From today’s TFN News Clips:
“I think he doesn’t understand what we’ve done. If he depended on the San Antonio newspaper and the Austin American Statesman and the Texas Freedom Network — they make us out to be awful sometimes.”
— Texas State Board of Education member Don McLeroy, blaming the board’s poor reputation on the news media and the Texas Freedom Network. McLeroy is referring to Michael Soto, a candidate for the San Antonio board seat Rick Agosto currently holds. Agosto has said he won’t seek re-election.
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“…they make us out to be awful sometimes” – Don McLeroy
Doesn’t take a lot of effort…
No, I think that Mr. Soto understands exactly what the SBOE has done. As a resident of San Antonio, I’ll be looking into Mr. Soto’s credentials and stances very closely.
Don McLeroy said:
“I think he doesn’t understand what we’ve done. If he depended on the San Antonio newspaper and the Austin American Statesman and the Texas Freedom Network — they make us out to be awful sometimes.”
I was thinking about this last night, and the quote above taps into my thoughts. We all had moms and dads, most of us grew up in a nice church, and most of our parents instructed us to avoid saying negative things about other people, their ideas, and what they believe. The far right members of the SBOE apparently see their political actions, ideology, and personal fervor in a very good light. They seem to believe that even their opponents recognize them as having that positive glow—but they just make up “awful things” to say about them in the name of rough and tumble politics. In other words, they are either clueless, they just believe it’s some sort of cute public game, or they protect themselves psychologically with a fun wink of the eye and a resolute “I’m okay, You’re okay.” In other words, we’ll take all morning, argue each other blue in the face about the politics of education, and then go fishing together in the afternoon.
Certain words that our moms did not want us to use in talking about people are in the dictionary for a reason. For example, the word “liar” is in there because people do that sometimes. It is a reality in this world. Some people do either lie or are totally deceived into thinking that a pack of lies is actually truth. Therefore, when members of the SBOE and their friends come to TFN Insider, they are making a grave mistake if they think that the negative thoughts expressed here are just packages of make bellieve, distortion, and propaganda conjured up for a fun, rough and tumble political game. For example, someone might say, “I think Don McLeroy ideas about education are stupid.” They are not saying that to ruin someone’s life or anything along those lines. They are not saying it just to fire a political spitball in his direction. They are saying it because, in their honest and heartfelt personal opinion, they REALLY DO firmly think or believe that Don’s ideas on education are stupid. So, like in the quote above where Don says, “…they make us out to be awful sometimes,” he needs to understand that there is no “making out.” The people here are saying what they are saying because they HONESTLY DO think or believe that the SBOE is awful. The SBOE members just need to get that reality absorbed into their noggins.
Don’s statement above made me think of two very apropos quotes from President Harry S. Truman:
“Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.”
“I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”
Don McLeroy said of the media and TFN: “they make us out to be awful sometimes.”
No, Don, I’m afraid that’s not quite right. YOU make YOURSELF out to be awful. And not just “sometimes.”
Then Cytocop makes an even better observation.
Rule #1 of idiot politicians: when your policies are being criticized, blame the media for misrepresenting them.