Moms for Liberty is throwing a big GOP bash to sort through candidates and campaigns. Surrounded by history, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell, the moms have nested in the Philadelphia Marriot Hotel for the Joyful Warriors National Summit annual event. And they have brought the big birds to town, attracting GOP presidential contenders of the highest order scattered throughout the weekend to impart their messages and inspire the party faithful to reverse the course of what they say is a deleterious trend in the nation’s education.
The festivities began yesterday afternoon, but the event really takes off today, Friday, June 30. The heaviest hitter, former President Donald Trump, and the man who would replace him, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, are both delivering remarks in key audience attendance spots this morning and afternoon, bookending breakout strategy sessions and critical issues. Also scheduled to speak as presidential candidates are former US Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchison. The organization, which boasts 285 chapters in 45 states, expects a friendly crowd of about 650.
Moms for Liberty self-identifies as moms, dads, grands, and anyone “dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating, and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”
Moms for Liberty and the GOP Parade
Timothy Barton, President of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization, delivered the opening remarks and set the tone for the weekend. Barton is an ordained minister whose organization focuses on “America’s forgotten history and heroes” through a religious lens and a relationship to American morals, ethics, and the good old US Constitution. Barton delivered his remarks at the Museum of the American Revolution.
Ron DeSantis (Photo by Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images)
Gov. DeSantis will kick off the morning breakfast and general session with his wife, Casey. Attendees are also scrutinizing potential first spouses, and it seems only Casey is on the agenda as a speaker. She and Ron will attempt to dazzle those early risers with the successes in the Sunshine State in education, routinely defeating the House of Mouse, and keeping the Florida economy thriving.
Nikki Haley will follow with the keynote at the General Assembly luncheon. Trump has the best time slot of all and will be revving up the convention goers. Former First Lady Melania, however, is expected to be a no-show – a move the moms may take offense to.
But big names aside, the annual event is a boot camp for the GOP. Scheduled sessions include Dark Money’s Infiltration Into Education – And How to Fight It; Driving the Narrative – If You Aren’t Telling Your Story, Someone Else Is; and Protecting Kids From Gender Ideology. Well, you get the gist, and by the attendance of the candidates, it is clear that winning the women’s vote and having this demographic participate in a campaign is the way to victory.
Presidential Hopefuls Must Deliver
But there are detractors, of course, as the GOP gathers: A near-hysterical response from the radical left was almost laughable.
(Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
“Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement. The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans,” says the Southern Poverty Law Center.
To that alarmist attitude and declaration, Nikki Haley told Fox News earlier in the month: “I’m speaking at their Joyful Warrior summit. Does that sound like a hateful group to you? We are parents that care about our kids. We are parents that worry about government overreach. We are parents that want transparency in the classroom. We are parents that are saying, ‘Look, we have one job. One job and that’s to get it right.’”
And that’s precisely what is at stake for those Joyful Warriors. Now Trump, DeSantis, and the rest of the contenders must somehow convince the moms of their commitment.
