The claim here is that a school superintendent was forced to resign because he promoted critical race theory. The anti-CRT people are claiming it as a victory for parents. Whats most striking is just how little evidence there is his claimed wrongdoing. 1/
From different reports it is clear that some parents were really angry about a mask mandate in school, and some previous school board meetings turned into massless melees. 2/
The Superintendent had also delayed and then stopped an anti-racism presentation that explained BLM. Some students were angry about this. But this hardly seems like the action of someone avidly pushing racial theories about race in his schools. 3/ lohud.com/story/news/edu…
Parents had accused him of promoting CRT, but its hard to see any evidence of that from news reports. He proposed a taskforce to consider issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which is not remotely the same thing, and a pretty middle of the road solution. 4/
Maybe there is more here than is being reported, but Rufo asserts an outcome without offering any evidence. The Superintendent sounds like someone trying to managing competing views on race and student safety, and was forced out as a result, which is disturbing. 5/
There is a 1990 book that argues that some public administration roles are "impossible jobs": administrators are tasked with reconciling conflicting imperatives and warring stakeholders. Classic example are regulators. 6/
But part of what has happened in the last 10 years is that more and more public management jobs have been moved into the realm of impossible. Conspiracism has expanded the range of conflict for the job of the education, public health or election official for example. 7/
Public officials know that there is a stakeholder groups that a) are motivated by new (or newly framed) items of conflict, many of which are not-reality based and b) will make their lives a living hell, and c) many elected officials will side with the conspiracists. 8/
Real research with hard statistics across policy areas would be very helpful here. Students/faculty looking to study public organizations: this is a great topic. Donors interested about good governance: think about the damage conspiracism is doing here. 9/

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More from @donmoyn

15 Sep
Sally Rooney, wildly successful author, is facing a backlash. Maybe I don't understand literary review format, but I understand a little about argumentation, and the basic claims involved seem pretty weak.
A thread of some examples (and welcome others, both pro and con). 1/
First a lot of the reviews are less about her book, then about Rooney as a literary phenomena, and what that represents. Which seems like a fine topic, but maybe better to separate from the actual book review. 2/
So for example, this Sally Rooney sounds like a complete narcissist. Complaining about winning awards! Oh wait, this isn't actually a quote from Sally Rooney, from from a fictional protagonist in her new book. That, uh, might be worthy clarifying. 3/ lithub.com/winning-the-ga…
Read 7 tweets
15 Sep
The Trump effect on US democracy
A very Trumpian legacy is that well-run elections are treated as inherently corrupt. Think of all those 2020 election fraud videos that fell apart with minimal scrutiny. But we now have activists chasing clicks by claiming election fraud, and influencers happy to give it to them.
False claims of election fraud are a cancer on our democracy. Most GOP voters still believe the 2020 election was stolen from them, showing how such claims are resistant to debunking.
Most worrying is that this has gone from being a Trump to a GOP tactic: nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…
Read 5 tweets
15 Sep
CA REALITY CHECK: Newsom will win handily, only faces a recall b/c of CA’s weird recall laws, is outperforming other big states like TX & FL on pandemic. Meanwhile Republicans who could not find a moderate candidate in a blue state have already declared the outcome a fraud.
I know we will never be done with horse race analysis, the GOP is still led by a billionaire who cut taxes for the rich and tried to gut social programs, while Dems have been pushing for a more redistributive post-pandemic approach. These are real differences. Image
We had an algorithm watch national media coverage for a month, and this is what it produced
Read 4 tweets
14 Sep
There was a time when it using the word "coup" to describe what was happening after the 2020 election drew criticism for engaging in hyperbole.
About the same time the Director of the CIA was warning the head of the military about a "right-wing coup."
washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/…
If the survival of US democracy depends upon people taking the advice of Dan Quayle then maybe we are in more precarious place than we imagined. washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/…
"I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this."
Trump's response to Pence when he refused to overthrow the election sounds like a 7 year old demanding a train set. washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/…
Read 4 tweets
14 Sep
Joe Manchin proposed work requirements for the Child Tax Credit. Good to see pushback, b/c:
*work requirements reduce access to benefits that actually improve social mobility
*benefits for kids should not be based on the deservingness of their parents
yahoo.com/news/democrats…
Manchin: "Don't you think, if we're going to help the children, that the people should make some effort?"
This sort of deservingness criterion is how policymakers often justify administrative burdens like work requirements.

See this paper in @JPART1991
academic.oup.com/jpart/article/…
But the whole point of the Child Tax Credit is that kids are inherently deserving of our support. Its why we have public education.
If you prefer an economic argument, investing in kids improves human capital and social mobility. (h/t @RichardvReeves)
brookings.edu/blog/up-front/…
Read 6 tweets
13 Sep
Without knowing the details of the case, it should still be possible to sign on to the principles invoked here. Indeed, it is a model for how universities should respond.
Social media has helped to make random faculty into public figures. Newspapers and actual public figures who would otherwise ignore an obscure prof are deeply invested in cataloguing any objectionable statements as if it were national news. Universities need to be able to respond
The question of representativeness matters. The Maxwell School had events where faculty with relevant expertise engaged in thoughtful discussion about the meaning of 9/11. But this does not fit the narrative the outrage machine wants, and so is ignored. news.syr.edu/blog/2021/09/0…
Read 6 tweets

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