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Related video: Arkansas governor ponders future in post-Trump GOPRepublican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he'd need to coast to re-election in deep-red Oklahoma.A devout Baptist, Lankford was the director of the nations largest Christian youth camp for more than a decade. He speaks out regularly against abortion and what he describes as excessive government spending. And his voting record in the Senate aligned with former President Donald Trumps position nearly 90% of the time.But like several other seemingly safe GOP incumbents, Lankford, who didn't even draw a primary opponent in 2016, finds himself under fierce attack by a challenger in his own party. The antagonist is a 29-year-old evangelical minister and political newcomer who managed to draw more than 2,000 people to a Freedom Rally" headlined by Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, at which Lankford was accused of being not conservative enough.When James (Lankford) certified the big lie, he joined the big lie," Jackson Lahmeyer told the raucous crowd in Norman, citing Lankford's failure to endorse Trump's false claims about the election outcome. The 2020 presidential election that was a stolen election and we will never, ever allow it to happen again. The state's GOP chairman, John Bennett, has already endorsed Lahmeyer in the race. Similar scenes are playing out in other red states where ultra right-wing challengers are tapping into anger among Republicans over Trump's election loss and coronavirus-related lockdowns. Some incumbents suddenly are scrambling to defend their right flank, heating up their own rhetoric on social media and ripping into President Joe Biden at every opportunity. In Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who faces a contested reelection primary next year, is pushing looser gun laws than he ever previously embraced and proposing unprecedented state actions, including promises to build more walls on the Mexican border.I think its unquestionably attributable to the aftermath of the 2020 election and the insurrection and former President Trumps claims of voter fraud, said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.Some conservative incumbents are obvious targets for right-wing challenges notably U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney in Wyoming and Anthony Gonzalez in Ohio who voted to impeach Trump. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's offense was refusing to block Georgia's electoral votes from being awarded to Biden. But with the 2022 election cycle approaching, the backlash is also touching even those who backed Trump consistently through countless controversies. Texas' Abbott echoed Trump's partisan positions and has banked $55 million in campaign funds, more than any sitting governor in history.But he's drawn a challenge from Allen West, who until recently was the chairman of the Texas GOP. West, a tea party firebrand and former Florida congressman, has attacked Abbott's leadership after Democrats temporarily thwarted a GOP voting bill by decamping to Washington.And he can draw a crowd. Last year, West led a boisterous rally outside the governors mansion to demand an end to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.We cannot sit around and continue to do nothing, West told supporters in South Texas during one of his first campaign stops. Actually winning a primary is probably more than many challengers, including West, can expect. But they can succeed in pushing the party farther to the right while also raising their own profiles as public figures.Republican officeholders have faced challenges from the right in the past, but Trumps put a different name and spin to it" this time, said Pat McFerron, a Republican strategist and pollster in Oklahoma.As we become more self-selective with the media we consume, people find like-minded people in different social media channels and they think theyre in greater numbers than they are and feel they have an opportunity," he said. In Arkansas, Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a two-term incumbent, has drawn several GOP challengers, including the owner of a gun range that drew national attention for banning Muslims. Another is a former Arkansas Razorbacks football player whose campaign kickoff ad shows him firing an assault rifle and complaining that Democrats in Washington have been taken over by radical socialists." Boozman's opponents have criticized him for certifying the presidential election results. He may also draw fire because he is unusually mild-mannered for such a highly charged time. While he has historically focused on the state's agriculture industry and services for veterans, he now frequently mentions Trump in his campaign emails and even offered tickets to a Trump rally.Republican officials in Idaho would usually be considered among the farthest right in the nation, but they, too, are under pressure. Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has announced plans to challenge incumbent GOP Gov. Brad Little in 2022, and Bundy's People's Rights organization has been among those staging mask-burning rallies to protest coronavirus restrictions. The anti-incumbent exposure can even be seen in lower state-level races in blue states. In one of Virginias most solidly red state House districts, an attorney who worked on the Trump campaigns challenges defeated a seven-term incumbent in a June primary.I saw firsthand what happens when election integrity isnt maintained, challenger Wren Williams said in a campaign ad. Williams criticized Del. Charles Poindexter for failing to speak out against alleged voter fraud and defeated him by more than 25 points.In Oklahoma, Lankford was jarred by the party chairman's endorsement of his opponent, which he said was an unheard of" breach of traditional party neutrality. In response, hes quickly ramped up his criticism of Biden, hammering the president in particular on immigration.This is the problem, Lankford said in a recent video from the Texas-Mexico border with immigrants being processed behind him. This is the thing that Biden does not want you to see ... this is absolutely an open border situation.In the current political climate, it's hard for a Republican official to be safely conservative enough, said Abramowitz.You look at Sen. Lankford, there arent many Republican senators as conservative as him.___Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

