Top Ten #RedforEd Political Power Plays in 2019

Thousands of Arizona teachers march through downtown Phoenix on their way to the State Cap
Ralph Freso/Getty Images
Michael Patrick Leahy

In February, Breitbart News became the first national media outlet to report on the 2020 political aspirations of the #RedforEd movement.

Breitbart News reported:

A well-funded and subversive leftist movement of teachers in the United States threatens to tilt the political balance nationwide in the direction of Democrats across the country as Republicans barely hang on in key states that they need to hold for President Donald Trump to win re-election and for Republicans to have a shot at retaking the House and holding onto their Senate majority.

This teachers union effort, called #RedforEd, has its roots in the very same socialism that President Trump vowed in his 2019 State of the Union address to stop, and it began in its current form in early 2018 in a far-flung corner of the country before spreading nationally. Its stated goals–higher teacher pay and better education conditions–are overshadowed by a more malevolent political agenda: a leftist Democrat uprising designed to flip purple or red states to blue, using the might of a significant part of the education system as its lever.

Here are the top ten political power plays by the #RedforEd movement in 2019, all of which served as warm ups for the big event: the 2020 presidential election.

(1) The Defeat of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in Kentucky

In a major victory for the #RedforEd movement, Democrat Andy Beshear defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in his bid for re-election, as Breitbart News reported on November 5:

The #RedforEd teachers movement flexed its political muscle in the Kentucky gubernatorial race on Tuesday, powering the campaign of Democrat Attorney General Andy Beshear against incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting as of 9:55 p.m. EST, Beshear had a narrow 0.3 point lead, with 49.2 percent of the vote to Bevin’s 48.9 percent. Libertarian candidate John Hicks had two percent of the vote. . .

Bevin’s handling of a series of unauthorized teachers strikes organized by the local Kentucky #RedforEd teachers group this past spring created great anger among many of the state’s teachers, and they vowed to defeat him in November.

(2) The Two Largest Teachers Unions in the Country, Key Players in the #RedforEd Movement, Announce Their Support for the Impeachment Inquiry of President Trump

In September, the presidents of the two largest national teachers unions, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) dropped any pretense of “bipartisanship” and announced their full support for the impeachment inquiry, as Breitbart News reported:

Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, struck first with this these comments in a statement released on Tuesday:

Donald Trump has undermined the rule of law, threatened our national security, and held in contempt the very institutions on which our republic was built, most notably in his use of presidential power to pressure a foreign government to investigate a potential political opponent. He must be held accountable. No one is above the law.

As educators, we have worked to defend democracy—in our classrooms and our communities—despite the president’s near-constant assault. We are grateful that House leadership will offer the powers of congressional oversight to this fight against presidential corruption and that they will launch a full and transparent inquiry into President Trump’s betrayal of American democracy and crimes against the country he swore to protect. . .

Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the NEA, was not far behind, releasing this tweet late Tuesday/early Wednesday:

(3) Tens of Thousands of #RedforEd Teachers Walk Out of Class for ‘May Day’ Marches in North Carolina and South Carolina

More than ten thousand #RedforEd public school teachers in North Carolina and South Carolina walked out on their classes and marched through the streets of their respective state capitols to demand higher wages and more money for schools on May 1, as Breitbart News reported:

Thousands of #RedforEd public school teachers in North Carolina and South Carolina walked out on their classes and marched through the streets of their respective state capitols to demand higher wages and more money for schools on Wednesday.

In North Carolina, the teacher walkout forced more than 34 public school districts in the state to shut down for the day, keeping more than half of the state’s public school students out of classes as the academic year winds down. .  .

In South Carolina, an estimated 10,000 teachers marched to the State Capitol in Columbia, as The Post and Courier reported.

(4) All the Major Democrat Presidential Candidates Announce Their Support for #RedforEd ‘May Day’ Teacher Walk Out in the Carolinas

Most of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Beto O’Rourke, confirmed the partisan political motivations behind the #RedforEd movement with tweets supporting the Carolina teacher walkouts on May 1, as Breitbart News reported.

(5) #RedforEd Activists from Chicago Teachers Union Go to Venezuela in Support of Maduro’s Socialist Regime

A four-member delegation from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), all active supporters of the #RedforEd movement, traveled to Venezuela in July to provide support for the socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro, as Breitbart News reported:

A four member delegation from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), all active supporters of the #RedforEd movement, traveled to Venezuela earlier this month to provide support for the socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro.

The delegation consisted of Richard Berg, a former Teamsters Union official who currently works for the CTU, and “rank and file” CTU strike captains Sarah Chambers, Fabiana Mariel, and V Voeta Vargas, according to press reports.

(6) Chicago Teachers Union Goes on Strike, with Support from Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders

In October, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) went on strike, asking for more money and more support staff. The Chicago Public Schools caved to their demands, after presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders came to lend their support. Performance of public school students in Chicago has not improved over time, as Breitbart News reported:

The CTU, which is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, is seeking more pay for its 25,000 teachers and has several other demands, including more support staff. An additional 10,000 CPS support staff workers, who are members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) are also on strike.

(7) 25,000 #RedforEd Teachers Walk Out in Oregon, Forcing Some Public Schools to Close
Not to be outdone by teacher walk outs in other states, more than 25,000 public school teachers staged simultaneous walkouts and rallies in Portland, Oregon, and other locations around the state in May, forcing some public schools to close, as Breitbart News reported.

(8) 15,000 #RedforEd Teachers Skip Classes for Indiana Rally to Lobby State Legislature for More Pay

In November, 15,000 public school teachers skipped classes in Indiana to lobby the state legislature for more pay as part of the “Red for Ed Action Day,” as Breitbart News reported:

As the Indianapolis Star reported, the Indiana State Teachers Association, which represents the public school teachers participating in the “#RedforEd Action Day” rally, has three key political objectives it wants to accomplish with the state legislature:

  1. It wants an investment from the state in teacher pay.
  2. It wants lawmakers to make good on a promise to hold schools and teachers harmless from state test scores, which dropped sharply when the state introduced the new ILEARN test in the spring.
  3. It wants a new professional development requirement repealed.

Public schools in South Bend, Indiana, the city of just over 100,000 whose mayor, Pete Buttigieg, is now among the top tier of Democratic presidential contenders, were among those that closed on Tuesday.

(9) #RedforEd Teachers Lobby to Increase Local Property Taxes in North Carolina

At the end of May, #RedforEd movement unveiled a new tactic in Wake County, North Carolina: lobbying for significant increases in local property taxes to fund higher teachers salaries and spending on public education, as Breitbart News reported:

The North Carolina #RedforEd group, which along with the North Carolina Association of Educators sponsored the May 1 rally at the State Capitol in Raleigh which drew 15,000 teachers who walked out of classes to lobby for more state money, has not formally taken a stance on the Wake County local property tax increase, but the crowd was comprised of a number of Wake County #RedforEd members.

(10) Michigan Teachers Hold #RedforEd Rally to Support Democrat Governor’s Spending Plan

Michigan teachers’ unions held a #RedforEd rally in June at the State Capitol in Lansing in support of Democrat Gov. Whitmer’s budget, as Breitbart News reported.

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