In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson—who had previously served as president of Princeton University—addressed a gathering at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Pittsburgh. He explained what he believed was the purpose of such associations, and of education in general:
I have often said that the use of a university is to make young gentlemen as unlike their fathers as possible. I do not say that with the least disrespect for the fathers; but every man who is old enough to have a son in college is old enough to have become very seriously immersed in some particular business and is almost certain to have caught the point of view of that particular business. And it is very useful to his son to be taken out of that narrow circle, conducted to some high place where he may see the general map of the world and of the interests of mankind, and there shown how big the world is and how much of it his father may happen to have forgotten. It would be worth while for men, middle-aged and old, to detach themselves more frequently from the things that command their daily attention and to think of the sweeping tides of humanity.
While there is certainly merit in rising above one’s limited point of view and gaining a larger perspective of the world, today that process is shaped by people whose values are antithetical to the heritage of America and Western Civilization. Most conservatives would agree that the purpose of public education today is not to make better Americans, but to create globalist citizens of the world who are prepared to be loyal foot soldiers in the never-ending progressive revolution.
The point of the spear in that revolution is the public-sector unions that represent American teachers. While many public school teachers are good people, their unions are massive forces for leftism in this country. They’re not hiding it, either. According to OpenSecrets.org, the National Education Association (NEA) spent more than $22 million during the 2024 election cycle, with 98.24% of the money directly supporting one party or another earmarked for Democrats.
In the last ten national election cycles, the NEA has spent over $100 million, with less than 7% going to Republican candidates:
The other major teachers’ union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), spent 99.9% of its 2022–23 contributions on Democrats.
Okay, you might be thinking, everyone knows the teachers’ unions support the left. I agree—conservatives have been beating that drum for some time now. The question I want to ask today is: Why is Idaho, a solid Republican state, so enthralled by organizations that openly boast about turning America blue?
For example, why is State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield, a Republican elected official, working with the Idaho Education Association (IEA)—our state’s affiliate of the NEA—to promote its brand?
The IEA doesn’t want you to see it as an organization, but as the voice of Idaho’s public school teachers. Yet as an NEA affiliate, not only do member teachers support both the state and national organization, but it also serves as a funnel for leftist propaganda into our classrooms. Earlier today, school choice activist Corey DeAngelis shared a post from the NEA’s Instagram in which it promoted “Everyone is Welcome Here kits” in partnership with far-left organizations like Planned Parenthood:
As you surely know, “Everyone is Welcome Here” is a left-wing campaign disguised as apolitical inclusion. It’s the classic “motte & bailey argument,” where proponents pretend the issue is simple and noncontroversial, hiding the fact that it is deeply ideological. Attorney General Raúl Labrador explained how this works in a recent op-ed:
These classroom displays reflect a broader ecosystem of political resistance groups launched in protest of the political rise of President Donald Trump. The “All Are Welcome Here” movement, founded in November 2016 by progressive activists in Minnesota, explicitly states its mission as supporting “a just, inclusive and equitable environment” while donating thousands of dollars to progressive causes, including the ACLU.
The organization openly declares: “To show our support for our transgender family, friends, and neighbors, we’re also donating 5% of our online sales will be to Transforming Families of Minnesota” — an organization dedicated to advancing transgender ideology among children and families.
Labrador went on to explain how the issue is being used to support progressive political goals in Idaho:
Liberal activists and their media allies claim these signs have no political intent while ignoring their clear history. Individual intent cannot override the law as written. Teachers may genuinely believe their signs are simply about promoting inclusion, but an individual’s subjective motivation has no bearing on the interpretation of the statute.
The Idaho Democratic Party now even sells these posters and has embraced the message as their cause — making clear that even if this message was not originally intended as political, it undeniably is now. A teacher’s claimed ignorance of political connections does not render illegal displays suddenly lawful.
The IEA is not shy about its ideological and political leanings, nor its desire to make the children of Idaho conservatives as unlike their parents as possible:
The IEA’s endorsements are just as revealing. The union endorsed every viable Democrat and settled for moderate Republicans elsewhere. Frankly, I would be embarrassed as a Republican to receive an endorsement from this organization. The IEA endorsed Rep. Ted Hill in the 2022 primary in District 14 but revoked that endorsement after deciding he was too conservative for their taste. Hill’s offenses? Supporting bills such as:
- Senate Bill 1100, requiring boys to use the boys’ bathroom.
