to pry open locked cage with a light bulb inside

Academic Publishers Threatened By Open-Access Expansion

Critics say a directive to make federally funded research immediately free to the public could violate authors’ copyr

Share This Article

Most Columbia Students Who Protested in Spring Remain in ‘Good Standing’

Education Dept.: No Batch Corrections for This FAFSA Cycle

Student walks up stairs to door, under tree

Judge Dismisses Affirmative Action Suit Against UT Austin

Become a Member
Sign up for Newsletters
Learning & Assessment
Diversity & Equity
Career Development
Labor & Unionization
Shared Governance
Academic Freedom
Books & Publishing
Financial Aid
Residential Life
Free Speech
Physical & Mental Health
Race & Ethnicity
Sex & Gender
Socioeconomics
Traditional-Age
Adult & Post-Traditional
Teaching & Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Digital Publishing
Data Analytics
Administrative Tech
Alternative Credentials
Financial Health
Cost-Cutting
Revenue Strategies
Academic Programs
Physical Campuses
Mergers & Collaboration
Fundraising
Research Universities
Regional Public Universities
Community Colleges
Private Nonprofit Colleges
Minority-Serving Institutions
Religious Colleges
Women's Colleges
Specialized Colleges
For-Profit Colleges
Executive Leadership
Trustees & Regents
State Oversight
Accreditation
Politics & Elections
Supreme Court
Student Aid Policy
Science & Research Policy
State Policy
Colleges & Localities
Employee Satisfaction
Remote & Flexible Work
Staff Issues
Study Abroad
International Students in U.S.
U.S. Colleges in the World
Intellectual Affairs
Seeking a Faculty Job
Advancing in the Faculty
Seeking an Administrative Job
Advancing as an Administrator
Beyond Transfer
Call to Action
Confessions of a Community College Dean
Higher Ed Gamma
Higher Ed Policy
Just Explain It to Me!
Just Visiting
Law, Policy—and IT?
Leadership & StratEDgy
Leadership in Higher Education
Learning Innovation
Online: Trending Now
Resident Scholar
University of Venus
Student Voice
Academic Life
Health & Wellness
The College Experience
Life After College
Academic Minute
Weekly Wisdom
Reports & Data
Advertising & Marketing
Consulting Services
Data & Insights
Hiring & Jobs
Event Partnerships

4 /5 Articles remaining this month.

Sign up for a free account or log in.

Get the Reddit app

/r/philosophy: the portal for public philosophy

Texas critical of critical thinking

By continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy .

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

You’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account.

Enter a 6-digit backup code

Create your username and password.

Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it.

Reset your password

Enter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password

Check your inbox

An email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account

Choose a Reddit account to continue

Why colleges became the center of the culture wars: ANALYSIS

Educators and researchers say they see an effort to delegitimize higher ed.

Culture war issues have taken over college and university campuses. Schools continue to shut down diversity, equity, and inclusion laws to comply with new state laws, while others try to address ongoing tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.

Diversity, free speech, curriculum, student loans -- debate over these issues have wreaked havoc in higher education institutions as schools fight to quell both internal and external pressures.

Higher education researchers and educators told ABC News that the recent scrutiny has felt more like an effort to "delegitimize" higher education institutions.

“What we're calling the cultural wars represents the fact that we've got a polarized and divided government that regulates the policies and practices of educational institutions,” Aaron Pallas, a professor of sociology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, said in an interview.

“So laws and regulations, whether they are old or new, become tools for advancing political agendas.”

Nick Perrino, the executive vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, describes campuses as a "microcosm" of the broader society and a place that represents the fight for the future.

"If they want to be a true-seeking institution, then the administrators at the institution can't put their thumb on the scale of the debate," said Perrino. "They are not themselves the critics. So they're the host and sponsor of the students and faculty who have the debates on these contentious current events. But the university itself is not a critic. They are the forum."

America's institutions have made the country a leading global force in higher education. Higher education has long been viewed as a pillar of academic freedom , Pallas told ABC News in an interview. He said it has been a place where students are meant to engage in debate and dialogue to create the next generation of critical thinkers.

However, he added, "thinking critically is not necessarily in the interest of some political sectors."

As tensions and legislative forces continue to compound on college campuses, U.S. adults say they're losing faith in those very institutions.

A recent Gallup poll shows that U.S. adults are nearly equally divided among those who have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence (36%), some confidence (32%), or little or no confidence (32%) in higher education. In 2015, Gallup found that 57% had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence and 10% had little or none.

Heidi Tseu, assistant vice president for the National Engagement for the American Council on Education, told ABC News, "The idea of higher education is to invite ideas and to invite discourse and consider things, and the spirit of that is to be able to train our next generation of leaders. That makes us a pretty soft target."

MORE: Culture wars: How identity became the center of politics in America

College campuses and politics.

