Part 3 of 3: “Closing the Overton Window.”
Circling back to the focus of this story, let’s delve into the PAC that Ravener and his partner, Lynne McAlister have created in the run up to the 2023 BOMA election. First, though, we should acknowledge a reality facing society: the aggressive and persistent shifting of cultural mores away from traditional values upon which western civilization is built.
The Overton Window (also known as the window of discourse) is a range of culturally acceptable policies within a continuum. On the ends of the continuum are unacceptable ideas. As one moves closer to the middle, the ideas move from radical to acceptable, to sensible, to popular, and finally to policy in the middle, before moving in the opposite direction as one moves away from the middle of the continuum.[i]
What has happened over the past two plus decades is a concerted effort to move this window and normalize ideas and policies that were once unthinkable. At the same time, ideas and policies at the other end of the spectrum that were popular or at least sensible in the very recent past have been branded heretical. This has accelerated dramatically in the past few years. Consider the tectonic shifts that have occurred regarding acceptable education policy, transgender participation in women’s sports, climate change recommendations, free speech and many others. The dizzying effect this has had on many people is best reflected in an Elon Musk tweet showing how he hasn’t moved ideologically from where he was in 2008, yet now he’s slandered as a bigot.
A rational counter to this continuing window shift is to drive a stake in the ground, affix a rope to the rapidly receding window, and at least prevent its further travel, if not pulling it back to its original position. In practical application, this means holding fast to cultural norms, behaviors and ideas that have undergirded society for generations. Common sense, right?
That desire to halt the local slide to the left was the impetus for individuals and groups like Williamson Families PAC to get involved in the political process. Yet the pejoratives flew nonetheless—“extreme,” “far right,” “radical” and a host of others. Curiously, these often came from those notionally calling themselves “conservative.”
Recall how the former Williamson County Republican Party (WCRP) Chair, Cheryl Brown, went directly to slander when questions about the September 2022 Special Nominating Convention surfaced. Also, consider how the sister-in-law of District 4 School Board Member, Josh Brown, wrote an article branding Christians as radicals. The tactic is always the same—label and marginalize anyone attempting to question the narrative or stop the slide leftward. Ok, what’s the alternative?
The Ravener-McAlister PAC appears to present itself as a middle of the road option. We’ll delve into whether that’s accurate or not in a moment, but let’s see what that really means. In their ‘About Us’ section,[ii] they clearly indicate they are not interested in ideological issues. So that means if you’re a mom alarmed at the devolution of your child’s public education, if you’re a 2A advocate concerned about the growing drumbeat of anti-gun rhetoric, if you’re a religious person who sees with rising dread the marginalization of your faith tradition as it clashes with woke ideology, or if you have any other concern deemed “ideological,” you have no voice in this new PAC, you radical deviant.
Under the guiding principles, the PAC trips over itself to present a smiling face. “Living the Golden Rule,” “civil discourse,” and “common ground” feature prominently. That sounds nice, but practical application has proven difficult for those Williamson County elites (for whom this PAC exists) when questioned by the peasants. A metaphorical “tut, tut, adults are talking…” with a pat on the head is the best you’ll get; growling insults is the norm when the sans-culottes step out of their lane.
The “pragmatic, reasonable governance” is perhaps the key to why this PAC exists. However, “pragmatic” & “reasonable” is code for established, preordained candidates for office sanctioned by the Williamson County elites. These candidates then become elected officials who will govern so as to protect their patrons, regardless of whether the county debt explodes past $1B, or Williamson County Schools have porn in the libraries. Wash, rinse, and repeat. It’s the WillCo way.
The reality is, the PAC is set up to protect the established order and has no interest in addressing concerns citizens may have. It will be a political Maginot Line against the accelerating creep of leftist ideology infiltrating our state and county.
So, is the Ravener-McAlister PAC truly “middle of the road?” As we discussed above, middle of the road NOW was pretty far left just a decade & a half ago. Bob Ravener presented himself as a “conservative”[iii] in his 2022 TN-61 race, so one would expect some indication of conservative bona fides. Unfortunately, there are indications this is not so. Ravener cashed a $5,000 check (his largest political donation) from the Tennessee Educators Association on July 22, 2022.[iv] This is a leftist teacher’s organization that sued the state this summer[v] to neutralize the 2021 prohibited concepts in education law passed in reaction to parental pushback over woke curricula. Pretty clear why Ravener eschews ideological fights when massive sums of donor cash are at stake. Beyond that, Ravener was part of the prior WCRP’s efforts to push the first crop of Williamson Families candidates out of the 2022 GOP primary. Ravener called school board candidate Elliott Franklin and warned him he could be challenged and removed from the primary due to a deficient voting record (Franklin, in fact, had a qualifying record). Again, protecting the established order that has alarmingly overseen the introduction of drag queens, porn in the libraries, DEI, mask mandates, and exploding government budgets. Pretty middle of the road.
There will undoubtedly be more to explore as the PAC ferments. Look to see who else is involved; that will tell a lot about its direction. For now, though, the lack of any ideological anchor suggests an organization devoid of a real heart or purpose, other than the perpetuation of power. Their chosen slate of candidates for this cycle similarly suggest acquiescence to a slow slide towards oblivion. But those candidates are connected to the right people, they go to the right events, they’re better than you and me because, well…shut up peasant.
More and more, Americans are on edge regarding the direction of their country. Two thirds believe we are becoming a police state,[vi] while other indicators show a growing backlash to DEI initiatives[vii] [viii] and other woke sacred cows.[ix] [x] Rather than accepting that shifting Overton Window, Americans are showing they want it to stop and for politicians to stand for something. Moore’s unwillingness to do anything about devolving cultural mores and Ravener openly distancing his new PAC from anything deemed ideological suggest these are not the men for these times. Furthermore, the entire 2022 Ken Moore-Bob Ravener influence operation shows that the rot in Williamson County politics is deep and pervasive. The logical conclusion is these are not the people you should want wielding power in your community.
It’s just common sense.
[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window
[ii] https://coalitionforcommonsensetn.com/about/
[iii] https://tennesseeconservativenews.com/bob-ravener-launches-campaign-for-house-district-61/
[iv] https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=102149
[v] https://abcnews.go.com/US/teachers-union-sues-tennessee-education-department-race-education/story?id=101633345
[vi] https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/is_america_becoming_a_police_state
[vii] https://abcnews.go.com/US/corporate-america-slashing-dei-workers-amid-backlash-diversity/story?id=100477952
[viii] https://www.newsweek.com/how-dei-ideology-undermines-national-security-opinion-1713215
[ix] https://www.newsweek.com/under-threat-woke-curricula-parents-are-fighting-back-opinion-1699080
[x] https://www.wsj.com/articles/florida-shows-how-to-combat-woke-indoctrination-on-campus-progressive-ideology-legislation-freedom-academic-college-university-11675883802