The only people who really seem to enjoy the muck and mire of political gamesmanship are the politicians themselves, the campaign consultant firms, and the pundits who make a living from gaining access to the players of the game. But as for the people, the voters, it is clear that there is a great amount of distrust and the “destroy” tactics just add fuel to that fire.
Right now in Tennessee, there is a heated debate over the issue of school choice. And the debate is worthy to be had. One side of the argument is made by nationally funded organizations like Americans for Prosperity (Koch Industries funded) and the American Federation for Children (Betsy DeVos). They say that school choice (vouchers) is about parental choice and putting power in the hands of families, instead of the government, to direct their own education.
The other side of the conservative argument is made by private school and homeschool advocates including national organizations like the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) sharing concerns about injecting public funding into private schools and homes where future regulatory burdens are historically proven to follow the money. Freedom does not come with regulatory constraints. Nor should real parental choice be funded by the government.
Tennessee Stands would fall into that latter category. We believe that school vouchers are fundamentally just another entitlement program. Additionally, we share the concerns that future regulations are bound to follow the money into private education and that government subsidies will in time create a further dependency for families on the government when it comes to the decisions they make for their child’s education.
Most conservatives would be against a Universal Basic Income scheme.
In fact, most conservatives would say that UBI is a socialist system and should not be entertained in a free market society like America. But school choice can only be defined as a universal basic income for education because this is precisely how it functions. But don’t take my word for it. Here are the self-proclaimed experts saying the quiet part out loud.
The deeper problem, however, goes well beyond the policy. In today’s political climate, even conservatives are not allowed to debate amongst themselves on the value propositions of these varying policy arguments. At the end of the day, these are not policy discussions, but power struggles. And those who may disagree with the prevailing narrative must therefore pay a price and be politically and personally destroyed for their disobedience, regardless of the character of the person or the reasoned argument they might bring to the discussion.
This week, Phil Williams of Nashville’s Newschannel 5 released the following report, “Secret recording shows school voucher proponent talking of ‘public hangings’ of lawmakers.” I know that Phil Williams leans left in his reporting and we should be cautious of a narrative being spun. But sometimes we need to learn to chew the meat and spit out the bones, so to speak. I do not always like or agree with what Mr. Williams has to say. But he typically comes with receipts. The same cannot be said for others in the field who simply shoot off at the mouth…I’ll get to that in a minute.
“In the recording obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates from a 2016 strategy session, Nashville investment banker Mark Gill discusses targeting certain anti-voucher lawmakers for defeat as a form of “public hangings.” At the time, Gill was a member of the board of directors for the pro-voucher group Tennessee Federation for Children.
Using their vast resources to defeat key incumbents, Gill argues, would send a signal to other lawmakers in the next legislative session.”
“NewsChannel 5 Investigates played the recording for J.C. Bowman, a longtime conservative who now heads the teachers’ group Professional Educators of Tennessee.
“What do you hear in this recording?” we asked.
“Hardcore politics,” Bowman answered. “And I’ll use the term that Clarence Thomas made famous: This is a high-tech lynching. If you do not vote with us, we want you scared of us — and we are going to do a high-tech lynching.”
This report is certainly not earth-shattering, but indicative of what most of us already know to be true in the political arena today. Money and power rule in the legislative process. And personally, I agree with Mr. Bowman here, this should not be so.
In expected fashion, establishment RINO waterboy, Michael Patrick Leahy of the Tennessee Star, said on his very popular (sarcasm) AM radio show…
“Leahy went on to argue that there’s nothing new regarding the concept of government involving people who “use their resources to advance their particular point of view.”
“To me, all of this means people with money and influence were using that influence to obtain the political objectives they want. That to me, that’s a nothing burger,” Leahy said.
To someone like Leahy, this is completely normal and acceptable behavior. It makes sense that people with money use their power and influence to destroy political foes in order to get their way, regardless of what voters have to say about it.
And now, enter the attacks on one of the most conservative members of the Tennessee House, Representative Todd Warner of District 92 (Marshall and Williamson Counties). Rep. Warner has an immaculate voting record as displayed on the Tennessee Legislative Report Card. Moreover, where legislators in Tennessee average about 56% of their campaign contributions coming from special interest PACs, Rep. Warner’s campaign finance reports put him at about 26%, less than half of the state average.
And perhaps that is why lobbying groups like Americans for Prosperity (AFP) hate legislators like Todd Warner despite his conservative voting record. Rep. Warner has decided to fight alongside private school families and homeschool families who are against Governor Bill Lee’s proposed school voucher program because of the threat of future regulation into private education and the expansion of yet another entitlement program in Tennessee.
Because of that principled stance and his “NO” vote in an education subcommittee, Americans for Prosperity is now using their Koch Industries money to blast Rep. Warner in his home district with mailers and phone banking. These are typical intimidation tactics used by single issue-driven advocacy groups like AFP in an effort to beat state representatives into submission.
Never mind that Todd Warner has been a fierce defender of the 2nd Amendment, working to secure our elections and advocate for secured paper ballots, supports getting obscene materials out of schools and standing against CRT, and fights for medical freedom and religious liberty at every turn. Americans for Prosperity is willing to condemn one of the most conservative members of the legislature because they are unable to force Rep. Warner under their submission stranglehold.
Meanwhile, groups like Americans for Prosperity are funded in majority by entities like the Charles Koch Foundation which also happens to fund and provide policy expertise to groups like Stand Together. This year, the Stand Together Trust is one of the Premier Sponsors for South by Southwest (SXSW) Education 2024. Stand Together (in partnership with AFP) is funding seminars at SXSW with speakers from 50CAN, US Dept of Education, Gates Foundation, American Library Association, STOP Moms for Liberty, and the Aspen Institute (training ground for our current woke Commissioner of Education).
And to further the conservative interests of Americans for Prosperity in the state of Tennessee, the state’s AFP Deputy Director, Michael Lofti, took to X (formerly Twitter) to name Tennessee Stands as a “liberal” organization due to our opposition of their school choice proposals.
Regardless of where you find yourself on the arguments for or against school choice, the conversations are critical, and the dialogue is necessary. The takeaway is that groups like Americans for Prosperity and the American Federation for Children are not interested in dialogue. I would argue they are not even interested in winning their argument. But they are very interested in power. And, they have the money necessary to back up their lust to minimize their opponents.
So, where does that leave you and me? Well, we have a responsibility to get educated on the issues and look past the sexy billboards and headlines. Certainly, you should turn off talking heads like Michael Patrick Leahy. Avoid conversations filled with talking points. If someone cannot intelligibly argue their position without simply labeling someone else a Marxist or a conspiracy theorist, you are probably not going to get any kind of substantive information from that person.
We are fighting an incredibly complex war not only for our children but our entire way of life. Globalist agendas are making their way into the Tennessee legislature at an alarming pace. The battlefield is not only in DC or at our border; it is right here in Tennessee. These issues demand rigorous debate. And as conservatives, we should welcome that debate with open arms. It is the only way we will win.
Good arguments don’t need to drown out other voices. They only need the ability to be heard.
