# TX education board conservatives succeed in whitewashing history **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 13, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314 "2010-03-13T00:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/61 "2010-03-15T04:23:21Z")
> [@sleeping](#): > > They overlap. Quite. That’s _why_ the current parties are called Democrat and Republican, because they recall different aspects of the US system. They’re both “American.” And up until this demonization race, nobody gave a shit. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/62 "2010-03-15T04:43:35Z")
That’s why there so much variation within the sets. Democrats includes progressive Democrats, moderate Democrats and the so-called “Blue Dog” Democrats, On the other side you have misinformed simpletons, corrupt hypocrites, reactionaries and Barry Goldwater. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/63 "2010-03-15T14:23:43Z")
What’s so Orwellian about this democracy/republic business is the suggestion that some cabal of liberal atheist secular humanists got orders from Stalin in 1949 to start pushing the idea that the U.S. Is a democracy instead of a republic. “Democracy” has been the beloved word of American nationalists for more than a century. It’s not something liberals made up. And this sudden hostility towards the word “democracy” along with the insinuation that liberals are trying push some alien idea on the unsuspecting public bears the hallmark of a Big Lie campaign. Invent a problem and stick your opponents with the blame. And I’m rather surprised how well it seems to be working even on this board. Educated people, even, know that “republic” means representative government or it can even just mean a government without a hereditary monarch. A republic can be a democracy, if authority ultimately derives from those being governed, or it can be a brutal repressive dictatorship. Saying that the U.S. is a “republic not a democracy” is not only laughable but can be conceivably correct only if you believe that under our system we can legitimately implement, say, a military junta rule. Yesof course we’re also a constitutional republic, but one of the obvious values being protected by the constitution is democracy, in balance mainly with protecting individual liberty. What the “republic not a democracy” camp seems to be pushing is an idea that there are some kind of independent republican values, separable and in conflict with democratic values as well as individual liberty. It seemed to begin with the Bush-Gore election recount in which this shibboleth wad used to bludgeon the argument that it somehow seemed wrong for the who got fewer votes to win the election. “A republic not a democracy!” was the non sequitur answer, as if constitutional republicanism somehow held up minority rule as a fundamental value. Constitutional republicanism is a structure and in our case we established this structure to uphold values such as democracy, individual liberty, and egalitarianism. At times when we decided that the structure was insufficiently protecting those values or other ones we changed it by amending the constitution. We didn’t hold up such changes for fear that we were damaging the concept of constitutional republicsnism. It’s all very weird and scary to be able to see this newspeak stuff playing our on front of our eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/64 "2010-03-15T15:33:20Z")
This is BBQ, so I assume I can be frank here: A significant proportion of the participants on this thread, no matter how rational they may normally be, are being absolutely retarded on this issue. I’m not specifically targeting that at the two users I’ve quoted, the first seems to sum up the basic theory that some people are holding to, while the second seems to suggest that it doesn’t matter that the textbooks are wrong, if the people correcting them are Republicans, which just happened to give me a giggle. I am not an American, I am not a Republican, I am not a Democrat (but several relatives are). The Republicans are right on this one, you are a republic. It was kinda cute when during the Bush years you all kept talking about being a democracy (they were a high point for nationalistic rhetoric), but it was never true, and nothing you can say will make it true. You are a constitutional republic, or a democratic constitutional republic if you don’t mind the redundancy. It \*may \*be possible that a small number of Republicans on a school board are plotting to weaken the Democrats by changing this. Or, and in my opinion, more likely, they are like me, and get pissed off at millions of people repeating something that is plainly wrong, and grabbed the opportunity to correct a mistake, rather than leaving another generation of students thinking that a democracy and a republic mean the same thing (NOTE: They don’t. At all. Nor are they interchangeable). Very, very few Democracies have ever really existed, and they certainly didn’t exist for long. However, most modern republics tend to focus heavily on democratic ideals (referendums, authority derived from the vote of the people etc.) > [@Ex\_Chemist](#): > > Related question: Why does the evangelical right want to describe the U.S. government as a “constitutional republic” rather than “democratic”? The only reason I can see is that “Republican” includes the word “republic.” Surely there’s a more profound reason than this. > [@Bosstone](#): > > I don’t really care about ceremonial deism, to be honest. > > No, it’s just that you’re being dishonest by saying:The “wacko left” isn’t doing jack shit. It’s Republicans who are changing it, as if by removing the term democracy they can delegitimize the Democrats. You admitted yourself that a constitutional republic is simply a modified form of democracy, so why take it out? > > And don’t whinge that “it’s correct.” Taken in conjunction with the other changes made, it’s obvious that there’s a major right-wing bias at play. The correctness of the term is just an excuse. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/65 "2010-03-15T15:47:43Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I think it’s more an issue that the wacko-left wants to describe the country as a democracy, when it simply isn’t. A democracy is where the people all get together to vote on law. No, that is _direct_ democracy. Given the context of the thread, perhaps it would be best if you consulted a non-Texan high school civics textbook before attempting to “contribute” anything further to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/66 "2010-03-15T15:50:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No, that is _direct_ democracy. Given the context of the thread, perhaps it would be best if you consulted a non-Texan high school civics textbook before attempting to “contribute” anything further to this thread. That is a democracy. That is what a democracy is. If people elect other people to do that for them, then that is a republic. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/67 "2010-03-15T15:56:28Z")
Only under one of at least two valid definitions of “democracy.” Or do you adhere to the belief that a word does not mean what it gas been used for centuries to mean? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/68 "2010-03-15T16:00:18Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > The Republicans are right on this one, you are a republic. > It was kinda cute when during the Bush years you all kept talking about being a democracy (they were a high point for nationalistic rhetoric), but it was never true, and nothing you can say will make it true. > You are a constitutional republic, or a democratic constitutional republic if you don’t mind the redundancy. It’s not that we aren’t a constitutional republic. It’s that we are _also_ a democracy, as constitutional republics are. I don’t know where you’re from but in the US and UK democracy _primarily_ refers to the practice of representative democracy, direct democracies being in someone short supply. [QUOTE=OED] **democracy** /dimokrsi/ • noun (pl. democracies) 1 a form of government in which the people have a voice in the exercise of power, typically through elected representatives. 2 a state governed in such a way. 3 control of a group by the majority of its members. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/69 "2010-03-15T16:14:26Z")
There has been a distinct lack of cites in this discussion. Only one poster has posted a definition of democracy and no one has posted a definition of republic. (Granted, the meaning of republic seems to not be controversial.) I looked up both definitions in several sources and there is great consistency. The definition from [this online source](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democracy) is nearly word for word what all dictionaries state: > [@](#): > > 1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. > 2. a state having such a form of government: The United States and Canada are democracies. > 3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges. > 4. political or social equality; democratic spirit. > 5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power. Most sources do not explicitly state the US is a democracy as stated in #2. However, the rest of the definition is consistent across all sources. The definition of republic from the same source: > [@](#): > > 1. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. > 2. any body of persons viewed as a commonwealth. > 3. a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state. > 4. (initial capital letter) any of the five periods of republican government in France. Compare First Republic, Second Republic, Third Republic, Fourth Republic, Fifth Republic. > 5. (initial capital letter, italics) a philosophical dialogue (4th century b.c.) by Plato dealing with the composition and structure of the ideal state. Now for the opinion: Both apply to the U.S. but emphasize different aspects of the U.S government. If someone is insisting on choosing one over the other they are doing so to make a point. The point may be perfectly reasonable and proper. When discussing the role of congress it would make sense to emphasize the representative aspect of the government and to refer to the U.S. as a republic. I do not believe that this change in Texas is being done for this reason. The only purpose of the change is to boost the Republican party. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/70 "2010-03-15T16:35:34Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Well yeah, because “representative democracy” means “republic”. You just said “We’re a republic and a constitutional republic.” Which is redundant. Jeez Louise. No, that’s wrong. Canada is a representative democracy, but is NOT a republic. The People’s Republic of China is, by many accepted definitions, a constitutional republic, but is not really a democracy. “Constitutional republic” and “representative democracy” quite simply are not the same thing. The USA happens to be both, but a country can be either without being the other. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/71 "2010-03-15T16:36:28Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > : > It’s right-wing in the sense that it’s fighting the populist movement and is trying to preserve the republic as a republic. … and why the founding fathers set the nation up as a republic, then that seems rather asinine. More importantly, it’s self-destructive. > > Personally, I would recommend reading about why we are a republic: > > [http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed10.htm](http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed10.htm) > [http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed39.htm](http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed39.htm) > [http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed14.htm](http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed14.htm) Rght wing in the sense that it’s fighting the populist movement? I thought the right wing was actively encouraging the “populists”, which was why the Teabaggers were getting more publicity than they deserved. (?) Preserve the republic as a republic? Why? Is it in danger? Are its enemies poised to attack? is there some sinister conspiracy to topple it? As for the foudign fathers, why did they dump Thomas Jefferson and include Thomas Acquinas, who was NOT a founding father? And Calvin, who was not a founding father? For that matter, what was so bad about The Enlightenment? No, these people are not trying to protect or preserve anything, they really aren’t. Instead they are trying to inject their own incorrect version of history. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/72 "2010-03-15T16:39:09Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > This is BBQ, so I assume I can be frank here: > > A significant proportion of the participants on this thread, no matter how rational they may normally be, are being absolutely retarded on this issue. > > I’m not specifically targeting that at the two users I’ve quoted, the first seems to sum up the basic theory that some people are holding to, while the second seems to suggest that it doesn’t matter that the textbooks are wrong, if the people correcting them are Republicans, which just happened to give me a giggle. > > I am not an American, I am not a Republican, I am not a Democrat (but several relatives are). > > The Republicans are right on this one, you are a republic. > It was kinda cute when during the Bush years you all kept talking about being a democracy (they were a high point for nationalistic rhetoric), but it was never true, and nothing you can say will make it true. > You are a constitutional republic, or a democratic constitutional republic if you don’t mind the redundancy. > > It \*may \*be possible that a small number of Republicans on a school board are plotting to weaken the Democrats by changing this. > Or, and in my opinion, more likely, they are like me, and get pissed off at millions of people repeating something that is plainly wrong, and grabbed the opportunity to correct a mistake, rather than leaving another generation of students thinking that a democracy and a republic mean the same thing (NOTE: They don’t. At all. Nor are they interchangeable). > > Very, very few Democracies have ever really existed, and they certainly didn’t exist for long. However, most modern republics tend to focus heavily on democratic ideals (referendums, authority derived from the vote of the people etc.) > [@Ex\_Chemist](#): > > Related question: Why does the evangelical right want to describe the U.S. government as a “constitutional republic” rather than “democratic”? The only reason I can see is that “Republican” includes the word “republic.” Surely there’s a more profound reason than this. > [@Bosstone](#): > > I don’t really care about ceremonial deism, to be honest. > > No, it’s just that you’re being dishonest by saying:The “wacko left” isn’t doing jack shit. It’s Republicans who are changing it, as if by removing the term democracy they can delegitimize the Democrats. You admitted yourself that a constitutional republic is simply a modified form of democracy, so why take it out? > > And don’t whinge that “it’s correct.” Taken in conjunction with the other changes made, it’s obvious that there’s a major right-wing bias at play. The correctness of the term is just an excuse. Fuckin’ furriners messin’ up the flow of the thread by top-posting…:mad: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/73 "2010-03-15T16:40:38Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > That is a democracy. > > That is what a democracy is. > > If people elect other people to do that for them, then that is a republic. Direct democracy is the only thing that can legitimately be called democracy? Thank you for sharing, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/74 "2010-03-15T17:26:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The People’s Republic of China is, by many accepted definitions, a constitutional republic, but is not really a democracy. I for one welcome our new Chinese overlords. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/75 "2010-03-15T18:06:24Z")
