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Its the final of The Great British Baking Show! The last 10 weeks have just flown by and we are down to the last three bakers! Each of them has won the star baker title twice and the ultimate honor of two handshakes from judge Paul Hollywood. The challenges they faced were tricky but allowed them to show off their considerable talent.

Signature Challenge

For the signature challenge, the bakers were asked to make a decorated carrot cake. They could use whatever complementary flavors, fillings, and decorations they wanted. They had two hours and 15 minutes to make their cake. This was not a lot of time considering the bakers needed to be able to cool their cakes to decorate them. The bakers were all evenly matched in this challenge, receiving a mixture of positive and negative feedback.

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Crystelle decided to be ambitious and made a four-tiered spiced carrot cake. Her cakes were sandwiched with orange curd and decorated with pistachio and mascarpone frosting and pistachio praline. Her four-tiered cake didnt go down too well with the judges though. Due to it being so tall, the sponges had retained some heat and so her curd and frosting had melted slightly. This meant that her sponges had moved and were slightly wonky. Crystelle even had to use dowels to keep her cake upright. However, they loved her flavors and thought they were very well-balanced.

Chigs, who only started baking 18 months ago, was making his second ever carrot cake. His sponges were sandwiched with star anise infused pineapple jam and topped with classic cream cheese icing. The judges loved his decoration and his pipework and also enjoyed the flavor of his pineapple jam. However, they thought his cake was rubbery and stodgy due to the large number of carrots he had used.

Giuseppe made an orange-zest infused carrot cake sponge, sandwiched with fig and walnut jam. This was then decorated with orange cream cheese icing, candied walnuts and fresh figs. Whereas Crystelle and Chigs had made the challenge easier for themselves by baking individual sponges for their layers, Giuseppe made one large cake that he then sliced up. This meant that his cake took a lot longer to bake and didnt have much time to cool. As a result, his icing had melted slightly and his cakes had shifted a little. The heat also meant that the jam and cream cheese had soaked into the hot sponges, making the judges question at first whether the cake was underbaked or stodgy. Despite this, his cake was pretty but more importantly it was delicious. The judges particularly loved the fig flavor.

Technical Challenge

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For the technical challenge, they were asked to bake 12 Belgian buns filled with sultanas and lemon curd. The judges expected a coiled, slightly chewy bun with a hint of sweetness from the lemon curd. They had two and a half hours to follow the pared back recipe and the bakes were then ranked from worst to best in a blind judging. However, the bakers didnt quite realise how pared back the recipe would be this week. It contained only two instructions!

Crystelle seemed to be at a slight advantage because she had made a curd in the signature challenge and she knew what Belgian buns were. At first, it seemed like Chigs was going to come in last place due to rolling his dough the wrong way. The way he rolled his buns meant that they were very tall and did not have enough spirals. However, the turning point in this challenge came down to how long to leave the buns in the oven for. Crystelle and Chigs pulled their buns out of the oven quite early to leave themselves with enough time to cool and decorate them. However, Giuseppe decided to leave his in the oven for longer.

Giuseppes buns were neatly iced and perfectly shaped. The judges commented that they were exceptional and would have come in first place if he hadnt left them in the oven for so long. His buns were very dark in color and were very dry and overbaked. This left him in last place.

Chigs came in second due to rolling his buns wrong. They were also a little bit too chewy and solid. This left Crystelle in first place, winning her first ever technical challenge! Her buns were a nice uniform color, had good lemon curd, and tasted nice, even if her icing was a little erratic as she rushed at the end.

Showstopper Challenge

For the showstopper challenge, the bakers had four and a half hours to make a Mad Hatters tea party display. The judges wanted a display of sweet and savoury afternoon tea treats, showcasing at least four different baking disciplines. They wanted the bakers to capture some of the craziness of Alice in Wonderland whilst producing perfect bakes.