Most recently, some institutions were racked with student protests calling for a cease-fire and the divestment of college and university funds from Israeli military operations as the Gaza death toll climbed.

Institutions were faced with accusations of allowing anti-Palestinian and antisemitic rhetoric on campus; a Columbia University's Task Force on Antisemititsm found that some Jews and Israelis at Columbia University felt ostracized from student groups and were subjected to verbal abuse and their complaints were often downplayed or ignored by school officials amid ongoing tensions.

Congressional hearings over college protests concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict led to accusations of discrimination sentiment on campuses -- including Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

After months of scrutiny from politicians threatening to pull federal or state funding or support legal action against the schools, three presidents of top universities resigned from the aforementioned institutions.

At the same time, legislation across the country has targeted diversity programs in higher education following the Supreme Court decision to limit the use of affirmative action in college admissions, with Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and other states slashing their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices.

Diversity programs in higher education, aimed at addressing inequity and providing resources for marginalized groups , have been accused by some politicians of favoring students based on their identity.

Additionally, some states have introduced policies to restrict certain curricula that discuss race, gender, sexual orientation and oppression in higher institutions. Schools that don't comply could lose government funding -- and some have criticized these laws for restricting free speech.

MORE: Will voters in 2024 election be swayed by culture war issues?

Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, states that these laws could have decades-long impacts, particularly if they head to the Supreme Court -- much like affirmative action or the Biden administration's efforts to forgive student debt en masse. The effort to forgive student loan debt was struck down by the court due to a lawsuit filed by Republican-led states and conservative advocates.

"The public has less faith in [higher education], in part because they aren't able to deliver one of the things that was already seen as a reason for going to college," said Pallas.

He continued, "The educated life is an intrinsic good, but many students went to college to try to secure an economic future, and the price of higher education has increased for public institutions, in particular -- often dependent on state legislatures, but the funding has cut. Funding for those institutions has been declining, and the price of higher education has been rising. So the idea of going into debt for a fragile economic future may not be enough."

All of this, educators and researchers say, captures how intertwined higher education is with the ever-changing political winds.

Pope Francis embarks on longest trip of papacy

Sep 3, 7:32 AM

Nikki Garcia steps out after husband's arrest

Sep 3, 11:00 AM

Salvagers abandon effort to tow burning oil tanker

Sep 3, 9:50 AM

2024 fall movie preview: A look ahead

Sep 3, 8:15 AM

Salma Hayek celebrates 58th birthday in style

Sep 3, 2:43 PM

ABC News Live

24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

Skip to main content
Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

How swing states came to be critical in U.S. presidential elections

Joe Hernandez

Marie Guenther votes at the Bay View Library with her son on Oct. 20, 2020, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which was considered a battleground state in the 2020 presidential election.

Marie Guenther votes at the Bay View Library with her son in October 2020 in Milwaukee, Wis., considered a battleground state. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

When Swarthmore, Pa., resident Scott Richardson first voted in a U.S. presidential election, it was for Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Richardson cast his ballot for Republican Donald Trump in 2016. But after being disillusioned by Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Richardson chose Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

“It’s almost 50/50 who I have voted for,” Richardson, a former restaurateur, said of the political affiliations of his chosen presidential candidates over the years. “It has never been related to [political] party. I kind of felt like I was voting for an individual.”

Richardson is a swing voter in a swing state; those few jurisdictions that sometimes vote Republican, sometimes vote Democratic and have the power to influence the results of national elections.

Most states consistently vote red or blue — between 2000 and 2016, 38 states voted for the same political party — but swing states are less predictable.

Political campaigns and pundits have long focused on states such as Pennsylvania because they offer candidates an opportunity to sway voters off the fence and win coveted Electoral College votes. In recent years, they’ve also had the power to swing the election itself.

Campaign signs are shown at an intersection near a voting station on November 3, 2020, in Pahrump, Nevada. - Americans were voting on Tuesday under the shadow of a surging coronavirus pandemic to decide whether to reelect Republican Donald Trump, one of the most polarizing presidents in US history, or send Democrat Joe Biden to the White House. (Photo by Ronda Churchill / AFP) (Photo by RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

Campaign signs at an intersection near a voting station in November 2020, in Pahrump, Nev. Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

“Swing states have increasingly become not just states that flip back and forth, but states, given the relative polarization and certainty of other states voting particular ways, these are the small cluster of states that truly are going to decide the presidential election,” said David Schultz, a professor of political science and legal studies at Hamline University and editor of Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter .

What are swing states, anyway? How did so much political power come to be concentrated in just a few states? And is it fair?

It all starts with the Electoral College

The only reason the concept of a swing state exists at all is because of the unique way the U.S. conducts presidential elections: with the Electoral College.

The U.S. doesn’t elect presidents based on the national popular vote. “It’s essentially 50 separate state elections plus the District of Columbia,” Schultz said. (In fact, two presidents have been elected in recent decades even though they lost the national popular vote — George W. Bush in 2000 and Trump in 2016.)

After the election results are in, people known as electors, appointed by all 50 states and the District of Columbia, send their votes for president and vice president to Congress based on the results of the vote tally in their jurisdiction.

Maine and Nebraska assign their electors proportionally, but the other 48 states and the District of Columbia have a winner-take-all system, meaning they assign all their electors to the candidate who wins a majority of the vote.

In most of the country, a candidate who wins a state by even a slim margin gets all of that state’s electoral votes. The 2000 presidential election between Bush and Democrat Al Gore came down to a difference of just 537 votes in one swing state, Florida.

According to Schultz, this is not what the Framers had in mind when they created a system they hoped would prevent larger states from having an unfair advantage in national elections.

A man walks into an early voting location at Massey Hill Recreation Center & Park on October 29, 2020 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

A man walks into an early voting location in October 2020 in Fayetteville, N.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

“The idea was that the Electoral College would prevent small states from being overlooked,” he said. “But ... what we know is for at least 150 years, maybe even longer, that there are some states that are really decisive in the election.”

What is a swing state, anyway?

According to Schultz, four different criteria determine a swing state:

First, the state is a battleground . Presidential candidates and their campaigns visit these places often to stump for votes between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

A Growing Number Of Critics Raise Alarms About The Electoral College

Second, it’s a competitive state. For Schultz, that means the margin of victory for the winning presidential candidate has been less than 5% of the vote.

Third, this state would be considered a bellwether . In past elections, the candidate who won the state has gone on to win the presidency. Some states have been good predictors of who would ultimately end up in the White House.

Fourth is the so-called flippability factor. Does this state see-saw between political parties? For example, Pennsylvania went for Obama in 2012, Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020.

Even within swing states, not every voter is a swing voter. Schultz suggests that this year’s presidential contest could hinge not simply on swing states but swing counties . He estimates that 5% of the voters in five counties in five states could determine the outcome of this year’s contest.

“For me, this presidential campaign is coming down to maybe 150,000 voters that are decisive,” Schultz said.

Cartogram showing squares for each of the U.S. states, sized according to the number of electoral votes that the state has, and colored by the forecasted winner of the presidential election in that state. Harris is forecasted to win 226 votes, Trump is forecasted to win 219 votes, and 93 votes are toss ups.

2024 Election

Harris’ momentum continues as she ties with trump in these swing states.

NPR has reported that Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada will be the states to watch this fall.

Why do some states swing — and others don’t?

Swing states don’t necessarily stay swing states forever, and other consistent performers can turn into toss-ups. Arizona only became a swing state recently, while longtime swing states such as Florida and Ohio have gone reliably Republican.

Political experts say many factors can help transform a state into a swing state or turn a swing state solidly blue or red.

For example, increased political polarization is hardening partisan divides across the country.

Also, the movement of people around the U.S. for jobs, retirement and other reasons can cause demographic shifts — including fluctuations in a state’s racial and ethnic makeup — that can alter the area’s political fabric. Immigration may also play a role.

A poll worker lays out 'I voted' stickers at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on October 30, 2020 in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

A poll worker lays out stickers at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in October 2020 in Lawrenceville, Ga. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

“That’s an interesting part of the puzzle, the migration patterns,” said David Damore, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor of political science and coauthor of Blue Metros, Red States: The Shifting Urban/Rural Divide in America’s Swing States . “When blue state voters leave, where do they go? Do they bring their blue state politics?”

Additionally, Damore noted that social issues are largely replacing economic differences and driving the political conversation in swing states. He cited several examples, including North Carolina’s transgender bathroom bill in 2016 and Georgia’s “fetal heartbeat” abortion law in 2019.

“Right now, what’s become the sort of battleground is those second- and first-ring suburbs around the urban cores that used to be much more reliably Republican,” he said. “But because of the shifting agenda and the emphasis on social issues, that has become certainly quite ripe for Democrats.”

How swing states influence national politics

Because swing states are so important to the outcome of a presidential election, campaigns tend to spend a lot of money and time there.

“It has huge implications for how resources get deployed,” Damore said. “If you’re in California, you really don’t see a presidential election. You come to Nevada, you can’t escape it.”

The power of swing states can also dampen voter turnout in other parts of the U.S. where partisan majorities are stronger and people feel like their vote may not matter. If you know your state is going to go Republican, why vote for the Democrat, the thinking goes.

Several studies have even suggested that politically crucial swing states may get some additional federal resources.

How The Electoral College Came To Choose The President Of The U.S.

For Schultz, the outsize sway held by swing states, a power they derive from the Electoral College, has made presidential elections less fair, especially to voters in non-swing states across the U.S. hoping to have their voices heard.

