A leader of the teacher activist group called “Red for Ed” recently posted on social media that he is “not sorry” that Arizona Republican Senator John McCain passed away due to brain cancer at age 81, the College Fix reported. Derek Harris said that he is “not sorry [McCain’s] gone” and suggested that an “empty rusted bucket” should replace McCain in the Senate. Harris also reposted comments of other anti-McCain types, who blame McCain for the deaths of Middle Eastern civilians.
Despite his reputation of being a maverick in the U.S. Senate, Senator John McCain’s U.S. military service ought to be recognized by his foes. McCain survived several years of torture at the hands of the Communist Vietnamese, and did so after allegedly declining an early release due to his father being an American Navy admiral. McCain, due to communist torture, allegedly could not raise his arms beyond his shoulder height for the rest of his life. But, Harris chose to ignore his sacrifice in exchange for potshots at a veteran’s legacy on social media.
Contrast Harris’s social media comments to former vice president Joe Biden, who praised McCain’s bipartisanship and maverick politics at McCain’s memorial service in Arizona. Biden said:
“John was a hero, his character, courage, honor integrity. I think it is understated when they say optimism. That’s what made John special.”
But, academics and the media ignore Harris’s comments because it does not match their anti-school choice views and prefer to bury such comments to avoid public backlash.
As background, the media breathlessly covered the teacher labor union protests in Arizona under the progressive teacher activist group “Red for Ed,” yet failed to elaborate the group’s underlying progressive motives and ties to the Democratic Party. For example, the teacher activist group has connections to the Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate David Garcia, who is challenging Republican incumbent Doug Ducey. The protests came at a time where Ducey and the state legislature were about to pass at least one school choice law, which would have given parents more power in choosing where their children went to school. But, that was stymied due to the “Red for Ed” and teacher labor union protests.