Chigs centrepiece was a blue Cheshire Cat cake, flavored with orange curd. This was accompanied by jammy dodger biscuits shaped like playing cards with strawberry, elderflower, and black pepper jam. He also baked chicken and mushroom pocket watch pies and brioche toadstools, filled with lemon and lime crme patissiere. The judges were impressed with the overall look of the display, particularly the cat cake and the playing card biscuits, which were beautiful. However, they were a little disappointed with the lack of smile on the Cheshire Cat because he ran out of time. They thought his pies and brioche were delicious. The playing cards were particularly good with an excellent buttery biscuit but Paul was disappointed that he couldnt taste the elderflower or black pepper. The cake was delicious and the flavors were very well-balanced.

Giuseppe made a chocolate and hazelnut tear and share brioche mushroom as his centrepiece. This were accompanied by mango and passionfruit drink-me panna cottas, orange and fig heart-shaped muffins, and asparagus and pea-filled choux buns used to make a caterpillar. Giuseppe was really pushing it with the time restraints as he had a lot of baking to do. It almost ended in disaster when he went to put something in the oven and realised that his oven was cold. He had left the door slightly open during pre-heating and so it had turned off. This lost him a lot of valuable time but he managed to pull it together.

The judges thought that Giuseppes display was simple but effective. The choux buns were delicious but a little too soft because of the creamy filling. They loved his brioche, though, as it was very complicated with multiple layers but was crisp and delicious. The muffins were cute, soft, and a lovely flavor. The standout were his panna cottas. The judges couldnt stop eating them! They thought they were delicious and the perfect texture. Both Paul and Prue took their bottle to finish off.

Crystelles centrepiece was a focaccia bread clock flavored with zaatar and garlic. This was accompanied by chickpea curry top hats, cardamom and pistachio toadstool nankhatai biscuits, and chai-flavored sponges decorated as talking flowers. Her display looked stunning and very colorful. The judges loved her biscuits which were something they werent familiar with. They liked the blend of spices and the fudge-like texture. They also loved her sponges and thought they were delicious and well-balanced. Crystelles pies were also lovely and the curry had a nice kick to it, even if the curry was a little solid. However, it all went wrong with her focaccia. The judges said it did not resemble a focaccia at all! There was no rise to it; it was raw and completely inedible. Sadly, this knocked Crystelle out of the running for winning the competition.

Results

For the results this week, there was a garden party for everyone who had been working within the Baking Show bubble. They got to try the bakers showstopper treats.

It was a very close decision with all of the bakers receiving mixed feedback on their bakes this week. It was finally announced that Giuseppe was the winner! No one was surprised with this decision except for Giuseppe. It was amazing to watch his reaction go from a complete blank look of shock to pure joy. Crystelle and Chigs were so unbelievably happy for him and he thoroughly deserved the win. He stood out as an amazing baker from week one and was consistent throughout the competition.

The win meant a lot to him personally as well. He got into baking because of his dad, who also loves baking. His dad is currently elderly and in poor health and so Giuseppe was emotional to win this title for him. They now plan to write a recipe book together to pass on their Italian bakes.

Baking Show Best Bits

Here are some of my favorite non-baking moments from this weeks episode!

Weve thoroughly enjoyed this season of The Great British Baking Show and we cant wait for it to return next year. Make sure you check back here for all the latest news.

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'The Great British Baking Show' Recap: Season 12, Episode 10 "The Final" - Nerds and Beyond

Minutes after a bitterly divided U.S. House of Representatives handed President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats a major victory in their push to pass a sweeping partisan social spending and climate change package, the tweets and emails in New Hampshires political world started flying.

Pappas Votes to Lower Everyday Costs for New Hampshire Families, read the headline in an email from the office of Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who represents New Hampshires First Congressional District.

And longtime Rep. Annie Kuster, the Democrat from Hopkinton who represents the states Second Congressional District, tweeted that the nearly $2 trillion social-spending and climate change-combating measure was a big deal for NH and added in a statement that Today is a monumental day for New Hampshire.