I don’t care if it’s called a democratic republic, a representative democracy, a representive republic, a republican democracy, or Super Bowl Sunday. It’s a diversion and it’s a bullshit attempt at derailment. I decided to link the following video, which shows one of the backers of this Rewriting Of History, name McElroy. At least to me, he doesn’t look SMART enough or EDUCATED enough to be allowed to decide what someone else should be taught. He also comes across as being extremely biased, and yes, he does have his own religious right wing agenda. Even worse, he’s sloppy with the facts and doesn’t apparently bother to check the facts at all … > **[Video: The Creationist in Charge of Education in Texas](https://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/35966_Video-_The_Creationist_in_Charge_of_Education_in_Texas)** > > Here’s a picture of willful ignorance and appalling stupidity, as ABC News Nightline interviews young earth creationist Don McLeroy — the head of the Texas State Board of Education. Nightline correctly points out that the fundamentalist right wing... > [@](#): > > Video: The Creationist in Charge of Education in Texas > Video | Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 10:55:38 am PST > > Here’s a picture of willful ignorance and appalling stupidity, as ABC News Nightline interviews young earth creationist Don McLeroy — the head of the Texas State Board of Education. Nightline correctly points out that the fundamentalist right wing agenda of Neanderthals like McLeroy is influencing education in the entire country; a wake-up call for anyone who still believes in the separation of church and state. Social studies sections covered in the video: The “importance” of Falwell’s “Moral Majority”, the National Rifle Association, the Contract With America”, will be taught with no “liberal counterbalance”. Jefferson Davis treated as an equal to Lincoln, and Joseph McCarthy’s witch hunts were justified (and vindicated). Tried (and failed) to remove mention of Thurgood Marshall. Purged the writer of a childern’s book (Bill Martin) because they confused him with another writer who was critical of capitalism. They pushed the “christian faith of America’s founding fathers”, ignoring the Enlightenment, and Jefferson’s writings on religious freedom and tolerance. Forget the website itself, and just watch THE VIDEO that it links to. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/76 "2010-03-15T18:20:29Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Quoth you: “it’s obvious that there’s a major right-wing bias at play” > > Am I interpreting that wrong? It sounds to me like you’re discounting the argument because of where it came from. If that’s not so, then great, I’m glad that you prefer democratic principals over republican. But, even still, I’ll note that the founding fathers advocated republican principals and since we are talking about what the country was set up to be, and the people who set it up were the founding fathers… And who started the Democratic Party? From [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Democratic_Party_(United_States)) > [@](#): > > In the mid-1790s, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison organized these factions into the Republican (or Democratic-Republican) Party.[4][5][6] It favored yeoman farmers, strict construction of the Constitution, and a weaker federal government. These policies fell under the umbrella term Jeffersonian democracy. The name Democrat won out, of course, and the Republican part was not formed until the 1850s. So, I guess you are saying that those Texas cretins know better than Jefferson and Madison. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/77 "2010-03-15T18:34:07Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > So, I guess you are saying that those Texas cretins know better than Jefferson and Madison. Excuse me, don’t you mean Aquinas and Madison? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/78 "2010-03-15T18:35:13Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Excuse me, don’t you mean Aquinas and Madison? You got me, but wasn’t Aquinas a Federalist? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/79 "2010-03-15T18:50:09Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I don’t care if it’s called a democratic republic, a representative democracy, a representive republic, a republican democracy, or Super Bowl Sunday. It’s a diversion and it’s a bullshit attempt at derailment. > > I decided to link the following video, which shows one of the backers of this Rewriting Of History, name McElroy. At least to me, he doesn’t look SMART enough or EDUCATED enough to be allowed to decide what someone else should be taught. He also comes across as being extremely biased, and yes, he does have his own religious right wing agenda. Even worse, he’s sloppy with the facts and doesn’t apparently bother to check the facts at all … > > [Video: The Creationist in Charge of Education in Texas - Little Green Footballs](http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/35966_Video-_The_Creationist_in_Charge_of_Education_in_Texas) > > …Forget the website itself, and just watch THE VIDEO that it links to. **He lost the primary Republican primary!