When will the media acknowledge that Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst is a rightwing group, not “liberal” or “Democratic”? When election time comes round, it reliably supports Republicans, who can be counted on to endorse school privatization and to undercut teachers and their unions (if they have one). Occasionally, StudentsFirst finds a Democrat who supports vouchers, but the overwhelming bulk of their money goes to Republicans, as in the current election in New York.
In 2012, while Rhee was still running the organization, 90 of the 105 candidates it endorsed were Republicans. This number included far-right conservatives in the Deep South. In 2013, StudentsFirst selected its “reformer of the year,” who was Tennessee Representative John Ragan, who was notorious for his “don’t say gay” legislation.
Liberal? No. Far-right, anti-union, anti-teacher, anti-public school. Willing to honor a stridently homophobic legislator. Sad.
PS: The New York Daily News reported that the $1.75 million was raised in one week from only 5 people. Two were named; they are hedge fund billionaire/millionaires.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
NJ’s Cory Booker is Republican; he just pretends to be a Democrat. That is the new way to get things done through the back door. What? You think Obama is a democrat? Not when it comes to education.
Not in any other way either.
I’m sure that if John McCain hadn’t nominated Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, his choices would have been exactly like them.
Yeah, he’s disappointing, but as Tim points out, elections have consequences. McCain and Palin choosing your Supreme Court Judge nominee. No way.
She and her hubby are the personification of sleazy. Her group that she recently stepped down from should really be named MichelleFirst and specialize in finding cures for
sociao and psychopathic disorders that they both suffer from.
“When will the media acknowledge that Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst is a rightwing group, not “liberal” or “Democratic”?”
I don’t know, maybe media can’t tell the difference between Republicans and Democrats. That would make them the same as the rest of the voting public.
Is there a dime’s worth of difference on public schools? The Democrats are the ones who don’t (openly) promote “backpack vouchers”, right?
Apparently StudentsFirst thinks there’s a difference.
My thoughts exactly… and Diane’s decision to support Hawkins and decry the CEA’s support for Malloy is evidence that there isn’t any difference between the parties any more when it comes to public education.
Because it’s not about the common good in America. It’s about money.
“StudentsFirst is a 501(c)4 organization based in Sacramento, CA.”
Huh?
More proof that it’s really all about the money for the whole public school privatization scam.
Thanks for calling them out again, Diane
Who knows what party anyone is these days. Here StudentsFirst applauds Malloy:
“We applaud Governor Malloy for continuing to stand tall for children, and placing a high priority on improving education across Connecticut. While the Governor’s support for charter school growth in his biennial state budget proposal will provide more quality education options for families, we hope the legislature also explores other transformative reforms this session. Moving forward, StudentsFirst and our Connecticut members will continue to work with the Governor, policymakers and key stakeholders to increase transparency and accountability in an effort to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely for the benefit of students.”
http://www.studentsfirst.org/state/connecticut/press/statement-from-studentsfirst-ct-state-director-jeri-powell-on-governor-mall
ugh.
“Over the last three years Rhee and StudentsFirst (called GNEPSA here in Connecticut) have been one of Governor Malloy’s strongest supporters, helping to fund the most expensive lobbying campaign in Connecticut history. ”
http://www.publicschoolshakedown.org/michele-rhees-studentsfirst-education-reform-group-gives-louisiana-b-connecticut-d
Bottom line: Michelle Rhee is hardly a democrat. She is far cry from liberal. She’s a cheerleader of Rheepublican.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Can we please stop with the Rep vs Dem talk? This is how they’re dividing & conquering us, folks. Read the comment thread on almost any news article & it turns away from the issue into a slugfest as to who caused the no-good status-quo, R’s or D’s. We all know that in the ed arena at least, Dem’s on Capitol Hill have doubled down on the worst R policies. Let’s call out Obama: on selling out public ed, on siding w/union-bashers, on untrammeled NSA spying et al outrages via the Patriot Act, on selling out universal health care to the ins co’s, on standing by w/his fiddle as the 1% demolishes the middle class & plunges the poor into far worse poverty.
Obviously Rhee, I mean Students First sides w/Republicans in NY & Dems in CT; they side w/whoever is behind unregulated capitalism, privatization of public goods.
It’s important to call out the cynical two-faced mainstream Democrats especially: how else to spell out to Hillary (or whoever is the Dem candidate in 2016) that the party needs to retreat from the right & move back to the center? Only a strong pull from the progressive left can make that happen.
This. Well said.
