John Wilson, formerly executive director of the NEA, now writes in “Education Week,” where he posed the question above. Which governor ran as a moderate, then revealed himself as an anti-government, anti-teacher, anti-public school extremist as soon as he was elected?
Perhaps you think of Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Paul Page in Maine, John Kasich in Ohio? Or your own governor?
No, says Wilson, the prize for the Most Deceptive Governor of all goes to Pat McCrory of North Carolina. He had been a decent mayor of urbane Charlotte, giving no hint of his radicalism . He did not campaign on a platform of destroying public education, restricting the right to vote, restricting access to abortion, and appointing inexperienced cronies to fat government jobs.
Yet he has turned out to be the governor of ALEC’s dreams, using the one-party control of government to implement a radical agenda of privatization.
“Educators know his deception very well. He campaigned as a supporter of public schools and teachers; yet he signed an appropriation bill that cut over 5,000 teachers and almost 4,000 teacher assistants, eliminated pay to teachers who earn a masters degree in the future, and refused to provide a pay increase to the state’s teachers, despite the fact that they are close to being the worst paid in America. Governor McCrory supported legislation that reduced textbook funding to $15 per student even though a reading textbook in elementary school costs $35. Hundreds of millions of dollars were cut from programs that affected the services of students directly.”
While cutting public schools, McCrory has signed legislation for more charter schools and for vouchers. His senior education advisor, be it noted, is a TFA alumnus named Eric Guckian, who formerly worked for New Leaders for New Schools and is a devotee of charters and digital education. But obviously no fan of public schools or experienced teachers. Guckian joins the constellation of TFA leaders such as Michelle Rhee, John White of Louisiana, and Kevin Huffman who seek to dismantle public education and the teaching profession.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It remains to be seen with McCrory.
That is, he could still salvage things. Maybe???
It’s Sunday. I need to have a hopeful mindset.
Joanna,
In this case, I think you could use a reality check.
2old: I am eagerly awaiting synergy. It has to happen. I refuse to give in to despair (not saying I would vote for any of these guys, McCrory included, but if he wants another term he will need to do something. We are not like Florida. People are not likely to just be so busy with their South Beach lifestyles to not care. We are down home folk in NC. Something will give.
That is my reality check and I’m sticking to it.
What’s that line about a leopard not being able to change his spots? I’m just saying that hoping for a change in him is probably not the best route to follow. I’d be looking at the Moral Monday people and watching what they do. Change will have to come from the grass roots, don’t you think? Like you!
Yes and no.
I think some old school blue dog Dems–the folksy kind who play golf but also support a strong democratic base, will need to get involved.
Unfortunately in my district a well-respected type like I just listed was contested from within his own party for his Dem seat. She won one term and he became a Republican. She was too liberal to keep her seat (she was too much of an activist with no understanding of business). My husband and I believe in hard working fair minded folks—not ultra liberals seeking the limelight. We are a result of the Jim Hunt years.
I think Monday Moral crowds just make noise–the good thing about them is that any politician who wants to be relected eventually has to pay attention. But most Moral Monday folks probably have no clue about Common Core. I like them, I just think there has to be a balance of pro-business and pro-people. My understanding, from bankers and lawyers I know who are Democrats, is that the budget is not as bad as what it could have been (there was talk of taxing charitable donations, yard work, legal work) and none of that came to pass. Education took a hit, but we were already down due to RttT, which most Moral Monday folks probably do not even know they welcomed in by who they elected in previous terms.
We are typically a nation of moderates. Extremists don’t win—they become lobbyists, or something. I have always been more leery of the right than the left, but neoliberalism is scary stuff in my book. McCrory is using the weakened position of schools to advance an ALEC agenda, but at the end of the day he will have to appeal to moderate voters. Or be a one term governor.
“I think Monday Moral crowds just make noise–the good thing about them is that any politician who wants to be relected eventually has to pay attention.”
