(Corine Gatti, Headline USA) Squad Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., labeled a GOP-backed bill protecting the rights of parents “fascist,” sparking outrage among conservatives in a heated debate on the House floor Thursday.
“Our children need urgent and aggressive educational solutions,” she said. “When we talk about progressive values, I can say what my progressive value is, and that is freedom over fascism.”
The bill, which was approved Friday, would equip parents with more comprehensive knowledge about their children’s education and provide them with more involvement in the educational process.
“The Parents Bill of Rights has five pillars to ensure parents have the right to have a voice in their kids’ education: Right to know what’s being taught in schools and to see reading material; Right to be heard; Right to see school budget and spending; Right to protect their child’s privacy; [and] Right to be updated on any violent activity at school.”
In order to achieve this, the bill seeks to strengthen transparency by requiring public school districts to provide parents with curricular materials and provide them with the right to give consent to student surveys.
Moreover, it seeks to protect students’ information by banning the sale of any data collected from students for commercial or financial gains. Despite these facts, Ocasio-Cortez roasted Republicans for supporting a bill that would target LGBT youth instead, urging Republicans to “keep culture wars out of classrooms.”
Conservatives wasted no time responding to AOC’s theatrics on Twitter.
Commentator Dale Franks tweeted, “So, limiting government power in favor of individual rights is ‘fascist’. Good to know.”
“AOC thinks parents don’t have the right to know if their child decides to change genders,” the Media Research Center tweeted.
“Unless you disagree with AOC, then she’s totally cool with fascism,” Independent Women’s Forum fellow Sam Janney tweeted.
“Republicans’ Parental Rights Bill is arguing against state-run Woke indoctrination, it is essentially ‘anti-fascist,'” wrote Kyle Becker. “Fascism requires state indoctrination of a populace in order to support the regime. That is what the Democrats crave — complete control of the state, society, and economy.”
The original Squad member was not alone in her fight against the bill. She had support from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who said Republicans don’t want the children of America to learn about the Holocaust and ban books based on a trans girl.
“They want to ban a book called Melissa, a book describing in very personal terms the experience of a trans girl beginning to understand her identity … What’s so offensive about Melissa?… Extreme MAGA Republicans don’t want your child to learn about the LGBTQ+ experience in America. That’s not a decision that extreme MAGA Republicans here in Congress should make.”
