With conservative candidates winning a striking number of school board races along with Trump’s win in 2024, the progressive left is losing its herd mind. Some are striking out at Kamala Harris, others at Joe Biden, and many at the far-left wing of the Democrat party that has been revealed to be glaringly out of touch with most of the country.
But, there are stalwarts within the progressive community, organizations with seemingly unlimited funding and zealotry who see the red wave as an opportunity to not only regroup but to redouble their efforts to change things in 2026. Two of these groups are the teachers’ unions and Planned Parenthood.
The two major teachers’ unions, NEA and AFT, made statements that preview what they will be saying for the next two years. Becky Pringle, the President of NEA, said this:
“As Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.’
“This is not the outcome we campaigned for, nor the future we wanted for our students and families, but it is the road through history we now must travel.
“Today, we lament, and tomorrow, we organize because our students need us advocating for them now more than ever. Our values don’t change based on who wins or loses an election. And we will continue to advocate and organize for what we believe in with all our strength.
“As educators, we are united in supporting every student—Native, Asian, Black, Latino, newcomer, white, LGBTQ+ and disabled—who deserve high-quality, safe, and welcoming public schools. And as educators, we will continue to remind him that the government of the United States and those elected to office have a responsibility to serve all people.
“We know this outcome will create anxiety for so many of our students and their families. In the coming days, weeks, and months, we will care for students who are at risk of losing their rights, protections, and accommodations. We will console students who fear for members of their families and their place in our communities. And we will use our educator voices to speak out against politicians trying to harm any of our students.
“Unions exist for moments like this. Members of our union will come together. We will redouble our efforts, summoning the righteous energy from Selma and Stonewall, Seneca Falls, and Philadelphia, where 43 educators gathered in 1857 to unite as one voice in the cause of public education, starting what would become the National Education Association.
“We will continue to advocate for students and find strength in last night’s results in Nebraska, Colorado, and Kentucky that showed when public education was put directly before voters, they chose to support children and support strong public schools. Voters rejected diverting public school funding to unaccountable and discriminatory private schools, just like they have done every time vouchers have been on the ballot.
“Now that this election is over, elected leaders around the country should come together and focus on serving all Americans, ensuring all students can attend an excellent public school, and America’s educators have the support and respect they deserve.”
Wow. Becky is really good at exaggeration and conflation. This is to be expected. To hear her speak, one would think that our country is one big gulag of oppressed people. Her comments are a regurgitation of the same old “danger to Democracy” line that didn’t work for progressives. Maybe Becky’s message needs a makeover.
On the AFT side, good old Randi Weingarten never disappoints:
“The voters have spoken. While we hoped and fought for a different outcome, we respect both their will and the peaceful transfer of power.
“At this moment, the country is more divided than ever, and our democracy is in jeopardy. Last night, we saw fear and anger win.
“Over the next few weeks, there will be a lot of ‘could have, should have, would have.’ But the bottom line for most people who voted—and we saw many of them as we crisscrossed the country—was ‘who will help us improve our lives, the lives of our families and our communities?’
“We believed it was Kamala Harris; more people believed it was Donald Trump.
“At the same time, our opportunity engines—labor unions and public schools—remain popular and enduring. It means we must fight for the means and agency to secure a better life, and that public education and a growing labor movement are more important than ever. For example, while Trump won Kentucky, the ballot initiative there to destroy public schools lost.
“Many people today are devastated; many are excited. Many wonder whether the arc of the universe does bend to justice; many wonder whether our democratic institutions will hold.
“These are questions that are not knowable today, but I pray we are curious and introspective enough to understand what happened and ask how we unify the country. What binds us as Americans is far more important than what divides us.
“I do know one thing: Educators, healthcare professionals and public employees will be doing everything they can to make a difference in the lives of the people they serve. And our guiding principle will be to continue to do the work to improve people’s lives: to fight for our children’s future and the promise of America.”
Randi never disappoints when it comes to whipping up fear, hatred, division and lies in her speeches. She couches her extreme points in statements that almost get to common sense, but never quite get there. Then she gets ridiculous. Does she actually believe in the “arc of the universe” bending to justice? What? Is that her new fundraising slogan? “Donate here and bend the arc of the universe to justice.”
