Despite the sturm und drang about the possibility of a Democratic President speaking to The Children (never mind that both Ronnie Reagan and Poppy Bush did the same thing), there is an active campaign going on in Texas to “balance” moderate and progressive voices in history with some of the farthest right-leaning conservative icons proposed as mandatory parts of the curriculum (yes, it includes Joe McCarthy):

While Republicans are busy gnashing their teeth over President Obama’s imminent indoctrination of the nation’s schoolchildren, there’s an education story bubbling up in Texas that could have considerably more far-reaching consequences.

The GOP-controlled State Board of Education is working on a new set of statewide textbook standards for, among other subjects, U.S. History Studies Since Reconstruction. And it turns out what the board decides may end up having implications far beyond the Lone Star State.

The first draft of the standards, released at the end of July, is a doozy. It lays out a kind of Human Events version of U.S. history.

Approved textbooks, the standards say, must teach the Texan student to “identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly, and the Moral Majority.” No analogous liberal figures or groups are required, prompting protests from some legislators and committee members. (Read an excerpt here.)

The standards on Nixon: “describe Richard M. Nixon’s role in the normalization of relations with China and the policy of detente.”

On Reagan: “describe Ronald Reagan’s role in restoring national confidence, such as Reaganomics and Peace with Strength.” (That’s it.)

The Cold War section is rendered as “U.S. responses to Soviet aggression after World War II … ”

…

Next to a noncontroversial seeming item requiring students to “describe how McCarthyism, the arms race, and the space race increased Cold War tensions” is the note:

“MV[Multiple Views]: One member thinks that if McCarthyism is noted, then the Venona papers need to be explained that exonerates him.”

A bullet point on “women and minority employment” as an economic effect of World II caused “one member” to gripe “there is too much emphasis on multiculturalism.”

And “one member” deemed a section on “effective leadership” a perfect place to bring to students’ attention Charlton Heston’s celebrated (among right-wingers) culture war speech.

Now I’m all about balance, but the very American tradition of whitewashing our nut-jobs has now reached its logical conclusion, and shows no signs of stopping. Can we maybe lean back towards sanity now?