Demonizing teachers

HURON — State Rep. D.J. Swearingen missed a primary lesson from the man helping Republicans demonize teachers, claiming they are misleading students about race and sexual identity. Screenshot from Rufo's Twitter feed "Ground your arguments in facts and force your opponents to defend the indefensible," an excerpt from a lecture Christopher Rufo delivered states. It's from a talking points memo that state Rep. Diane Grendell, R-Chesterland, sent to like-minded Republican lawmakers — including Swearingen, R-Huron, state Rep. Dick Stein, R-Norwalk, and state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery — on May 17, 2021. The Register obtained the memo and other records related to the origin of House Bill 327, the "Divisive Concepts" bill Grendell introduced last year that would outlaw discussion of certain race issues in classrooms. If the law is enacted, it likely will lead to books being banned in schools — including "The Bluest Eye," by acclaimed author Toni Morrison about the experiences of a young Black girl growing up in Lorain, Ohio. Grendell's memo, which quotes extensively from a "briefing book" prepared by Rufo, and other records were obtained by the Register through a public records request the newspaper made after Grendell and other Republicans supporting or co-sponsoring the legislation refused to discuss its origins and mostly refused to respond to questions about the legislation or their support for it. Grendell Critics contend House Bill 327 and House Bill 616, the so-called "Don't Say Gay" proposal, are both bigoted proposals developed by right-wing political groups being pushed in Republican state legislatures across the country. The "cookie-cutter" legislation is similar in the various states where it already has been adopted, or is being considered, such as Ohio. The records obtained by the Register confirm these bills are not home-grown, and the talking points Rufo provided Grendell also suggest the arguments in favor of the bills are shallow and without many — if any — of the "facts" he talked about. Swearingen was one of the few Republican lawmakers to respond to inquiries from the Register, but he did not address the questions raised. He did say that he and his colleagues support the legislation because they cannot stand by while there is "radical indoctrination" of students happening in Ohio schools. But, when pressed, Swearingen could not cite any specific examples of any teachers in any school districts who are practicing radical indoctrination, and he could not cite any instances in which parents had brought complaints to him about it happening. State Rep. Click, who is also a pastor at a church in Sandusky County, said he, too, is concerned that schools are teaching children as young as kindergarten about sexuality, but he also could not cite any examples or provide any information about where it's happening. The other Ohio lawmakers contacted for comment ignored the inquiries. The lawmakers sent questions about their support for the bills included state representatives Stein, Jon Cross, R-Kenton, Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky, Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, Mike Loychik, R- Bazetta, Sarah Fowler, R-Ashtabula, House Speaker Robert R. Cupp, R-Lima, and state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green. Who is Rufo? Rufo is a man who wears many hats, according to the records the Register obtained and other sourcing. Grendell, in her talking points memo, described him as the "founder and director of Battlefront, a public policy research center." Maggie Kohl, a woman who wrote to Grendell just five days before Grendell sent her talking points to fellow Ohio lawmakers, said she works for Rufo and described him as an "investigative reporter who is leading the legal coalition to combat critical race theory." Rufo describes himself this way: "I'm a writer, filmmaker and researcher. I document the phenomena of critical race theory, homelessness, poverty and other afflictions." The Washington Post, Snopes and the New York Times all have suggested Rufo has misrepresented contents of diversity training programs and exaggerated or made false claims about them. The Post, which described Rufo as "something of an unexpected activist," said some of the allegations he's made "are not supported by the evidence he produces, and others are stretched beyond the facts. The newspaper described Rufo this way: "A California native, he worked for years as a documentary filmmaker with films broadcast on PBS. In recent years, his work has grown more political, and more conservative. Today, he lives in the Seattle area ...(he) mounted a short-lived campaign for Seattle City Council before dropping out, saying he and his family were being harassed." Rufo and the Fox News network appear to be forces driving the effort in Ohio and in other states to enact laws that critics contend are being misrepresented and will hurt families if they are approved. Rufo has been a frequent guest on Fox's Tucker Carlson show and other right-wing evening broadcasts on the network. The bills do not have any minority support or support from any Democrats in the statehouse, and Ohio Republicans seem unconcerned about getting minority or bipartisan support for them. Instead, they will be relying on Rufo and Fox to help take the legislation across the finish line. "Chris can assist with the drafting process, he and our partner legal organizations can provide expert testimony, and Chris can use his social media platform to boost whatever efforts happen in Ohio," Kohl told Grendell in the May 12, 2021, email introducing Rufo. Facts are facts Grendell's talking points memo appears to repurpose Rufo's briefing book that Kohl sent to her. In it, Rufo does tend to paint in broad strokes. There are numerous contentions made without much, if any reliable documentation or extensive detail. In one excerpt, he recounts purported instances in which white male executives were "forced to renounce their white male privilege and write letters of apology to fictitious women and people of color." He also states that he has a "database with more than 1,000 of these stories," but his website is a series of links to news stories — far fewer than thousands — dating back to 2019 that mostly adhere to right-wing talking points on various, familiar issues. Substitute "communism" for the word "critical race theory," and Rufo's intentions appear to be parallel with the strategies Republican U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy employed in the 1950s to gain power over the opposition. "We have successfully frozen their brand — 'critical race theory' — into the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions," Rufo posted at Twitter on March 15, 2021, just weeks before he contacted Grendell. "We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category. The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think 'critical race theory.' We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans." Read Grendell's memo, which leans on Rufo's writings, below: