After a rough year of scandal, electoral defeats, and effective counter-organizing, the anti-LGBTQ, book-banning Moms for Liberty put on a show of force at the Republican National Convention.
A Moms for Liberty town hall Tuesday afternoon drew two governors, three members of Congress, and three state attorneys general. Also addressing the crowd were former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who now runs the Young America’s Foundation; Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts; anti-abortion activist and “Stop the Steal” leader Ed Martin; and Michael Seifert, who heads Public Square, a fast-growing network of “anti-woke” businesses.
The event started with a promotional video including footage of Donald Trump calling Moms for Liberty “the best thing that’s ever happened to America.” Martin, who was on the leadership team of the Trump-controlled RNC platform process, delivered an opening prayer and told the crowd that the Trump platform’s chapter on education—which denounces “gender indoctrination,” critical race theory, and “left-wing propaganda” while endorsing “universal school choice” and the abolition of the federal Department of Education—reflects the “fingerprints” and “extraordinary influence” of M4L.
The Trump campaign’s reported plans to shift to a more unifying message were not on display at the town hall. “They’re coming after our kids,” said M4L cofounder Tiffany Justice in her opening remarks. She claimed, “Radical Marxists are trying to steal our children’s future.”
Sounding a theme heard from the convention stage, co-founder Tina Descovich portrayed American political debates in spiritual warfare terms as a battle between good and evil:
There’s something going on in our country right now. And you can’t see it with your eyes, but we all know what it is: It’s the battle between good and evil. It’s a battle for the soul of our country. It’s a battle for the souls of men and women in our country. And bigger and more focused, it’s a battle for the soul of our children….
Our focus is to protect children, and to protect our rights to raise our children as God intended us to raise them. The enemy wants to come between us and our children.
Descovich cited the 380 Moms for Liberty members she said are now serving on school boards and 42 state laws backed by the group to buttress her claim that “we are winning.”
The first panel featured Sen. Ron Johnson and Reps. Byron Donalds and Harriett Hageman. Justice began with a question that teed up one of the gaslighting themes of the convention, asking about Trump critics “labeling anyone who stands for freedom” as “a threat to democracy.” Hageman denounced Democrats for demonizing conservatives and Donalds denounced “venom” from the left, both ignoring the brutally divisive and literally demonizing rhetoric that is a hallmark of Trump and the MAGA movement.
Panelists criticized the Department of Education—calling to abolish it was one of the most reliable applause lines at the town hall—and criticized teachers unions. Asked why education issues have become so partisan, Johnson claimed that the left “wants to control people’s lives,” asserting, “We’re the party of freedom.”
The state attorneys general panel—featuring Lousiana’s Liz Murrill, West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey, and Missouri’s Andrew Bailey—talked about legal challenges to Biden administration rules interpreting Title IX. In a discussion of limiting access to library materials, Bailey claimed that “the left wants to groom children” and “sexualize children.” Murrill called it an “attack on faith” for librarians to allow children to access books their parents don’t approve. The AGs also talked more broadly about right-wing Republican priorities like eliminating “Chevron deference”—which the Supreme Court majority recently did—to weaken the regulatory power of federal agencies
Highlighting the fact that Moms for Liberty is, despite its nonpartisan protestations, fully integrated into the right-wing MAGA movement, the event included a trailer for a new Citizens United pro-Trump propaganda film called “Rescue Mission: Saving America.” It also included leaders of two powerful MAGA hub organizations, Ed Corrigan of the Conservative Partnership Institute and Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation.
Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas took turns bragging about their states’ attacks on “gender ideology,” diversity, equity, and inclusion, and more. DeSantis talked about how the state is expanding its control over what is taught in public universities.
The event closed with remarks from former presidential candidate and M4L favorite Vivek Ramaswamy, who denounced “left-wing woke indoctrination poison.” Citing the sacrifices made by the signers of the Declaration of Independence, he urged activists to do more, telling them, “2024 is our generation’s 1776.”