We need lots of noise now. Whether they know how the state got where it is or not, they know that it is morally objectionable to be taking the course it is. The moderates have been too quiet and in politics they are in hiding. I would have to say you need to be very cynical rather than hopeful to see McCrory as changing so dramatically. It makes him a totally political animal who will swing whatever way keeps him in office. This country has been pro-business for over thirty years. The vast majority of people have seen almost no growth if any in wages, and the minimum wage would have to be about $10.50 now to even match the previous high (in 1968?) when adjusted for inflation. I seriously doubt that bankers and lawyers, democrats or not, are looking out for the average wage earner. It’s certainly not the fireman, teacher, or electrician who is worried about taxes on charitable contributions, yard work, or legal work. I suspect the cuts that were made in the budget had a much greater effect on the lives of the little guy than they had on bankers and lawyers. I’m just guessing, though.
Lots of stereotypes in these comments. Uncomfortable at best.
Can’t we start slapping some pretty harsh language on these folks to reverse the course?
Exploitation of children, perhaps.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/25/4260716/where-nc-gop-agenda-started.html#.UiM77GS9Kc0
People are starting to catch onto ALEC. I had a conversation with my mother last month and told her about (she had never heard of it). She is a Democrat who voted for McCrory but is now stunned and ashamed of his actions.
I think it boils down to who he spends his time with. The more he is with Jeb and the ALEC guys the more he will stay the course. Should he happen to get out about his actual state, maybe his vision can clear a little. Like a teenager who needs time away from his buddies.
I was born in Florida and worked there one year as an adult. But NC is my home and where I was raised. The two states are so different. I cannot imagine taking cues from a former Florida governor about what NC needs.
But again, some NC person needs to get under McCrory’s skin, someway somehow, and remind him of who he is serving.
I am praying he wakes up.
Many NC educators participated in Moral Monday rallies across the state. We are not just making noise. Right now, there is very little hope in McCrory changing course. Time will tell. He could actually win a second term by not appealing to moderate voters. It depends who runs against him. Again, time will tell.
Amen, Ms. Dee. The Moral Monday rallies have done a great deal to impact the coverage of our how low can you go legislature and governor. I don’t understand Joanna’s comments about the MM crowd. They are diverse in their causes and I expect that there are many educators in the crowd who see the whole picture and who are willing to put themselves on the front lines for the rest of us.
Gotta remember these ALEC guys are building on a platform perfectly scaffolded by RttT. Somebody else made it easy for them to kick public education while it was down.
I want every hippie in Asheville to understand that.
Wendy must be so proud.
What about the prize (Geez, like the Nobel Peace Prize) for the most deceptive president?
I agree here. McCrory is adding insult to injury. Weakening public school in NC is not an isolated instance solely based on budget cuts. And it can only be fixed or improved by bi-partisan or non-partisan bridge building.
Republican agenda across the country follows Koch/Peterson goals…cut public school funding, destroy Americans paid earned income investment Social Security by default on Congress approved loans to stop repayments beneficiaries then cut their funds drastically. Additionally deregulate by lessening federal and state regulations for Environmental Protections by infiltrating DEP and EPA offices with Koch minded staffers for #1 US Polluter Koch. Infiltrate OSHA to destroy employee protections in the workplace. Infiltrate government while pretending to be for small government to put control into the hands of power hungry elite. Minimize peoples choices by keeping them poor without sufficient means to fight back. Their list is long and it starts with corporate control of ALEC CEO’s who have bigger say in bills then average voter does. Citizen unUnited is their means to funding. Koch father Fred co-started John Birch Society (white supremacist group) after returning from Russia. Koch is the guy behind the Libertarian Party and the funding behind Freedom Works, Heritage Foundation and Cato Inst. amongst many more that are designed to have catchy friendly names to attract American families using religious fronts and or family friendly agenda hidden to promote Koch plans. All Koch brainwashing so called think tanks.
Sorry, Diane, but there is no one singular governor who takes this prize.
Most members of the National Governor’s Association will have to share this one. They are mostly all a rotting fish head in the garbage . . . .
First runnerup in the most deceptive category:
Governor Tom Corbett (R – Pa.)
