When confronted with basic questions on “60 Minutes,” the group appeared ill-prepared and stumped and alleged their critics were trying to “marginalize us.”
Since its founding in 2021, the conservative organization Moms for Liberty has billed itself as a champion for “parents’ rights,” pushing campaigns across the country to ban books and the use of pronouns in schools. Their crusade, as my colleague Kiera Butler has reported, often alleges that educators, specifically in public education, are out to “groom” and “indoctrinate” kids.
But what, exactly, does that mean? It doesn’t appear as though Moms for Liberty knows either.
In an interview with 60 Minutes host Scott Pelley that aired on Sunday night, the group’s two co-founders repeatedly struggled to explain their platform beyond empty talking points that have fueled the culture war in schools. They also failed to present facts to back up various claims.
Right: in their worldview, claims are not evaluated. They’re slogans. They’re how you signal ingroup loyalty… because only ingroup loyalty is real. The people above you are smart and right and handsome, or else they wouldn’t be above you. It is impossible for someone to simply be wrong. They must be lesser. Any challenge, any criticism, any disagreement, is a personal attack. So just shuffle your cards and pick a clever-sounding excuse for whatever has to be true, today.
Reality is a team sport, to these people. Their stated ideals are ad-hoc justifications. And they think that’s all we’re doing, because they think that’s all there is.