Journalist Todd Smekens in Indiana blogged about the struggle by Glenda Ritz to stop Governor Mike Pence from destroying her position, to which she was elected by the people of Indiana. This is a battle for democracy, not for an individual.

Smekens sees the struggle as part of a national attack on public education. He tied it to Sue Peters’ upset victory in Seattle, where the zillionaires put together what they thought was a big enough campaign fund to crush her.

Smekens recognizes that Pence is trying not only to usurp democracy but to make Indiana a friendly home for “free market capitalists.” Pence wants to protect Indiana as a zone where entrepreneurs can make a profit by feeding off the public schools with false promises.

He writes:

The free market capitalists are bankrolling school board seats to expand charter programs or advancing the privatization of our school system.

The same billionaire free marketers who are driving to eliminate unions, cut government regulation, strip workers of their rights, etc. are also behind Common Core standardized testing. You saw how important it was to Tony Bennett – he had to increase grades from a C to an A so they could keep pushing their privatization agenda – it cost him his job in Florida.

However what most journalists in Indiana are missing is the underlying fact that charters do not outperform public schools. Even with all the hype, new equipment, the opportunity to screen students, etc., they still don’t outperform public schools. The hundreds of millions of dollars thrown at “fixing the education system” by corporations, foundations, and non-educator politicians, the bottom line is they make decisions based on profit schemes versus the needs of teachers-students-parents.

So, if you think Gov. Mike Pence is simply playing politics with the formation of the CECI to usurp State Education Superintendent, Glenda Ritz, you’re only scratching the surface. Gov. Pence hired all the education reform players who worked with the former superintendent Tony Bennett. Who also worked with Mitch Daniels, the Gates Foundation, and reformers like Jeb Bush to privatize Indiana’s schools. They have a financial stake in Indiana, so they will not give up until Glenda Ritz is removed from the equation.

These billionaire free market capitalists could care less about our democratic process in this country – they’ve now shown their hands from the billion dollar Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement being negotiated behind closed doors, the dysfunction in shutting down our government in Washington, the dysfunction in our statehouses and gerrymandering districts to prevent competition, and all the way down to simple school board seats in our community.

If you think these free market libertarian billionaires and their Tea Party cowboys are about “freedom of choice”, you’ve been badly misguided by corporate media spin owned by the same people.