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

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Dems blew it by keeping schools closed for an unreasonably long time, losing suburban women swing voters. They lost me too, and im a lifelong democrat in DC who hates Trump. Wheres the alternative in our party? Do better, Dems.

You're selfish and pathetic. There's a great big world out there, and not everything revolves around your snowflakes.

And you think this kind of reaction represents a good electoral strategy???

I don't care. No so-called "lifelong democrat" turns on the party and supports Youngkin on the single issue of schools being closed for too long WHEN THEY WERE LONG AGO REOPENED.

But could get closed again.

LOL. Sure.

You sound 100% rational.

That's completely rational. Maybe you don't want to hear it, though? Think of this: a variant where case rates exceed those of last winter, and that evades current vaccines.

So in your scenario, how infectious and virulant is this new variant? How likely is it that this scenario would happen?

I think it'd have to be a pretty crazy virus for most parents to want to go back to virtual/concurrent/hybrid.

The point isn't the ACTUAL concerns about the impacts of the virus. The concern is that you'll have people who manage to sway the perception enough that the powers in charge believe (against evidence) that schools need to close. Like last year.

Unlike last fall, we now have clear data on safety and consequences.

You are proving the point. There was actual evidence in Fall 2020 of how to reopen safely and, to re-state this point that you refuse to believe, a whole lot of places did just that.

What was that? That one study from a daycare setting?

Right? Stupid moms wanting kids in school.

Moms can want their kids in school. But they can’t misrepresent facts or lie.

There was still a lot unknown back in July 2020. We know tons more today - over a year later. Plus, we have vaccines, testing, etc. And we have clear data on how kids were impacted.

Hey look. Sec of Ed agrees.

“ Cardona: There is no longer a "need for remote or hybrid learning"

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Monday said that there "should be no need for remote or hybrid learning" given recent advances in vaccinations and treatment against the coronavirus.”
https://www.axios.com/cardona-coronavirus-schools-remote-learning-vaccine-5b4f3155-7350-4ecf-a0e0-1b2cca526d88.html

[Anonymous]

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Given that nearly half of Virginia voters cast a ballot for McAuliffe, I’d say a lot of people preferred McAuliffe to Youngkin. You’re acting like the election was a blow-out when in reality Youngkin won by less than 2 points.

McAuliffe was already a governor once. Given the attention span of most voters, that kind of name recognition by itself is often enough to get a big win. The fact that it was even close, let alone a loss for McAuliffe, says that a lot of people weren't exactly thrilled with McAuliffe. It was a blow-out, for all practical purposes.

Donald, is the you?

The first time McAuliffe was elected, I voted Sarvis. I'm not Donald, but you are, unambiguously and irredeemably, an idiot.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Dems blew it by keeping schools closed for an unreasonably long time, losing suburban women swing voters. They lost me too, and im a lifelong democrat in DC who hates Trump. Wheres the alternative in our party? Do better, Dems.

You're selfish and pathetic. There's a great big world out there, and not everything revolves around your snowflakes.

And you think this kind of reaction represents a good electoral strategy???

I don't care. No so-called "lifelong democrat" turns on the party and supports Youngkin on the single issue of schools being closed for too long WHEN THEY WERE LONG AGO REOPENED.

But could get closed again.

LOL. Sure.

You sound 100% rational.

That's completely rational. Maybe you don't want to hear it, though? Think of this: a variant where case rates exceed those of last winter, and that evades current vaccines.

So in your scenario, how infectious and virulant is this new variant? How likely is it that this scenario would happen?

I think it'd have to be a pretty crazy virus for most parents to want to go back to virtual/concurrent/hybrid.

The point isn't the ACTUAL concerns about the impacts of the virus. The concern is that you'll have people who manage to sway the perception enough that the powers in charge believe (against evidence) that schools need to close. Like last year.

Unlike last fall, we now have clear data on safety and consequences.

You are proving the point. There was actual evidence in Fall 2020 of how to reopen safely and, to re-state this point that you refuse to believe, a whole lot of places did just that.

What was that? That one study from a daycare setting?

Right? Stupid moms wanting kids in school.

Moms can want their kids in school. But they can’t misrepresent facts or lie.