The Democratic majority in the House passed the bill along party lines, with only one Democrat opposing the measure. That lawmaker was Rep. Jared Golden of neighboring Maine. Every Republican in the chamber opposed the bill, which now heads to the Senate, where it will likely be trimmed over the coming weeks.

While we have details left to finalize through the Senate process, the House-passed economic package includes important provisions that would help lower costs for Granite Staters and get people back to work, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan emphasized in a statement.

The dean of the states all-Democratic congressional delegation Sen. Jeanne Shaheen spotlighted in her statement that the legislation builds on Democrats determination to deliver assistance to our states and put money in the pockets of middle-class families.

The delegations emphasis on lowering costs for average Americans as they all highlighted the benefits in the spending plan for Granite Staters is no surprise. The rise in inflation this summer and autumn has fueled the deteriorating political climate for Democrats a year ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, when the party aims to defend its razor-thin majorities in the U.S. House and Senate. Hassan, Kuster and Pappas are all up for reelection next year.

Democrats have completely abandoned hardworking Granite Staters by voting for Joe Bidens Build Back Broke agenda, which is a huge tax cut for the wealthiest Americans and a slap in the face to Granite Staters who are already experiencing skyrocketing prices and economic hardships thanks to Biden, Andrew Mahaleris, the Republican National Committees spokesperson in New Hampshire, charged in a statement.

And Mahaleris predicted that this reckless vote will cost Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster their seats next November.

While Kusters 2nd CD seat appears safe for Democrats, Pappas is being heavily targeted by Republicans in the 1st CD, which for a generations been one of the nations top congressional battlegrounds.

Rep. Chris Pappas Delivers Huge Win for New Hampshire with Historic Build Back Better Act, argued the headline from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the reelection arm of House Democrats.

But Republican Matt Mowers, the 2020 GOP nominee in the 1st CD whos running again in 2022, charged that Pappas voted to abandon New Hampshire families and he pledged that I will make sure that Chris Pappas pays for this with his job next November.

National polling illustrates the popularity of the Democrats spending bill as well as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, which the president signed into law on Monday, ahead of stops Tuesday in New Hampshire and Wednesday in Michigan to tout the benefits of the measure.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted Nov. 11-15 said they supported the infrastructure bill, with 58% giving the Democrats spending bill a thumbs up. The Quinnipiac poll was the latest survey to indicate majority support for both measures, which are key parts of the presidents domestic agenda that he spotlighted during the 2020 campaign.

But the bills are much more popular than the president and his party.

Bidens standing with Americans is now well underwater, thanks to a continued drop in his approval ratings in recent months. Fueling the decline is the well-documented rise in inflation this summer and autumn, the surge in COVID cases over the past five months among mainly unvaccinated people, the worst pandemic to strike the globe in a century and Bidens much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan.

And two national polls released over the past week that grabbed plenty of national attention indicated a surge in support for the GOP in next years Senate and House races.

Earlier this month Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin edged former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia in a state that Biden carried by 10 points a year ago over former President Donald Trump and where Republicans hadnt won statewide in a dozen years. Republicans also captured the lieutenant governor and attorney general offices from the Democrats and flipped the states House of Delegates.

The GOP victories in Virginia coupled with Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarellis near upset of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey along with GOP legislative pickups in the very blue Garden State are seen as ominous signs for the Democrats as they try to hold their razor-thin House and Senate majorities in the 2022 midterms.

But Democrats point to the infrastructure and social spending bills as major selling points in their bid to retain their congressional majorities.

One year from Election Day 2022, our key to victory is clear: President Biden and House Democrats are delivering on their hopeful, unified vision for Americas families, stabilizing the U.S. economy and making robust investments in our future, a DCCC memo released on Monday said.

But signature legislation doesnt have a proven track record in helping the presidents party keep control of Congress.

The Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Acts of 2010 the landmark legislative achievements of then-President Barack Obamas first two years in office didnt save the Democrats from getting annihilated by a Tea Party-fueled red wave in that years midterm elections.

