Followup on Ryan Walters

So, Ryan Walters has more to say. Last night on Fox News, Walters responded to an article in the Daily Oklahoman that charged Walters with trying to create a "firestorm" with his comments that the teachers' unions were trying to turned public schools into terrorist camps. Walters claimed that the paper (that he referred to as "The Woke-lahoman") was trying to "gaslight" the public "on a terrorist attack." He continued, "You have a radical left wing teachers' union  that has pushed hatred for this country. You have Joe Biden. Kamala Harris. They have taught our young people to hate this country. They called Donald Trump Hitler." 

It's pretty clear that Walters has some anger toward his opposition. Perhaps he blames them for not getting an appointment to Trump's cabinet, despite buying all the Trump bibles. Perhaps it is because the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) named him "Theocrat of the Year" for his ordering public schools to incorporate the Bible into their social studies curricula, as well as his position that the separation of church and state "is a myth." FFRF and other groups also object to Walters' creation of the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism at the Oklahoma Department of Education.

Beyond awarding Walters the theocrat of the year title, FFRF has joined with over 30 other groups to sue Walters over the Bible mandate, arguing that it is unconstitutional, and that it favors one religion (Christianity) over others. 

Walters responded on X by posting, "This is just another radical organization screaming into the void, desperate to stay relevant while the rest of us focus on what actually matters." I hope that what Walters means is focusing on improving Oklahoma's position of being 49th nationally in terms of quality of education rather than more culture wars.