Public weighs in on McPherson at State Ed Board meeting

Supporters and opponents spoke out Friday on embattled Nebraska State Board of Education Member Pat McPherson, under fire for racist comments published on his blog.

McPherson, elected in November, edited a blog called the "Objective Conservative." Before he took it down last month, the blog published a post calling President Barack Obama "our Great Black Leader," adding, quote "Actually, if he were a Republican the liberals would call him what he is – a half breed." Obama’s father was black, his mother was white.

McPherson said he didn’t write the post, disavowed the sentiment, and said he’s not a racist. But members of his own Republican Party, including Gov. Pete Ricketts, and six of eight board members have asked him to resign. Friday, it was the public’s turn to weigh in at a State Board meeting. Patrick Jones, a university professor and parent of a biracial child, led McPherson’s critics. "This debacle is now receiving national media attention. It is no longer merely an internal embarrassment here in Nebraska, but your refusal to step down now has become a national embarrassment and is reinforcing all the wrong stereotypes about this great state," Jones said. "Mr. McPherson, when will this end?"

But Paul Meyer, a member of the Millard School Board speaking in a private capacity, chastised board members who voted last week asking McPherson to resign. "The responsibility of this board is to set a good example for the kids in this state. But what you show these kids is that the First Amendment is null and void, and does not apply to anyone if the speech Nazis disagree," he said.

McPherson has said he will not resign. Carol Windrum, a United Methodist minister, said if that remains his decision, she hopes he’ll go forward in a positive direction.

"If you are passionate about removing from your name the tarnish which these recent events have placed upon it, and if you are sincere about wishing to be a respected and contributing member of this board, then I suggest that you show that by registering for, completing and passing an undergraduate college course class that fulfills the human relations course requirement," Windrum said.

Julie Fredrickson, a grandmother of a biracial child and founder of the Omaha Tea Party Patriots, dismissed that idea and criticized the six board members who asked McPherson to resign.

"If you’re going to have someone come in front of you and tell you Mr. McPherson needs to take a diversity course, then I’m going to tell you need to take a history course. All six of you need to take a history course and learn about America. We have a Bill of Rights which affords us freedom of speech, and you’re not legally able to do this," she said.

Jones referred the freedom of speech argument in his opening remarks. "Free speech is not one-way street," he said. "While you certainly have the right to maintain a blog with vile ideas, we also have the free speech to speak back to you and demand your resignation," he said.

Doug Kagan of the group Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom said that demand was misplaced. "Mr. McPherson has done nothing illegal, nothing to violate the rules and regulations of this board. He disavowed the offensive blog content that he did not author and removed it immediately. Yet the lynch mob continues to howl for his hide. And this criticism has degenerated into plain harassment," he said.

Lory Dance, a university professor and an African American, said groups who are the target of comments should be the ones to decide if they’re offensive. "People often claim ‘I’m not a sexist or racist or bigot’ without consulting a critical mass – they maybe talk to their one or two friends – but a critical mass of women or people of color affected by sexism, racism, or some other form of bigotry," she said. "The blog, though shut down, has already had an impact on those who read it and felt empowered by it -- who feel empowered to dehumanize children of color."

Following the hour long comment period, McPherson declined a request to comment on what he had heard. Instead, he directed a reporter to supporter who handed out a written statement which read "Thank you all for coming and expressing your earnest thoughts and concerns. I believe that the board has made its views known and I stand by my prior statements regarding this issue. With that said it’s time for this board, little known or aware of by many in the past, to get about its job of ensuring the best possible education for every Nebraska child."

And in the Legislature Friday, lawmakers gave first-round approval to a bill that would abolish a requirement for nurse practitioners to have an agreement to work with a physician to deliver health care services. Lawmakers passed a virtually identical bill last year that then-Gov. Dave Heineman vetoed, citing concerns about whether nurse practitioners had sufficient training to practice on their own. Gov. Pete Ricketts has not commented on this year’s bill. But said last year the state needs to be more flexible in its regulations to bring health care to rural areas, and he would have signed that legislation.