Anna Gleaton and her husband operate a small homestead on 60 acres outside Gainesville, Texas, where they practice regenerative agriculture and home-school their nine children. Gleaton, a conservative Christian, has been skeptical of mainstream institutions and has voted for Donald Trump. She is now excited about Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Gleaton and other conservative Christian moms are fans of Kennedy’s views on issues like contaminated soil and water, factory-farmed meat, and the influence of agricultural corporations. They see Kennedy as a bold truth-teller who understands their skepticism of mainstream institutions and is willing to challenge the status quo.
Kennedy’s views on vaccines have long been controversial, but among home-schooling moms, he is seen as a champion of parental rights and a critic of corporate influence on science. Many moms in this community have followed Kennedy for years and see him as a strong advocate for listening to mothers.
Home-schooling has expanded dramatically during the pandemic, and even as classrooms returned to normal, the number of home-schooled children has continued to climb. Parents’ motivations for opting out of public schooling vary widely, but for many, including conservatives, questioning traditional schooling often leads to skepticism of other institutions.
The phenomenon of “crunchy conservatives” has gone mainstream within conservatism, with many parents seeking alternative lifestyles and ways of living. Joel Salatin, a self-described “Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer,” has been a leading figure in this movement, evangelizing about his life running a farm and home-schooling his children.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has become the flag-bearer of the crunchy conservatives, with his emphasis on vaccines, food, and support for mothers. He has said, “The last thing standing between a child and an industry full of corruption is a mom.”