Excellent podcast from Politico from youngkin strategists on how they won — must read/listen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The case for Youngkin here seems to be long on rage, short on facts. I understand why that’s compelling for some people, but it doesn’t bode well for good governance.

+1

Irrational and/or misinformed.

You misunderstand. I'm not making a case for Youngkin. I'm making a case for why the Democrats got Youngkin elected in part because of their horrible policies on schools. I don't want Youngkin. I want a Democratic party that can stand up for its basic beliefs even if strong special interests within the party oppose them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some nuances I'm not seeing reflected here - as the working parent of a young child, I definitely was told that by wanting in-person school, I "just wanted free daycare"...but usually that sentiment was expressed by people of conservative political persuasions who probably thought women should be SAHMs anyway ("if you can't/don't want to take care of your own kids you shouldn't have had them!"). From teachers/teacher advocacy groups, I mostly heard a lot of "not [reopening] until it's safe", which seemed to be unclear at best and a constantly moving goalpost at worst. I was incensed by teachers who took full advantage of priority vaccination and then still refused to return to in-person teaching.

All that said...the majority of APS and FCPS parents chose remote learning in the fall of 2020 (not sure about other counties). You can split hairs and say it's because the proposed in-person offerings weren't workable (staggered starts, alternate days), but looking back 15 months ago, we didn't know what we do now, and most people erred on the side of keeping kids home.

The "OpenFCPS" crowd was an uneasy alliance of Covid deniers, parents who wanted/needed their kids out of the house, and people with serious concerns about their children's educational needs being met (or not)...while they were loud, they were never able to formulate a cogent "Plan B" that included CDC-compliant risk mitigation measures.

I can understand being mad at local school boards, at teachers, at teachers unions. Some of the stuff that was done (remote school from within school facilities, for a fee?!) was the antithesis of equity. And the fact that working parents got the rawest deal of the pandemic has been broadly documented. All fair points.

But to go from there to...voting in the party that opposes paid family and medical leave, dispenses with public health mitigation measures like masks and vaccinations, and siphons off public school money to private schools and corporate-helmed charters (while simultaneously decreasing overall incoming tax revenue) seems to me to be textbook cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. I won't go so far as to say flipping one's vote to Youngkin was racist, but I absolutely believe that the people who did so en masse (college-educated white women) acted in an effort to preserve their own privilege in shaping public schools to best serve their own interests. Just because Youngkin was smart enough to largely keep his mouth shut during the campaign doesn't mean he's not the policy equivalent of Trump et al.

So your point is, that it’s a white college-educated woman’s responsibility to shut up, pay taxes, and not expect a thing for them?

Wait...what?! That's quite a leap. If high-quality, safe, continuously open public schools are your goal, don't you think it's a bit short-sighted to think you'll get that from the party that consistently denigrates public health measures and either directly or indirectly defunds public education? Seems rather like expecting Rs to do something about gun control because Democrats moved too slowly on the issue for your taste...

given that Democrats literally closed schools for 1.5 years, you don’t have much credibility. That’s the whole problem.

Liar. Democrats did not “literally close schools for 1.5 years”.

Stop lying.

Oh look! It’s the “school isn’t in session during the summer so closing schools for a year and a half would have been impossible! You’re a liar!” moron. Welcome to the thread. Took you long enough.

It is “literally” a lie.

Don’t want to be called a liar? Don’t lie so blatantly.

Mar 2020 - Feb/Mar 2021 <> 1.5 years

Now who's lying? Schools didn't fully open in February. And even so wtf who cares. 1 year is really really awful too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of the whining over "they closed the schools!!!" The schools were re-opened long before election day. The worst that could be said was that the Democrats were too cautious in responding to a 100-year pandemic that was killing thousands of people. And because of that you stick us with Youngkin?

You're a bunch of Karens.

WTF? And, true to type. Call those you disagree with "Karens." Never change, Democrats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on now, you aren't seeing alllllllll of the sexism inherent in deriding women who were 1) disproportionately hurt in terms of employment and well-being by school closures, 2) pushing for faster school reopening because they felt their children were being hurt by the closures?

So you voted for the candidate and party who is for defunding public schools (go charters, let’s ramp up that graft like you have in DC), and opposed universal day care and parental leave? What a shell game.