Related video: Arkansas governor ponders future in post-Trump GOP

Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he'd need to coast to re-election in deep-red Oklahoma.

A devout Baptist, Lankford was the director of the nations largest Christian youth camp for more than a decade. He speaks out regularly against abortion and what he describes as excessive government spending. And his voting record in the Senate aligned with former President Donald Trumps position nearly 90% of the time.

But like several other seemingly safe GOP incumbents, Lankford, who didn't even draw a primary opponent in 2016, finds himself under fierce attack by a challenger in his own party. The antagonist is a 29-year-old evangelical minister and political newcomer who managed to draw more than 2,000 people to a Freedom Rally" headlined by Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, at which Lankford was accused of being not conservative enough.

When James (Lankford) certified the big lie, he joined the big lie," Jackson Lahmeyer told the raucous crowd in Norman, citing Lankford's failure to endorse Trump's false claims about the election outcome. The 2020 presidential election that was a stolen election and we will never, ever allow it to happen again. The state's GOP chairman, John Bennett, has already endorsed Lahmeyer in the race.

Similar scenes are playing out in other red states where ultra right-wing challengers are tapping into anger among Republicans over Trump's election loss and coronavirus-related lockdowns. Some incumbents suddenly are scrambling to defend their right flank, heating up their own rhetoric on social media and ripping into President Joe Biden at every opportunity.

In Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who faces a contested reelection primary next year, is pushing looser gun laws than he ever previously embraced and proposing unprecedented state actions, including promises to build more walls on the Mexican border.

AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

I think its unquestionably attributable to the aftermath of the 2020 election and the insurrection and former President Trumps claims of voter fraud, said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.

Some conservative incumbents are obvious targets for right-wing challenges notably U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney in Wyoming and Anthony Gonzalez in Ohio who voted to impeach Trump. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's offense was refusing to block Georgia's electoral votes from being awarded to Biden.

But with the 2022 election cycle approaching, the backlash is also touching even those who backed Trump consistently through countless controversies. Texas' Abbott echoed Trump's partisan positions and has banked $55 million in campaign funds, more than any sitting governor in history.

But he's drawn a challenge from Allen West, who until recently was the chairman of the Texas GOP. West, a tea party firebrand and former Florida congressman, has attacked Abbott's leadership after Democrats temporarily thwarted a GOP voting bill by decamping to Washington.

And he can draw a crowd. Last year, West led a boisterous rally outside the governors mansion to demand an end to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

We cannot sit around and continue to do nothing, West told supporters in South Texas during one of his first campaign stops.

Actually winning a primary is probably more than many challengers, including West, can expect. But they can succeed in pushing the party farther to the right while also raising their own profiles as public figures.

Republican officeholders have faced challenges from the right in the past, but Trumps put a different name and spin to it" this time, said Pat McFerron, a Republican strategist and pollster in Oklahoma.

As we become more self-selective with the media we consume, people find like-minded people in different social media channels and they think theyre in greater numbers than they are and feel they have an opportunity," he said.

