Moms for Liberty is the “antiwoke” purveyor of hate deemed extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center. After their major wins in 2021, liberal and progressive groups got their act together and ran as slates to take back school boards.
This worked extraordinarily well in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Iowa. They did win two seats in Alaska.
The right has been putting money into school boards for years, often using them as a springboard to drive those policies to the state level and/or using state wins to leverage their local efforts. Maybe, finally, the left is learning that local successes can rise upward to state and national successes.
Brilliant This year I looked up and wrote down names for school board candidates. I ended up having to go by the endorsement of a political party because the schmarm they put on they page was useless.
There was a candidate for school board at the early polling station. He thanked me for “helping to keep pornography out of grade schools” I wish I was more articulate and could argue how damaging he was but I just kicked him in the knee and walked past. Well I meant to. I expect he meant the penguin with two daddys book or some such.
I don’t know where you live, but here in Illinois and I would guess in most states it’s illegal to do any campaigning within 50 feet of a polling place. If a candidate said anything related to the election to me at the polling place, I would have notified the election judges and then called my county Election Commission.
(In case anyone is wondering, several years ago when I went to vote shortly after the polls opened, I noted that campaign signs had been erected by the doors to the polling place. I called the Election Commission right away. I drove past there a couple of hours later, and the signs had all been moved. I take this election neutrality stuff seriously.)
In New York, the law is “no electioneering” within 100 feet of the polls. The phrase takes in a multitude of possible offenses. And it is taken seriously here as well.
“Hey, man. I don’t want to kink shame, and I respect that you get your jollies however you get them, and if that’s by drooling over Our Bodies Ourselves or other children’s books, do what you gotta do. But please don’t make me a part of your kink. Your sexual fantasies are fine, but I don’t want to hear about them. And for real, man, you gotta keep your kinky imagination about kidlit away from actual kids, that’s super not okay.”
Whatever they come back at you with, affirm and set boundaries. “Sure, I see that that passage is getting you excited, and again, it’s okay to be aroused by it, but I don’t want to hear about your erotic turn-ons, and it’s really important you’re not communicating your excitement to children. You’re not, are you?”
You’re approaching this as if rationality would be a defense. These aren’t people who bother to read the text. They can look at the cover and see that it’s gay or woke or promotes equality. Or just take names off a group chat. Read the text? That’s what you liberals do to catch teh gay.
It’s 100 feet in Texas as well; I measured it and placed the signs yesterday when I was working the constitutional election.
For what it’s worth, turnout for yesterday’s election here was the highest it’s been for this type of election since 1991, and most of that was in the cities. How that will translate into partisan turnout in other elections, I can’t guess, but I find it encouraging.
When I lived in Montana, there were signs posted “No electioneering past this point”. I’m not sure what the measured distance was, but I presume whoever put up that sign knew. And, of course, a variety of electioneering signs just outside that point.
I just love these ironic names! That one is up there with the German Democratic Republic and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Once, just ONCE, I’d sure like to see one of these groups choose a name which actually fits their agenda, like Fascist Busybodies for Censorship or something…
A group of right wingers tried to run for our local school district in 2022. They were pretty coy about hiding their agenda behind “respect” and “fiscal responsibility” and “parent rights”, but it was pretty clear to the electorate what they were about. They avoided forums or talking about their plans.
29 - an accountant with kids in elementary school who did not answer the local paper questionnaire, had no social media presence and did not attend candidate forums.
30 - a person who runs in many elections, and whose submitted biographical statement reads: “New worlds required, eh? Me thinks, me know, she expected, honourable, exciting, requiring…duty’s.”