Actually, Youngkin is for fully funding public schools, including revamping and investing in special education. Funding charter schools doesn't equal defunding public schools. But keep on lying! It's worked so well for you so far.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Youngkin’s win was due to good old fashioned Southern Strategy. They can try to dress it up all that want, but it doesn’t change reality.

I have no doubt this makes you feel better about the terrible campaign McAuliffe waged, but it is both delusional and self-defeating. Wise up.

+100
Excuse after ridiculous excuse... when are Dems going to simply admit no one wanted what they were selling? People are on to them.

You're right -- why WOULD racists want to become actual decent human beings with real morals & ethics, rather than that weaponized version they use touting out God in every argument? 🤔

Mischaracterizing more than half the population as racist only hurts you, and prevents you from seeing the real reason Youngkin won. Democrats (all across the country) need to realize their current ideas are not as popular as they wished. And for valid reasons.

+1
Understatement of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of the whining over "they closed the schools!!!" The schools were re-opened long before election day. The worst that could be said was that the Democrats were too cautious in responding to a 100-year pandemic that was killing thousands of people. And because of that you stick us with Youngkin?

You're a bunch of Karens.

WTF? And, true to type. Call those you disagree with "Karens." Never change, Democrats.

It seems like there are only three rhetorical moves available to respond to "school voters":

1. You are racist for wanting schools to open.
2. Schools actually HAD to stay closed - THERE WAS NO WAY TO OPEN THEM!!
3. You are actually just racist and pretending to care about school closures.

[Anonymous]

I won't go so far as to say flipping one's vote to Youngkin was racist, but I absolutely believe that the people who did so en masse (college-educated white women) acted in an effort to preserve their own privilege in shaping public schools to best serve their own interests.

Yes, and? Of course people act in their own kids' interests! That means preserving AAP, preserving accelerated math, implementing a stronger language arts curriculum, and returning TJ admissions to the status quo ante. As for me, I did not flip my vote, but if we get charter schools, vouchers, or other school choice policies, I would be thrilled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on now, you aren't seeing alllllllll of the sexism inherent in deriding women who were 1) disproportionately hurt in terms of employment and well-being by school closures, 2) pushing for faster school reopening because they felt their children were being hurt by the closures?

So you voted for the candidate and party who is for defunding public schools (go charters, let’s ramp up that graft like you have in DC), and opposed universal day care and parental leave? What a shell game.

f

DP. I am ABSOLUTELY a huge charter/school choice supporter now -- huge change from my beliefs pre-pandemic. I vote in DC so this isn't about Youngkin, but you best believe that I will be supporting only candidates that believe in school choice in DC.

Just stop.

Another DP. YOU stop. Stop telling people what to think and what to say. I fully agree with the PP. School choice is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Youngkin’s win was due to good old fashioned Southern Strategy. They can try to dress it up all that want, but it doesn’t change reality.

I have no doubt this makes you feel better about the terrible campaign McAuliffe waged, but it is both delusional and self-defeating. Wise up.

+100
Excuse after ridiculous excuse... when are Dems going to simply admit no one wanted what they were selling? People are on to them.

You're right -- why WOULD racists want to become actual decent human beings with real morals & ethics, rather than that weaponized version they use touting out God in every argument? 🤔

And there’s the race card on cue. A lot of what the Dems have done makes it hard to believe they support brown children. The messaging is that those kids are too dumb to succeed so we’ll lower the bars and demoralizes the kids. When my kids was in first grade he came home telling me that all the positivity project type stuff was done because teachers don’t think he and his schoolmates can get into college. SMH.

They won't be able to get a government ID either, so they will never be able to vote.

Thank you for the additional examples of the hyperbole being spouted off.

DP. How is this hyperbole? Democrats have been insistent that poor, POC will *never* be able to attain a simple photo ID, and thus should never be expected to. Which - ironically - is complete hyperbole and just plain patronizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of the whining over "they closed the schools!!!" The schools were re-opened long before election day. The worst that could be said was that the Democrats were too cautious in responding to a 100-year pandemic that was killing thousands of people. And because of that you stick us with Youngkin?

You're a bunch of Karens.

WTF? And, true to type. Call those you disagree with "Karens." Never change, Democrats.

