U.S. House Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was criticized by conservatives on social media Thursday after she alleged that the Republican-sponsored Parents Bill of Rights being considered in Congress is "fascist." The bill seeks to strengthen parents' knowledge of and involvement in their children's education.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy described the purpose of the bill as follows: "The Parents Bill of Rights has 5 pillars to ensure parents have the right to have a voice in their kids’ education: Right to know what’s being taught in schools and to see reading material; Right to be heard; Right to see school budget and spending; Right to protect their child’s privacy; [and] Right to be updated on any violent activity at school."
Ocasio-Cortez, however, slammed it as targeting LGBT youth and censoring racial content, telling Republicans to "keep the culture wars out of classrooms."
"When we talk about progressive values, I can say what my progressive value is, and that is freedom over fascism," she concluded.
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Conservatives pushed back against the Congresswoman's claims on Twitter.
Conservative commentator Dale Franks tweeted, "So, limiting government power in favor of individual rights is ‘fascist’. Good to know."
"BREAKING: Unhinged socialist doesn’t know what fascism is and wants to cut genitals off children," Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report said.
"AOC thinks parents don't have the right to know if their child decides to change genders," the Media Research Center tweeted.
North Carolina congressional candidate Christine Villaverde wrote, "AOC wants the ‘nanny state’ to be in charge of our children. Parents have had enough of government overreach!"
Journalist Ian Miles Cheong wrote, "Breaking: Bartender doesn’t know the meaning of words."
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"Republicans' Parental Rights Bill is arguing against state-run Woke indoctrination, it is essentially ‘anti-fascist’," Podcast host Kyle Becker tweeted.
He continued, "Fascism requires state indoctrination of a populace in order to support the regime. That is what the Democrats crave — complete control of the state, society, and economy."
Former Arizona congressional candidate Josh Barnett said, "It’s a clown show every time she talks."
Talk radio show host Joe Pagliarulo contended that Ocasio-Cortez's claim that the bill would force the outing of LGBT youth "is a lie." He went on, "The actress @AOC thinks making sure parents have rights in what's taught in classes they are forced to fund is fascism."
"Unless you disagree with AOC, then she's totally cool with fascism," Independent Women's Forum fellow Sam Janney tweeted.
Heritage research fellow Jason Bedrick said, "Add this to the puerile 'everything I don’t like is fascism' file."
Similar legislation has been passed and signed into law by various Republican-led states. In Florida, for example, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed and promoted multiple bills to battle CRT and DEI initiatives in the education system.