And Trumps major domestic achievement during his first two years in office the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 didnt prevent the Democrats from convincingly winning back the House the following year.

Any strategy based on a signature piece of legislation more often than not does not work, veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance noted. Theres something about the American electorate in midterms where its an opportunity for voters to sort of keep the party in power in check. Thats the norm. Signature pieces of legislation rarely provide a buffer against that instinct from the voters.

Lesperance, the vice president of academic affairs at New England College in Henniker, emphasized that what the American people appear to be really focused on is their everyday expenses, their kitchen table issues how much does it cost to put food on the table and fill up your car with gas.

And he said that the challenge that the Biden administration and the Democrats have is showing how this legislation is going to make peoples lives more affordable. And thats not obvious.

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On the Trail: Instant fireworks in NH over US House passage of Democrats' spending bill - Concord Monitor

FANS of The Great British Bake Off rushed to Ofcom to complain about Jrgen Krauss' shock exit from the show last week.

The German baker impressed viewers throughout his time on the Channel 4 show with his elaborate bakes but was booted from Bake Off the week before the final.

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Despite wining the technical on last week'sGBBO, the 56-year-old's showstopper caused him to fall at the final hurdle and he was voted off a week before the final.

As a result more than 100 people sent in complaints to the media watchdog to complain the show was 'fixed' against him.

In its latest weekly report, Ofcom revealed it had received 115 complaints about last Tuesday's semi-final episode.

Bristol resident and fan favouriteGiuseppe ended up winning the 2021 season after going up against client relationship managerCrystelle, and sales managerChig in the final.

Despite Giuseppe's popularity many fans still claimed Jrgen was the 'people's champion' and the results were fixed.

"I am speechless. Jurgen leaving was 100% the wrong decision," wrote one angry fan on Twitter.

Another added: "Ive got to be honest, Im still feeling a sense of betrayal that they got rid of Jurgen last week."

And a third wrote: "And the true winner is ...Jurgen."

Giuseppe's win means the Italians sweep theEurovision song contest,Euro 2020, the100m final at the Olympics(as well as being the incredible joint winner in the high jump too) and now, and most importantly of course,The Great British Bake Offthrone.

The final showstopper challenge of 2021 tasked the finalists with creating a Mad Hatter's Tea Party display using both sweet and savoury treats, and showcasing a minimum of four baking disciplines.

Giuseppe opted for a giant tear-and-share brioche mushroom, with mango and passionfruit "drink me" panna cottas, heart-shaped orange and fig muffins, and an asparagus and pea filled choux caterpillar.

The showstopper proved to be a winner after he came bottom in the technical with burnt Belgian buns.

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The big return of the annual Downtown Parade of Lights will signal the official start to the holiday season in Athens, with craft fairs, concerts and activities scheduled around the city through the end of 2021.

Here's a look at a few of the things you and your family can do in town throughout December.

Dec. 2

Downtown Athens Parade of Lights: This year's theme is "A Super Hero Holiday." Free admission.

Holiday Wreath Workshop at the Athens Welcome Center: Lead by florist Maggie Hayden. $65 with all materials provided; RSVP only.

Public ice skating at the Classic Center: Skate rental and 75 minutes on the indoor rink for $15 per person. Runs through Jan. 9.

Dec. 3-5 and 10-12

Deck the Hollow at Bear Hollow Zoo: Evening visits illuminated by holiday-themed lights are $5 for Athens-Clarke County residents and $7.50 for non-residents.

Dec. 4

Holiday Market at Flicker Theater & Bar: Outdoor pop-up market with local vendors. Free admission.

Holiday Market at West Broad Farmers Market: Artisan market and craft fair helps support Athens and Athens-area artists. Free admission.

Holiday Open House at Lyndon House Arts Center: Holiday shopping will be available at the Deck the Walls featuring works by local artists. Free admission.

