After right wing dweeb and head of the California Republican party, Ron Nehring, proposed that the new Alpine High School be named after Ronald Reagan, a minor tempest arose in the East County bedroom community. Local hayseeds, many of whom disclosed their delusional love for the over-rated Gipper, spoke out against the move, preferring a name with a more regional flare. So the Grossmont School Board at least appeared  to be bending to the public will when they announced they would appoint a blue ribbon panel to discuss the school naming, even though they tried mightily to keep secret the panel’s members. That is until Sunday, when the San Diego Union Tribune revealed  the group to be largely comprised of fringe conservative kooks and Republican politicos.

Along with Nehring, the panel includes, among others, former Republican congressman and war monger Duncan Hunter, and, mysteriously, homophobic jesus freak, Sylvia Sullivan, former local head of the anti-abortion mob, Operation Rescue. Sullivan, pictured above protesting stem cell research, as far as I know has never even set foot in Alpine and has zero connection to public education. Nehring, of course, should have more important matters on his mind other than naming schools, given recent revelations about his love life, but he now finds himself in the position to strong arm the local Alpine bumpkins into bending to his will.

But why single out Sullivan and Nehring for ridicule, when the panel also includes Grossmont School Board prez Jim Kelly, another right wing looney toon who strenuously opposed the new Alpine school from the gitgo. For the un-initiated, here  is a brief snapshot of the Grossmont board under Kelly’s leadership.

And the ironies don’t stop there. Reagan, as governor of California, practically eviscerated  public education in the state, which, the last time I checked, ranked last among the 50 states in per-pupil education spending.

So the question is: after the Fishwrap’s recent revelations, will the fine citizen of Alpine stop sweeping their patios and skimming their pools to voice their dissent? Or will they, in the words of Reaganite oil tycoon Clayton Williams,  just lie back and enjoy it?