** (There’s no Democratic candidate–his district includes Texas A&M.) From the [Texas Freedom Network](http://www.tfn.org/site/News2?news_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=6003): > [@](#): > > Voters made it clear on Tuesday that they are tired of seeing the State Board of Education threaten the future of Texas schoolchildren with unnecessary and divisive “culture war” battles over curriculum and textbooks, the president of the Texas Freedom Network said today. > > TFN President Kathy Miller noted that three of five far-right social conservatives lost election contests on Tuesday. A fourth was forced into a runoff. One of the defeated candidates was Don McLeroy, whom the state Senate refused to confirm for a second term as board chair in May 2009. Of course, they will try to do as much damage as they can until they leave office. Over the weekend, I perused the TFN’s 2008 report on **The State Board of Education: Dragging Texas Schools into the Culture Wars**. It’s on [this page](http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?pagename=rrreportarchive#Top)–warning, .pdf! (Yes, I was bored.) In previous messages I’d bitched about Texans’ ignorance of the State School Board election process. Guess what–I had a lot to learn. The Houston district slot isn’t up for grabs this year–that’s why there was nobody on my primary ballot. Oh, and he’s a Democrat. The report shows how State Boards are chosen in other states. Some are appointed, appointed & elected or elected in non-partisan elections. Texas is one of ten states with partisan elections for State School Board. I also learned how the Far Right took over the School Board. They didn’t just try to dump Democrats–they got rid of Republicans, too. Many of whom we’d consider “conservative”–back when Conservative didn’t mean Batshit Insane. There’s detailed evidence on which Right Wing sugar daddies funded the takeover. And an amusing section titled “They Really Said It.” (Amusing in a sick kind of way.) The report also includes a map showing which other states might be affected by Texas textbook selection. We’ve also had nutcases not connected to the Board “rating” our textbooks for years. To the extent that some publishers remove “controversial” content before submitting their books. Or just avoid submitting them, because it’s too much trouble. One Geology text replaced “millions of years ago” with “in the distant past” to placate the New Earth Creationists! (But the report notes that modern technology has made it easier for publishers to offer variant texts.) At least some Texans are trying to fight these eejits. At least they’re getting the word out… ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314/80 "2010-03-15T19:48:29Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > **He lost the primary Republican primary!** … > I also learned how the Far Right took over the School Board. They didn’t just try to dump Democrats–they got rid of Republicans, too. Many of whom we’d consider “conservative”–back when Conservative didn’t mean Batshit Insane. There’s detailed evidence on which Right Wing sugar daddies funded the takeover. And an amusing section titled “They Really Said It.” (Amusing in a sick kind of way.) > … We’ve also had nutcases not connected to the Board “rating” our textbooks for years. To the extent that some publishers remove “controversial” content before submitting their books. Or just avoid submitting them, because it’s too much trouble. One Geology text replaced “millions of years ago” with “in the distant past” to placate the New Earth Creationists! (But the report notes that modern technology has made it easier for publishers to offer variant texts.) .. > > At least some Texans are trying to fight these eejits. At least they’re getting the word out… It’s good to read that “Voters made it clear on Tuesday that they are tired of seeing the State Board of Education threaten the future of Texas schoolchildren with unnecessary and divisive “culture war” battles over curriculum and textbooks”, and that “three of five far-right social conservatives lost election contests on Tuesday. A fourth was forced into a runoff. One of the defeated candidates was Don McLeroy, whom the state Senate refused to confirm for a second term as board chair in May 2009.” Good riddance to them. The “they really said that” part was ummmm weird. Is this the sort of people any sane person would want overseeing the education of anybody? > [@](#): > > “With the exception of the cross-burning episode . . . I > believe John Freshwater is teaching the values of the parents > in the Mount Vernon school district.” > Dave Daubenmire, defending his friend John Freshwater, an Ohio > eighth-grade science teacher who slammed scientific theories in > class, told students that homosexuality is a sin and burned crosses > onto students’ arms using an electrostatic device. Daubenmire is a > former London High School football coach whose district was sued in > 1999 by the American Civil Liberties Union because he led his players > in prayer at games, practices and meetings. > The Columbus Dispatch, June 19, 2008 > [@](#): > > “Is understanding of evolution ‘vital’ to the understanding of > biology? No.” > Don McLeroy, a Bryan dentist who serves as chairman of the > Texas State Board of Education > [@](#): > > “What good does it do to put a Chinese story in an English > book? You learn all these Chinese words, OK. That’s not > going to help you master … English. So you really don’t > want Chinese books with a bunch of crazy Chinese words in > them. Why should you take a child’s time trying to learn a > word that they’ll never ever use again?” > Don McLeroy Good riddance to these ignorant assholes, and I hope the good people of Texas are successful in weeding them all out – and keeping them out in the future. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tx-education-board-conservatives-succeed-in-whitewashing-history/532314.md?page=5)