Toddlers in the Kitchen at East Athens Community Center: Bring your little elves to help Ms. Portia make gingerbread cookies and Grinch Punch. $4 for Athens residents and $6 for non-residents.

Dec. 4-5

Heirloom Holiday Market at Heirloom Caf and Fresh Market: Brunch and shopping with different vendors each day. Free admission.

Holiday Pottery Sale at Southern Star Studio: Annual sale and Open House partnered with Marmalade Pottery. Free admission.

Dec. 6

Athens Choral Society at the UGA Performing Arts Center: A Baroque Christmas featuring the music of Vivaldi, Bach, Corelli, and Handel. Free admission.

Dec. 6-13

Irish Christmas in America at the Classic Center: Performance features instrumental music and old-style Irish dancing. Tickets range from $27-34.

Dec. 7-8

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at the UGA Performing Arts Center: Big band versions of holiday classics. Tickets range from $59 to $89.

Dec. 8

Gingerbread Workshop at Lay Park: Construct and design your own gingerbread house. Fee of $10 per house includes all materials provided.

Dec. 9-10

Athens Holiday Market at Big City Bread: Food, live music and handmade art from local craftspeople. Free admission.

Dec. 10

Pottery Sale at Normaltown Pottery: Pottery and ceramics by local artists Juana Gnecco and Nancy Green. Free admission.

More: The Athens Symphony Orchestra is returning to the stage

Dec. 11

Athens Symphony Orchestra at the Classic Center: A selection of holiday classics plus music from Charlie Brown Christmas performed by the Good Grief Trio. Free tickets available at classiccenter.com.

Breakfast with Santa at Memorial Park: To-go biscuit breakfast, craft pack and snow globe photo with Santa. $5 for ACC residents, $7.50 for non-residents.

Family Day at the Georgia Museum of Art: Photography demonstration in the lobby and free Faberg-inspired to-go art kit. Free admission.

Holiday Market at West Broad Farmers Market: Artisan market and craft fair helps support Athens and Athens-area artists. Free admission.

Indie South Fair at Bishop Park: 100 vendors selling handmade and vintage goods from Athens and surrounding areas. Free admission.

Pottery Sale at Normaltown Pottery: Pottery and ceramics by local artists Juana Gnecco and Nancy Green. Free admission.

Dec. 12

Athens Symphony Orchestra at the Classic Center: A selection of holiday classics plus music from Charlie Brown Christmas, performed by the Good Grief Trio. Free tickets available at classiccenter.com.

Indie South Fair at Bishop Park: 100 vendors selling handmade and vintage goods from Athens and surrounding areas. Free admission.

Dec. 12-13

Holi-LADDER-day Market at tiny ATH gallery: Unique vertical display will present the work of ten local artists per day. Free admission.

Dec. 14

Georgia Children's Chorus Holiday Concert at the UGA Performing Arts Center: This year's program is "Make the Season Bright. $12 general admission.

Toddler Tuesday Art Gifts at the Georgia Museum of Art: Storytime and art activity for children 18 mo.-3 yrs.. To reserve a free spot, email sagekincaid@uga.edu.

Dec. 15

Grinch and Go Preschool Playgroup at Rocksprings Park: Snacks, games, crafts, and a visit from The Grinch with photo opportunity. $5 for children ages 1-5 yrs..

Dec. 16

Grinchmas Tea Party at Rocksprings Park: Holiday feast with The Grinch featuring who-pudding, who-hash and who-roast beast. $6 for ACC residents, $9 for non-residents.

Dec. 17

Movies by Moonlight at Sandy Creek Park: Drive-in double feature of "The Year Without A Santa Claus" and "The Muppet Christmas Carol. Free tickets can be reserved at accgovga.myrec.com/info/activities.

Dec. 18

Christmas With the King's Singers at the UGA Performing Arts Center: British vocal ensemble performs holiday favorites. Tickets range from $42 to $62.

