Ex-Obama campaign manager warns Democrats that GOP can't become the 'party of the parents' in 2022 after Dems' catastrophic defeat in Virginia governor race: 'We cannot let it go'
Former Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter on Wednesday warned fellow Democrats that the GOP cannot become 'the party of the parents' after Republican Glenn Youngkin's win over Democratic challenger and incumbent Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia gubernatorial race earlier in the day.
Youngkin's victory, which was a catastrophic defeat for Democrats, led Cutter to one conclusion: 'We cannot let it go.'
'The one thing that we need to make sure of is that Republicans in 2022 don’t become is the party of parent, because we need to be the party of the parents,' Cutter told MSNBC on Wednesday in a video tweeted out later in the day.
'And we are. We're the ones that care about school funding. We're the ones that care about making sure parents can send their kids to school because they have jobs to go to. All of this. We need to own that agenda. We cannot let it go.'
A handful of political analysts cited a united parental front in Virginia as a reason behind Younkin's unlikely win against McAuliffe, who had previously served as the state's governor from 2014 to 2018.
In particular, parents rallied behind the opposition to critical race theory (CRT) being taught in their children's classrooms, with confrontations with local school boards on the subject becoming more and more commonplace - and even violent - in recent weeks.
'The one thing that we need to make sure of is that Republicans in 2022 don’t become is the party of parent, because we need to be the party of the parents:' Stephanie Cutter, pictured
Glenn Youngkin gave his victory speech after he defeated Democratic challenger Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia gubernatorial race. He was declared the winner on Wednesday
Youngkin, pictured, had campaigned on 'fighting back against the Radical Left and putting families first'
As a result of the debate around CRT - which promotes the concept that American institutions are fundamentally racist - parents also argued for more of a say in their children's education.
Conservatives both state and nationwide have led the charge against progressives recently in the educational sphere, claiming they are harming students with curricula like CRT and rules regarding transgender students.
Youngkin had campaigned on 'fighting back against the Radical Left and putting families first.'
And in Virginia, the state's Department of Education recommended reading material that encouraged teachers to 'embrace' the controversial theory.
That schism between parents and school board is no more apparent than in what is America's wealthiest suburb - Loudoun County - where ongoing confrontations between parents and the board have made national headlines in recent months.
Angry parents, pictured, sing the Star Spangled Banner after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down
Pictured: arental opposition of critical race theory protesting outside Loudoun County School Board headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia on June 22
Students walked out of Loudoun County's schools on Tuesday in protest against the county's handling of a rape allegation after a judge found the boy accused guilty
Parents stood outside the meeting holding placards that read: 'Protect girls not gender' and' 'women and girls are not collateral damage'
The Virginia district in particular has been the epicenter of anger this summer at school curricula and policies - in particular, the aforementioned teaching of CRT and transgender students rules.
Back in July, the DailyMail.com reported that the Loudoun County school district spent more than $34,000 on Critical Race Theory coaching for its staff despite insisting it has no plans to teach the curriculum to students, according to newly-released documents.
An invoice, obtained by a parent through a freedom of information request and first reported by Fox News, reveals Loudoun County School Public Schools paid out $34,167 to equity consulting firm The Equity Collaborative in June 2020.
The payment was for coaching between the months of May and June that year, including 25 hours worth of coaching support for the county's director of equity which alone cost more than $15,000.
'I think it's important to keep our perspective on this, we've heard it several times tonight from our public speakers but the predator transgender student or person simply does not exist,' Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler said.
Four weeks earlier, Scott Smith's 15-year-old daughter told teachers she was raped in the girls' bathrooms at Stone Bridge High School in Leesburg, Virginia, by a male student who had been allowed into the bathroom because he told staff he identified as female.
The boy was arrested in July - a month after the meeting - but he went on to allegedly sexually assault another girl, at a different school in the same district, in October.
He is now in juvenile detention awaiting a court appearance on all charges, which include sexual battery and forcible sodomy.
A June 22 meeting in the district descended into violence and chaos, with brawls and police called to make several arrests.
At a Loudoun County Public Schools meeting enraged parents cited an email that surfaced where Superintendent Scott Ziegler (pictured) reported a sexual assault in the girls' bathroom
Parents referenced LCPS's pro-transgender policy 8040, which allows students 'to use the facility that corresponds to their consistently asserted gender identity'
Scott Smith, the father of a 15-year-old girl who was said to have been sexually assaulted in a school bathroom, pictured with being dragged out of a school board meeting on June 22
Smith was dragged out of the meeting. Ziegler claimed the board received no reports of sexual assaults.
Enraged parents cited an email that surfaced recently where Ziegler reported an alleged sexual assault in the girls' bathroom.
The incident reportedly took place on May 28 and Scott was arrested on June 22.
Two months after the incident, the boy - who has not been named because he is a juvenile - was arrested for forced sodomy.
On Saturday, former President Donald Trump publicly offered his support behind Youngkin prior to his election victory Wednesday, and correctly predicted that the controversy surrounding the school boards in the state would boost Youngkin's chances of winning Tuesday's election.
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