There was still a lot unknown back in July 2020. We know tons more today - over a year later. Plus, we have vaccines, testing, etc. And we have clear data on how kids were impacted.

The fairfax county health dept approved of the hybrid plan in summer 2020. There is no excuse not to have to done it.

[Anonymous]

“ The fairfax county health dept approved of the hybrid plan in summer 2020. There is no excuse not to have to done it.”

Did you listen to any of the FCPS Sb meetings where Dr Gloria spoke? Her non-answers undermined going back in my view. Every time I heard her talk it made me more skeptical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“ The fairfax county health dept approved of the hybrid plan in summer 2020. There is no excuse not to have to done it.”

Did you listen to any of the FCPS Sb meetings where Dr Gloria spoke? Her non-answers undermined going back in my view. Every time I heard her talk it made me more skeptical.

The school board wanted a guarantee of zero covid cases to reopen and she couldn’t give that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ The fairfax county health dept approved of the hybrid plan in summer 2020. There is no excuse not to have to done it.”

Did you listen to any of the FCPS Sb meetings where Dr Gloria spoke? Her non-answers undermined going back in my view. Every time I heard her talk it made me more skeptical.

The school board wanted a guarantee of zero covid cases to reopen and she couldn’t give that.

It was both. She was the epitome of someone in far over their heads suddenly thrust into the spotlight and the board was looking for assurances they would never get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“ The fairfax county health dept approved of the hybrid plan in summer 2020. There is no excuse not to have to done it.”

Did you listen to any of the FCPS Sb meetings where Dr Gloria spoke? Her non-answers undermined going back in my view. Every time I heard her talk it made me more skeptical.

By the way - I also think this is a crystal clear example of what is wrong with the Ds & why I think their racist dog whistle thing is a bunch of baloney & why the Ds are in actuality no better. Why were we not listening to the head of the dept. of health - that is the expert. Why did the school board not trust her as an expert - because she’s a woman? Because she’s not white? I know she goes by Dr. Gloria but I think that’s because no one can pronounce her last name and I think that is unacceptable.

And another thing - anyone who says CRT is not being taught in school full stop - doesn’t know enough about history to be in charge of making history curriculum anyway!!! Everything is biased, even the news. And that is the starting point to be able to actually be able to teach history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ The fairfax county health dept approved of the hybrid plan in summer 2020. There is no excuse not to have to done it.”

Did you listen to any of the FCPS Sb meetings where Dr Gloria spoke? Her non-answers undermined going back in my view. Every time I heard her talk it made me more skeptical.

By the way - I also think this is a crystal clear example of what is wrong with the Ds & why I think their racist dog whistle thing is a bunch of baloney & why the Ds are in actuality no better. Why were we not listening to the head of the dept. of health - that is the expert. Why did the school board not trust her as an expert - because she’s a woman? Because she’s not white? I know she goes by Dr. Gloria but I think that’s because no one can pronounce her last name and I think that is unacceptable.

And another thing - anyone who says CRT is not being taught in school full stop - doesn’t know enough about history to be in charge of making history curriculum anyway!!! Everything is biased, even the news. And that is the starting point to be able to actually be able to teach history.

Because she was hired by the county for a role that had nothing to do with advising on infectious diseases in a pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ The fairfax county health dept approved of the hybrid plan in summer 2020. There is no excuse not to have to done it.”

Did you listen to any of the FCPS Sb meetings where Dr Gloria spoke? Her non-answers undermined going back in my view. Every time I heard her talk it made me more skeptical.

By the way - I also think this is a crystal clear example of what is wrong with the Ds & why I think their racist dog whistle thing is a bunch of baloney & why the Ds are in actuality no better. Why were we not listening to the head of the dept. of health - that is the expert. Why did the school board not trust her as an expert - because she’s a woman? Because she’s not white? I know she goes by Dr. Gloria but I think that’s because no one can pronounce her last name and I think that is unacceptable.

And another thing - anyone who says CRT is not being taught in school full stop - doesn’t know enough about history to be in charge of making history curriculum anyway!!! Everything is biased, even the news. And that is the starting point to be able to actually be able to teach history.

Because she was hired by the county for a role that had nothing to do with advising on infectious diseases in a pandemic.