Kids in the Kitchen with Ms. Portia at East Athens Community Center: Kids ages 7-12 will make Gingerbread Bars and Rudolph Punch. Admission is $4 for ACC residents and $6 for non-residents.

Dec. 18-19

The Nutcracker at the Classic Center: Tchaikovsky's classic performed by the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine. Tickets range from $16 to $42.

Please note that this story will continue to be updated as more information becomes available. If your family-friendly event isn't listed here, send an email to ashearer@onlineathens.com.

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Downtown Parade of Lights will kick off a month of family-friendly activities in Athens - Online Athens

One of the few questions that Democrats and Republicans can agree upon is the school board controversys outsized role in the Republican victory in Virginias recent gubernatorial election. Although much of the press coverage suggested that the protests involved a grassroots movement, they have actually included an elaborately orchestrated operation to exploit parents who are stressed by school disruption and Covid-19 fatigue. Virginia may have served as the laboratory for the project, but similar efforts it will be visible all over the electoral map in the period leading up to the 2022 midterms.

For many, the project first came to light last April, when a parent named Asra Nomani published a scathing critique of her childs school, the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia. The article was published in The Federalist (a right-wing platform that has been suspended from Twitter in the past for publishing harmful Covid disinformation). Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, directed her rage at a classroom screening of Ava du Vernays award-winning Netflix documentary, 13th, and the lessons caution, Racism is not a concept of the past. Two days later, Nomanis story made Fox News, where the reporter added that the Jefferson students were being indoctrinated with critical race theory.

The situation quickly mushroomed. In June, a Jefferson parent (name withheld for security concerns), told the Spectator, Our PTA is collapsing under pressure of having two internal, highly political groups trying to do a hostile takeover. The parents association in their formerly polite suburb was unprepared for the tactics employed by the two linked educational advocacy groups, Coalition for TJ, a group of Thomas Jefferson parents, and DefendingEd, a group with a national presence. They call parents employers and harass the employers and parents. There are incidents where people who seem to have been radicalized are doing bizarre things. In suburban Virginia, these actions include the vandalization of peoples homes and property.

But the activism of agitated parents has transcended the PTA boardroom. On November 5, Asra Nomani, billed as the vice president of strategy and investigations for DefendingEd, took credit in the Fairfax Times for her organizations role in Republican Glenn Youngkins victory in the Virginia governors race. Little did Youngkin know but the groundwork for his victory was actually laid on June 7, 2020, months before he even decided to run for office, with a mother who would become one of the many hopping mad parents in a mama and papa bear movement that would bring him to office.

This may have been an exaggerationbut given the 64,000-vote margin in the race, the PTA and school board battles in the Washington suburbs made a difference. Fairfax, with over a million residents, is the most populous county in Virginia, while adjacent Loudoun County, at 420,000, is the fourth-most populous. Not coincidentally, they are also the homes of many of the conservative political strategists and operatives involved in leveraging the campaign.

PTA and school board protests have erupted across the country. In Jefferson County, Colorado, longtime school board members are suddenly being called Nazis and child abusers. An Illinois school board member resigned after receiving death threats and deposits of dead rodents on her doorstep. The local events are publicized as protests against mask requirements and school curricula. But they also have a clear political agenda: They are playing an expanding role in electoral politics, leading into next years crucial midterm elections.

The website for DefendingEd (shorthand for Parents Defending Education) states, Through network and coalition building, investigative reporting, litigation, and engagement on local, state, and national policies, we are fighting indoctrination in the classroom. Despite DefendingEds self-description as a national grassroots organization, it is more accurately described as an astroturf operation, orchestrated and coordinated through a web of donors and strategists, many of them partners, via the religious right, in the Council for National Policy (see Nelson, Holding Democracy in the U. S. Hostage) and associated operations of the Koch brothers empire.

These efforts have been woven through the right-wing ecosphere. As noted, Asra Nomani generated the Federalist and Fox News stories, as well as the story claiming credit for the Youngkin victory. DefendingEds founding president, Nicole Neily, came to her office with a long career in Koch-funded operations, including the Cato Institute, the Independent Womens Forum, Speech First, and the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.

