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Liberals won’t let facts get in the way of a good smear campaign

Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Education, has a strange way of demonstrating the animosity toward gay people she is being accused by some of harboring. Back to that in a moment.

Liberal critics of Trump have been shouting themselves hoarse, figuratively speaking, in accusing anyone linked to him of being anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-minority, anti-poor people and just about any other “anti” you can name.

The very people who criticize police officers for “profiling” now are leading the charge in stereotyping. Their rationale is that anyone willing to serve with Trump or support him in any way must be bad.

DeVos, who was examined during a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, is disliked intensely by the liberal establishment because she champions school choice. She supports publicly funded charter schools and education vouchers, allowing parents to send their children to schools they prefer.

Now, they raise “concerns about how her conservative Christian beliefs and advocacy for family values might impact minority and LGBT students,” according to The Associated Press. Why, she supports “sexual orientation change efforts,” or conversion therapy, some critics say.

No, she does not, replied Greg McNeilly, a longtime aide to DeVos. He pointed out she supports same-sex marriage and “absolutely never” advocated conversion therapy.

McNeilly has at least some credibility regarding whether DeVos wants to engage in a vendetta against gays, by the way. He is gay.

Don’t expect DeVos’ critics to take that into account, however. It might interfere with their profiling campaign.

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