Nominated for second runner up: Dannel Malloy
You forgot Dan Malloy, Ct governor who stood up and publicly declared that all teachers have to do is show up for 4 years and get tenure. He also appointed an attorney non-educator who also was a founder of Achievement First Charter Organization as Ct SDE Commissioner of Education.
Great minds 🙂
Pat McCrory was mayor of Charlotte, which is in Mecklenburg County. The county did not carry him in his bid for governor. It is too bad those NC counties that did didn’t listen to the people where he was mayor.
What was his reputation when he was mayor?
Read that another scheme of the so called education reformers is to have schools rent textbooks to keep down the cost. I sense some profit making in the works and a means of controlling what students learn.
How about the wanna be candidates Andrew Cuomo (John King runs a great NYSED and Merry Meryl Tisch who is backing Bill “I could have beaten Bloomberg if the UFT supported me….in 2009”) or Chris “Backed by D.I.N.O lawmakers/Obama hugger” Christie (Chris Cerf, Cami Anderson and the new Dougie Howser guy in Camden)?
I could kvetch on my soapbox but many of my cohorts drink the UFT Kool Aid.
Howard Beale summed it up, “I’m mad as hell….”
I agree 100%. Teachers here are treated like theives. Many people across the state support McCrory’s actions because they feel teachers have it too easy (just read the message boards on wral or the observer). Teachers are easy going and most likely to complain at most. The only way things here will change is if teachers stand up for themselves and do something besides complain. A state wide “sick” day might send a message, but because NC is a “right to work” state, they have us right where they want us. They know the most we can do is complain, which lets them do whatever they want (smiling the whole time).
My vote for most deceptive is California’s Jerry Brown. Last year we passed the governor’s own Proposition 30 to raise taxes for schools. Now he’s trying to divert that money for the prison industrial complex.
I think somebody is grossly overstating the case:
“the Golden State is now reasserting itself as a proving ground for the kind of bold ideas that Republicans have roadblocked in Washington – including a cap-and-trade carbon market, high-speed rail and education-funding reform.”
“Brown then crafted – and made himself the public face of – Proposition 30, an initiative to hike California’s sales tax as well as income taxes on the wealthiest, raising an additional $6 billion a year.”
“Austerity-weary voters approved Prop 30 by a 10-point margin last November…Signed in June, Brown’s newest budget will reverse cuts to public education and certain health services, put the state on a path to pay off its debt – and even create a $1.1 billion rainy-day fund.”
“Brown…signed a law requiring California to generate one-third of its power from renewable sources by 2020 – including a target of 1 million solar rooftops. He is also reshaping the auto industry, mandating that 15 percent of cars sold in California by 2025 be electric.”
“Brown is working to breathe new life into the ambitious agenda President Obama pursued in his first term. The nation’s most populous state is also leading the country in the implementation of Obamacare…In June, Brown signed legislation adopting Obamacare’s generously subsidized expansion of Medicaid to the working poor. ”
“The governor’s new budget begins by restoring school districts to their pre-recession funding. But it targets additional spending for districts with high concentrations of at-risk learners.”
“The state prison system is so dangerously overcrowded even the John Roberts Supreme Court declared it a form of cruel and unusual punishment in 2011…In June, a panel of federal judges rebuked Brown for his ‘repeated failure’ to ‘remedy the constitutional violations in the prison system’ and threatened the governor with contempt if he didn’t schedule the release of 10,000 inmates. Brown angrily appealed the ruling back to the Supreme Court. ”
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/jerry-browns-tough-love-miracle-20130829page=4#ixzz2dekeylFT
I don’t think she’s overstating the case. Brown is pressuring UC to offer online courses, and he seems to back Napolitano as President of UC. The Prop 30 money is being used to build the tracking databases for Common Core and for iPads, which is why Silicon Valley supported it. He’s a total disappointment.
