Meet the new Senator from Oklahoma
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee meets in their Committee room. The members are listening to testimony on child care. Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the Committee Chairman, is presiding. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a Committee member, is the antagonist. The other players include Cheryl Morman – President of the Virginia Alliance for Family Child Care Associations — who is there to testify, as well as others from the early education community.
The dialogue
It is Mullin’s time to ask questions. You can find the video HERE. He starts by sniping at Sanders.
”The Chairman of the Committee, that was appointed by Senate Democrats, is a self-proclaimed socialist. I’m not just calling that. Chairman you openly say that you are a socialist. In your book, Outsider in the House, the Chairman says ‘Bill Clinton is a moderate Democrat. I’m a Democrat Socialist’. That’s over our education system.
In class, Mullin would have been penalized for using the ad hominem fallacy. Whatever Sanders may or may not be is irrelevant to the quality of the argument Mullin will make with his subsequent questions. Note: It will be an argument and not a search for the truth because this is politics, and the truth is its first victim.
Mullin also trots out the straw man fallacy. He says that Sanders is a socialist because Bernie says he is a Democrat [sic] Socialist in his book. The two political philosophies are not the same, despite the similarity in names. Claiming they are, is the same as saying that a koala bear is a bear, even though a bear is more closely related to a killer whale (NB it is not a whale) than a koala. Thomas Jefferson belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party and was neither a Democrat nor a Republican.
Mullin continues:
“I have a book in front of me called Our Skin, that has been endorsed by NACY [?]. I am going to read what this book says — you guys might find it interesting. ‘A long time ago, way before you were born, a group of white people made up an idea called ‘race’. They sorted people by skin color and said that white people were better smarter, prettier, and they deserved more than everybody else.’ This would be taught if we socialize our pre-K system.
[…]
At this point, Bernie interjects, asking Mullin if he disagrees with any of the findings in the book. Mullin replies,
“A 1,000%. How about we teach Jesus loves me? How about this? Teaching that Jesus loves the little children. The lyrics go red and yellow, black and white, they are all precious in our sight. Now which one would you think would be better? I’ll ask everyone on the panel. Which is better to teach?
This, which was made up to teach our kids. Three-year-olds, who have no idea what race is, now being taught that white people said this as a truth. Someone point at me at this being a truth, that white people developed race. That white people developed that. That all of a sudden that was our word (here Mullin puts his hand on his chest) that we developed.”
[…]
Mullin goes on,
By the way, I am Cherokee, Native American. I think we have experienced a little bit of racism before in my life, Chairman.
Wait, what? Didn’t he just claim to be white? (“That all of a sudden that was our word” (here Mullin puts his hand on his chest) “that we developed.”)
“So I ask everyone on the panel, which one is better to teach. This — or the Jesus loves me lyrics? Just tell me which one. I don’t have time for an explanation.”
When the first respondent attempts to answer his question in a way that Mullin does not care for, he tells her how to respond. At which point, Sanders tells Mullin to let the witness answer “as she sees fit.” Once again, the witness tries. Mullin verbally stomps on her.
He then tries with a second witness. She replies, “I think it is important to teach that all children are seen and valued for who they are.” A still displeased Mullin, failing to browbeat the witnesses into answering as he wants them to, tries to answer the question himself.
“But when you teach this don’t you think other people are going to say that white kids are to blame? That’s exactly what they are going to teach. It is exactly what it is, ma’am.”
Silence ensues as Mullin leans back in his rocking chair, smugly stroking his beard. After some time, Cheryl Mormon, sensing that the man, who previously declared he had little time, was milking the moment, speaks up, “I disagree. First, it is important that we teach Jesus (remember the name of her business is ‘Blessings from Above Child Development’) And Jesus is what we teach. But reality is …”
Mullin seems irritated that Mormon — a Black woman — mentions Jesus. He again interrupts her, forcing Bernie to again admonish Mullin to let a witness answer the question. A frustrated Mullin, pointing at the offending book, turns to Sanders and says,
“I don’t want reality. I am asking the question which one is better”
The gallery guffaws. Mullin dismisses his lapse into truth by declaring he “misspoke.” He then asks Sanders,
So what I am saying is which one is which? Which one is better to be taught, Mr. Chairman? Is it this or is it Jesus … “
Sanders is unsure to whom Mullin is talking and reasonably asks, “Is your question directed to me or Miss Mormon?” Mullin, still testy, harrumphs,
“You keep interrupting me, saying they’re not answering the question. I wish you would stay out of my questions as it’s my time.”
Then Mullin asks Mormon, “Which one?”
And she replies, “As I stated, Jesus is always first.”
Mullin responds. “Absolutely. I agree with that.”
Mullin then gives up trying to plant answers to his questions and concludes his grandstanding with another testy dig at Sanders.
“So let me end with this because I still have more time because the Chairman kept interrupting me. I am going to close with two quotes. The first is from John Adams. ‘Morality and virtue are the foundation of a republic and necessary for society to be free.’
The second is from the socialist, communist Joseph Stalin. “Education is a weapon whose effect depends on whose hands it is in and whom it is aimed.” We have got to be careful what we are trying to do here.”
He was a GOP congressman before winning the special election to succeed James Inhofe (not much better) last year.
They’re turning the Senate GOP into the Freedom Caucus.