Nov 08, 2021

Happy Monday! This week, we look at what’s wrong with Biden’s COVID vaccine mandates, the lesson of the Virginia elections, and how voters rejected critical race theory.

There’s more to explore: Don’t forget to check out the webinars, podcasts, and other items featured in this week’s Agenda.

What’s Wrong With Biden’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

In the news: President Joe Biden is proposing an unprecedented federal mandate that would compel millions of workers to get a vaccine or submit to weekly testing.

The backlash: The mandate hasn’t proven popular, with 24 state attorneys general threatening to sue and business owners across America raising concerns about the costs and workforce impacts.

Identifying the problems: Heritage assembled a panel of experts, including Sen. Ron Johnson and Dr. Martin Makary, to explore the biggest questions about the mandate, such as

• Is it legal?
• How will this affect doctor-patient relationships?
• What are the pitfalls of implementing this for 80 million Americans?
• What are the alternatives?

Get the answers: Watch the panel discussion here.

Learn more: Heritage’s Doug Badger and Paul Larkin explain why the Biden administration lacks the legal authority to impose a vaccine mandate.

Virginia’s Election Was About Education

The biggest lesson of Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia was that parents—on both sides of the aisle—care deeply about school choice and parental empowerment in education.

Why that matters: Parents and students alike have major concerns about COVID-19 mandates and closures as well as schools pushing radical leftist ideas like critical race theory and gender fluidity. Dismissing these concerns cost the left dearly.

Taking it to heart: Youngkin now has a mandate to address parents’ concerns about education, and he and his administration will need to take some clear action steps. Lindsey Burke, director of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy, has identified exactly which steps those should be.

Learn more: The four steps are listed here.

Now We Know: Americans Reject Critical Race Theory

Leftists just learned a hard lesson: Americans don’t like it when you politicize the classroom, especially with radically divisive ideologies like critical race theory. That’s one of the clear messages of last week’s elections.

What’s at stake: Separating children into “affinity groups” and telling black children that certain habits of success mean “acting white” are practices that violate Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, several amendments of the U.S. Constitution, and are racist.

The Challenge: Last week’s elections were “the start of a new revolution. It was the Lexington and Concord for parents fed up with leftist indoctrination,” writes Mike Gonzalez, Heritage’s Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum fellow. Now it’s up to politicians to respond with policy.

Read more: Find the full commentary here.

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., started his career at The Heritage Foundation with the Young Leaders Program? Learn more about the Young Leaders Program and watch Cotton give advice to young interns.

ICYMI: Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley spoke at Heritage’s Margret Thatcher Freedom Lecture. “When America speaks, the world listens. When America leads, the world follows. What America does, the rest of the world wants to be. That’s amazing. We should embrace that. We should hone in on that. And we have that opportunity,” Haley said. Watch her remarks.

Abortion Hurts, Not Helps: Women Speak Out, Monday, 11 a.m. The featured speaker is Teresa Stanton Collett, professor of law and co-founder of the University of St. Thomas Prolife Center.

Register for this event. 

This week on “Heritage Explains,” GianCarlo Canaparo, a legal fellow in Heritage’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, explains what will happen if President Biden restores Obama’s Title IX policies.

Listen to the podcast.

Our Broken Elections
Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow in Heritage’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, joined Newsmax to discuss his new book, "Our Broken Elections: How the Left Changed the Way You Vote." Watch the interview.

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