CNN Special - Moms who voted for Biden explain why they voted for a Republican(Youngkin) in Virginia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Someone please summarize? If not school then what

It was school but it wasn't vaccine mandates in school or CRT.

It was school closures and learning loss. They said McAuliffe had no plans to address the school failures and their kids academic challenges.

His whole “parents shouldn’t have a say in schools” after a year and a half of having to literally manage their kids education at home was incredibly dismissive and tone-deaf. And when called on it, he just doubled down. He needed open ears and a closed mouth, not the other way around.

Just wondering, were his kids private schools open all last year? (I voted for him but not with enthusiasm for the exact reason)

McAuliffe's kids are all adults and out of secondary school. Youngkin's were in private school and yes they were all open.

Not true. McAuliffe's youngest son, Peter, was a senior last year at Gonzaga College High School in DC. My DS was in his class. Gonzaga was virtual the 1st quarter last year. In October 2020, they went into a hybrid mode: divided the school into thirds and 1/3 of the entire school was able to attend school in person each day, or every third day, you could go in. The senior parents really pushed for the seniors to be able to attend school as an entire class, as opposed to the alphabetical manner they were doing. If I remember correctly, in January, the seniors were able to go in two times, every third day. By the last quarter, they were going in every single day.

Gonzaga had in person graduation in the church on June 6, 2021 - you could have 6 guests: 2 in the church, 2 in the theatre and 2 in the gymnasium. The boys had an indoor "prom." It was actually more like an indoor carnival - no dancing, but carnival games like "wack-a-mole." They had a Baccalaureate Mass. Terry and family sat right across from us in the church. When we walked into the school building for the reception, he loudly declared that he didn't have to wear a mask because "weren't we all vaccinated?" Gonzaga went on with their retreat programs and even had the boys spend the night in the school! This all happened in Washington, DC which had some of the strictest COVID protocols around.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I have another child who is in high school in Fairfax County. Virginia was much more relaxed with COVID protocols. For example, once indoor dining came back, it never was restricted again. But my DS didn't step into school until 365 days after he left school in March 2020. 365 days. I watched numerous school board meetings. I wrote to my school board members, to members of the Virginia legislature beggging them to allow the students to attend school. I signed a recall petition for one of our school board members. I donated money to the OpenFCPS group. But no, in person school wasn't safe! Even now, his high school had virtual Back to School Night, outdoor Homecoming, our PTA meetings have to be virtual. But yet, across the river, in super strict DC, the private school was doing everything it could to have as normal a school year as possible.

Yeah, so I definitely felt like Terry and the democrats are super dismissive of keeping the schools closed for in-person learning as long as they did, and still being super strict with virtual meetings, etc.

Well said. Every time I hear a D justify public school closures I feel better and better about my vote. They don’t get it. They still don’t get it.

[Anonymous]

You’re complaining about virtual BTS nights and PTA meetings? They have stuck around because they provide a lot of flexibility for working parents.

PTA attendance has never been higher at my kid’s school.

[Anonymous]

Why are moms with money so lumpy and devoid of life?

These are not poor people.

French moms with houses 1/3 the size are also 1/3 the size and have more joie d vivre

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone please summarize? If not school then what

It was school but it wasn't vaccine mandates in school or CRT.

It was school closures and learning loss. They said McAuliffe had no plans to address the school failures and their kids academic challenges.

His whole “parents shouldn’t have a say in schools” after a year and a half of having to literally manage their kids education at home was incredibly dismissive and tone-deaf. And when called on it, he just doubled down. He needed open ears and a closed mouth, not the other way around.

Just wondering, were his kids private schools open all last year? (I voted for him but not with enthusiasm for the exact reason)

McAuliffe's kids are all adults and out of secondary school. Youngkin's were in private school and yes they were all open.

Not true. McAuliffe's youngest son, Peter, was a senior last year at Gonzaga College High School in DC. My DS was in his class. Gonzaga was virtual the 1st quarter last year. In October 2020, they went into a hybrid mode: divided the school into thirds and 1/3 of the entire school was able to attend school in person each day, or every third day, you could go in. The senior parents really pushed for the seniors to be able to attend school as an entire class, as opposed to the alphabetical manner they were doing. If I remember correctly, in January, the seniors were able to go in two times, every third day. By the last quarter, they were going in every single day.