Many parents and educators have tried in vain to contest the premise of these attacks by pointing out that critical race theorya core complaint of the movementdoesnt even exist at the grade-school level; it has been used as a framework for discussions about structural racism in law school over the past four decades. But the attacks are often rooted in a time-worn playbook that the radical right has used to generate useful controversies for decades. The technique involves identifyingand in some cases, inventingan inflammatory term that touches a nerve among the target population, and provoking conflict through coordinated local organizing with media amplification.

The anti-abortion campaign offers one example of this. Abortion was not a particularly fraught topic among American Protestants in the 1970s, but a network of religious right organizations connected to the CNP discovered that coining and promoting misleading terms about abortion could activate their intended audiences. Partial-birth abortion and birth-day abortion on demand were manufactured terms that had no meaning in medicine or in law but became successful brands for persuasion and mobilization.

As they absorbed the loss of the 2020 elections, the leadership of the religious right saw signs they had begun to exhaust the available supply of new conservative evangelical voters in critical districts. Polls also indicated that a crucial bloc of swing voters, college-educated white suburban women, were increasingly disaffected with Trump and were often unmoved by the anti-abortion message. But polling also showed that as the Covid-19 epidemic wore on, these voters were increasingly anxious about their children, their public schools, and conflicting public health policies.

It was time for a new initiative. The question was, what triggering concept or term could channel these anxieties into a political response?

Parents Defending Education (or DefendingEd) was incorporated in Virginia on January 21, 2021. Unusual for a grassroots organization, it was born fully equipped with a Twitter account (December 2020) and a Facebook account (January 2020) and rapidly acquired a public relations firm and a polling firm.

Around the same time, a new offensive around critical race theory started to gain traction. On March 15, Christopher Rufo, a young political operative with the conservative Manhattan Institute, posted two tweets aligned with previous initiatives that explained the strategy to harness new votes through misleading terminology. Asra Nomanis Federalist and Fox News exposs followed a month later.

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Christopher F. Rufo @realchrisrufo

Follow@realchrisrufo

We have successfully frozen their brandcritical race theoryinto the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions. We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category.

Christopher F. Rufo @realchrisrufo

Follow@realchrisrufo

Replying to@realchrisrufo@ConceptualJames

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.

12:17 PM 15 Mar 2021

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By midsummer, the combined critical race theory and school board campaigns were not only underway, they were embraced by multiple leaders and media platforms throughout the CNP network. A June 15 investigation by NBC News described state-level school board initiatives, quoting Karen England, a member of the CNPs board of governors.

This is an opportunity for what I feel like Ive been screaming from the rooftops about, England told NBC, speaking as executive director for Nevada Family Alliance, known for its efforts to end Drag Queen Story Hour at local libraries; the group recently proposed placing body cameras on teachers suspected of teaching critical race theory.

On June 24, Pat Robertson, a past president of the CNP, followed suit on his Christian Broadcasting Networks 700 Club, describing critical race theory as a monstrous evil used by Communists to destroy children.

The short-term impact of these initiatives was easy to discern. They attacked the school boards, disrupting a foundation of local democratic practice, and they derailed educators efforts to address issues of inequality and racism that gained prominence in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.

But they also served to organize parents into a new political cohort, as evidenced on June 29 with the staging of a boot camp to train parents for school board takeovers, held by Family Research Council Action. The program was led by FRC president Tony Perkins, a standard-bearer of the religious right and longtime president of the CNP. The training session featured Elizabeth Schultza senior fellow for DefendingEd from Fairfax County who worked under Betsy DeVos, the former secretary of education in the Trump administration.

On June 30, the FRC website posted:

Yesterday, FRC Action hosted a very successful School Board Boot Camp. In response to the repeated requests of partners across the country, the four-hour training session provided information on what you need to know about running for school board or supporting people who answer the call to public service. At the end of the day, we learned that 97 percent of participants said they would definitely or probably recommend this event to others, and 66 percent said they would definitely be interested in one specifically for their state.

