TX GOP Spokesman: Critical Thinking Opposition in Platform Was an ‘Oversight’

A Texas Republican Party official says the party never meant to include an attack on teaching critical thinking skills in the platform it adopted this month. Talking Points Memo quotes state GOP Communications Director Chris Elam as claiming that plank got into the platform by mistake: “[The chairman of the Education Subcommittee] indicated that it […]

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Texas GOP Platform: Don’t Teach Kids Critical Thinking Skills!

Remember when Texas State Board of Education member David Bradley criticized teachers and scholars who were crafting new language arts and reading curriculum standards for Texas schools back in 2008? Having students actually think about what they were reading didn’t seem like a good idea to Bradley: “I’m sorry. This critical thinking stuff is gobbledygook.” Well, […]

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Texas GOP Platform ‘Deplores Discrimination’ — Except Against Gay People

Read the Texas Freedom Network’s analysis of the 2012 Texas Republican Party platform here. The full platform itself is here. We thought these two passages were particularly revealing. Page 7: “Homosexuality — We affirm that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit. Homosexual […]

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2012 Texas GOP Platform: Turning Back the Clock

Since the religious right took control of the Texas Republican Party back in the early 1990s, writing the state GOP’s platform has been an exercise in promoting extremism every two years. This year wasn’t any different. A Texas Freedom Network analysis shows how the 2012 Texas Republican Party turns back the clock by seeking to […]

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