Randi, like Becky, can’t seem to see the facts that they were on the wrong side of parents, families, and even many teachers, some who belong to the unions. NEA and AFT threw their lot into extreme goals for public schools and the voters rejected them.
Make no mistake they’ll be back with heavily funded strategies and school board candidate campaigns going forward and they will be more strident than ever. If they pretend to be moderate, don’t believe them. They’ll convince some that people who want parental rights are right wing extremists waiting in the wings to torture teachers and burn down schools. All that will be missing is a DOJ willing to do their bidding.
At least teachers unions have an understandable interest in school board races since school boards negotiate teachers’ contract. But, another group is jumping into the fray as well. Planned Parenthood.
It may seem odd for a group that focuses on abortions would be interested in local school board races. This article from THE FEDERALIST highlights what Planned Parenthood will be doing in Pennsylvania:
Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Aims For Local School Boards
The article details how Planned Parenthood will be working with Democrats in Pennsylvania to get progressive, abortion friendly school board candidates elected. The Governor, Josh Shapiro, was heavily supported by Planned Parenthood and Lindsey Mauldin, Shapiro’s deputy chief of staff for health and human services, was previously employed by Planned Parenthood.
What’s the objective? The objective is to make sure that every school district in Pennsylvania is like Philadelphia, where abortion is encouraged. Here is a copy of the 2024 Newsletter from Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania:
Page 3 from this newsletter:
As you can see, it’s not only about abortion, but also about promoting gender ideology in our schools. They want to train teachers in how to TEACH these topics in the way Planned Parenthood preaches.
You see, Planned Parenthood is not about abortion being “safe, legal and rare” as it was proclaimed decades ago. It’s not even about women’s health care as they proclaim. They want abortion to be the norm rather than the exception. They want a built-in customer base. If they can convince our children that abortion, whether through surgery or chemicals is okay, then they can make more money by offering these options in school. If they can get parents out of the loop, even better.
Think that is impossible? Take a look at Ballot Question One in Maryland. Here is the text of that recent addition to the Maryland State Constitution:
| That every person, as a central component of an individual’s rights to liberty and equality, has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including but not limited to the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one’s own pregnancy. The state may not, directly or indirectly, deny, burden, or abridge the right unless justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.[7] |
If you notice the reference is to “every person.” It does not indicate age or limitations on the right to an abortion. If taken to its most logical conclusion, this will extend to allowing or promoting Planned Parenthood clinics in schools in person and via telehealth. Currently, abortions are not offered without the approval of at least one parent.
For Teens | Planned Parenthood of Maryland, Inc.
Planned Parenthood of Maryland provides education and training programs for schools, community organizations, and faith-based institutions3. Maryland law allows teens to get certain services without parents’ knowledge or consent, including pregnancy tests, birth control, exams, and testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs)1. Planned Parenthood is also involved in partnering with schools and providing reproductive and sexual health care services25.
From Planned Parenthood:
It’s all about health care, right? I guess if you consider killing an unborn baby health care.
But Planned Parenthood wants a bigger piece of the pie. They also want the gender ideology piece where they can collect money from promoting and generating hormone therapies and dangerous surgeries to our children. They need that kickback from the pharmaceutical companies who want even more access in our schools than they currently have. How do they get that?
School Boards.
Get ready. They will dump millions into these races. They will target conservative candidates. This was the unions in 2024:
The vitriol and name calling was at an epic level. It will get worse going forward. Get ready. They are coming for school board seats and our kids. And now they have a new partner, Planned Parenthood.
Even at our local level, we had a “special” group of people who consistently lied about some of the school board candidates, just because those candidates were conservative. And now, they will have an additional group willing to up the ante.
Because in their minds, nothing says money and power like kids being sexually active, having abortions, getting hormone treatments, gender reassignment surgery and taking the morning after pill. And they will get those through school boards who don’t believe in parental rights.
The post Why Is Planned Parenthood Suddenly SO Interested In Local School Board Races? appeared first on The Easton Gazette.
