NASHVILLE, July 23, 2014– U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R) is facing a tough primary challenge from State Rep. Joe Carr (R). Carr’s momentum has built over the months and Lamar is sweating bullets underneath his red flannel shirt. More than 20 state legislators have endorsed Carr over Alexander. They join more than 60 conservative Tennessee organizations, vice presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin, the National Association for Gun Rights and more. In natural form, Alexander is placing his bets on misleading the Volunteer state on just where his record stands on the issues. Most insulting of all is Alexander’s attempt to prey upon low information voters when it comes to federal education and Common Core.
Alexander’s campaign has been blasting out ads that declare he is against a “national school board”. Lucky for Alexander, no such de jure national school board technically exists. It’s easy to say you’re against something that doesn’t exist in law. Unlucky for Alexander, a de facto national school board does exist. Not only does a de facto national school board exist, but it also has a curriculum. Oh, Alexander has been the superintendent for decades.
What is this de facto national school board? It’s called the U.S. Department of Education and the Senate Education Committee. Its current curriculum? Common Core.
Today, Alexander’s ads insinuate he opposes federal education. This is a blatant lie. No campaign ad will scrub the internet of Alexander’s past. Alexander was the head of the United States Department of Education from 1991-1993. In addition, Alexander leads the Senate’s National Education Committee with Senator Tom Harkin (D- Iowa). Furthermore, Alexander is a staunch proponent of Common Core. While the most conservative members of Tennessee’s legislature have been trying to block Common Core’s national curriculum from within the state, Alexander has been heavily lobbying them to accept it and give up the fight.
Ronald Reagan famously tried to abolish the U.S. Department of Education due to it being blatantly unconstitutional. Alexander’s ad states he worked with Reagan to end the Department of Education. How so? Years after Reagan left office, Alexander was more than happy to take a post leading this unconstitutional creature of the federal government that stripped parents and local governments from the right to educate their children. Now, he works hand-in-hand with Washington elites to force parents and local school districts to surrender their last ounce of control over their children to the federal government.
The Tennessee Tenth Amendment Center has fought against the U.S. Department of Education, the Senate Education Committee and Common Core with multiple state legislators in an attempt to restore parental and local government control when it comes to the education of Tennessee’s youth. Alexander has blocked these efforts every step of the way, and he owes the Volunteer state an apology for purposefully misleading them.