Here’s the deal in California:
“The consortium has posted minimum computing requirements and a bandwidth calculator that schools can use to measure capacity. It has also said that it would supply paper-and-pencil versions of the assessments for the first three years…some schools in California may decide to do both in the transition, trying computer-based tests in some grades, paper and pencil in others. (The paper version will cost $10 to $12 per student more to administer.)”
Click on the link, and scroll down to the map.
http://www.edsource.org/today/2013/common-core-test-is-on-track-state-board-told/31768#.UiRPEGR19i4
If Jerry Brown is a “disappointment” (and he may be), then there are a whole lot of other disappointments out there too.
Still, Jerry Brown in no way compares to Pat McCrory in North Carolina.
A similar story for Bobby Jindal. His first term as governor is a Jekyll-and-Hyde contrast to his second.
Andrew “A Death Penalty for Failing Schools” Cuomo. This single utterance has cemented his place on the Mount Rushmore of anti-education governors. The budgets cuts he has imposed have left many districts (especially small city schools) in shambles, mere shells of their former selves.
Here’s one commenter, who calls himself “psycmeistr,” on the John Wilson piece:
12:19 PM on August 26, 2013
“This is nothing more than a bromide-filled boilerplate union-inspired hit-piece.
This purely partisan, politically- driven propaganda-piece deserves no place in what should be a fact-driven journal of record.”
Uh-huh.
It seems that some people just cannot be convinced that conservative Republicans are detrimental to the general welfare of society. And it’s by choice.
Yet, here are some important facts, facts that someone like the commenter cited above would also refuse to believe:
• “Personal disposable income has grown nearly 6 times more under Democratic presidents” than under Republicans.
• “Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown 7 times more under Democratic presidents” than under Republicans.
• “Corporate profits have grown over 16% more per year under Democratic presidents (they actually declined under Republicans by an average of 4.53%/year)”
• “Average annual compound return on the stock market has been 18 times greater under Democratic presidents (If you invested $100k for 40 years of Republican administrations you had $126k at the end, if you invested $100k for 40 years of Democrat administrations you had $3.9M at the end)”
• “Republican presidents added 2.5 times more to the national debt than Democratic presidents.”
• “The two times the economy steered into the ditch (Great Depression and Great Recession) were during Republican, laissez faire administrations.”
Even Fox (fake) news reported that “investors expect Democratic administrations to underperform Republican ones and be ‘poison to any portfolio’…. Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, wrote in a note. ‘History shows the opposite to be true, however’.”
US News & World Report pointed out that 11 of 12 economic indicators INCREASED under Democratic presidencies, and “The only indicator in which the GOP outperformed Democrats on the economy was in the average annual unemployment rate.”
So, why does anyone, in North Carolina or elsewhere, believe that Republicans have any credibility when it comes to economic – or education – policies?
Well, I don’t think that Alabama’s governor, Governor Bentley is as deceptive as the governors mentioned in other people’s responses, but he sure was involved and happy with the deceptive creation of the Alabama Accountability Act. He even duped his hand-picked state superintendent. In reality, Bentley is a puppet of the overwhelming majority Republican party of Alabama. He became Governor of Alabama because AEA did everything they could to keep Bradley Byrnes from being the Republican nominee then to AEA’s surprise, (after all, Bentley had never been involved with politics prior to the election and was not a known candidate until the AEA threw him their support), Bentley beat the Democrat candidate, Ron Sparks in the general election. To AEA’s credit…they were right to try to keep Byrnes from becoming the governor…I’m not sure where he stands on the issue of Common Core, but I do know that he is all for Charter Schools.
Governerd Snidely Ricklash for the win …
Like me, John Wilson is also a North Carolinian. Thank goodness I’m on the school board in Howard County, Maryland!
What a huge surprise for all the people who thought North Carolina was a great place to retire. The only time I will ever set foot in NC will be to visit my 81 year old mother.
