What’s Behind Texas Remembering The Alamo But Purging Hillary Clinton From History?

They say that some Republican conservatives are reactionary. Evidently, they’re also vindictive. Some think these are just two of the many reasons as to why Texas’ State Board of Education (SBOE) voted to change what students in every grade are required to learn in the classroom. Led by a conservative and Christian advocacy group, Hillary Clinton is at the top of the list of names to be purged from textbooks.

Didn’t Quite Pass The Test
Until now, high school students have been required to learn about Hillary Clinton, who was the first woman to win a major political party’s presidential nomination. She was included in the curriculum under a section about citizenship, where students were required to “evaluate the contributions of significant political and social leaders in the United States.” This included other notable women like Sandra Day O’Connor.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the board believed students learned too many historical figures and fell back on rote memorization of dates and names instead of real learning. The test for Hillary Clinton was: Did the person trigger a watershed change? And was the person from an underrepresented group? Will their impact stand the test of time? As a preliminary vote, the board can still amend the curriculum by November.

4 Million Shades Of Embarrassment And Socialism
Others, however, point to the recent 2016 general election. Having won the popular vote by 4 million against her opponent Donald Trump, Republican conservatives would like this kind of information - and reminder - to be expunged. Since it’s associated with the election, they’d also like to expunge any mention of Robert Mueller’s investigation over Russian tampering in the election, or if there was any collusion by Donald Trump.

One more thing that riles Republican conservatives was Hillary Clinton’s push during the 1990’s for universal healthcare. They stress how the more recent TEKS Objectives and curriculum overemphasizes capitalism and private industry at the expense of socialism. In other words, and with billions of dollars at stake for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, it’s out-of-sight-and-out of mind-and-learning with a Medicare For All dream.

Should’ve Baked Cookies Instead Of Running The World
Another diminished dream that some suspect was behind Republican conservatives to purge Hillary Clinton was the possibility of a woman president. Indeed, there still exists remnants of a patriarchal society where some men think they’re better at running the nation than women. This includes sexism, or Washington’s a for-males-only club. In fact, her “I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies” still haunts her to this day.

What haunts her even more is her tenure as Secretary of State and her involvement in The Clinton Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative. Some still hold her accountable for American deaths in Benghazi, Libya, and her pay-for-play schemes with foreign regimes. They also believe she became wealthy by squandering other peoples donations instead of assisting those in need.

Guilt And The New, Emboldened Republican
In the Age of Trump, Republican conservatives and some Christian advocacy groups have also felt emboldened to become extremely contentious, confrontational and aggressive. Given their inherent ideology of arrogance and antagonism, they despise anyone who challenges their extreme thinking. Hillary Clinton, for sure, has done just this, even calling Donald Trump’s supporters a “basket of deplorable” during the election.

There’s her guilt-by-association with Bill Clinton as well. Some still label her as an enabler and believe she participated in covering up his many womanizing activities. This includes decades of demonization by talk - radio conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mike Reagan, and Alex Jones - just to name a few. Toss in all the conspiracy theories, and she’s forever a marked woman. A scarlet PA for Political Adultery.

One Thing Republicans Agree On
Although there’s almost no end to the ways in which the conservative and some Christian factions can be sliced, most can agree on their dislike, and sometimes even hatred, of Hillary Clinton. It’s too bad since she was also highly instrumental in advancing key domestic legislation and foreign affairs as First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and presidential nominee of a major political party.

She also advance the cause of equal rights and shaped policy on education, job training, child poverty, healthcare, family leave, and violence against women. What’s more, she led the effort to cleanup New York City after the 9/11 attacks, ensuring first-responders receive the necessary medical attention. And though she’s so far been the only woman to run for a major political party, critics sadly only remember her many scandals.

Underrepresented? Standing The Test Of Time?
Would Hillary Clinton’s political life be important to learn? Along with her achievements and failures, they could debate how she handled her husband’s sexual irresponsibility and what she meant by “the vast right-wing conspiracy.” They could also discuss why “Hard Choices” came in at No. 3 on the New York Times behind two conservative books. This, in light of the Fairness Doctrine and a free exchange of ideas in the press and airwaves.

There’s also her decision to support a preemptive war resolution against Saddam Hussein despite ongoing UN weapons inspectors still in Iraq. Not only did this haunt her politically in 2008, as did the entire Iraqi debacle, but it made her appear to buckle under the yoke of a patriarchal society in wanting to always rush to war. In fact, this was another reason the Democrat rejected Hillary Clinton’s own breakthrough candidacy in 2008.

Students could also evaluate “It Takes A Village,” another book in which she detailed her vision for the children of America. Along with discussing the impact individuals and groups outside the family have, for better or worse, on a child’s well-being, just how responsible is society as a whole to meet all of the needs of children? This includes Medicare for All and other programs such as social and corporate welfare.

Triggering A “Different” Watershed Change
There’s also her famous debate moments against Senator Barack Obama in 2008 and Donald Trump in 2016. Facing Barack Obama, she admitted how it would be great if every politician would do the right thing, and then added “I have no illusions about hard this will be.” As for Donald Trump (and hindsight), just how accurate was her new “Trumped-up trickle-down” term in reference to his economic policies?

Perhaps her elimination from Texas’ SBOE speaks more of Republican conservatives and Christian advocacy groups than Hillary Clinton. Under Donald Trump, they’ve become more ideologically extreme, scornful of compromise, and dismissive of the legitimacy of any political opposition. They’ve also moved further right of center. Indeed, one mark of there radicalization is that some find themselves opposing ideas they once stood for.(1)

Control The Past And Control The Future-Including Elections
Texas is also in the midst of a heated race between Republican Senator Ted Cruz and his challenger, Democrat Beto O’Rouke. Not only has Beto O’Rouke made surprising gains, but he’s far more popular among young voters and Millennials. Republicans fear if Texas turns blue, they’ll lose the state’s 38 electoral college votes. They also know those who control the past with regards to historical learning controls the future.

Though some Republican conservatives and Christian advocacy groups have never cared for Hillary Clinton, it just doesn’t seem right to purge her from history. What’s more, their sharply divergent attitude towards the idea of compromise may get worse. In the meantime, unless things change between now and November students will be required to “Remember the Alamo!” and “Forget Hillary Clinton!”

Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John’s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.WN.com. You can read more of Dallas’ writings at www.beverlydarling.com and www.WN.com/dallasdarling.

(1) Dionne, E.J. Jr. Why The Right Went Wrong: Conservatism-From Goldwater To Trump And Beyond. Simon & Schuster Press: New York, New York, 2016., p. 12, 13.