The only real question that remains is the following: Why do teachers’ unions and Democratic politicians believe keeping schools closed is a winning issue for them? Presumably they think that, if the schools remain shuttered, millions of parents will be unable to return to work pursuant to the absence of child care. This would, according to the scenario, prevent the economy from recovering — a failure the Democrats hope voters will blame on President Trump. The problem with this plan is their assumption that the electorate is largely made up of morons, particularly Trump supporters. This is the same mistake the Democrats have been making about the voters since June 2015.
They assume that, when UTLA members refuse to return to work until the police force is defunded and charter schools are shut down, the voters can’t see that their actual agenda is unrelated to student safety. They really seem to believe that, when members of the Durham (N.C.) Association of Educators (DAE) decline to resume classroom teaching until Medicare for All and welfare benefits for illegal immigrants are enacted, the voters are unable to see that their goals are political rather than educational. They would have us believe that a lawsuit filed by the Florida Education Association (FEA) against GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis actually involves the state constitution’s safety requirements.
None of this passes the laugh test. There is no scientific data supporting the claims of teachers’ unions or Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden, that a return to in-person instruction increases the risk that students or educators will contract COVID-19.