Gonzaga had in person graduation in the church on June 6, 2021 - you could have 6 guests: 2 in the church, 2 in the theatre and 2 in the gymnasium. The boys had an indoor "prom." It was actually more like an indoor carnival - no dancing, but carnival games like "wack-a-mole." They had a Baccalaureate Mass. Terry and family sat right across from us in the church. When we walked into the school building for the reception, he loudly declared that he didn't have to wear a mask because "weren't we all vaccinated?" Gonzaga went on with their retreat programs and even had the boys spend the night in the school! This all happened in Washington, DC which had some of the strictest COVID protocols around.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I have another child who is in high school in Fairfax County. Virginia was much more relaxed with COVID protocols. For example, once indoor dining came back, it never was restricted again. But my DS didn't step into school until 365 days after he left school in March 2020. 365 days. I watched numerous school board meetings. I wrote to my school board members, to members of the Virginia legislature beggging them to allow the students to attend school. I signed a recall petition for one of our school board members. I donated money to the OpenFCPS group. But no, in person school wasn't safe! Even now, his high school had virtual Back to School Night, outdoor Homecoming, our PTA meetings have to be virtual. But yet, across the river, in super strict DC, the private school was doing everything it could to have as normal a school year as possible.

Yeah, so I definitely felt like Terry and the democrats are super dismissive of keeping the schools closed for in-person learning as long as they did, and still being super strict with virtual meetings, etc.

Fair enough. Changes my opinion of TMac to that of a hypocrite. Thanks for sharing.

Um, you shouldn't have needed that anecdate to know TMac was a hypocrite. Even the one kid he sent to public school went to Langley. He has never given a crap about diversity or equity; it's just slogans he mouthed because he thought that would attract enough voters who just automatically vote for Democrats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cases were going back up in July.


It’s hard to remember what that looked like after everything that happened later and the scale changed significantly.

Not appreciably in Fairfax

[Anonymous]

The graph of # of cases in my house looks even better.

LOL.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I honestly do not understand how people think that Democrats can support closing schools for well over a year, berate parents raising concerns, and see no electoral consequences.

I honestly don’t see how Republicans can stage a violent insurrection on the Capitol and then have the rest of the party whitewash it and support changes to state election laws in the name of election fraud than never occurred and face no election consequences.

Exactly.

Summer 2020 - local school districts decide to take cautious approach to deadly, global pandemic in light of parents/teachers concerns and a lot of uncertainty. After surge subsided & teachers are vaccinated (and willing to go back), kids are back in building. Following CDC safety guidelines. At the state level schools can open. Districts are free to decide based on local conditions.

January 2021 - Trump supporters storm the Capitol, goaded by Trump and his Big Lie. People are killed. Pipe bombs placed at DNC/RNC headquarters. We are fearful in our home as we hear about stashes of weapons nearby. After this, the GOP still continues to push The Big Lie with legislation to address “election integrity” by restricting voters and election officials.

But yeah the Ds are the bad guys here. Unbelievable.

Your version of "Summer" 2020 is a revisionist fantasy so it is impossible to take you seriously.

Which part was inaccurate? It was spot on.

The return of kids to school was not linked to any surge (look at the timing). Teachers were prioritized ahead of far more vulnerable population groups for vaccines but did not go back; in fact refused to go back. The timing was not "Summer 2020," it was approximately 18 months of time.

You also left off the enormous amount of documented learning loss that has impacted the most vulnerable children in the state the most, and the fact that there appears to be little documented evidence of outbreaks tied to school globally, and the fact that Democratic policies with respect to covid did not (and still do not) appear to be grounded in science.

Summer 2020 (July / August) - school districts decided to start off virtual
Fall 2020 - schools feared impending surge - stick with virtual
January 2021 - teachers can get vaccine, #s start declining dramatically
February / March 2021 - schools start bringing kids back into classroom

Learning loss is huge and needs to be addressed. But that doesn’t change the fact that schools had a reasonable approach then given knowledge and resources at that time.

Wow. You really believe your version of pandemic school closure history. It's just not true, but it is remarkable how strongly you believe it.

This. The PP’s account isn’t how it happened at all.

It’s spot on. What part is incorrect?

NP- I would say it's mostly correct except the poster failed to mention the school board chose to start school virtually when there were virtually no cases at that point of the summer, despite the Fairfax health Dept woman's (Gloria?) recommendation. I recall people even suggesting they should open schools EARLIER to give an extended time off during a winter peak that everyone knew was coming, but it all fell on deaf ears and they actually started 2 weeks late, virtually. By then it was obvious they planned to continue virtually until they had no other excuse.