Brown of California is up there for his duplicity on Prop 30 and then LCFF and the CORE Federal Waiver schools. Teachers and CSEA are not happy not those of us out here who understand what is really up. First, LCFF has not been operated in a legal manner considering the required by OAH rules and regulation for comment period and they have also broken the Browne and Bagley Browne Acts. They extended the comment time indefinately when I nailed them with the question of comment time and the law. Noon that day was supposed to be the last day of comment. Also, when LDA tried to deliver the CORE-CA comments at the first hearing at LACOE in L.A. they refused to accept the written comments from an old civil rights group. They are required to accept comments. I have spreadsheets on the CORE waiver schools and you must ask why did they give more flexibility to schools that cannot keep up to 24% of their students in school everyday? At LAUSD is is over 115,000 with a lost revenue of $1.25 billion for one year alone. The CORE schools in coordination with California’s LCFF is the can opener to destroy accountability across the U.S. This is an educational viral pandemic.
Let’s stop all the bad guys and gals.
From: David Yuguchi
Date: September 1, 2013 1:42:05 PM PDT
To: Diane Ravitch’s blog
Cc: Michi Tashgian
Bcc: David Yuguchi
Subject: Public Education as a Civil Rights issue
Dear Diane:
First of all, thank you for your tireless work in support of public education.
Secondly, I wanted to bring additional attention to an aspect to the campaign for public education that has somehow allowed education reform to hover just below the scrutiny of mainstream media.
This occurred to me while watching the Made in America music festival in Philadelphia yesterday. During the Public Enemy performance, a local public school teacher was brought up onto the stage to announce that Public Enemy was pledging money, upon the teacher’s request, to support local Philly schools. Of course, it was difficult and probably impossible at that moment to tell the crowd why Philly public schools need to go begging, so there was no explanation, as far as I could tell. This was followed up by Public Enemy playing a song that seemed to be a protest of some sort that reflected distrust of the “man”, or the government, with a musical theme that echoed Stephen Stills’ “For What It’s Worth.” I’m not a big Public Enemy fan, so I don’t know how much of this complementary message resonated with the reveling crowd, but it stuck a chord with me, one who grew up in the 60’s.
So, I thought that one aspect of your campaign to save public education that is not being exploited is Public Education as a Civil Rights issue. An issue that could bring in the support of recognized Civil Rights leaders and politicians. The situation in North Carolina that you highlighted today shows that public education is an important component of the Radical Right’s agenda that is not given as much scrutiny because of its ties to compromised neo-liberal politicians, like Arne Duncan, Antonio Villaraigosa, Cory Booker and Rahm Emanuel, giving it a bi-partisan gloss. If Public Education becomes a more prominent part of the progressive Civil Rights agenda, along side Voting Rights and Marriage equality, I think it will achieve a visibility that will ensure greater support.
And, coming back to Public Enemy, enlisting the support of prominent and popular music groups and artists could be an important part of any political campaign. Can you imagine an impassioned speech at the Grammys or the American Music Awards in support of Public Education? Or a top ten hit in support of the local teacher? Or Public Education rallies of support highlighted by sympathetic music producers and artists?
Also, you never know when the do-gooder billionaire philanthropists can see the error in their ways, being duped by slick-talking, greedy, power-hungry “reformers.” You should reach out to them. Along this line, there are emerging billionaires in the making who you should reach out to before they are snared by the “reformers.” They should be identified and given a chance to help the “improvers” and “savers.”
Anyway, that’s my two-cents.
Agreed on all counts, David Yuguchi.
The last line of my book is that “the preservation and strengthening of public education is the civil rights issue of our time.”
So, yes, we are on the same page.
Helping Wall Street and hedge funders take over public schools is definitely not a civil right issue!
If you have any ideas about enlisting celebrities, I am all ears.
I have to vote for South Dakota’s governor. Here is a man that ran on making sure that education would get the first funds and the last funds and then turns around and tries to cut the budget by 10%. We have constantly been an ALEC try it here state under this governor with several of his bills having to be rejected in a special referral process. After the drastic cuts he still withholds funds despite setting new records in rainy day funds.
Governors who feel 1 and 2 year turnover of Teach for America teachers is the way to excellence should resign after 2 years to let someone else take over.