What does that even mean - that’s not what the school board was hired to do either - and they were even less qualified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“ The fairfax county health dept approved of the hybrid plan in summer 2020. There is no excuse not to have to done it.”

Did you listen to any of the FCPS Sb meetings where Dr Gloria spoke? Her non-answers undermined going back in my view. Every time I heard her talk it made me more skeptical.

By the way - I also think this is a crystal clear example of what is wrong with the Ds & why I think their racist dog whistle thing is a bunch of baloney & why the Ds are in actuality no better. Why were we not listening to the head of the dept. of health - that is the expert. Why did the school board not trust her as an expert - because she’s a woman? Because she’s not white? I know she goes by Dr. Gloria but I think that’s because no one can pronounce her last name and I think that is unacceptable.

And another thing - anyone who says CRT is not being taught in school full stop - doesn’t know enough about history to be in charge of making history curriculum anyway!!! Everything is biased, even the news. And that is the starting point to be able to actually be able to teach history.

Because she was hired by the county for a role that had nothing to do with advising on infectious diseases in a pandemic.

What does that even mean - that’s not what the school board was hired to do either - and they were even less qualified.

It means there is nothing sexist or racist about not deferring to the doctor hired to head obesity initiates at a county level about covid mitigation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dems blew it by keeping schools closed for an unreasonably long time, losing suburban women swing voters. They lost me too, and im a lifelong democrat in DC who hates Trump. Wheres the alternative in our party? Do better, Dems.

You're selfish and pathetic. There's a great big world out there, and not everything revolves around your snowflakes.

And you think this kind of reaction represents a good electoral strategy???

I don't care. No so-called "lifelong democrat" turns on the party and supports Youngkin on the single issue of schools being closed for too long WHEN THEY WERE LONG AGO REOPENED.

You really, really don't get it. Many Democratic voters value education and have voted for Democrats in the past specifically because of education, in many cases understanding that they are voting in tax hikes, more onerous regulations on business, and probably less competent foreign policy when they did so. They value education and are willing to take the hit on other areas for the sake of education.

Then the pandemic happened and suddenly it became glaringly obvious that the Democrats do not value education, but instead only value the money and votes that the education complex reliably deliver to Democratic candidates. People who trusted that Democratic candidates would prioritize the education of children saw the truth of the matter, and saw just how little the Democrats care about the education of children. And with that, one of the big reasons to vote Democrat disappeared.

That now means that voters need to evaluate the rest of the equation. For a lot of voters, that calculation still results in a Democrat: things like access to abortion, climate change, etc. But for many voters, they voted Democrat because of education, and without faith in Democrats on education, they find themselves without a real political home. This also figured in the low Democrat turnout. McAuliffe lost because core voters didn't bother voting. Why? They probably could not bring themselves to vote Republican but they couldn't stomach voting for the Democrats either, after watching the very clear messages the Democrats sent on how much the Democratic establishment does not care about educating children.

You can deride all of this if you want. But if the Democrats don't stop shaking their fists impotently at the sky at how voters don't trust them with education matters, they're going to lose again and again. Education is a core driver of Democrat voters. If you as a candidate signal over and over and over again that you do not care about educating kids and you only value the political money and votes of the education complex, you will lose a lot of voters. They might not vote Republican. But they won't vote for you, either.

This hits the nail on the head pretty well. There are Democrats who are Democrats because they care - and because education, healthcare, equal rights, climate, etc., all matter to them. And there are Democrats who are Democrats because education, healthcare, equal rights, climate, etc., market well, and they want a piece of that sweet pie. Unfortunately, the higher levels of leadership are not lacking in the latter, and in times of crisis, you can really see which kinds are running the show.

+1

McAuliffe showed in his campaign that he is in the latter group. His potential voters weren't interested, and stayed home.

I find it really interesting that in this discussion the irrational left posters keep repeatedly whining about people who voted for Youngkin when the real reason McAuliffe lost was that Democrats didn't vote for him. This election wasn't won by Youngkin. It was lost by McAuliffe, and it was lost because people have lost trust and didn't see the point in voting.

[Anonymous]

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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.

