In early March on super Tuesday, voters across Texas went to local polls to vote for party delegates. Many Republicans looking to place a ballot for Cruz or Trump also casted important votes concerning education – members to join the Texas Board of Education.

With much of Trump’s media buffoonery, it is easy for candidates of less popular positions to fly under the radar. This lets candidates such as Mary Lou Bruner secure front-runner in Texas School Board of Education District 9 seat.

Bruner has spent over 30 years as an educator in the state of Texas and holds a masters’ in Special Education from East Texas State University. Bruner’s claims however suggest that she is perhaps not the best candidate to control the curricula for students across Texas – due to her pungent ignorance and hateful nature.

Bruner was recently criticized for her provocative statements over Facebook. Bruner stated “Obama has a soft spot for homosexuals because of the years he spent as a male prostitute in his twenties. That is how he paid for his drugs.” This statement may be dismissed in today’s political standards; but for a professional government worker to make such blatantly indecent and flat out wrong statements is an eye-opener that should serve as a wake up call for sensible Texan voters.

This is not a the only controversial statement Bruner has published. Bruner being a fundamentalist Christian, has been advocating for the teaching of creationism, the belief that God created man through intelligent design. Creationism and other Christian beliefs were removed from public education in order for students to have a bias-free education and choose from the many religions. Bruner however believes children ought to be taught the Christian belief of how existence came to be, an unprovable theory that relies in a belief on Christianity and God. Bruner even has her own explanation for dinosaurs (Which have mostly been denied existence by fundamentalists.) “The dinosaurs on the [Noah’s] ark may have been babies and not able to reproduce,” she wrote. “It might make sense to take the small dinosaurs onto the ark instead of the ones bigger than a bus.” This is an awful stream of logic that puts a blinder on education to those who do not follow Bruner’s beliefs … and those who do.

However, Bruner is not worried about the students who might take offense to this sense she will be banning any rival religion. In another statement Bruner said “The USA should ban Islam and stop all immigration from Muslim countries because Islam’s stated goal is to conquer the USA and kill the infidels (nonbelievers).” I should not have to express how rude and misinformed this statement is.

Bruner completely disregards Native American culture in her statement that excused the systematic genocide and dislocation performed on their people. Bruner said, “I am not saying the Native Americans deserved what happened to them but sometimes God removes his protection from people who worship pagan gods.” These hateful and ignorant comments serve as red flags, warning people that a woman of her beliefs and intoleration should not have any say whatsoever in the way Texas children receive education.

The sad part is, Bruner’s odds of being beaten are slim to none. Bruner for some reason is the front-runner Republican candidate for this position; and, is predicted to win since people in her sector tend to vote with the Republican party. This is a major problem in the way we think about politics. Party affiliations rule our choices before we even make them. Texans have stopped looking at candidates’ policies and only care whether they choose red or blue. Now education is on the line. Your vote matters and how you make your decisions should be controlled by your own thoughts not if the candidate has a letter R or D next to their name.

Works Cited

“Creationist Who Thinks Obama Was a Gay Prostitute Poised to Join Texas Board of Education.” Raw Story. N.p., 02 Mar. 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

“A Texan Who Called Obama a Gay Prostitute May Soon Control What Goes in Children’s Textbooks.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

*All quotes were found from online newspapers but were originally posted by Mary Lou Bruner on her Facebook wall.