{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"102 Anatomy Of A Right-Wing Legislator","description":"Susan and Renee discuss their deep-dive into a right-wing legislator\u2019s social media and the patterns they noticed. In this candid episode of Advocacy Bites, hosts Renee Sekel and Susan Book take listeners inside what they call the anatomy of a right-wing legislator, not by naming names, but by dissecting the recurring patterns, priorities, and contradictions that show up again and again in state-level politics. Drawing from an extensive deep dive into a legislator\u2019s social media presence, Renee unpacks how Second Amendment absolutism collides with so-called \u201cschool safety\u201d policies, exposing the absurd cycle of putting more guns into communities and then demanding millions for armed officers, metal detectors, and security theater in public schools. Susan adds personal perspective on the real harm these policies cause, especially for students with disabilities and other marginalized kids. The conversation expands into education policy, highlighting performative \u201cpro-education\u201d messaging, school privatization, resistance to teacher pay increases, and the obsession with pork projects and oversized ceremonial checks, funded by taxpayers and used as campaign props. Renee and Susan question what true fiscal responsibility looks like when public schools remain chronically underfunded. As always, the episode leads back to the courts and the ongoing failure to enforce Leandro v. North Carolina, connecting legislative hostility toward public education with efforts to cap property taxes, weaken county funding, and undermine libraries and other public goods. The hosts explore how these moves are not accidental, but part of a broader strategy to starve public institutions while shifting blame to local governments. Despite the frustration and righteous anger, the episode closes on a note of hope, reflecting on community, tradition, and the power of collective action to sustain everyday advocates through difficult political moments. \ud83c\udfa7 In this episode, you\u2019ll hear about: Second Amendment absolutism vs. school safety reality Why armed SROs don\u2019t make schools safer Education privatization and performative advocacy Pork spending, \u201cbig checks,\u201d and political theater Property tax caps, local funding, and the Leandro case How courts and legislatures enable systemic neglect Finding hope, community, and resilience in advocacy ","author_name":"Advocacy Bites","author_url":"http:\/\/saveourschoolsnc.org\/","html":"