Hidden Extremism

Many young adults like myself are cynical about politics because too often candidates think voters are dumb. They think they can pretend to be things they aren’t. In our local politics, we have two candidates who are quite extreme in their conservative beliefs, yet are backed by a mysterious and illegal Political Action Committee — Impact Education, a new iteration of Fair Education — that tries to paint a different picture.

Elrawd MacLearn and Brian Campbell oppose an inclusive approach to education that is widely supported here in Santa Barbara, such as bilingual education for those who choose it (which passed by nearly 70 percent in this county), ethnic studies (which has been a growing movement for over a decade), and medically based sex ed that families can opt-out of. Yet the PAC that supports them speaks only of “inclusivity” and “transparency.” This group is in clear violation of campaign finance rules: None of its donors are known to the public as is required.

Mr. MacLearn took more than $5,000 from the PAC yet claims he knows nothing about it. Meanwhile, on a right-wing radio show hosted by a devoted Trump supporter, MacLearn speaks of fighting Marxism and accuses the Black Lives Matter movement of promoting anarchy. MacLearn and Campbell have cynically been trying to distance themselves from Fair Education, yet their ads are all funded by Impact Education.

Give us a break. Voters are smarter than you think.