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A candidate running for the Texas State Board of Education — who, if elected, will determine what goes into children’s textbooks — is facing backlash over comments made on social media about President Obama and the Civil War

The Washington Post reports comments made by Mary Lou Bruner resurfaced after it was predicted the retired schoolteacher would win the bid to run against Democratic candidate Keven Ellis for a seat on the board. In a series of Facebook posts last June, Bruner voiced her opinions on climate change, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the reason for the Civil War.

One of her most troubling comments was made in October 2015 about Obama and his relationship with the LGBT community. The 68-year-old claimed Obama previously engaged in sex with men for money.

via The Washington Post:

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…Since he supports gay marriage, he should be proud of his background as a homosexual/bisexual. He is against everything else Christians stand for, he might as well be for infidelity.

Bruner was first introduced to the education board in 2010 when she attended a council meeting on textbooks. She holds a Masters of Education degree from East Texas State University and spent over 30 years as a teacher in the Texas public school system. The Texas native expressed concerns that Middle Eastern consumers were trying to gain influence over the state’s curriculum.

via The Washington Post:

Her statements were introduced by board member Lawrence Allen (D): “You believe … people from the Middle East are buying, using their dollars, to persuade textbook publishers to put more —”

“I think the Middle Easterners are buying the textbooks!” Bruner said, wide-eyed. “They’re buying everything else here.”

“So, they’re buying the, the morality of the —”

“I think they’re using their influence to get what they want in the textbooks,” Bruner nodded.

So aside from the obvious, why are Bruner’s comments so disturbing?

The Texas State Board of Education has proven in the past to have a substantial amount of influence on what goes into textbooks distributed across the state and the entire nation. When asked about her comments the candidate said, “I don’t intend to apologize for my opinions because I still believe my statements are accurate.” Bruner’s political agenda aims towards conservative curriculum standards and “protecting the children’s textbook fund from lobbyists.”

Dan Quinn, communications director for advocacy group the Texas Freedom Network, shared his thoughts on Bruner’s comments.

via The Washington Post:

“I have a hard time believing that most people in east Texas think Obama was a gay prostitute,” Quinn said. “Those kinds of comments are so outside of the mainstream, but most people in the mainstream don’t vote. The people who vote in primaries are the conspiracy theorists. Not all of them, but a good number of them.”

Social conservatives have dominated the State Board of Education for some time — the seat for which Bruner is running used to be occupied by creationist Don McLeroy — but few have been quite as outspoken or inflammatory as Bruner.

“The others are a bit more careful about how outrageous their public comments are,” said Quinn, who had “no doubt” that if elected, Bruner would “bring her agenda with her” in curriculum discussions.

While the runoff isn’t until May, Bruner currently has 48 percent of the vote in the recent three-person GOP primary.

SOURCE: The Washington Post | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform

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Candidate Running For Texas State Board Of Education Previously Called President Obama ‘A Gay Prostitute’  was originally published on newsone.com