The case against critical race fear-mongering
Beware of Obamacare!
Those 鈥渄eath panels鈥� are brutal.
Remember them?
They were hatched out of thin air by Republicans, with hopes of thwarting President Obama鈥檚 proposed health-care reform bill in 2009.
It was the boogeyman the folks on the right used as shorthand for the predicted danger that would befall America鈥檚 elderly if they signed up for the expansive new plan.
When that bill became law, there became no 鈥渄eath panels.鈥�
There have never been any 鈥渄eath panels.鈥�
The Republicans who alerted us to them knew there wouldn鈥檛 be any of them.
They still couldn鈥檛 resist finding ways to remind us of them daily.
They were using that tired, old, fear-mongering technique they鈥檇 used when they warned us that the fellow who was running for president in 2008 was a secret Muslim, hellbent on jettisoning democracy from our nation.
And so, in the days leading up to the presidential election in 2020, President Trump discovered a new boogeyman 鈥� 鈥渃ritical race theory.鈥�
According to Trump鈥檚 directive, 鈥渁ll agencies are directed to begin to identify all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on 鈥榗ritical race theory.'鈥�
Bingo!
A new boogeyman was born.
One that could be easily repeated all over right-wing media ad nauseam.
He鈥檇 indicated that 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� was antithetical to American life as we know it, or as it was meant to be.
Before long, Trump devotees were claiming that CRT had seeped into public schools, where it鈥檚 being force-fed to the nation鈥檚 vulnerable young鈥檜ns.
According to many Republicans, schoolchildren are being taught to hate themselves and the country because it鈥檚 鈥渋nherently racist and evil.鈥�
By August of this year, 27 states had introduced legislation that would hinder 鈥渃ritical race theory,鈥� or the discussions of race in public schools.
It doesn鈥檛 matter that no public school in the entire United States teaches CRT.
Those Republicans who brandish 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� know that its mention is a call to arms to suburban white voters, who may feel their role in society is being diminished.
To them, CRT is racist. To be frank, calling for CRT to end, when it doesn鈥檛 exist, is, for the lack of a better word 鈥� racist!
Republicans never let a good boogeyman get in the way of some votes.
That鈥檚 exactly what the newly elected Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, did.
While he was campaigning, Youngkin signaled that he鈥檇 prevent Virginia鈥檚 public schools from teaching CRT as if there were already plans to teach it.
There weren鈥檛 any plans.
It鈥檚 a funny thing, when people campaign against something that doesn鈥檛, or wouldn鈥檛 exist 鈥� but they campaign anyway.
Perhaps Democrats should come up with their own boogeymen.
They could find stuff that doesn鈥檛 exist, but they could still campaign as if Republicans are planning to make it happen, anyway.
They could announce, 鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna stop having loaded assault rifles and target practicing at birthday parties for toddlers.鈥�
They could call it 鈥淎nti-bullets for Babies Theory.鈥�
That couldn鈥檛 be any worse than trying to outlaw something that doesn鈥檛 exist.
It鈥檚 a familiar formula.
Coin a phrase, and ignite a controversy worthy of campaigning against.
鈥淒efund the police,鈥� was a boogeyman used by Republican candidates in 2020.
Listen closely. They鈥檙e still clinging to that fiction.
Down through the years, Republicans have race-baited using 鈥渃rosstown busing鈥� and 鈥渨elfare queens.鈥�
Dr. Seuss was good enough for a rallying cry, when the folks running that enterprise suggested they were pulling some of their books from store shelves, because of 鈥渙ffensive imagery.鈥�
According to politicians on the right, that was caused by left-wing-based 鈥渃ancel culture.鈥�
Of course, that was a misrepresentation. The Dr. Seuss estate was responsible for the change.
No Democratic politician had anything to do with it.
You see how this works, don鈥檛 you?
Since Youngkin struck gold in Virginia, you can expect lots of Republican candidates to conjure up rogue grade school educators who鈥檒l force 鈥渃ritical race theory鈥� down the throats of the nation鈥檚 school kids.
Republicans can鈥檛 help themselves.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 40-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.