The Arlington public health director gave them the go ahead to open as well in Fall 2020. They didn’t because of the teachers. They we’re going to have to force some that didn’t want to come in to come in and they were unwilling to do it.

Meanwhile private schools in the area all opened.

At the time they had the cover of all the other local school districts doing the same. In hindsight, it’s not a move that aged well. At all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly do not understand how people think that Democrats can support closing schools for well over a year, berate parents raising concerns, and see no electoral consequences.

I honestly don’t see how Republicans can stage a violent insurrection on the Capitol and then have the rest of the party whitewash it and support changes to state election laws in the name of election fraud than never occurred and face no election consequences.

Exactly.

Summer 2020 - local school districts decide to take cautious approach to deadly, global pandemic in light of parents/teachers concerns and a lot of uncertainty. After surge subsided & teachers are vaccinated (and willing to go back), kids are back in building. Following CDC safety guidelines. At the state level schools can open. Districts are free to decide based on local conditions.

January 2021 - Trump supporters storm the Capitol, goaded by Trump and his Big Lie. People are killed. Pipe bombs placed at DNC/RNC headquarters. We are fearful in our home as we hear about stashes of weapons nearby. After this, the GOP still continues to push The Big Lie with legislation to address “election integrity” by restricting voters and election officials.

But yeah the Ds are the bad guys here. Unbelievable.

Your version of "Summer" 2020 is a revisionist fantasy so it is impossible to take you seriously.

Which part was inaccurate? It was spot on.

The return of kids to school was not linked to any surge (look at the timing). Teachers were prioritized ahead of far more vulnerable population groups for vaccines but did not go back; in fact refused to go back. The timing was not "Summer 2020," it was approximately 18 months of time.

You also left off the enormous amount of documented learning loss that has impacted the most vulnerable children in the state the most, and the fact that there appears to be little documented evidence of outbreaks tied to school globally, and the fact that Democratic policies with respect to covid did not (and still do not) appear to be grounded in science.

Summer 2020 (July / August) - school districts decided to start off virtual
Fall 2020 - schools feared impending surge - stick with virtual
January 2021 - teachers can get vaccine, #s start declining dramatically
February / March 2021 - schools start bringing kids back into classroom

Learning loss is huge and needs to be addressed. But that doesn’t change the fact that schools had a reasonable approach then given knowledge and resources at that time.

Wow. You really believe your version of pandemic school closure history. It's just not true, but it is remarkable how strongly you believe it.

This. The PP’s account isn’t how it happened at all.

It’s spot on. What part is incorrect?

Here is what really happened:

Summer 2020. Schools decide to start virtually despite very low cases and without support of scientific evidence. They make no plans for in person or even an attempted in-person, including no accommodation or even consideration for highly at-risk children. Because no plans are made and no work is done, opening in-person will not be possible. The CDC does not endorse virtual school. Respected pediatrician groups and education advocates across the country sound the alarm about the harms of extended virtual learning, but are ignored.

Fall 2020. Delta cases pick up, but the case rate in most of VA remains comparatively low. Virtual school is in session. Large numbers of at-risk children do not log in once. Reports of DV against children rise. Children who are wealthy do fine, for the most part. Women pick up the pace of leaving jobs, dropping out of the workforce in larger numbers. Meanwhile, scientific evidence starts to accumulate from states and countries where kids remained in school that school is not a large driver of covid transmission in the community. Any criticism that keeping kids out of school is not grounded in available scientific evidence and is disproportionately and severely hurting the most vulnerable children is met with inflammatory responsive language from unions and Democratic politicians. In-person childcare remains open and is not seen as a major driver of community transmission. Bars and restaurants remain open. Private schools return in-person with very little evidence of significant transmission at school. VA hospitals are not overwhelmed with perhaps a few exceptions in the south.

Winter 2021. Covid cases start to increase, likely tied to holiday season and indoor gathering and Delta. Teachers unions negotiate for and win significant vaccine preference, ahead of disabled people and people over age 50 (who are, as a group, much more vulnerable), but oppose vaccine mandates for teachers.

