The Democrat insisted CRT, which holds that systemic racism exists in society and its institutions, "should not be taught" in Texas schools, upending his previously stated belief that students should know the "full story of Texas."
"I think you and I are probably both on the same page as well. We don't see CRT being taught in our schools right now," O'Rourke responded to a local who asked about the theory at a town hall Friday night in Victoria, Texas. "It is a course that is taught in law school."
"Do you think it should be taught?" the local pondered.
"No, I don't think it should be taught in our schools," the former congressman stated.
This is seemingly a change from O'Rourke's previous comments on the matter, where he danced around the topic.
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"We should know the full story of Texas and the full story of the United States of America," the candidate said in early February. "Not only our founding ideals and principles, but the way that those ideals and principles were often violated by the people who wrote them or the fact that so much of the wealth and opportunity in this state was actually created by people who had no choice in the deal whatsoever. ... If we don’t, then we’re trafficking in myths and things that just are not true."
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Meanwhile, O'Rourke's opponent, incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, signed a ban on CRT into law in June of last year.
A handful of states have banned the teaching of CRT, while others, such as New Jersey, have promoted the use of the concept in classrooms.
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O'Rourke's campaign team did not respond to requests for comment.
In a separate matter, O’Rourke called the Republican incumbent, Greg Abbott, a “a thug” and an “authoritarian” on Saturday and compared Texas energy executives to Russian oligarchs in a blistering critique that presages an election that is about eight months away.
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“I just had a chance to meet with the ambassador from the EU,” O’Rourke told Evan Smith, the CEO and co-founder of The Texas Tribune, in a crowded hall at the South by Southwest festival. “We talked about the fact that you’re seeing the continued rise of authoritarians and thugs across the world. And we have our own, right here, in the state of Texas.”
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