You are wrong about Cruz when you say, “Cruz's tribal politics prevails...” I also doubt/reject your info. on Texas textbooks as it sounds like Texas has approved these books. It’s very possible the textbooks you speak of, such as “...a sneak peak at the preliminary Social Studies textbook” were read BEFORE the Texas Board of Education changed and approved them. No radical group you mentioned can influence our conservatives on the Texas Board of Education. Here is the truth:
How Texas approves textbooks:
The Texas Board of Education reviews, makes changes if warranted, and approves or rejects textbooks up for approval. Not all subject textbooks come up for approval every year. One year may be science and history and math or some other grouping of subjects. This happens after the already approved textbooks are up for buying new textbooks.
If the board requires changes to the textbook, the publisher changes the books to reflect the changes the board requires. Texas uses so many textbooks, the publishers of textbooks use the Texas approved textbooks to sell to other states.
The Board of Education is comprised of persons elected by the citizens of Texas. A large majority on that board are conservative Christians. The candidates for the board go around Texas speaking to county Republican Party groups. I’ve heard a number of them over the years, and I can tell you they are solid Christians. They don’t allow rewriting of history and go over math textbooks to keep them solid math. The few liberal ones elected to that board don’t go to Republican groups to speak.
Now, a county school board has the right to buy any books they want to supplement the approved textbooks. A school board can spend their money buying anything they want (think land of the free to buy what they want). If their county citizens approve what their local school board does, it’s a done deal. They could buy books in Italian or Russian or Spanish, etc.. If you don’t like what the local school board does, change the makeup of you local school board by electing other people to be on that board.
So, I think the books you are speaking of were read before the board changed them, or they are being bought by local school boards which don’t have to have approval by the Texas Board of Education.
Another point: The education board meetings can be seen and heard by bringing up the Texas Legislature on the web and watching those board meetings. I have done that and watched the few liberals on the board freaking out. speaking harsh words, because they can’t do jack to keep liberal crap in our textbooks or put liberal crap in them.
I actually watched one of their meetings on TV a year or so back. I enjoyed it immensely. The liberals were just beside themselves. I can’t even remember much about the issues now.
The one that I do remember involved omitting all of our early history regarding founding etc. All that old stuff that happened in the past. Their excuse was that it was boring, and kids needed to understand modern day stuff, and things that were relevant today.
Bogus arguments signifying very little brains between their ears.