Spring 2021. Zoom in a room begins for some kids. In-person actual teaching is limited. For the most part, children do not have access to regular in-person learning. Unions strongly advocate not to return despite the vaccine preference ahead of much more vulnerable groups. Cases drop as people get vaccinated and indoor gatherings abate as the weather warms, but unions and some Democrats start talking more about virtual school until all children are vaccinated and vaccination is mandated for kids (but not teachers). Some kids get a minimal amount of in-person learning; most do not. Vulnerable kids are not prioritized, and many go the entire year being totally missing from the school system. Overwhelming evidence of extreme learning loss, especially among the most vulnerable kids, accumulates. Educationally, the year is mostly a loss except for wealthy children. The education gap is significantly exacerbated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone please summarize? If not school then what

It is school, just not the CRT stuff or vaccine or mask mandates. They’re angry that schools stayed closed for as long as they did and that the Democrats seemed dismissive of parents’ concerns about the resulting disruption and learning loss. I certainly understand their concerns but they do come off a bit self centered… like all that matters is them and their family, not the healthcare workers or teachers or the medically vulnerable. I think Democrats’ biggest mistake wasn’t necessarily closing schools, but for not showing more concern about the fallout now. Terry couldn’t even manage to fake it. He just didn’t connect with suburban women as much as he needed to.

Yes, we all know this is why Youngkin won suburban moms who previously voted Democratic. Why is this such big news to this Pamela lady? Everybody else knew this.

McAuliffe was just a boring, uninspiring candidate. If we'd had someone young, fresh, more progressive, they would have won.

You still don't seem to get it. There is now a backlash to your "progressive" movement. It's not selling.

+1 I don't want someone progressive anything. I want someone under 60, sane, fiscally smart and not morally repugnant. Youngkin fit that metric but I would have voted for a Democrat had that choice been available.

+100. I didn't vote because I am pro-choice and Youngkin is not. At this point, being pro-choice is the only thing that keeps me somewhat tethered to Dems. I don't want progressive, I don't want cancel culture, I want kids to be taught critical THINKING, and I want there to be freedom of speech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I honestly do not understand how people think that Democrats can support closing schools for well over a year, berate parents raising concerns, and see no electoral consequences.

I honestly don’t see how Republicans can stage a violent insurrection on the Capitol and then have the rest of the party whitewash it and support changes to state election laws in the name of election fraud than never occurred and face no election consequences.

Exactly.

Summer 2020 - local school districts decide to take cautious approach to deadly, global pandemic in light of parents/teachers concerns and a lot of uncertainty. After surge subsided & teachers are vaccinated (and willing to go back), kids are back in building. Following CDC safety guidelines. At the state level schools can open. Districts are free to decide based on local conditions.

January 2021 - Trump supporters storm the Capitol, goaded by Trump and his Big Lie. People are killed. Pipe bombs placed at DNC/RNC headquarters. We are fearful in our home as we hear about stashes of weapons nearby. After this, the GOP still continues to push The Big Lie with legislation to address “election integrity” by restricting voters and election officials.

But yeah the Ds are the bad guys here. Unbelievable.

Your version of "Summer" 2020 is a revisionist fantasy so it is impossible to take you seriously.

Which part was inaccurate? It was spot on.

The return of kids to school was not linked to any surge (look at the timing). Teachers were prioritized ahead of far more vulnerable population groups for vaccines but did not go back; in fact refused to go back. The timing was not "Summer 2020," it was approximately 18 months of time.

You also left off the enormous amount of documented learning loss that has impacted the most vulnerable children in the state the most, and the fact that there appears to be little documented evidence of outbreaks tied to school globally, and the fact that Democratic policies with respect to covid did not (and still do not) appear to be grounded in science.

Summer 2020 (July / August) - school districts decided to start off virtual
Fall 2020 - schools feared impending surge - stick with virtual
January 2021 - teachers can get vaccine, #s start declining dramatically
February / March 2021 - schools start bringing kids back into classroom

Learning loss is huge and needs to be addressed. But that doesn’t change the fact that schools had a reasonable approach then given knowledge and resources at that time.

Wow. You really believe your version of pandemic school closure history. It's just not true, but it is remarkable how strongly you believe it.

This. The PP’s account isn’t how it happened at all.

It’s spot on. What part is incorrect?

