CNN, Washington Post, Vice and more fret that Republicans are worried about child grooming, pedophilia

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Ohio introducing bill banning schools from teaching gender identity, sexual orientation

Ohio State Representatives Jean Schmidt (R) and Mike Loychik on the new parental rights bill to prevent gender or sexual orientation education for kindergarteners through third-grade.

Columns last week from liberal media outlets, including CNN, The Washington Post, Vice, and The Week, fervently criticized Republicans and downplayed their concerns that children are being "groomed" for potential sexual exploitation and that progressive ideology in the classroom and U.S. law may act as the catalyst to make it more prevalent.

Within one day, numerous outlets put out pieces on the issue as the disturbing topic of pedophilia has entrenched itself within two hyper-politicized current affairs, the Supreme Court confirmation process of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and the much-discussed Florida’s parental rights law.

The Washington Post on Tuesday published an analysis piece by national correspondent Philip Bump entitled "The new red scare: The right leans into pedophilia accusations."

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Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Tuesday, March 22, 2022.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The report alleged that accusations leveled against Jackson, labeling her as "unusually lax" in sentencing those charged with crimes related to child pornography, were "unfounded" as determined by "fact-checkers" and "conservatives." Among the voices Bump cited was the Post's fact-checker Glenn Kessler and a National Review piece criticizing Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

That same day the Post’s Hannah Natanson and Moriah Balingit published a piece called "Teachers who mention sexuality are ‘grooming’ kids, conservatives say."

The extensive education piece largely focused on examples of Republicans criticizing sexual discussions with young children in schools as well as claims that doing so is a form of "grooming" or could at least increase the risk of such an event occurring. Much of this discussion erupted after the introduction and subsequent passing of the Florida parental rights law.

In their evidence opposing this concern by parents and conservative politicians, Natanson and Balingit cited examples from experts who believe that high schools "piloting efforts" to teach teens about consent will help prevent sexual assault, and that teaching about LGBTQ people could lead to reduced bullying. The article also claims that teaching young children about their private parts can reduce the chance of abuse at home. The Florida law only bans "classroom instruction" on sexual identity and health for grades K-3. It does not ban casual discussion on such topics and does not affect higher grades beyond telling them to adhere to state standards.

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Walt Disney employees and demonstrators during a rally against the Florida Parental Right Law at Griffith Park in Glendale, California, U.S., on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.  (Alisha Jucevic/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The piece also included quotes from Vanderbilt Assistant Professor Sophie Bjork-James, who called concerns about grooming a "strategy to unify" White evangelicals and "QAnon supporters."

Two days later Los Angeles Times columnist Jean Gurrero linked Republicans’ "anti-groomer" fight not only to the satanic panic, but also "Pizzagate and QAnon." The columnist also claimed that Republicans’ defense of children was part of a "cynical ploy from a party that supports sabotaging our planet’s climate for future generations, promotes policies that traumatize brown and Black children, and has backed people accused of molesting and even trafficking teenagers."

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Again on April 5, CNN guest essayist Jill Filipovic said in a column that Republican accusations against Supreme Court nominee Jackson "feed into [a] QAnon conspiracy theory" and play to "dangerous" groups who inflict "repeated violence" against others and "destabilize American democracy."

Articles from The Washington Post, The Week, and Vice News on Republican concerns about child grooming and pedophilia.  (Fox News, Vice, Washington Post, The Week)

"Giving fuel to QAnon talking points while formally denying any relationship to QAnon is one way to draw the support of pro-Trump conservatives. But Republicans should remember that there are more important things than cementing power and winning elections – American democracy, stability and cohesion among them," Filipovic said in part.

In a column for "The Week," Joel Mathis wondered "why Republicans are so concerned about grooming?" Mathis began by announcing that the American right is "exploding" with accusations of sexual grooming against political opponents and claimed that most Republican concerns about child grooming are a form of "ugly, McCarthyist politics."

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"The point isn't to protect children. It's to weaponize concerns about their safety in the service of conservative political power," Mathis clearly asserted at the column's conclusion. 

Vice News, The Intelligencer, and several other outlets all published pieces on April 5 criticizing Republicans concerns about grooming, pedophilia, and sexual discussions with young children in the classroom.