Meet your new principal, America: Betsy DeVos,
Donald's new Secretary of Education.
She's now in charge of the nation's schools
-- or at least, in charge what's going to
be left once she's finished taking them apart.
Betsy's built her career on undermining public
schools.
And wouldn't you know it, among the things
she's likely to take apart are some potentially
life-saving protections for LGBT students.
So who is Betsy DeVos?
She's a billionaire fundraiser for Republicans,
and a lobbyist for private schools.
Back in 1997, she wrote, "My family is the
largest single contributor of soft money to
the national Republican Party ... we are buying
influence.
... We do expect something in return."
Have you ever heard the term quid pro quo?
Don't worry, your kids won't either because
there'll be no one left to teach them.
Anyway, her money seems to have been well
spent, because she's influenced her way into
an administration with a plan to move 20 billion
dollars -- that's billion with a B -- out
of public schools, where LGBT kids are guaranteed
equal access to education, and into private
schools, where they are guaranteed nothing
whatsoever.
But the taxpayers still have to pay for it!
There's no mistaking Betsy's ideological slant:
Her family's given upwards of $200 million
to groups like the National Organization for
Marriage and Focus on the Family -- groups
that explicitly oppose equality for queer
people, and even promote ex-gay junk science.
Some of that money went through a foundation
that listed Betsy as the Vice President, but
when asked about it, she said that was a misunderstanding
-- she had nothing to do with that family
organization, and was simply identified as
its Vice President by mistake.
For thirteen years.
That's exactly the kind of rigorous attention
to detail that qualifies a person to run the
nation's school.
Betsy's also donated hundreds of thousands
of dollars to groups opposed to LGBT equality,
and to ballot amendments to block marriage.
In 2004, she gave a speech at the Michigan
Republican Convention where she said "we support
marriage between one man and one woman because
that is the way God set it up."
So how much damage could she do at the Department
of Education?
A lot.
That's because the DOE has an office of civil
rights that protects access to education -- or
at least, it does for now, until someone comes
along and shuts it down.
Focus on the Family, a group Betsy's foundation
has helped prop up, has already demanded that
LGBT protections to be overturned.
And sure enough, during her confirmation hearing,
Betsy indicated that certain protections are
best taken out of the DOE's hands and instead
left to the states.
That would have a huge, lasting, real-world
impact on people's lives.
Currently, the Department of Education is
bound to listen to people like Wendy Walsh.
Her son took his life after being relentlessly
bullied in a district that refused to intervene.
After she filed a complaint with the Office
of Civil Rights, the district was forced to
adopt an anti-bullying policy.
But if that office goes away or is even just
weakened under Betsy DeVos, victims could
have no recourse if local districts refuse
to act.
You'd just have to accept the bullying or
move.
During confirmation hearings, when asked if
schools should have to comply with anti-bullying
requirements, Betsy replied, "I would look
forward to reviewing that provision."
Oh I bet you would.
What else could she review?
Well, under Betsy's leadership, the DOE could
adopt a position that being gay is a choice
or a mental illness.
They could make it official policy to "discourage"
homosexuality.
They could pull funding from schools that
have nondiscrimination protection.
And they could adopt policies that explicitly
encourage bullying.
It sounds unbelievable, but that's not hypothetical.
It actually happened in Betsy's home state
of Michigan.
In 2012, the Senate passed SB 137, a bill
that was supposed to prevent bullying, but
was amended at the last minute to say that
it's OK to bully and harass students as long
as you're motivated by "a sincerely-held religious
belief or moral conviction."
The bill passed the senate exclusively on
votes from Republicans -- Republicans whose
campaigns were supported by influence-buyer
Betsy DeVos.
Taking protections away from public school
students and giving giving more resources
to private religious groups is completely
consistent with Betsy's approach to education.
In 2001, she said, "There are not enough philanthropic
dollars in America to fund what is currently
the need in education ... Our desire is to
confront the culture in ways that will continue
to advance God's kingdom."
Remember, this is someone who said that excluding
same-sex couples from marriage is "the way
God set it up," whose family foundation propped
up groups pushing ex-gay garbage, who wouldn't
commit to upholding anti-bullying regulations,
and whose nomination was only approved after
a tie-breaking vote by Mike "turn away the
gays" Pence.
I think it's a pretty safe bet that whatever
she envisions for God's kingdom doesn't include
a gay straight alliance.
Thanks for watching.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments
on YouTube and @mattbaume on Twitter.
Check out this video about some of Donald's
other awful Cabinet nominees, and this one
about how to fight back against them.
Now if you'll excuse me how can I have any
pudding if I don't eat my meat?