- House Bill 415, allowing teachers with enhanced concealed pistol licenses to carry on school grounds.
- House Bill 602, preventing public money from subsidizing the teachers’ union.
This is what the IEA stands against, which raises the question: What do the Republicans who retained its endorsements stand for?
I ask again: why does Idaho give such an organization a privileged place within the public school system? I posed that question on Twitter today and received some interesting responses. Heather Lauer, co-founder of the Idaho Freedom Foundation and current advocate for donor privacy, suggested that many politicians—especially those representing rural areas—don’t see a distinction between teachers and the organization that represents them. Why antagonize the men and women who live in your community, go to your church, and—most importantly—educate your children?
Over the last two years, conservatives have attempted to pass legislation barring taxpayer subsidies for the union in the form of paid time off for political purposes and automatic deduction of union dues. Both times they were stymied not by Democrats, but by Republicans who feared the wrath of the IEA. Other public-sector unions, such as the Idaho Firefighters Association (IFFA), always come out to support maintaining the power of the IEA.
Last year, former West Bonner superintendent Branden Durst, who ran unsuccessfully for state superintendent in 2022, wrote an op-ed about his experience on the other side of the negotiating table:
“That’s our money!” So indignantly proclaimed the veteran teacher sitting across the table from me during a union contract negotiations meeting. The district had just lost a major levy (rightfully so) and was on a path to financial calamity without major reforms. In this meeting, what was best for the students was clearly the last thing on the agenda.
In a recent op-ed, Idaho Education Association (IEA) Associate Executive Director Matt Compton states that his members will continue to fight to “protect public schools”. Unfortunately, it seems that many union leaders and members are more focused on protecting their financial interests and the system than ensuring our children receive a quality education.
Read any social media post or publication by teachers’ union leadership and you’ll come away with the distinct impression that they not only think they own your children, but your tax dollars as well. See how the IEA and its allies have mobilized to destroy any Republican legislator who supported House Bill 93 this year, the Parental Choice Tax Credit. According to their rhetoric, H93 is siphoning off massive amounts of tax dollars from already underfunded public schools to give to wealthy parents who are already paying for private school. What they won’t tell you, however, is that H93 is capped at $50 million, while the total K–12 public school budget this year is $3.11 billion. That doesn’t include local bonds and levies.
I made a graph to illustrate the contrast:
The $50 million for school choice tax credits was newly appropriated, meaning it did not come out of the public education budget. But the IEA and its allies think that every dollar in your pocket belongs to them, and that any appropriation outside of their control is “stealing” from public schools. It’s about more than the money—it’s about control of our children and the future citizens of this nation and state.
It doesn’t have to be this way. There’s no reason that Idaho parents, even those with relatively good public school districts, should be required to allow their children to be indoctrinated into the progressive revolution. This is not to mention the epidemic of harassment, abuse, and assault that is quietly occurring in public schools, nor the dumbing down of standards to avoid the hard work of actually educating our children. There are many problems within the public education system to be solved, but removing an explicitly left-wing organization is a good start.
Corey DeAngelis recently joined Steve Deace to discuss the state of public schools, new school choice options coming out of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and a new alternative to the union called the Teacher Freedom Alliance.
Segment starts at 31:25 if it doesn’t automatically jump there:
All of us have work to do here in Idaho:
- The Legislature must stand up to the IEA and cut off their taxpayer subsidies.
- Voters must resist the oncoming union-funded campaign to oust pro-parent lawmakers and send them back to the Capitol.
- Teachers must step away from the IEA, deprive it of its power, and seek out alternatives like the Teacher Freedom Alliance.
As Voddie Baucham said, “We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.” We cannot continue to send our children to progressive activists and be surprised when they come home as progressives, Marxists, globalists, and socialists. The AFT, NEA, and IEA are the vanguard of the progressive revolution, and it’s time for Idaho to tell them our children are not theirs to mold.
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About Brian Almon
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