“Even though the concept of ‘one person one vote’ is supposed to apply when it comes to presidential elections, ‘one person one vote’ does not mean equal influence,” he said. “Some votes effectively matter more than others.”

There have been attempts at change. An effort to circumvent the Electoral College, called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, would see states assign all of their electors to the winner of the national popular vote rather than the winner of that state. Though it wouldn’t eliminate the Electoral College, it would have the effect of electing a president based on the popular vote. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have enacted the idea into law.

Republicans Gain Edge as Voters Worry About Economy, Times/Siena Poll Finds

With elections next month, independents, especially women, are swinging to the G.O.P. despite Democrats’ focus on abortion rights. Disapproval of President Biden seems to be hurting his party.

Share full article

By Shane Goldmacher

Oct. 17, 2022

Republicans enter the final weeks of the contest for control of Congress with a narrow but distinct advantage as the economy and inflation have surged as the dominant concerns, giving the party momentum to take back power from Democrats in next month’s midterm elections, a New York Times/Siena College poll has found.

The poll shows that 49 percent of likely voters said they planned to vote for a Republican to represent them in Congress on Nov. 8, compared with 45 percent who planned to vote for a Democrat. The result represents an improvement for Republicans since September, when Democrats held a one-point edge among likely voters in the last Times/Siena poll. (The October poll’s unrounded margin is closer to three points, not the four points that the rounded figures imply.)

With inflation unrelenting and the stock market steadily on the decline, the share of likely voters who said economic concerns were the most important issues facing America has leaped since July , to 44 percent from 36 percent — far higher than any other issue. And voters most concerned with the economy favored Republicans overwhelmingly, by more than a two-to-one margin.

Which party’s candidate are you more likely to vote for in this year’s election for Congress?

Likely voters

65 and older

BY RACE/ETHNICITY

BY EDUCATION

Bachelor’s

degree or higher

No bachelor’s

Don’t know/refused to answer

Democratic candidate

Republican candidate

18 to 29 years old

Bachelor’s degree

No bachelor’s degree

Both Democrats and Republicans have largely coalesced behind their own party’s congressional candidates. But the poll showed that Republicans opened up a 10-percentage point lead among crucial independent voters, compared with a three-point edge for Democrats in September, as undecided voters moved toward Republicans.

The biggest shift came from women who identified as independent voters. In September, they favored Democrats by 14 points. Now, independent women backed Republicans by 18 points — a striking swing given the polarization of the American electorate and how intensely Democrats have focused on that group and on the threat Republicans pose to abortion rights.

4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail

With elections less than a month away, our reporters are across the country following candidates. Scandal roiled the Los Angeles City Council, Mitch McConnell affirmed his support for Herschel Walker, and Senate and governor candidates in Nevada sought endorsements.

Here’s a look at the week in political news →

Los Angeles was rocked by news that three City Council members took part in a secretly recorded conversation involving racist comments . Faced with swirling public condemnation, including from President Biden, the Council president, Nury Martinez, resigned, while the other two officials have so far stayed put.

In the critical swing state of Nevada, the Democratic Senate incumbent, Catherine Cortez Masto, received an endorsement from 14 family members of her Republican opponent, Adam Laxalt. In the governor’s race, the state’s largest teachers’ union announced that it wouldn’t endorse either candidate.

Polling in Georgia found less support among female, Black and independent voters for Herschel Walker, the Republican Senate candidate. He trails Senator Raphael Warnock, but by just three points, within the margin of error. Senator Mitch McConnell said he’d “stick with Walker,” an anti-abortion candidate who has been accused of paying for an abortion.

Two Democratic groups said they would pour millions of dollars into local races in a half dozen states before the midterms in hopes of winning back legislatures. The groups, the States Project and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, are particularly focused on protecting voting and abortion rights .

Catch up on more political news.

Senator Lindsey Graham introducing a Republican abortion bill at the Capitol on Tuesday.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

Want all of The Times? Subscribe .

News & Politics
The Right Wing
Election ’20
Documentaries
Immigration
Hot Topics >>
Corrections
GET OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER!
GO AD FREE!
MAKE A ONE-TIME DONATION

The Death of Critical Thinking in Texas Public Schools

The Republican Party of Texas has issued their 2012 political platform and has come out and blatantly opposed critical thinking in public schools throughout the state. If you wonder what took them so long to actually state that publicly, it is really a matter of timing. With irrationality now the norm and an election hovering over the 2012 horizon, the timing of the Republican GOP announcement against "critical thinking" instruction couldn't be better. It helps gin up their anti-intellectual base.

The Texas GOP's declarative position against critical thinking in public schools, or any schools, for that matter, is now an official part of their political platform. It is public record in the Republican Party of Texas 2012 platform . With regard to critical thinking, the Republican Party of Texas document states: "Knowledge-Based Education - We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student's fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority." (page 20, Republican Party of Texas, 2012 ).

Yes, challenging beliefs or claims is considered insubordinate, immoral and could lead to rebellion, disobedience or perhaps worse: revolution. For the Republican Party and their followers, thinking is subversive, imagination is a sin and the Republican Party in Texas and elsewhere is working to codify this into public policy. The plutocrats can't have a working-class citizenry that is asking questions of those in power, be they parents or bosses; instead, the people must be taught the ideology of what is morally acceptable, what rules and regulations to follow. and even more importantly, how to accept and internalize hierarchical authoritarianism. Critical thinking is a direct challenge to the "leaders" and their claims on authority, and any opposition to vertical arrangements is ethically unacceptable to those in power.

Reactionaries have long known that enshrining ignorance and hierarchy in both thought and practice within the school curriculum is essential if the control of young minds is to be accomplished softly and quietly yet profoundly through propaganda and perception management. In the quarters of obedience training, "education" has nothing to do with "schooling" under capitalism.

This thinking is not new. The ideological underpinnings for such repugnant beliefs sorrowfully tread back throughout the history of the 20th century and undoubtedly before. William Bagley's book, "Classroom Management," published in 1907 and widely used as a teacher-training manual throughout America in the early 1900s, was so highly praised at the time that it went through 30 printed editions. The book echoed the morbid thinking of many so-called Gilded Age educators at the time. One such passage from the book sums up the thinking regarding children and childhood: "One who studies educational theory aright can see in the mechanical routine of the classroom the educative forces that are slowly transforming the child from a little savage into a creature of law and order, fit for the life of civilized society ."

Law and order is what counts, and critical education, of course, seeks to subject all laws and claims to order to the lens of critical scrutiny, something the powerful disdain. Schooling under the neofeudalistic capitalist relations that are now emerging in the new Gilded Age of the 21st century is no different than in the past, where learning how not to think critically was the norm. The Texas GOP is simply creating the new conditions for a technological form of Plato's Cave with zero tolerance and the school-to-prison pipeline.

The Republican Party platform gets worse when it comes to prohibiting thinking critically about science or the scientific method. Take the section on " controversial theories," found on page 20:

Controversial Theories - We support objective teaching and equal treatment of all sides of scientific theories. We believe theories such as life origins and environmental change should be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change as new data is produced. Teachers and students should be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these theories openly and without fear of retribution or discrimination of any kind.

Alternative beliefs such as creationism are now cleverly invited into the curriculum as so-called science or theories to debunk the purportedly false notions of the theory of evolution. But if critical thinking is not to be used in the classroom, how would these beliefs be examined for evidence? Science, the scientific method, critical thinking and the process of subjecting claims to evidentiary experimentation - all related activities - pose a threat to self-proclaimed power and the harbingers of supernaturalism.

IDEA Public Schools

One of the purveyors of such rubbish is Texas educational retail chain IDEA Public Schools. IDEA is a retail charter outfit that standardizes curriculum downwards, away from critical thinking, embracing instead rote memorization and regurgitation, or what I call the "anorexic/bulimic" learning model of intellectual atrophy, ossification, and decay .

IDEA's board members include representatives from JPMorgan, Teach for America, International Bank of Commerce, Wells Fargo and other Wall Street banking concerns. In spite of the fact that the board of IDEA is filled with Wall Street banking interests, IDEA says it works to assure students get what they call a "core curriculum." Critical thinking is never even mentioned in the IDEA core curriculum - let alone entertained in IDEA classrooms, either by faculty or students; instead, IDEA is devoted to turning education into a commodity, students into customers mounted with saddlebags for tax funds that subsidize IDEA and turn schools into fortresses of profit.

According to IDEA's online blurb, the company is all about growth and expansion using taxpayer monies to grease the wheel: "In addition to its exemplary academic achievement, IDEA is moving forward with growth and expansion efforts to help serve more students throughout the Valley and Central Texas. IDEA currently enrolls over 9,000 students, with campuses in ten communities throughout the Rio Grande Valley. When all IDEA schools are at full scale (serving students in K-12th grade), IDEA will serve 15,000 from communities throughout the Rio Grande Valley."

The Age of Irrationality and the Abdication of Reason

In the case of the Texas Republican Party, they have really upped the stakes. Supernaturalism and supernatural beliefs no doubt will continue to snake their way into public school lesson plans, and as Texas will have significant impact on the content of all the nation's texts through its textbook purchasing power, we may find that the tale of the Loch Ness Monster is now told to children as if it were a true story in science classes. Don't laugh! This is now the case in Louisiana where, as The Washington Post reported, "A biology textbook used by a Christian school in Louisiana that will be accepting students with publicly funded vouchers in the fall says that the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland is real. And it isn't just any monster but a dinosaur - an effort to debunk evolution and bolster creationist theory ."

