Editor:

My husband and I have received several unsigned letters lately. One included a Xerox copy of a current fundraising letter from Senator Jauch. All included quotes from “Fighting Bob” LaFollette.

Most conservatives would say Bob LaFollette was a Republican In Name Only (RINO), and was part of an uptick in the 1980s progressive movement to infiltrate American educational, religious and political institutions.

The infiltration of America’s major institutions is well documented in numerous books including: Witness by Whittaker Chambers, God and Man at Yale by William F. Buckley, Jr., and LaFollette’s monthly newsletter, The Progressive. The 2009 college text, Handbook of Social Justice in Education by William Ayers and others explains that the infiltration of the educational system was advanced by John Dewey, who is described in the Ayers book as a, “progressive philosopher and educator whose informed notion of social justice in education” became the impetus for today’s social justice ideology.

According to the Ayers book, Dewey was supported by George Counts, who is described as “an outspoken socialist whose ultimate goal was to replace the individualism embedded in American schools with a new focus on issues of social justice.” Historical accounts of academic achievement and literacy rates show that this movement acerbated the decline of the educational system and the decline of the American Republic.

LaFollette’s support of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution resulted in the increased power of the Federal Government, and decline in state’s rights, and the elimination of term limits for state Senators. This and other legislative efforts by LaFollette are not admired by people who respect and understand the history of our founding, the value of our republic, and the miracle of our Constitution.

In 1775 our founders presented King George III with a list of grievances. His reply was a royal proclamation declaring that American subjects had “Engaged in open and avowed rebellion.” The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. Each person who signed that document risked life and property. They would not be silenced, because silence is surrender.

Karen Schroeder, Rice Lake