In Arkansas, Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a two-term incumbent, has drawn several GOP challengers, including the owner of a gun range that drew national attention for banning Muslims. Another is a former Arkansas Razorbacks football player whose campaign kickoff ad shows him firing an assault rifle and complaining that Democrats in Washington have been taken over by radical socialists."

Boozman's opponents have criticized him for certifying the presidential election results. He may also draw fire because he is unusually mild-mannered for such a highly charged time. While he has historically focused on the state's agriculture industry and services for veterans, he now frequently mentions Trump in his campaign emails and even offered tickets to a Trump rally.

Republican officials in Idaho would usually be considered among the farthest right in the nation, but they, too, are under pressure. Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has announced plans to challenge incumbent GOP Gov. Brad Little in 2022, and Bundy's People's Rights organization has been among those staging mask-burning rallies to protest coronavirus restrictions.

The anti-incumbent exposure can even be seen in lower state-level races in blue states. In one of Virginias most solidly red state House districts, an attorney who worked on the Trump campaigns challenges defeated a seven-term incumbent in a June primary.

I saw firsthand what happens when election integrity isnt maintained, challenger Wren Williams said in a campaign ad. Williams criticized Del. Charles Poindexter for failing to speak out against alleged voter fraud and defeated him by more than 25 points.

In Oklahoma, Lankford was jarred by the party chairman's endorsement of his opponent, which he said was an unheard of" breach of traditional party neutrality.

In response, hes quickly ramped up his criticism of Biden, hammering the president in particular on immigration.

This is the problem, Lankford said in a recent video from the Texas-Mexico border with immigrants being processed behind him. This is the thing that Biden does not want you to see ... this is absolutely an open border situation.

In the current political climate, it's hard for a Republican official to be safely conservative enough, said Abramowitz.

You look at Sen. Lankford, there arent many Republican senators as conservative as him.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

See original here:
These seemingly safe GOP incumbents are now facing challenges from the party's right wing - KCCI Des Moines

Many factors including taxation without representation, the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act, and the 1773 Tea Act.In simplest terms, the Boston Tea Party happened as a result of taxation without representation, yet the cause is more complex than that. The American colonists believed Britain was unfairly taxing them to pay for expenses incurred during the French and Indian War. Additionally, colonists believed Parliament did not have the right to tax them because the American colonies were not represented in Parliament.Since the beginning of the 18th century, tea had been regularly imported to the American colonies. By the time of the Boston Tea Party, it has been estimated American colonists drank approximately 1.2 million pounds of tea each year. Britain realized it could make even more money off of the lucrative tea trade by imposing taxes onto the American colonies. In effect, the cost of British tea became high, and, in response, American colonists began a very lucrative industry of smuggling tea from the Dutch and other European markets. These smuggling operations violated the Navigation Acts which had been in place since the middle of the 17th century. The smuggling of tea was undercutting the lucrative British tea trade. In response to the smuggling, in 1767 Parliament passed the Indemnity Act, which repealed the tax on tea and made British tea the same price as the Dutch. The Indemnity Act greatly cut down on American tea smuggling, but later in 1767 a new tax on tea was put in place by the Townshend Revenue Act. The act also taxed glass, lead, oil, paint, and paper. Due to boycotts and protests, the Townshend Revenue Act taxes on all commodities except tea were repealed in 1770. In 1773, the Tea Act was passed and granted the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. The smuggling of tea grew rampant and was a lucrative business venture for American colonists, such as John Hancock and Samuel Adams. The Townshend Revenue Act tea tax remained in place despite proposals to have it waived. American colonists were outraged over the tea tax. They believed the Tea Act was a tactic to gain colonial support for the tax already enforced. The direct sale of tea by agents of the British East India Company to the American colonies undercut the business of colonial merchants. The smuggled tea became more expensive than the British East India Company tea. Smugglers like John Hancock and Samuel Adams were trying to protect their economic interests by opposing the Tea Act, and Samuel Adams sold the opposition of British tea to the Patriots on the pretext of the abolishment of human rights by being taxed without representation.