It Doesn't Stop There

Abstinence-only sex education

Trying juveniles as adults

Emphasis on faith-based drug rehab

Opposition to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Flat-rate income tax

Repeal of the minimum wage

Opposition to homosexuality in the military

Opposition to red light cameras

Opposition to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, because firms should be able to fire people for what they consider "sinful and sexually immoral behavior."

Continued opposition to ACORN (even though it has not existed since 2010!)

Opposition to statehood or even Congressional voting rights for the citizens of the District of Columbia

And no-questions-asked support for Israel because, and this is another direct quote: "Our policy is based on God's biblical promise to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel and we further invite other nations and organizations to enjoy the benefits of that promise."

This is corporate American culture and education today, or at least a great and growing part of it. Learning to identify assumptions and differentiating them from facts, questioning assumptions in light of evidence, engaging in wonder and inquiry, exchanging other points of view in an atmosphere of civility and inquiry (especially entertaining those points of view one does not agree with), learning the art of critical self reflection, asking for evidence for claims made by oneself and others, and testing hypotheses through the development of methods and protocols of thinking - opposition to all of this has emerged from the Texas GOP's "hidden curriculum" and is now under the magnifying glass of scrutiny - and secured a place in the Texas Republican platform.

Should Vice President Kamala Harris be the next president?

Understand the importance of honest news .

The past year has been the most arduous of our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be catastrophic not only to our health - mental and physical - but also to the stability of millions of people. For all of us independent news organizations, it’s no exception.

We’ve covered everything thrown at us this past year and will continue to do so with your support. We’ve always understood the importance of calling out corruption, regardless of political affiliation.

We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, no matter the amount, makes a difference in allowing our newsroom to bring you the stories that matter, at a time when being informed is more important than ever. Invest with us.

Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access , or click here to become a subscriber . Thank you.

Click to donate by check .


-->

Something broke Trump’s brain

A mysterious group of republicans is secretly rewriting the constitution, why trump’s arlington controversy is actually a crime, 'donald trump didn’t show up': conservative explains why harris never met the ex-president, 'dark shadow that hangs over everything': this scotus ruling is kamala harris’ main obstacle, 'both parties' guilty of politicizing arlington — but here’s why trump’s incident is 'unusual': expert, jack smith to reveal new trump evidence 'the american people do not yet know about': expert, trump was reportedly 'stunned' and 'troubled' at wave of negative jd vance coverage: report, republicans rail against trump’s willingness to help 'achieve orbán’s pro-russian aims': report, 'don’t listen to trump': florida conservatives turn on ex-president over new comments, federal judge deals major blow to trump’s last-ditch effort to delay his sentencing, 'trump is losing': lindsey graham says harris winning 'head-to-head race'.

george conway
noam chomsky
Kayleigh mcenany
Melania trump
drudge report
paul krugman
Lindsey graham
Lincoln project
al franken bill maher
People of praise
Ivanka trump

India Today
Business Today
Harper's Bazaar
Brides Today
Cosmopolitan
India Today Hindi
Reader’s Digest
Aaj Tak Campus

Download App

Elon Musk reveals his sexist side, promotes post that claims only high-status males should be decision makers

Elon musk is sexist, and he is not trying to hide that. he recently promoted a post that claims only high-status males should be decision makers..

Listen to Story

Elon Musk promotes controversial post on X
Post claims only high status males should make decisions
Post suggests women lack critical thinking due to physical weakness

The world's richest man is a sexist, and he makes no effort to hide that. Elon Musk has once again stirred the pot, this time by promoting a post on X (formerly Twitter) that essentially suggests that only high-status males in the world should be decision makers. The post is sexist. It goes on to hint that women are incapable of critical thinking because they can’t “defend themselves”. A part of the post reads: “People who can’t defend themselves physically (women and low T men) parse information through a consensus filter for a safety mechanism...This is why a Republic of high status males is best for decision making”. “Low T men” means Low testosterone men, which is a condition where a male’s testicles don't produce enough testosterone. This is a term often used by Elon Musk.

Elon Musk elevated this post to his massive following with a quoted post saying, “interesting observation”.