I think 2 thing are worth noting: 1) what PP said. D's did not offer "high-quality, safe, continuously open public schools." So it's not like there's a home with the D's any longer for that.
2) people who are mad often vote against a thing more than for a thing. I know we all want to be rational and reasonable and stuff, but when D's didn't prioritize education , and on top of that told parents (moms, mostly) to just shut up and accept it, that made some people mad. Thus is the nature of politics.

To point 1, I said that's the goal, right? And there are logical and illogical ways to try and achieve that goal.
To point 2, you're totally right about the "voting against things" part. It's really pathetic. But how were [predominately D-led] public school administrations supposed to 'prioritize education' when teachers wouldn't return to work and many of the parents who wanted in-person school wouldn't agree to mitigation measures? What magic solution do these 'switch' voters believe was available 15 months ago?

oh yeah, somehow public schools were completely unable to open in the *exact same cities* where private and Catholic schools remained open. You need to be a little more introspective here. It was a political failure.

You really don't read, or think critically, do you? TEACHERS REFUSED TO COME BACK. FACILITIES COULDN'T BE ARRANGED TO SUPPORT DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS. THERE WAS NO VACCINE IN AUGUST 2020. Comparing private schools (with one or two facilities, potentially losing a handful of teachers) to school systems with hundreds of facilities and thousands of teachers is completely asinine.

I don't understand why you're trying to make this argument anymore. The voters have spoken - they think it's bullsh*t. You can relitigate all you want, but people believe what they believe. So I suggest that Democrats take it to heart.

This is all a DCUM echo chamber talking point. Here is some polling data to add facts to the conversation

https://www.axios.com/axios-ipsos-poll-covid-schools-c758ac4f-f1de-4016-b683-babf8d4fdbaa.html

"Asked how schools in their community had done in terms of balancing health and safety with other priorities since the start of the pandemic, 71% of U.S. adults — and 75% of parents — said schools had done a good job as opposed to a poor job.

That's about the same response as when respondents were asked how good a job individuals in their communities had done (72%), slightly higher than the good rating local governments got (68%) and better than their governor (63%).
Local businesses got the highest share of "good" ratings on balancing those interests (80%)."


"What they're saying: "A lot of the energy, criticism that’s been happening, it’s not coming from a large chunk of the population," said Ipsos senior vice president Chris Jackson. "It's very much a tail-wagging-the-dog scenario.""

So please stop with the schools were closed and made parents mad and thats why dems lost rhetoric. Youngkin dogwhistled a bunch of uneducated white women (non - college women was the biggest shift) and that was that. Enjoy your four years with DeSantis in the vest

[Anonymous]

Several public schools in VA were open every day in 2020 for in person school. My kids never missed a day. It seems the blame falls on individual school boards, not the Governor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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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.

I think 2 thing are worth noting: 1) what PP said. D's did not offer "high-quality, safe, continuously open public schools." So it's not like there's a home with the D's any longer for that.
2) people who are mad often vote against a thing more than for a thing. I know we all want to be rational and reasonable and stuff, but when D's didn't prioritize education , and on top of that told parents (moms, mostly) to just shut up and accept it, that made some people mad. Thus is the nature of politics.

To point 1, I said that's the goal, right? And there are logical and illogical ways to try and achieve that goal.
To point 2, you're totally right about the "voting against things" part. It's really pathetic. But how were [predominately D-led] public school administrations supposed to 'prioritize education' when teachers wouldn't return to work and many of the parents who wanted in-person school wouldn't agree to mitigation measures? What magic solution do these 'switch' voters believe was available 15 months ago?

oh yeah, somehow public schools were completely unable to open in the *exact same cities* where private and Catholic schools remained open. You need to be a little more introspective here. It was a political failure.

You really don't read, or think critically, do you? TEACHERS REFUSED TO COME BACK. FACILITIES COULDN'T BE ARRANGED TO SUPPORT DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS. THERE WAS NO VACCINE IN AUGUST 2020. Comparing private schools (with one or two facilities, potentially losing a handful of teachers) to school systems with hundreds of facilities and thousands of teachers is completely asinine.

I don't understand why you're trying to make this argument anymore. The voters have spoken - they think it's bullsh*t. You can relitigate all you want, but people believe what they believe. So I suggest that Democrats take it to heart.