Links between the school board campaign and GOP party politics became clearer by the week. August 6 brought a mass email from the Leadership Institute, run by Morton Blackwell, a co-founder and executive committee member of the CNP. (His group claims to have trained and networked over 200,000 conservative candidates and election workers in the use of data and political communications. The Institutes senior director Bob Arnakis has claimed credit for popularizing the term partial-birth abortion.)

The Leadership Institutes email blast promoted a series of new training sessions, stating, Conservatives are preparing a school board takeover and you can get involved....The best way to fight critical race theory and leftist indoctrination in Americas schools is to elect more school boards across the country.

The institutes website added telling details:

Critical Race Theory really is the road to Hell....Rising numbers of Americans now realize the danger posed by this cultural revolution.

On August 9th, theLeadership Institute launched an 11-hour training program to prepare conservatives to run for local school board seats against the entrenched [fill in]

My team has put together a comprehensive program for these aspiring school board candidates. That includes nearly 11 hours-worth of highly-tailored campaign strategy lessons.

With the online trainings in full swing, my team will then offer this school in the traditional in-person format. Starting here in LIs Arlington, Virginia headquarters, then advancing to more locations around the country.

At these trainings, conservatives learn how to:

Contending against the vast resources of the teachers unions and special interests who pump the Critical Race Theory poison into our schools wont be easy.

So much money and influence is being poured into undermining Americas most basic institutions. Its tragic. And it doesnt make sense, does it? But I know you and I must fight back every way we can.

Armed with Leadership Institute training and inspiration, these conservative school board candidates will score powerful victories all over the country.

This has the makings of the biggest grassroots movement since the Tea Party.

Other CNP affiliates stepped in. In October, Judicial Watch, headed by Tom Fitton, another member of the CNP executive committee, posted an attack against a Rhode Island school districts teacher training materials. Judicial Watch objected to teaching the concepts of anti-racism and equity (while acknowledging that critical race theory doesnt appear in grade-school curricula).

As explained a gazillion times, you will not find a third-grade book called Critical Race Theory. Instead, you find the race-focused principles of CRT under other names, such as antiracism, equity, and culturally responsive learning.

The training course claims that there are unfortunate truths about the history of Rhode Island and the United States.

(Editors note: Rhode Island was a major center of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and dispatched some 2,000 voyages to enslave Africans.)

Yet another partner in the campaign is Turning Point USA, headed by CNP member Charlie Kirk. In partnership with the Leadership Institute, TPUSA has created a School Board Watchlist, a companion site to its McCarthyite Professor Watchlist. There it posts critiques of school boards linked to their support for LGBT-friendly policies and requirements for vaccines and masking. Notably, TPUSA posts the names and pictures of school board members in districts where threats and harassment are mounting. Fairfax County is prominently listed; so are Norman, Oklahoma; Lincoln, Nebraska; and scores of other communities. Like the Leadership Institute and the Family Research Council initiatives, TPUSAs school board campaign includes a fundraising function on its website.

Hardwired into the school board campaigns are the standard elements of the strategy: money, media, and a secret hub to coordinate efforts to disrupt American politics on both a national and a local level. To be sure, Parents Defending Education is only one of several major organizations in the field, and the CNP is only one of the coordinating bodies. Defining the broader field wont be easy; given the role of dark money and the snails pace of tax and federal election filings, the threads connecting their financing, data, and political engagement will take months, if not years, to trace. But all indications are that these efforts are directed at the 2022 midterms, and they are well underway now.

Anne Nelson is the author ofShadow Network: Money, Media, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right. Nelson is the recipient of the Livingston Award for journalism and a Guggenheim Fellowship for historical research.

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Religious Right Fuels National Attack On School Boards, Exploiting Parental Frustration Over Covid Restraints - The Washington Spectator