Read more from the original source:
Boston Tea Party Facts | Boston History

BERKELEY SPRINGS What a huge success the Tea Party in the Park was which was held on June 12, at the State Park, in Berkeley Springs.

Members of Ye Towne of Bath Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, which began in 1932, started the Tea Party in the Park in 2020 with the Morgan County Commemorative Event which led to the Annual Tea Party in the Park Annual Commemorative Event 2021.

The Tea Party in the Park grew with four vendors this year, Steve French Historian, Berkeley Springs Chamber of Commerce; Morgan County Arts Council; and Catherine Catanella from Ellens Tea Room who discussed the history of tea. Twelve members of the chapter dressed in Revolutionary Era dresses. Sweet tea, unsweetened tea and water along with scones, cookies and cupcakes were served to over 100 patrons.

Carolyn Scheydt, organizer of the event made sure educational material was distributed such as the flag code booklets, the Americans Creed, Pledge of Allegiance, Constitution booklet and the Pledge of Allegiance for the Deaf.

Patrons enjoyed receiving wooden American Flags and we gave a salute to our veterans. The DAR brochure was also distributed with hopes of increasing membership. State Regent Cheryl Brown attended and joyed in the fun. The eldest of our members, at the young age of 93, Nancy Edwards blessed us with her presence. Fun was had by all.

For more information, visit DAR.org

Read more from the original source:
Tea Party in the Park was a success - Martinsburg Journal

