DANGEROUS RIGHT-WING GROUPS ARE VERY HARD TO KILL

Remember how we killed the homophobic hate group Moms for Liberty? A woman claimed to be involved in a sexual relationship with the group's co-founder, Bridget Ziegler, and her husband, Florida GOP chair Christian Ziegler, and also accused Christian of raping her. No charges were filed, but texts that were made public confirmed the allegation that the gay-bashing Zieglers regularly sought women for threesomes. Christian was removed from the party chairmanship in January of this year.

So much for that group, right? The headlines made clear that Moms for Liberty would be a non-factor in American politics going forward. New York Times: "Florida Sex Scandal Shakes Moms for Liberty, as Group’s Influence Wanes." CNN: "Moms for Liberty Faces New Challenges and Growing Pushback Over Its Conservative Education Agenda." NPR: "The Waning Influence of Moms for Liberty." The Hill: "Moms for Liberty Faces Growing Challenges Amid Florida Sex Scandal."

But it appears that Moms for Liberty wasn't really dead:

On Tuesday, the South Carolina State Board of Education will impose a centralized and expansive censorship regime on every K-12 school library in the state. The new regulations could result in the banning of most classic works of literature from South Carolina schools — from The Canterbury Tales to Romeo and Juliet to Dracula. The rules were championed by South Carolina State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver, who is closely aligned with Moms for Liberty, a far-right advocacy group seeking to remove scores of books from school libraries.

... any library books (or other instructional materials) are automatically deemed "not 'Age and Developmentally Appropriate' for any age or age group of children if it includes descriptions or visual depictions of 'sexual conduct,' as that term is defined by Section 16-15-305(C)(1)." Critically, the regulations ban library books with any descriptions of "sexual conduct" whether or not those descriptions would be considered "obscene."

Weaver is a close ally of Moms for Liberty, which has advocated across the country to remove books from school libraries. She appeared at the Moms for Liberty 2023 Joyful Warriors National Summit. "There is nothing more precious that God has created than the hearts and the minds of our young people," Weaver said. "And that is what the radical woke left is after. Make no mistake: saving our country starts with saving our schools."

In Nevada's largest county, three Moms for Liberty-affiliated candidates advanced to the general election this month in school board elections. And Florida stuck by the group even after the Ziegler scandal broke:

Some of Florida's loudest advocates for public school book removals make up half of a state government-sponsored group to advise school districts on how to select titles and when to pull them off of shelves.

Moms for Liberty members made up three of six members of a Department of Education workgroup that met ... to redevelop an online training program for school librarians and media specialists following a 2023 state law focused on book challenges.

It’s a demonstration of the state’s willingness to cater to the conservative group, which has long supported Gov. Ron DeSantis and, along with its local chapters, has become the leading voice against books in schools that it considers inappropriate.

In purple states, Republican candidates are embracing Moms for Liberty. It's no surprise that the extremist GOP candidate for governor in North Carolina, Mark Robinson, would appear at a Moms for Liberty-sponsored event. But David McCormick, the supposedly less extreme GOP candidate for Bob Casey's Senate seat in Pennsylvania, also appeared at a recent Moms for Liberty event.

None of this should be surprising. One thing all modern Republicans have in common is shamelessness. And why should they ever feel shame? The GOP base will never hear any negative news, from Fox or any other right-wing outlet, about any individual or group that retains the power to hurt the hated libs. Also, there's a nearly limitless supply of money for right-wing organizations. So when scandal happens, these groups just take the hit and keep coming.

There's pushback against Moms for Liberty. A new law in Washington State could remove the group from the state's approved list of teacher trainers. Residents of Howard County, Maryland, are trying to stop the county board of education from removing books on a Moms for Liberty list from school libraries.

It's really hard to kill any organization on the right. These groups don't stay dead -- or even marginalized -- for long.