This is all a DCUM echo chamber talking point. Here is some polling data to add facts to the conversation

https://www.axios.com/axios-ipsos-poll-covid-schools-c758ac4f-f1de-4016-b683-babf8d4fdbaa.html

"Asked how schools in their community had done in terms of balancing health and safety with other priorities since the start of the pandemic, 71% of U.S. adults — and 75% of parents — said schools had done a good job as opposed to a poor job.

That's about the same response as when respondents were asked how good a job individuals in their communities had done (72%), slightly higher than the good rating local governments got (68%) and better than their governor (63%).
Local businesses got the highest share of "good" ratings on balancing those interests (80%)."


"What they're saying: "A lot of the energy, criticism that’s been happening, it’s not coming from a large chunk of the population," said Ipsos senior vice president Chris Jackson. "It's very much a tail-wagging-the-dog scenario.""

So please stop with the schools were closed and made parents mad and thats why dems lost rhetoric. Youngkin dogwhistled a bunch of uneducated white women (non - college women was the biggest shift) and that was that. Enjoy your four years with DeSantis in the vest

Was the title the exact question asked: How good of a job are local schools doing in balancing health and safety with other priorities?

That question asks how they are doing now. It doesn't ask how they did last year. If you asked me that exact question, I too would say somewhat good. However, I am still pissed at the Dems for last year, which was not good at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I think 2 thing are worth noting: 1) what PP said. D's did not offer "high-quality, safe, continuously open public schools." So it's not like there's a home with the D's any longer for that.
2) people who are mad often vote against a thing more than for a thing. I know we all want to be rational and reasonable and stuff, but when D's didn't prioritize education , and on top of that told parents (moms, mostly) to just shut up and accept it, that made some people mad. Thus is the nature of politics.

To point 1, I said that's the goal, right? And there are logical and illogical ways to try and achieve that goal.
To point 2, you're totally right about the "voting against things" part. It's really pathetic. But how were [predominately D-led] public school administrations supposed to 'prioritize education' when teachers wouldn't return to work and many of the parents who wanted in-person school wouldn't agree to mitigation measures? What magic solution do these 'switch' voters believe was available 15 months ago?

oh yeah, somehow public schools were completely unable to open in the *exact same cities* where private and Catholic schools remained open. You need to be a little more introspective here. It was a political failure.

You really don't read, or think critically, do you? TEACHERS REFUSED TO COME BACK. FACILITIES COULDN'T BE ARRANGED TO SUPPORT DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS. THERE WAS NO VACCINE IN AUGUST 2020. Comparing private schools (with one or two facilities, potentially losing a handful of teachers) to school systems with hundreds of facilities and thousands of teachers is completely asinine.

I don't understand why you're trying to make this argument anymore. The voters have spoken - they think it's bullsh*t. You can relitigate all you want, but people believe what they believe. So I suggest that Democrats take it to heart.

This is all a DCUM echo chamber talking point. Here is some polling data to add facts to the conversation

https://www.axios.com/axios-ipsos-poll-covid-schools-c758ac4f-f1de-4016-b683-babf8d4fdbaa.html

"Asked how schools in their community had done in terms of balancing health and safety with other priorities since the start of the pandemic, 71% of U.S. adults — and 75% of parents — said schools had done a good job as opposed to a poor job.

That's about the same response as when respondents were asked how good a job individuals in their communities had done (72%), slightly higher than the good rating local governments got (68%) and better than their governor (63%).
Local businesses got the highest share of "good" ratings on balancing those interests (80%)."


"What they're saying: "A lot of the energy, criticism that’s been happening, it’s not coming from a large chunk of the population," said Ipsos senior vice president Chris Jackson. "It's very much a tail-wagging-the-dog scenario.""

So please stop with the schools were closed and made parents mad and thats why dems lost rhetoric. Youngkin dogwhistled a bunch of uneducated white women (non - college women was the biggest shift) and that was that. Enjoy your four years with DeSantis in the vest

Was the title the exact question asked: How good of a job are local schools doing in balancing health and safety with other priorities?

That question asks how they are doing now. It doesn't ask how they did last year. If you asked me that exact question, I too would say somewhat good. However, I am still pissed at the Dems for last year, which was not good at all.

Direct quote from the article: “Most parents are OK with how their schools handled the pandemic."