Well, their names included a number of uncompromising progressives drawn primarily from teachers unions, academia, and advocacy groups, while a handful of “conservatives” The New York Times Republicans and people I'd never seen before. The co-chairman was a long-retired, little-known, semi-progressive Republican and former governor from a blue state.
Now, this kind of red tape might be enough if the goal was to provide a political “cover,” to issue press releases that include the names of left and right parties. But check-box inclusion offers no insight into differences of opinion, does not surface hidden points of agreement, and does not inspire the trust of right-wing audiences. False bipartisanship actually leads to setbacks, by feeding a cynical sense on the right that we are once again being used in bad faith.
So I suggested adding a few more people who I thought were serious and more representative of right-wing sentiment (both populist and more traditional types). I pointed out that there were easy places to find such candidates: the Heritage Foundation, the Goldwater Institute, the Hoover Institution, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. I was coldly told that they were looking for participants with “deep” expertise. I shrugged and said only that I was sure that my choices were as knowledgeable in this field as many of the names already on their list. (This suggestion was not warmly received.)
This exchange is painfully familiar. There is a decades-long dance in education where donors and supporters identify the Republican 40-yard line group and then boast about bipartisanship and inclusivity. I have had this conversation many times with donors and supporters who seem to think I am hard-core right-wing (those who know me and are familiar with the modern right find this amusing). I tell these good people that while they may imagine I am on the right’s 3-yard line, hard-core right-wingers think I’m closer to the 25-yard line, or even the 30-yard line. I don’t often feel like they believe me.
Given the world they live in, I can kind of understand. As I’ve said many times before, education is a weird place where you can support gun control, higher taxes, and abortion rights, but embrace school choice or oppose DEI mandates and be labeled “right wing.” The education world leans so far left that even the weakest Republican (or even the most unorthodox Democrat) seems right wing enough to many smart people in education. That’s why major “bipartisan” organizations hold education briefings for congressional staff, where the left wing is represented by Elizabeth Warren’s staff and the right wing is represented by former Obama administration officials (in Dave Barry’s immortal words, “I’m not making this up”).