Here is what the whole post reads:

IMAGES

Texas Republican Party Trying To Ban Critical Thinking
Texas GOP Outlaws Critical Thinking
Texas republican party platform critical thinking
Texas Republican Platform 2023 Critical Thinking
Comment Is Necessary About Texas GOP Party Platform Plank on Higher
Colbert takes on Texas GOP on ‘critical thinking’

COMMENTS

Says Texas GOP platform calls for end to teaching "critical thinking
Gail Collins says Texas GOP platform calls for schools to stop teaching "critical thinking" New York Times columnist Gail Collins' latest book, "As Texas Goes," takes the state to task for ...
Texas GOP Declares: "No More Teaching of 'Critical Thinking Skills' in
The Texas GOP's declarative position against critical thinking in public schools, or any schools, for that matter, is now an official part of their political platform. It is public record in the Republican Party of Texas 2012 platform. With regard to critical thinking, the Republican Party of Texas document states: "Knowledge-Based Education - We oppose the teaching of Higher Order ...
Texas GOP: No More Critical Thinking in Schools
The 2012 Texas Republican Party Platform , adopted June 9 at the state convention in Forth Worth, seems to take a stand against, well, the teaching of critical thinking skills. Read it for yourself:
Here's What You Need To Know About A Texas Bill That Aims To Ban
In Texas and across the country, critical race theory (CRT) has become a political lightning rod. Many Republican-led states are working to ban the school of thought from classrooms — even ...
GOP Opposes Critical Thinking
It's official: The Republican Party of Texas opposes critical thinking. That's right, drones, and it's part of their official platform.
Texas GOP officially comes out against critical thinking
Who needs book larnin': The Texas GOP's platform is explicitly opposed to critical thinking skills in education. It's not a shock that the Republican Party of Texas' official platform ...
Texas Senate gives first OK to bill that limits teaching political
Texas Senate approves bill barring professors from "compelling" students to adopt certain political beliefs Critics say Senate Bill 16 is overly vague and will create a chilling effect that ...
Texas GOP's swing to far right cemented with party platform
Ten years ago, the Texas Republican Party used its platform to oppose teaching critical thinking in schools. Approved by 5,000-plus party delegates last weekend in Houston during the party's ...
Texas' ban on critical race theory in schools proves the GOP still
Texas is the latest state to ban the teaching of critical race theory, following a GOP campaign to keep critical race theory and The 1619 Project out of classrooms.
Texas social studies bill targeting critical race theory becomes law
Republican bill that limits how race, slavery and history are taught in Texas schools becomes law The so-called "critical race theory" law prohibits teachers from discussing "a widely ...
The Texas Republican Party has gone off the deep end
Opinion The Texas Republican Party has gone off the deep end Even before the release of an outrageous new platform, the party had become an embarrassment to itself.
The Texas GOP's war on critical thinking
The Texas GOP has set itself explicitly against teaching children to be critical thinkers, writes Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr.
The Washington Post
We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us.
Half True: What Politifact Got Wrong About the GOP and Critical Thinking
The subject was the Republican Party of Texas platform, and claims that the GOP explicitly opposes critical thinking. Here's the section in question:
Republican Texas education board races center on "critical race theory
Several Texas Republicans against "critical race theory" advance in State Board of Education primary races All 15 seats of the State Board of Education are up for grabs in November, and there ...
Texas GOP's Swing to Far Right Cemented With Party Platform
Ten years ago, the Texas Republican Party used its platform to oppose teaching critical thinking in schools. In 2014, it declared homosexuality a chosen behavior contrary to God and endorsed ...
Texas GOP's swing to far right cemented with party platform
Ten years ago, the Texas Republican Party used its platform to oppose teaching critical thinking in schools.
Texas GOP's 2012 Platform Opposes Teaching Of 'Critical Thinking Skills
The Republican Party of Texas' recently adopted 2012 platform contains a plank that opposes the teaching of "critical thinking skills" in schools.
Texas GOP's swing to far right cemented with party platform
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten years ago, the Texas Republican Party used its platform to oppose teaching critical thinking in schools. In 2014, it declared homosexuality a chosen behavior contrary to ...
Texas GOP vs. Critical Thinking
The 2012 platform of the Texas Republican Party contains a number of provisions raising eyebrows among Texas academics. For instance, the platform says, "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE ...
Texas Republican Party on critical thinking. : r/Teachers
Texas Republican Party on critical thinking. I copied this off their platform on their website, that is, the website of the Texas Republican Party, in 2013. It seems extraordinary that they explicitly oppose critical thinking. To me, that appears to be— to have been— an endorsement of stupidity. Maybe they have changed this, but I would be surprised.
Texas critical of critical thinking : r/philosophy
To be fair, the title of this post should be, "Republican Party of Texas critical of critical thinking." Doesn't make their proposal any less inane though, of course.
Why colleges became the center of the culture wars: ANALYSIS
A recent Gallup poll shows that U.S. adults are nearly equally divided among those who have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence (36%), some confidence (32%), or little or no confidence (32% ...
Where Republicans have gained in voter registration ahead of November
Florida, a longtime battleground state, has slipped safely into Republican hands in recent cycles. At one time, Democrats dominated Republicans in the state regarding the number of registered ...
How swing states came to be critical in U.S. presidential elections
Richardson cast his ballot for Republican Donald Trump in 2016. But after being disillusioned by Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Richardson chose Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Republicans Gain Edge as Voters Worry About Economy, Times/Siena Poll
In the critical swing state of Nevada, the Democratic Senate incumbent, Catherine Cortez Masto, received an endorsement from 14 family members of her Republican opponent, Adam Laxalt.
The Death of Critical Thinking in Texas Public Schools
The Republican Party of Texas has issued their 2012 political platform and has come out and blatantly opposed critical thinking in public schools throughout the state.
Elon Musk reveals his sexist side, promotes post that claims only high
Post suggests women lack critical thinking due to physical weakness The world's richest man is a sexist, and he makes no effort to hide that. Elon Musk has once again stirred the pot, this time by promoting a post on X (formerly Twitter) that essentially suggests that only high-status males in the world should be decision makers.
Kamala Harris Gets Worrying Sign in Michigan Poll
Vice President Kamala Harris got a worrying sign in Michigan, a critical swing state in November's election, in a poll released on Friday. A survey conducted between August 23 and 26 by EPIC MRA ...
Seven swing states set to decide the 2024 US election
Our list of swing states closely matches the list of places where Trump-backed Republican officials tried to thwart Mr Biden's win in the 2020 election. In Georgia's Fulton County, ...