Let’s call out Obama: on selling out public ed, on siding w/union-bashers, on untrammeled NSA spying et al outrages via the Patriot Act, on selling out universal health care to the ins co’s, on standing by w/his fiddle as the 1% demolishes the middle class & plunges the poor into far worse poverty. . .
and to complete that thought: . . . ordering the murder of a 16 year old American boy, continuing the illegal wars of aggression and starting new ones, etc. . . .
There is no chance in hell that universal single-payer would have been made law, or will be made law in the foreseeable future. And the main thing standing in the way isn’t the Koch Brothers, the Waltons, the insurance companies, or oligarchic business interests, it is our friends, families, neighbors, coworkers, and other regular rank and file Americans, who are either opposed (like their coverage, don’t trust the government, or don’t want to go to the same doctor as “those people”) or don’t care. The politicians are just following the will of the people on this one.
I strongly support single payer health care. Our current system is financially unsustainable and a drag on the economy. But not enough of the electorate feels the same way. I’m comfortable with the ACA as a stop-gap, and there is little doubt in my mind that there wouldn’t have been any reform had a Republican won office in 2008 and/or 2012.
Tim,
I’ve often questioned my small business owning friends why they wouldn’t want a national single payer system considering one saves probably 33% in administrative costs/profits and then as the owner they wouldn’t have to worry about providing that insurance. That has never made sense to me, except they are all believers in the WSJ as the bible of business. Although some are starting to come around now.
I think there’ll have to be a *lot* more people (people who vote) who don’t have employer-based health insurance before single payer is politically viable.
Duane,
To be honest I never put much stock in the idea that Fox/WSJ/etc are driving the conversation and message. It’s more likely that they are responding to what their audience wants to see and read.
Folks, when hedge fund managers take interest in education reform, THERE IS YOUR RED FLAG. Please don’t make me issue virtual dunce caps.
TAGO!
StudentsFirst must hate that headline. They don’t want to be known as a “charter schools group”.
They rebranded themselves in Ohio. Now they work for “public schools” except they never work for any public schools.
They might have done that because the “charter sector” is a corrupt, chaotic mess in Ohio, however. I don’t think you’re there yet in NY.
StudentsLast uses children as human shields in their profit driven assault on public education, a hostile takeover perperated on behalf of undisclosed backers. On the scale of distgusting behavior, they are on par with Rick Berman.
Who is Rick Berman?
I will be going to talk to Assemblywomen Barb Lifton and Cathy Nolan (chair of NY Assemble Ed Committee) in about 5 hours. Besides laundry, cleaning up around the house and in the basement, some phone consultation with our local’s labor rep from NYSUT, schoolwork (I am a teacher, we work on weekends, too), preparing for a visit (and maybe an overnight stay?) for my visiting mother-in-law and her friend….I need to gather my thoughts, and this post is within the realm of that gathering. Not about StudentsFirst, in particular…but definitely a Democrat/Republican issue.
What do teachers have other than “Yeah, but a Republican might be worse” to tether their hopes to? I’m not going to donate to a Republican…yet. But boy, am I ever feeling more Republican these days-especially in N.Y.!
I’ve been in contact with Barb (D) and visited her office a few times, and have not met Cathy(D) but am familiar with her legislation to preserve the Common Core with a moratorium on the more objectionable parts-approved after an assembly defeat of a Republican amendment (Al Graf’s A8844/S/6604) that would have stopped this crap dead in it’s tracks and put together a plan to do it right.
Democrats have circled their wagons around this carefully orchestrated pile of poo and do not like being cornered with the hard questions. I have actually heard the idea of a potential vote for Teachout or a Republican be ridiculed. Our Democratic leadership seems to think they have their counted-on constituency by the short hairs…they are taking their folks for granted (as are unions).
Imagine being on fire and you can get help from two people nearby. One, a Democrat who you have trusted and mostly shared principles and outlooks with for years finds you a little desktop fan, turns it on and positions it pointing towards you saying “There, that should help a little”…only after blocking the Republican, who you’ve never truly trusted, standing there with a fire blanket, hose, bucket of water and an extinguisher.
I have never, ever, ever voted Republican. Watching Carter be patronized by Reagan, and then the clear lies of trickle down and Iran Contra (Imagine being able to pull off plausible deniability when your VP is a former CIA head) turned me left-leaning Independent right before registering in October 1985…but I am truly conflicted now.
So convince me, or help me. I am gathering points to share with my Assembly Democrats regarding Common Core, APPR, Did StudentsFirst contribute to the preservation of CC in NY? Lifton seemed a little offended when I asked who wrote and helped Nolan to forward the preservation legislation…I guess Assembly people truly are autonomous and work for the people. But if you have things I should share/ask…shoot me a message on twitter. I’ll probably write up an “After”
If you are a teacher in my area (I will be going to her Ithaca office passing through Dryden) and want to go-let me know.