Parents Bill of Rights: These Republicans Voted ‘No’
David Catron
Friday morning, the House of Representatives passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act (H.R.5), a measure that would guarantee parents a meaningful voice in their children’s education. In a sane political environment, this would not have been a controversial bill. Yet it barely squeaked by in a 213–208 vote. Predictably, the Democrats did the bidding of their teachers union paymasters by unanimously opposing the bill. But why did five Republicans vote against it, particularly considering that it was integral to the Commitment to America on which they ran in the recent midterms?
Some of their names will be all too familiar: Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), and Matt Rosendale (Mont.). Biggs, you will recall, unsuccessfully challenged Kevin McCarthy in January for the House speakership with the support of Gaetz and Rosendale and turned a routine vote into a weeklong circus. Their reasons for voting against H.R.5 were not as crazy as those offered by the Democrats, at least one of whom suggested that the bill was fascist. Their ostensible objection to the bill is that it undermines federalism. As Buck writes in the Washington Times:
Republicans, newly in charge of the House of Representatives, have decided to weigh in with what they call a Parents Bill of Rights, which will get a vote on the floor on Friday.…
House Republicans are willing to jettison the Constitution and federalism for a bill that elevates the federal government in education. Parental rights and fighting woke education both do well on social media, and many of my colleagues have chosen the instant gratification of social media appeal over the foundational principles enshrined in the Constitution.
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https://spectator.org/parents-bill-of-rights-these-republicans-voted-no/
