Republicans evidently hope to win back suburban voters by attacking school closures


Republicans have landed on an early campaign theme for the 2022 midterms, and any elections before then: Blame President Biden and the Democrats for enduring school closures. "Locked out of power at the federal level, Republicans have increasingly focused on shutdowns as a way to win back the suburbanites who drifted away during the Trump presidency," David Weigel reports at The Washington Post.
The conflict between angry parents and teachers over school reopneings is real, and it has "reached a fever pitch," The Wall Street Journal reports, but it's complicated.
Republican lawmakers, "while offering no commitment to meaningfully engage on policy proposals, have responded to continued school closures by striking hard at Biden and Democrats, with more Republicans each week accusing the administration of scaling back their ambitious goals on everything from testing to school reopenings," Politico adds. And "Biden's advisers and allies recognize that they need to respond to the spiraling angst felt by families or risk driving them into the arms of waiting Republicans."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"In Virginia, Republican candidates for governor have campaigned on ending the school closures; in New Jersey, they've criticized the Democratic governor's vaccine rollout," Weigel reports. "The first Republican ad buys ahead of the 2022 House midterms have been billboards accusing Democrats of opposing school reopenings because of their support from teacher's unions." So far, though, public polling doesn't favor the GOP case.
"Since the start of the year, national polls have found voters more in agreement with the teachers unions than with the demands for reopening," Weigel notes, and the only groups where there's majority support for complete reopening of schools right away are Republicans and Trump supporters. A Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday morning found that 59 percent of voters trust local school administrators on reopening schools, two-thirds trust parents, and 54 percent trust local teachers unions. A similar faction, 55 percent, say teachers should be vaccinated before schools open.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
July 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include paying for school lunch by enlisting, and the banality of evil
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful Arran
The Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami