Fire Obama Education Secretary Duncan for Attacking ‘White Suburban Moms’: White House Petition
Guest Post By Kristinn Taylor
President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is under fire for remarks he made Friday attacking ‘white suburban moms’ about their concerns over the Common Core education program.
Duncan’s words were reported Saturday evening by The Washington Post:
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a group of state schools superintendents Friday that he found it “fascinating” that some of the opposition to the Common Core State Standards has come from “white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were, and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.”
The Post is the only news outlet to publish a report as of this writing, however Fox & Friends reported on Duncan’s racist, elitist comments several times Sunday morning.
Duncan’s statement has sparked a firestorm of criticism from parents and education activists on Twitter.
It has also inspired a petition at the White House website calling on Duncan to be removed from office:
We petition the obama administration to:
Remove Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan consistently and flagrantly disregards the concerns of the parents and teachers of America’s schoolchildren. He dismisses their concerns in favor of corporate interests. In his recent comments to the Council of Chief State Schools Officers, he said, “It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were.” This clearly demonstrates the complete lack of understanding he has and his utter contempt for the American people. He is both unqualified and unfit to lead the Department of Education and should be removed immediately.
The petition has garnered the support of nearly 600 people in less than 24 hours (including yours truly.) It has been picking up about 100 signatures an hour Sunday morning as outrage has spread.
Not only is Duncan being criticized for his racist remarks about ‘white suburban moms’, he is also being taken to task for his implicit opinion that non-white, non-suburban moms don’t care about their children’s education.
Duncan letting slip his contempt for ‘white suburban moms’ is one more revelation in a year filled with such revelations about how the Obama administration truly operates that has led to Obama’s lowest personal approval ratings of his presidency.
