Politico reports:

The head of Congress’ largest conservative caucus is encouraging Republicans to embrace anti-critical race theory rhetoric, as the GOP looks to lean into the nation’s culture wars ahead of the looming battle for the House.

In a memo sent to members of the Republican Study Committee, its chair Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana said the “backlash against Critical Race Theory is real.” Banks framed the GOP’s opposition to the ideology “as an effort to renew American patriotism and rebuild our country.”

Critical race theory refers to the concept that racism has been systematically ingrained in American society and institutions. It’s sparked a Republican revolt over the ideology’s presence in schools, arguing that it teaches children to believe that the country is racist.

“We believe that individuals should be judged based on the contents of their character, not their skin. And we believe that America’s institutions should be colorblind, just as our Constitution is colorblind,” states the memo, obtained by POLITICO. “This is the same vision shared by civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr.”

And if it wasn’t crystal clear, the memo — titled “Lean into the culture war” — goes on to say: “We are in a culture war … we are winning.”

The memo is just the latest sign that the right is hoping to capitalize on the grassroots angst over critical race theory and excite its base voters in next year’s midterms. Former President Donald Trump has called for a ban on critical race theory at both the local school level and in the federal government. And several states have already approved bans on teaching critical race theory in schools or anything that can be packaged as such. [Continue reading…]