Texas, Creationism and Growing GOP Insanity

Reports continue to find that American students as a whole are lagging behind those of other nations.  Yes, there are bright spots in American education, but severe problems exist that must be addressed to keep America competitive.  But what do Texas Republicans want to do?  They want to dump public education down to an even lower level by requiring that creationism be taught in public schools.  Why not just have students subjected to lobotomies?  We'd end up with the same level of dysfunction.  The Dallas Morning News looks at the insanity that is now mainstream in the Texas GOP.  It is nothing less than frightening.  Here are story excerpts:

WACO — All four Republican lieutenant governor hopefuls have embraced the teaching of creationism in public schools.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Sen. Dan Patrick, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples said in the first televised debate of the campaign Thursday night that they favor teaching that there are flaws in the theory that humans evolved from lower life forms.

Late last month, state Board of Education members adopted new high school science books that include full coverage of evolution without the disclaimers sought by social conservatives and other critics of Charles Darwin’s theory.

While none of the lieutenant governor candidates mentioned the board’s decision, three — Patrick, Patterson and Staples — blasted teaching only evolution as a form of “political correctness.” They linked it to what they described as a broader moral decline.

“The breakup of the family in this country has started when we took God out of the classroom,” said Patrick, a radio talk show host.   “As a Christian, certainly creationism should be taught,” said Staples, a former state legislator.  Dewhurst, who is seeking a fourth term, agreed.

Mindful that the state GOP’s staunchest conservatives dominate primaries, the four men continued to steer to the right. Each hailed the rise of the tea party, blasted President Barack Obama’s health care law and opposed giving immigrants living in the country illegally a pathway to citizenship.  “We are not at the level of conservatism we need to be,” Patrick said.

With this kind of "leadership" it is no wonder that Texas is having difficulty attracting high paying jobs and that it has one of the highest levels of uninsured citizens.  Meanwhile, I have to wonder whether these four men are truly cretins or merely shameless political whores willing to say whatever they believe the Christofascists and knuckle draggers (is there a difference?) want to hear.  Given the Texas GOP's hatred of non-whites, I look forward to the day when whites are a minority in Texas.  Perhaps then intelligence will return to that state.