Get PolitiFact in your inbox.

Gail Collins says Texas GOP platform calls for schools to stop teaching “critical thinking”

Featured Fact-check

Read About Our Process

Our Sources

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

Support independent fact-checking. Become a member!

Social Media

Israel Kills 4 in Strike on Gaza Aid Convoy Led by US-Based Group

Join us in defending the truth before it’s too late

Texas GOP: No More Critical Thinking in Schools

Sign Up for EdWeek Update

What Is Critical Race Theory?

The Story (And Controversy) Behind The Law

What Else Is In The Bill?

Resources like these are made possible by the generosity of our community of donors, foundations, and corporate partners. Join others and make your gift to Houston Public Media today! DONATE

Texas GOP officially comes out against critical thinking

All donations matched for a limited time!

Here’s why the prettiest tomatoes taste the worst

Entertainment

New on Yahoo

Texas GOP's swing to far right cemented with party platform

Texas' ban on critical race theory in schools proves the GOP still doesn't understand MLK's message

Several Texas Republicans against “critical race theory” advance in State Board of Education primary races

Wait! We need your help.

Information about the authors

Brian Lopez

Explore related story topics

Texas GOP's Swing to Far Right Cemented With Party Platform

Harris County constable's deputy fatally shot in his car on the way to work

Abilene Christian University football team involved in Texas bus crash, leaves 4 injured

Texas GOP’s swing to far right cemented with party platform

Texas GOP’s 2012 Platform Opposes Teaching Of ‘Critical Thinking Skills’

Start the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

Texas GOP’s swing to far right cemented with party platform

Related News

Tuesday’s Scores

4 Las Vegas teens plead guilty in classmate’s deadly beating as part of plea deal

As Columbia resumes classes, student activists vow to carry on with protests against Israel

DC jury returns guilty verdicts for two gang members in 2018 murder of 10-year-old girl

Teen charged with attempted murder in shooting of 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall

'A Night in Paris' kicks off National Gallery Nights new season

Texas GOP vs. Critical Thinking

Academic Publishers Threatened By Open-Access Expansion

Share This Article

Most Columbia Students Who Protested in Spring Remain in ‘Good Standing’

Education Dept.: No Batch Corrections for This FAFSA Cycle

Judge Dismisses Affirmative Action Suit Against UT Austin

Sign up for a free account or log in.

Get the Reddit app

Texas critical of critical thinking

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

Enter a 6-digit backup code

Reset your password

Check your inbox

Choose a Reddit account to continue

Why colleges became the center of the culture wars: ANALYSIS

MORE: Culture wars: How identity became the center of politics in America

MORE: Will voters in 2024 election be swayed by culture war issues?

Related Topics

Popular Reads

Pope Francis embarks on longest trip of papacy

Nikki Garcia steps out after husband's arrest

Salvagers abandon effort to tow burning oil tanker

2024 fall movie preview: A look ahead

Salma Hayek celebrates 58th birthday in style

ABC News Live

How swing states came to be critical in U.S. presidential elections

It all starts with the Electoral College

What is a swing state, anyway?

A Growing Number Of Critics Raise Alarms About The Electoral College

2024 Election

Why do some states swing — and others don’t?

How swing states influence national politics

How The Electoral College Came To Choose The President Of The U.S.

Republicans Gain Edge as Voters Worry About Economy, Times/Siena Poll Finds

Which party’s candidate are you more likely to vote for in this year’s election for Congress?

4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail

The Death of Critical Thinking in Texas Public Schools

Should Vice President Kamala Harris be the next president?