Iowa State Sen. Jake Chapman should apologize for demagoguery

This week, Republican Senate President Jake Chapman accused media of wishing to "confuse, misguide and deceive us, calling good evil and evil good," and accused teachers of a "sinister agenda" that endangers kids. During 43 years of teaching, I worked with hundreds of teachers and never witnessed what Chapman is implying. Rather, I saw heroes devoted to the safety, well-being, and education of our precious kids. And I've observed the legitimate media such as The Gazette, Register, NPR, ABC, NBC and CBS continually seeking and reporting the truth.

Chapman is the one misleading Iowans, an abuse of his power and classic demagoguery. And as a supporter of Donald Trump, Chapman's the one confusing evil and good. Trump admitted to sexual assault, paid hush money to a porn star to influence an election, mocked people with disabilities, disrespected heroes such as McCain, admitted to admiring dictators, perpetrated the lie that Biden stole the election, and invited and incited the Jan. 6 mob that attempted to overturn his defeat. His concerns should be directed toward Trump and those who support his lies rather than the media and teachers.

Chapman owes the media, teachers, and the entire state a public apology and must stop deceiving us.

Doug Van Oort

Cedar Rapids