It seems like there are only three rhetorical moves available to respond to "school voters":

1. You are racist for wanting schools to open.
2. Schools actually HAD to stay closed - THERE WAS NO WAY TO OPEN THEM!!
3. You are actually just racist and pretending to care about school closures.

I will add:

4. The only reason you wanted schools to open is because you hate your kids.
5. Schools WERE open. Not the school buildings themselves, but your kids got an education!
6. You need to learn resiliency. You shouldn't talk or complain about this because it is an important life lesson. Everyone else, though, is allowed to push their elective representatives for things they need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some nuances I'm not seeing reflected here - as the working parent of a young child, I definitely was told that by wanting in-person school, I "just wanted free daycare"...but usually that sentiment was expressed by people of conservative political persuasions who probably thought women should be SAHMs anyway ("if you can't/don't want to take care of your own kids you shouldn't have had them!"). From teachers/teacher advocacy groups, I mostly heard a lot of "not [reopening] until it's safe", which seemed to be unclear at best and a constantly moving goalpost at worst. I was incensed by teachers who took full advantage of priority vaccination and then still refused to return to in-person teaching.

All that said...the majority of APS and FCPS parents chose remote learning in the fall of 2020 (not sure about other counties). You can split hairs and say it's because the proposed in-person offerings weren't workable (staggered starts, alternate days), but looking back 15 months ago, we didn't know what we do now, and most people erred on the side of keeping kids home.

The "OpenFCPS" crowd was an uneasy alliance of Covid deniers, parents who wanted/needed their kids out of the house, and people with serious concerns about their children's educational needs being met (or not)...while they were loud, they were never able to formulate a cogent "Plan B" that included CDC-compliant risk mitigation measures.

I can understand being mad at local school boards, at teachers, at teachers unions. Some of the stuff that was done (remote school from within school facilities, for a fee?!) was the antithesis of equity. And the fact that working parents got the rawest deal of the pandemic has been broadly documented. All fair points.

But to go from there to...voting in the party that opposes paid family and medical leave, dispenses with public health mitigation measures like masks and vaccinations, and siphons off public school money to private schools and corporate-helmed charters (while simultaneously decreasing overall incoming tax revenue) seems to me to be textbook cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. I won't go so far as to say flipping one's vote to Youngkin was racist, but I absolutely believe that the people who did so en masse (college-educated white women) acted in an effort to preserve their own privilege in shaping public schools to best serve their own interests. Just because Youngkin was smart enough to largely keep his mouth shut during the campaign doesn't mean he's not the policy equivalent of Trump et al.

So your point is, that it’s a white college-educated woman’s responsibility to shut up, pay taxes, and not expect a thing for them?

Wait...what?! That's quite a leap. If high-quality, safe, continuously open public schools are your goal, don't you think it's a bit short-sighted to think you'll get that from the party that consistently denigrates public health measures and either directly or indirectly defunds public education? Seems rather like expecting Rs to do something about gun control because Democrats moved too slowly on the issue for your taste...

given that Democrats literally closed schools for 1.5 years, you don’t have much credibility. That’s the whole problem.

DP. Virginia schools closed in March 2020. They were ordered to reopen in March 2021. That’s one year, not 1.5. I understand some people were dissatisfied with 3 months of hybrid at that point (as was I), but school was not closed at that point.

Fcps special ed kids wwre kept out of school through the summer of 2021

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The case for Youngkin here seems to be long on rage, short on facts. I understand why that’s compelling for some people, but it doesn’t bode well for good governance.

+1

Irrational and/or misinformed.

You misunderstand. I'm not making a case for Youngkin. I'm making a case for why the Democrats got Youngkin elected in part because of their horrible policies on schools. I don't want Youngkin. I want a Democratic party that can stand up for its basic beliefs even if strong special interests within the party oppose them.

Right. Ds have to change tactics because some people tend to vote based on emotion or misinformation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some nuances I'm not seeing reflected here - as the working parent of a young child, I definitely was told that by wanting in-person school, I "just wanted free daycare"...but usually that sentiment was expressed by people of conservative political persuasions who probably thought women should be SAHMs anyway ("if you can't/don't want to take care of your own kids you shouldn't have had them!"). From teachers/teacher advocacy groups, I mostly heard a lot of "not [reopening] until it's safe", which seemed to be unclear at best and a constantly moving goalpost at worst. I was incensed by teachers who took full advantage of priority vaccination and then still refused to return to in-person teaching.

