Once the true goals of the depraved sex ed and White hate curriculums were exposed on national television, those who ran as Republicans rushed to “fix” the problem. Whether the problem is really solved isn’t as important as the appearance that the particular politician tried, and please vote for him or her again in 2022. So it goes in Arizona.
Recently some bills were introduced in the Arizona Legislature to address a few pressing issues, including sex ed taught to kindergarten-4th graders and the latest phenomenon known as Critical Race Theory. Governor Doug Ducey vetoed both bills this session which addressed these concerns. Trying to figure out why is like watching Little Billy from “Family Circus” make his way back from the neighbor’s with a cup of sugar. When the electorate asks what happened, we get vague, twisted answers. What everything really comes down to is “Leadership”, “GOP Leadership”, “Leadership in the AZ Legislature”, there are all kinds of names to pass the buck when a bill doesn’t move through the system to become law. Those of us on the sidelines who vote for these legislators (and the governor) are left to wonder who is really pulling the marionette’s strings and why?
Republicans in the legislature were delighted when SB1074 got to Doug Ducey’s desk for a signature. After all, it was enough to throw the electorate a bone, and then of course request their vote and some campaign donations next year. Here is a summary of how SB1074 addressed Critical Race Theory:
Unfortunately, the governor threw a temper tantrum on Friday and vetoed 22 bills, this being one of them. All the taxpayers who spent time away from their jobs and families to work with legislators on bills were thrown under the bus by the tyrant on the Ninth Floor. Why do we elect representatives and establish relationships with them so we can collaborate on bills just so that the governor, who paraded as a Republican on “Hannity” a few nights earlier, can toss it all out? This is the same Governor Ducey who recently vetoed a bill which would have banned sex ed instruction in grades K-4 in Arizona public schools. Sean Hannity must have missed that part.
However, let’s take this mess at the Arizona Legislature and Capitol a step further. Read SB1074’s text carefully. There are many loopholes. School districts are completely spared. Maybe that is good, maybe not. It is best to handle matters on a local level. If this bill had passed it would have only eliminated MANDATED White hate training. What about when a government agency merely SUGGESTS controversial training?
The Arizona Department of Education website is full of opportunities to enlighten oneself on gender/trans studies and White race hate. Here is a link to reading material called “Diverse Texts” and a screenshot in case the link is removed.
This lists some of the Diverse Texts books the State of Arizona thinks is appropriate for children to read in school:
The Arizona Department of Education is also providing seminars which address diversity and inclusion. Just in case, here is the screenshot:
Let’s compare Ducey’s sudden vetoes of bills that lawmakers and taxpayers painstakingly worked on for many months with what happened in April 2019. Another pretend Republican legislator, TJ Shope, hooked up with Planned Parenthood and GLSEN and together they brought down the 1991 law which protected Arizona’s children from instruction that the LGBTQIXYZ agenda is normal. Look who Representative Shope is gleefully allied with in this photo that day.
In just a few days, that bill was slipped through the Arizona House and Senate and signed by Governor Doug Ducey at a pace we have never seen. What was the urgency? We were told at the time Cathi Herrod wanted it done, yes the same Cathi Herrod who lobbies as a pro-family activist. Since then parents and community members are having to clash with their school districts not only to keep transgender studies out of the classroom, but to even see the entire curriculum and supplemental materials being used. (Hint, if an employee or governing board member of a school district doesn’t want parents to see something there IS a problem.)
What good was all this? Instead of standing for the Christian values Ducey, Shope, and Herrod tell us they espouse, these ploys become a great marketing tool for future campaigns and fundraisers. As long as these problems aren’t fixed, those in power use these issues to raise money and votes for the next election. Always the NEXT election.
If we really want to know whether our Arizona governor truly values life and families, take a look at this tweet.
This is the same governor who in the Spring of 2020 closed bars, salons, gyms, movie theaters, and elective surgeries among other things, but left Planned Parenthood alone. Maybe next time Sean Hannity will do his research before marketing Governor Doug Ducey as an example of how well “Leadership” is running Arizona.