Tipsheet

Tuesday Was a Very Busy Day for Terry McAuliffe and His Education Plan

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 13, 2021 7:10 PM

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA), who is running once more, had a particularly busy Tuesday. 

It was announced during an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that former President Barack Obama will campaign on behalf of McAuliffe. First Lady Jill Biden will come to Virginia on Friday. Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will be coming on Sunday. 

When asked later in the day by a reporter about President Joe Biden, McAuliffe said "he'll be coming back." The president campaigned with McAuliffe in July, but his approval ratings have since dropped. McAuliffe himself acknowledged Biden "is unpopular today unfortunately here in Virginia."

McAuliffe then went to an education roundtable event in Alexandria with his wife, Dorothy McAuliffe. Anne Holton, who served as McAuliffe's Secretary of Education from 2014-2016, was also present. She's married to Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA).

Panelists included two mothers from Loudoun County. One shared that she has a child who came out as trans a few years ago. Another acknowledged it is where the "heat" and "local politics" has been happening. 

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Loudoun County is indeed where "heat" has been happening, but it's not merely "local politics" anymore. Scott Smith, a 48-year-old father in the county who went viral for his arrest at a school board meeting on June 22, is now alleging, as exposed by Luke Rosiak with The Daily Wire, that a biological male wearing a skirt sexually assaulted his ninth-grade daughter in the bathroom. 

Smith explained to Fox News' Laura Ingraham that he kept his "silence" about the issue until last week, when he claims that the same individual--a minor who has not been named--is reported to have allegedly assaulted another victim.

Smith also takes issue with Attorney General Merrick Garland's characterization of parents who are concerned about what their children are learning to be "domestic terrorists." The characterization was mentioned in a memo that Spencer covered. 

And, as Madeline reported, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Tuesday said in a Fox News interview to file the Biden administration's response under "things that make no sense." She also covered a letter from over 60 Republican members of Congress who wrote to the DOJ.

This newsworthy bit of information did not come up during the panel.

The school district released a statement on Wednesday. According to the statement, the school system "is aware" and the "process was followed" when it comes to mandatory reporting requirements. 

As reported by Neal Augenstein on Wednesday for WTOP News, "Teen charged in Loudoun Co. school groping was on electronic monitoring for earlier charges." 

McAuliffe's campaign did not return Townhall's request for comment when asked about language from the National School Boards Association that "the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes."

The focus of the roundtable event included a focus of McAuliffe's concept to "build education." It included discussion of nonpartisan issues, such as mental health, fixing dilapidated schools, and free breakfast.

There were still many partisan campaign lines. McAuliffe claimed it is "disqualifying" that his Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, doesn't think teachers should have to be vaccinated. He also later referred to Youngkin as an "anti-vaxxer." He would still later claim that Youngkin doesn't support requiring children to be vaccinated against measles, rubella, and mumps. 

Youngkin told Townhall that "I was very clear. I believe that the measles vaccination, the rubella vaccination, should in fact be mandatory. But I do not believe that the COVID vaccination is one that we should mandate. I believe the COVID vaccination is something everyone should get. I've been very clear on this." 

McAuliffe reminded that he himself has called on employers to issue vaccine mandates. And, as Madeline reported in August, McAuliffe has said "make life difficult" for those who don't get vaccinated.

Holton, during her remarks, claimed that "the other side" will "slash and burn revenues" and that there will be "cuts."

McAuliffe went to repeat a fact-checked line from the first debate, that "independent" studies have claimed that Youngkin's plans would take $10 billion out of education. Those organizations are liberal and favorable towards McAuliffe and were also basing their estimates on a position Youngkin had clarified, which is to say he is no longer calling for eliminating the state income tax. 

A false claim from McAuliffe that has been fact-checked multiple times over many years from multiple sources also came up twice, which is that McAuliffe inherited a "$2.4 billion deficit" when he took office. 

The hot button topic of Critical Race Theory (CRT) also came up. In a passionate tone, McAuliffe was adamant he finds it "highly offensive" and to be a "racist dog whistle" when CRT is addressed. McAuliffe also emphasized "I hate it" when the issue comes up. 

Even the 2020 election results came up, as McAuliffe claimed that Youngkin does not accept the election results. As Youngkin told Guy on "The Guy Benson Show" in May, though, he recognizes that Biden is the legitimate president. McAuliffe meanwhile denied the results of the 2000 presidential election, which came up during a local TV interview last week, as well as on Sunday during CNN's "State of the Union."

As Collin Anderson and Thaleigha Rampersad  reported for for the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday, McAuliffe himself said during a 2019 interview with HBO's Bill Maher that he was "very concerned" about hackable voting machines for 2020.

After the event, McAuliffe was asked by local NBC 4's Julie Caret how much he regretted his infamous line from the second debate that "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach."

McAuliffe mentioned that he and his wife were involved in their children's education, though not that they went to private school. He also noted that "the issue in this campaign is who's going to build the best education system" and went on to say "that's the issue we should be talking about" when it comes to "who is going to build the best education system here in the commonwealth." 

Holton interjected that "this is a non-issue by a Trumpist candidate who is trying to distract from what he's going to do to undermine public education."

McAuliffe saw and then jumped on his opportunity to bring up abortion after Carey asked him to expand upon what he meant when he said "If I didn’t win this, it would be, as I say, the return of Donald Trump" while on "Morning Joe" His answer for Carey in part claimed that "abortion will be gone here in Virginia" if Youngkin wins.

Youngkin has made no indication that he will "ban abortion," as McAuliffe has claimed, or that "abortion will be gone." McAuliffe has repeatedly tied Youngkin to a Texas abortion law that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, at around six weeks. During the first debate, Youngkin said that while he is pro-life, he does not feel the Texas law is right for Virginia, and would not sign it if it came across his desk as governor. 

A tracker from Virginia Rising Action also attempted to ask McAuliffe a question as he was leaving. McAuliffe admonished the tracker for not wearing a mask and inquired about his vaccination status, despite how the exchange took place outside.

Before the event, a billboard truck showcasing that infamous line appeared in the parking lot of the event space. 

While speaking to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Youngkin on Tuesday called education "the number one issue in this race."

Lisa Lerer with The New York Times also on Tuesday published "The Unlikely Issue Shaping the Virginia Governor’s Race: Schools." 

Recently, the Fairfax County Times featured two Democrats who are voting for Youngkin based on education. Rick Horner wrote about an ad featuring Saundra Davis. Briana Howard communicated her stance in a letter to the editor. 

Youngkin has also been doing education events throughout the commonwealth and will continue to do so, with his "Parents Matter" rallies. On Thursday he will be holding a rally in Warrenton.