4/24/2023 0 Comments Virginia race dominate ad wars![]() In fact, politicians’ sparring over the facts - or Democrats’ oversimplifying voters’ concerns as “ fake outrage” - might make those underlying fears seem more justified. Once those fears have been stirred up, Arora and other experts told us that it can be very difficult for other politicians to dismiss them. “Calling critical race theory an ‘existential threat’ activates racial animus and fears around white victimhood, which are strongly tied to support for conservative candidates and policies,” said Maneesh Arora, a political scientist at Wellesley College. Rather, the reason why abortion rights and critical race theory sticks in people’s minds is that these issues touch on broader anxieties. Experts told us that’s because Republicans’ often misleading framing is effective not because Americans believe it wholeheartedly or because they know all that much about the issue. Why not just tell voters that critical race theory isn’t being taught and move on? Or say that abortions are safe and increasingly rare but will always be necessary for some women? But so far, Democrats haven’t really figured out a way to convince voters that some GOP messages aren’t based in reality. The rebuttal to these issues seems like it should be simple. And because of that, Democrats frequently appear to be ceding ground, even though voters typically trust them more than Republicans on these issues and public opinion is often on the Democrats’ side. Abortion, one of the most powerful and long-lasting social issues in modern politics, is another example where arguments are increasingly framed in ways that tend to benefit Republicans. There’s an entire gamut of culture wars where this dynamic has taken hold. The debate over critical race theory - a complex academic framework for understanding racism that would never actually be taught to second-graders but that at least nine state legislatures have tried to ban anyway - is just one such example. ![]() Republican politicians, in particular, build entire campaigns around false or misleading information, then implement policies that respond to those falsehoods, cementing them further in our political landscape. This kind of tactic is increasingly familiar in politics today. ![]() But the impact of this executive order is less straightforward than it seems, because critical race theory isn’t actually taught in Virginia public schools. Education policy, particularly the alleged role critical race theory plays in public school curricula, was a centerpiece of Youngkin’s campaign. It was a smart way to show his base he’s already jumping on issues they care about. 15, the day he took office, 1 he banned the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts, including critical race theory” in K-12 public schools. In the first of nine executive orders issued on Jan. Virginia’s new governor, Glenn Youngkin, kicked off his term with a political magic trick.
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