Related video: Arkansas governor ponders future in post-Trump GOPRepublican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he'd need to coast to re-election in deep-red Oklahoma.A devout Baptist, Lankford was the director of the nations largest Christian youth camp for more than a decade. He speaks out regularly against abortion and what he describes as excessive government spending. And his voting record in the Senate aligned with former President Donald Trumps position nearly 90% of the time.But like several other seemingly safe GOP incumbents, Lankford, who didn't even draw a primary opponent in 2016, finds himself under fierce attack by a challenger in his own party. The antagonist is a 29-year-old evangelical minister and political newcomer who managed to draw more than 2,000 people to a Freedom Rally" headlined by Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, at which Lankford was accused of being not conservative enough.When James (Lankford) certified the big lie, he joined the big lie," Jackson Lahmeyer told the raucous crowd in Norman, citing Lankford's failure to endorse Trump's false claims about the election outcome. The 2020 presidential election that was a stolen election and we will never, ever allow it to happen again. The state's GOP chairman, John Bennett, has already endorsed Lahmeyer in the race. Similar scenes are playing out in other red states where ultra right-wing challengers are tapping into anger among Republicans over Trump's election loss and coronavirus-related lockdowns. Some incumbents suddenly are scrambling to defend their right flank, heating up their own rhetoric on social media and ripping into President Joe Biden at every opportunity. In Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who faces a contested reelection primary next year, is pushing looser gun laws than he ever previously embraced and proposing unprecedented state actions, including promises to build more walls on the Mexican border.I think its unquestionably attributable to the aftermath of the 2020 election and the insurrection and former President Trumps claims of voter fraud, said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.Some conservative incumbents are obvious targets for right-wing challenges notably U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney in Wyoming and Anthony Gonzalez in Ohio who voted to impeach Trump. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's offense was refusing to block Georgia's electoral votes from being awarded to Biden. But with the 2022 election cycle approaching, the backlash is also touching even those who backed Trump consistently through countless controversies. Texas' Abbott echoed Trump's partisan positions and has banked $55 million in campaign funds, more than any sitting governor in history.But he's drawn a challenge from Allen West, who until recently was the chairman of the Texas GOP. West, a tea party firebrand and former Florida congressman, has attacked Abbott's leadership after Democrats temporarily thwarted a GOP voting bill by decamping to Washington.And he can draw a crowd. Last year, West led a boisterous rally outside the governors mansion to demand an end to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.We cannot sit around and continue to do nothing, West told supporters in South Texas during one of his first campaign stops. Actually winning a primary is probably more than many challengers, including West, can expect. But they can succeed in pushing the party farther to the right while also raising their own profiles as public figures.Republican officeholders have faced challenges from the right in the past, but Trumps put a different name and spin to it" this time, said Pat McFerron, a Republican strategist and pollster in Oklahoma.As we become more self-selective with the media we consume, people find like-minded people in different social media channels and they think theyre in greater numbers than they are and feel they have an opportunity," he said. In Arkansas, Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a two-term incumbent, has drawn several GOP challengers, including the owner of a gun range that drew national attention for banning Muslims. Another is a former Arkansas Razorbacks football player whose campaign kickoff ad shows him firing an assault rifle and complaining that Democrats in Washington have been taken over by radical socialists." Boozman's opponents have criticized him for certifying the presidential election results. He may also draw fire because he is unusually mild-mannered for such a highly charged time. While he has historically focused on the state's agriculture industry and services for veterans, he now frequently mentions Trump in his campaign emails and even offered tickets to a Trump rally.Republican officials in Idaho would usually be considered among the farthest right in the nation, but they, too, are under pressure. Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has announced plans to challenge incumbent GOP Gov. Brad Little in 2022, and Bundy's People's Rights organization has been among those staging mask-burning rallies to protest coronavirus restrictions. The anti-incumbent exposure can even be seen in lower state-level races in blue states. In one of Virginias most solidly red state House districts, an attorney who worked on the Trump campaigns challenges defeated a seven-term incumbent in a June primary.I saw firsthand what happens when election integrity isnt maintained, challenger Wren Williams said in a campaign ad. Williams criticized Del. Charles Poindexter for failing to speak out against alleged voter fraud and defeated him by more than 25 points.In Oklahoma, Lankford was jarred by the party chairman's endorsement of his opponent, which he said was an unheard of" breach of traditional party neutrality. In response, hes quickly ramped up his criticism of Biden, hammering the president in particular on immigration.This is the problem, Lankford said in a recent video from the Texas-Mexico border with immigrants being processed behind him. This is the thing that Biden does not want you to see ... this is absolutely an open border situation.In the current political climate, it's hard for a Republican official to be safely conservative enough, said Abramowitz.You look at Sen. Lankford, there arent many Republican senators as conservative as him.___Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

Related video: Arkansas governor ponders future in post-Trump GOP

Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he'd need to coast to re-election in deep-red Oklahoma.

A devout Baptist, Lankford was the director of the nations largest Christian youth camp for more than a decade. He speaks out regularly against abortion and what he describes as excessive government spending. And his voting record in the Senate aligned with former President Donald Trumps position nearly 90% of the time.

But like several other seemingly safe GOP incumbents, Lankford, who didn't even draw a primary opponent in 2016, finds himself under fierce attack by a challenger in his own party. The antagonist is a 29-year-old evangelical minister and political newcomer who managed to draw more than 2,000 people to a Freedom Rally" headlined by Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, at which Lankford was accused of being not conservative enough.

When James (Lankford) certified the big lie, he joined the big lie," Jackson Lahmeyer told the raucous crowd in Norman, citing Lankford's failure to endorse Trump's false claims about the election outcome. The 2020 presidential election that was a stolen election and we will never, ever allow it to happen again. The state's GOP chairman, John Bennett, has already endorsed Lahmeyer in the race.

Similar scenes are playing out in other red states where ultra right-wing challengers are tapping into anger among Republicans over Trump's election loss and coronavirus-related lockdowns. Some incumbents suddenly are scrambling to defend their right flank, heating up their own rhetoric on social media and ripping into President Joe Biden at every opportunity.

In Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who faces a contested reelection primary next year, is pushing looser gun laws than he ever previously embraced and proposing unprecedented state actions, including promises to build more walls on the Mexican border.

AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

I think its unquestionably attributable to the aftermath of the 2020 election and the insurrection and former President Trumps claims of voter fraud, said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.

Some conservative incumbents are obvious targets for right-wing challenges notably U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney in Wyoming and Anthony Gonzalez in Ohio who voted to impeach Trump. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's offense was refusing to block Georgia's electoral votes from being awarded to Biden.

But with the 2022 election cycle approaching, the backlash is also touching even those who backed Trump consistently through countless controversies. Texas' Abbott echoed Trump's partisan positions and has banked $55 million in campaign funds, more than any sitting governor in history.

But he's drawn a challenge from Allen West, who until recently was the chairman of the Texas GOP. West, a tea party firebrand and former Florida congressman, has attacked Abbott's leadership after Democrats temporarily thwarted a GOP voting bill by decamping to Washington.

And he can draw a crowd. Last year, West led a boisterous rally outside the governors mansion to demand an end to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

We cannot sit around and continue to do nothing, West told supporters in South Texas during one of his first campaign stops.

Actually winning a primary is probably more than many challengers, including West, can expect. But they can succeed in pushing the party farther to the right while also raising their own profiles as public figures.

Republican officeholders have faced challenges from the right in the past, but Trumps put a different name and spin to it" this time, said Pat McFerron, a Republican strategist and pollster in Oklahoma.

As we become more self-selective with the media we consume, people find like-minded people in different social media channels and they think theyre in greater numbers than they are and feel they have an opportunity," he said.

In Arkansas, Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a two-term incumbent, has drawn several GOP challengers, including the owner of a gun range that drew national attention for banning Muslims. Another is a former Arkansas Razorbacks football player whose campaign kickoff ad shows him firing an assault rifle and complaining that Democrats in Washington have been taken over by radical socialists."

Boozman's opponents have criticized him for certifying the presidential election results. He may also draw fire because he is unusually mild-mannered for such a highly charged time. While he has historically focused on the state's agriculture industry and services for veterans, he now frequently mentions Trump in his campaign emails and even offered tickets to a Trump rally.

Republican officials in Idaho would usually be considered among the farthest right in the nation, but they, too, are under pressure. Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has announced plans to challenge incumbent GOP Gov. Brad Little in 2022, and Bundy's People's Rights organization has been among those staging mask-burning rallies to protest coronavirus restrictions.

The anti-incumbent exposure can even be seen in lower state-level races in blue states. In one of Virginias most solidly red state House districts, an attorney who worked on the Trump campaigns challenges defeated a seven-term incumbent in a June primary.

I saw firsthand what happens when election integrity isnt maintained, challenger Wren Williams said in a campaign ad. Williams criticized Del. Charles Poindexter for failing to speak out against alleged voter fraud and defeated him by more than 25 points.

In Oklahoma, Lankford was jarred by the party chairman's endorsement of his opponent, which he said was an unheard of" breach of traditional party neutrality.

In response, hes quickly ramped up his criticism of Biden, hammering the president in particular on immigration.

This is the problem, Lankford said in a recent video from the Texas-Mexico border with immigrants being processed behind him. This is the thing that Biden does not want you to see ... this is absolutely an open border situation.

In the current political climate, it's hard for a Republican official to be safely conservative enough, said Abramowitz.

You look at Sen. Lankford, there arent many Republican senators as conservative as him.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

Continued here:
These seemingly safe GOP incumbents are now facing challenges from the party's right wing - WDSU New Orleans

GREENVILLE Members of Concerned Citizens of Eastern North Carolina are voicing their concerns about critical race theory and how to keep it from being taught in schools.

About 30 people attended a July 6 meeting of the group, formerly the Eastern North Carolina Tea Party, to discuss CRT, which critics say is being incorporated into the states new social studies standard course of study.

We have to think about the adverse effect of this kind of indoctrination, brain-washing, member Elizabeth Weidner said. Theyre taking this down to children that are kindergartners all the way through 12th grade.