All that said...the majority of APS and FCPS parents chose remote learning in the fall of 2020 (not sure about other counties). You can split hairs and say it's because the proposed in-person offerings weren't workable (staggered starts, alternate days), but looking back 15 months ago, we didn't know what we do now, and most people erred on the side of keeping kids home.

The "OpenFCPS" crowd was an uneasy alliance of Covid deniers, parents who wanted/needed their kids out of the house, and people with serious concerns about their children's educational needs being met (or not)...while they were loud, they were never able to formulate a cogent "Plan B" that included CDC-compliant risk mitigation measures.

I can understand being mad at local school boards, at teachers, at teachers unions. Some of the stuff that was done (remote school from within school facilities, for a fee?!) was the antithesis of equity. And the fact that working parents got the rawest deal of the pandemic has been broadly documented. All fair points.

But to go from there to...voting in the party that opposes paid family and medical leave, dispenses with public health mitigation measures like masks and vaccinations, and siphons off public school money to private schools and corporate-helmed charters (while simultaneously decreasing overall incoming tax revenue) seems to me to be textbook cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. I won't go so far as to say flipping one's vote to Youngkin was racist, but I absolutely believe that the people who did so en masse (college-educated white women) acted in an effort to preserve their own privilege in shaping public schools to best serve their own interests. Just because Youngkin was smart enough to largely keep his mouth shut during the campaign doesn't mean he's not the policy equivalent of Trump et al.

So your point is, that it’s a white college-educated woman’s responsibility to shut up, pay taxes, and not expect a thing for them?

Wait...what?! That's quite a leap. If high-quality, safe, continuously open public schools are your goal, don't you think it's a bit short-sighted to think you'll get that from the party that consistently denigrates public health measures and either directly or indirectly defunds public education? Seems rather like expecting Rs to do something about gun control because Democrats moved too slowly on the issue for your taste...

given that Democrats literally closed schools for 1.5 years, you don’t have much credibility. That’s the whole problem.

DP. Virginia schools closed in March 2020. They were ordered to reopen in March 2021. That’s one year, not 1.5. I understand some people were dissatisfied with 3 months of hybrid at that point (as was I), but school was not closed at that point.

Fcps special ed kids wwre kept out of school through the summer of 2021

This is not believable. Citation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of the whining over "they closed the schools!!!" The schools were re-opened long before election day. The worst that could be said was that the Democrats were too cautious in responding to a 100-year pandemic that was killing thousands of people. And because of that you stick us with Youngkin?

You're a bunch of Karens.

WTF? And, true to type. Call those you disagree with "Karens." Never change, Democrats.

It seems like there are only three rhetorical moves available to respond to "school voters":

1. You are racist for wanting schools to open.
2. Schools actually HAD to stay closed - THERE WAS NO WAY TO OPEN THEM!!
3. You are actually just racist and pretending to care about school closures.

I will add:

4. The only reason you wanted schools to open is because you hate your kids.
5. Schools WERE open. Not the school buildings themselves, but your kids got an education!
6. You need to learn resiliency. You shouldn't talk or complain about this because it is an important life lesson. Everyone else, though, is allowed to push their elective representatives for things they need.

I think you’re conflating all of the ways you were “victimized”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of the whining over "they closed the schools!!!" The schools were re-opened long before election day. The worst that could be said was that the Democrats were too cautious in responding to a 100-year pandemic that was killing thousands of people. And because of that you stick us with Youngkin?

You're a bunch of Karens.

WTF? And, true to type. Call those you disagree with "Karens." Never change, Democrats.

It seems like there are only three rhetorical moves available to respond to "school voters":

1. You are racist for wanting schools to open.
2. Schools actually HAD to stay closed - THERE WAS NO WAY TO OPEN THEM!!
3. You are actually just racist and pretending to care about school closures.

+1
Democrats have way overplayed their "racist" accusations and normal, rational, sane, moderates have caught on. The backlash to this idiocy is well-deserved.