Here is what really happened:

Summer 2020. Schools decide to start virtually despite very low cases and without support of scientific evidence. They make no plans for in person or even an attempted in-person, including no accommodation or even consideration for highly at-risk children. Because no plans are made and no work is done, opening in-person will not be possible. The CDC does not endorse virtual school. Respected pediatrician groups and education advocates across the country sound the alarm about the harms of extended virtual learning, but are ignored.

Fall 2020. Delta cases pick up, but the case rate in most of VA remains comparatively low. Virtual school is in session. Large numbers of at-risk children do not log in once. Reports of DV against children rise. Children who are wealthy do fine, for the most part. Women pick up the pace of leaving jobs, dropping out of the workforce in larger numbers. Meanwhile, scientific evidence starts to accumulate from states and countries where kids remained in school that school is not a large driver of covid transmission in the community. Any criticism that keeping kids out of school is not grounded in available scientific evidence and is disproportionately and severely hurting the most vulnerable children is met with inflammatory responsive language from unions and Democratic politicians. In-person childcare remains open and is not seen as a major driver of community transmission. Bars and restaurants remain open. Private schools return in-person with very little evidence of significant transmission at school. VA hospitals are not overwhelmed with perhaps a few exceptions in the south.

Winter 2021. Covid cases start to increase, likely tied to holiday season and indoor gathering and Delta. Teachers unions negotiate for and win significant vaccine preference, ahead of disabled people and people over age 50 (who are, as a group, much more vulnerable), but oppose vaccine mandates for teachers.

Spring 2021. Zoom in a room begins for some kids. In-person actual teaching is limited. For the most part, children do not have access to regular in-person learning. Unions strongly advocate not to return despite the vaccine preference ahead of much more vulnerable groups. Cases drop as people get vaccinated and indoor gatherings abate as the weather warms, but unions and some Democrats start talking more about virtual school until all children are vaccinated and vaccination is mandated for kids (but not teachers). Some kids get a minimal amount of in-person learning; most do not. Vulnerable kids are not prioritized, and many go the entire year being totally missing from the school system. Overwhelming evidence of extreme learning loss, especially among the most vulnerable kids, accumulates. Educationally, the year is mostly a loss except for wealthy children. The education gap is significantly exacerbated.

Also: the inflammatory responsive language was overtly misogynist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone please summarize? If not school then what

It is school, just not the CRT stuff or vaccine or mask mandates. They’re angry that schools stayed closed for as long as they did and that the Democrats seemed dismissive of parents’ concerns about the resulting disruption and learning loss. I certainly understand their concerns but they do come off a bit self centered… like all that matters is them and their family, not the healthcare workers or teachers or the medically vulnerable. I think Democrats’ biggest mistake wasn’t necessarily closing schools, but for not showing more concern about the fallout now. Terry couldn’t even manage to fake it. He just didn’t connect with suburban women as much as he needed to.

Early last school year, there came a point where:

- over 90% of FFX teachers were vaccinated, but:

- the teachers union still demanded that schools could not fully reopen.

Fact is: the schools listened to the unions over the parents.

Any parents who were still on the fence were pushed into the Youngkin camp with:

“I don’t believe parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”

I believe you Terry. I believe your statement expresses exactly how you and most democrats feel.

[Anonymous]

Fall 2020. Delta cases pick up

Wut?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Fall 2020. Delta cases pick up

Wut?

What are you confused about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its as if they blame one party for COVID. Makes no sense. We all had to deal with it.

Well that sounds familiar bc I think that’s what the Dems spent most of their time doing and spent no time worrying about education. Which seems to be what accounts for their loss …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone please summarize? If not school then what

It is school, just not the CRT stuff or vaccine or mask mandates. They’re angry that schools stayed closed for as long as they did and that the Democrats seemed dismissive of parents’ concerns about the resulting disruption and learning loss. I certainly understand their concerns but they do come off a bit self centered… like all that matters is them and their family, not the healthcare workers or teachers or the medically vulnerable. I think Democrats’ biggest mistake wasn’t necessarily closing schools, but for not showing more concern about the fallout now. Terry couldn’t even manage to fake it. He just didn’t connect with suburban women as much as he needed to.

Early last school year, there came a point where:

- over 90% of FFX teachers were vaccinated, but:

- the teachers union still demanded that schools could not fully reopen.

Fact is: the schools listened to the unions over the parents.

Any parents who were still on the fence were pushed into the Youngkin camp with:

“I don’t believe parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”

I believe you Terry. I believe your statement expresses exactly how you and most democrats feel.

+1