Critical race theory, a movement that suggests the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, was introduced by legal scholars in the 1980s. But it has recently become the topic of debate and discussion across the country.

The Pitt County Board of Education had discussions about CRT twice last month, although Pitt County Schools says the theory is not included in the districts curriculum. North Carolina is among several states that have introduced legislation (House Bill 324) to ban the teaching of critical race theory.

John Woodard, chief executive officer of Real American News, told members of the Concerned Citizens group that he was stunned at what he learned when researching CRT for his website.

These people are trying to break the American society down and pit group against group, white against black, male against female children against parents, he said.

Concerned Citizens member Diane Rufino said CRT is being taught in some school districts despite objections of parents.

The insidious nature of CRT is the fact that teachers are taking the place of the parents, Rufino, an attorney and blogger said. Once the kids are in school, theyre away from the parents, separated from family values, parental rights. Teachers have the ultimate say in what was taught to the kids.

Her comments came the same day The Associated Press reported the American Federation of Teachers is preparing litigation and a legal defense against those who try to limit lessons on racism.

Concerned Citizens member Kenneth Jones said parents deserve a say in what is being taught to their children.

Im old school. Im sorry. Im used to parents and teachers working together, he said. Whats going on?

Jones said that while racism exists, he does not believe that teaching critical race theory is educating students.

Its indoctrinating them, he said. We should be very angry about it. Push back. What parents need to do is have school choice or get out of the system or get rid of the system.

Sandy Smith, who ran in 2020 to represent North Carolinas 1st Congressional District, told fellow members that there are educators who do not support teaching critical race theory in schools.

There are great teachers that are being forced to teach this in our school systems, she said. I get phone calls and letters from them all the time. Theyre fearful for their jobs.

We need to keep that in mind that we are not only fighting for our children, were also fighting for our silent teachers that are not able to speak out.

Woodard, who launched Real American News in 2020 after five decades in the insurance industry, called critical race theory a Marxist, Leninist method and said terms like systemic racism reinforce discrimination, stereotypes and scapegoating.

It is a policy that teaches that whites have been and continue to be oppressors and blacks continue to be victims, he said. This scares everybody when they finally wake up and realize their children are being force-fed this garbage.

Woodard praised the efforts of Sloan Rachmuth, president of Education First Alliance, a conservative, North Carolina-based students rights advocacy group. Rachmuth, whose organization opposes schools promoting critical race theory, spoke in May to an audience of about 40 people attending Strong Parent Bootcamp at Homeplace of Ayden.

Shes really the one who ought to be here, telling you all this, Woodard said. Im 76 years old. Ive been in politics all my life, practically. I believe that if we dont get up and fight then were going to lose our children and our society.

Others offered comments that echoed Woodards sense of urgency.

This is not politics as usual, Well get them next time if we lose this election, said Michael Karachun. Were almost out of time. Youd better take this very, very seriously.

Jones, a pastor, described the battle over what should be taught to children as a spiritual one and said the church should be involved.

Weve been so busy saying Oh, we cant get into politics, he said.

When I was raised back in the 50s, the fact is that you had to come to the church in order to run for office. Today we need true men and women who are grounded and rooted in the Judaeo-Christian (beliefs) because without God we have no country.

William Cratch, a contributor and writer for the website Beaufort County Now, told Concerned Citizens that critical race theory has no scientific basis.

Theres no math. Theres no logical evidence to back up what theyre saying, he said.CRT is nothing new and it is nothing more than modern-day eugenics.

Cratch urged Concerned Citizens to become involved in politics at the local level in order to stand against the teaching of CRT.

Are we going to sit back and let our children or anybody else be indoctrinated by the stuff of the occult, Nazism and pure evil? We are standing on a precipice in more ways than one.

More here:
Former Tea Party group speaks out against teaching of critical race theory - The Daily Advance