Sharon Grigsby: GOP guru thinks Texas teachers are just babysitters? Let’s see how his insults play at the polls

Stressed and exhausted as they soldier on through the seemingly endless pandemic, the last thing Texas teachers need — or deserve — is an unprovoked attack from a big name in hard-right politics. Texas Scorecard publisher and conservative kingmaker Michael Quinn Sullivan took his swing first thing Saturday morning with this tweet: “A reminder that ‘public education’ is a babysitting service offered at the convenience of the government employees. Public education in Texas is about employing otherwise unemployable adults, not educating kids.” Sullivan’s post is a reminder that even when we are sure that the pro-wrestling style of today’s political theater can’t get worse, it can. In social media’s take-no-prisoners gamesmanship, it’s hard to find the tiniest measure of grace.

Every move is made on the calculation that you earn points for being as offensive as possible. The uglier and more outrageous the statement, the more retweets, attention and fawning glory you’ll gain. But readers, let me tell you that — unlike the reason Sullivan posted his tweet — I’m not writing this column for political manipulation. My words are coming, admittedly with a lot of emotion, right from my heart — because I’m angry on behalf of every one of the state’s teachers. Sullivan’s attack on Texas teachers is just one salvo in a far-right effort to make educators some kind of new lefty monster. It slimes not just teachers, but students, parents and the entire state. Perhaps this also is just the shot the public needs to wake up to the campaign going on against public education. Maybe the fury that I hope you feel reading Sullivan’s tweet will translate into more of us getting as smart as possible on the candidates prior to the March 1 primary. Kicking teachers when they are already down is dreadful, so shame on Sullivan — and shame on all the politicians who took money over the years from the uber-conservative Empower Texans advocacy group.