I say read with care, because if you are fed up with Rahm Emanuel’s attacks on public education and unions, you may need to have a barf bag nearby. If you live in New York, and you are aware of Governor Cuomo’s pandering to Wall Street, you will have the same reaction. As you read this encomium to the great Rahm, you may wonder how the term “progressive Democrat” became a definition for someone who attacks teachers, unions, and public education, and exactly how they differ from conservative Republican governors like Scott Walker, John Kasich, and Mike Pence. But bear in mind that this is the same editorial board that thought Michelle Rhee was a great success as chancellor of the D.C. schools and cheered her every move.

Categories Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Privatization, Testing

27 Comments Post your own or leave a trackback: Trackback URL

Ken says:

March 6, 2015 at 8:46 am

It really did seem a year or so ago that public education advocates were going to try to make President Obama pay a political price for the damage done by his circle. Then that stopped, and the critiques concentrated on that circle (Duncan, Rahm, etc.) rather than the man at the center of the circle. Unfortunately, you can not have your love for Pres. Obama AND your disdain for his policies and people, too. This “split” leads to continued public endorsements like this that further attacks on public education.

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- Daniel Spaniel says:
  
  March 6, 2015 at 9:53 am
  
  Is Obama at the center of the circle? Just seems like an argument can be made that he is a big cog, but not the power source.
  
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Jon Lubar says:

March 6, 2015 at 8:53 am

What’s interesting but not at all surprising is that the positive comments in the article read like campaign leaflets and are all so uniform in their bland praise that they were probably paid posts. All ignore or are apologists for the many profound failures of this DINO. Instead of a D after his name it should be a C for corporate party.

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gailj2 says:

March 6, 2015 at 9:22 am

Remember who owns Washington Post now. Not the sainted Grahams. Expect more editorials as bad as WSJ.

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- Concerned Mom of Two says:
  
  March 8, 2015 at 10:38 pm
  
  I live in DC area & new owner Jeff Bezos has nothing to do with Wash Post editorial stance re: education. They’ve been writing this drivel for years: pro-Rhee, pro-charters, pro standardized testing, anti-teachers unions. They already are the WSJ.
  
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sharsand2013 says:

March 6, 2015 at 9:50 am

Just look at his friends and associates and you know he’s a big corporatists. People, here in Chicago, are talking about his support of pre-K for all and free two-year colleges–I haven’t seen any evidence of that–maybe someone can show me actions from him rather than words. He protects his buddies first and foremost. We need to give Chuy Garcia a chance at being mayor. And I wish someone would start saying that we would have money in our coffers if we had a progressive tax on all, ending corporate loopholes, and stop outsourcing and hiding profits by Emanuel/Rauner’s, etal, corporate buddies, many of whom pay little or no taxes. And, lastly, how does Emanuel find money for unaccountable charter school but not for improving and expanding excellent public schools.

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Geronimo says:

March 6, 2015 at 9:53 am

As long as the children of the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and LA Times editorial boards are not personally affected by the policies they champion for other people’s kids, they have free reign to prescribe the kind of education they believe the powerless deserve.

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- Nancy Smith says:
  
  March 6, 2015 at 10:40 am
  
  The Post is now owned by Jeff Bezos of Amazon, but even when Donald Graham was still in charge, the Post had become increasingly right wing. The editorial board is totally commited to charters and privatization of public education. It is heartbreaking – the days of Katherine Graham are long gone.
  
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  - DEzerov says:
    
    March 6, 2015 at 1:43 pm
    
    You have absolutely hit the nail on the head Nancy!
    
    According to Lee Fang in the Nation
    
    (http://www.thenation.com/blog/175627/jeff-bezoss-other-endeavor-charter-schools-neoliberal-education-reforms#)
    
    the Bezos Family Foundation recently has:
    
    -Donated to Education Reform Now, a nonprofit organization that funds attack advertisements against teachers’ unions and other advocacy efforts to promote test-based evaluations of teachers. Education Reform Now also sponsors Democrats for Education Reform.
    
    -Provided $500,000 to NBC Universal to sponsor the Education Nation, a media series devoted to debating high-stakes testing, charter schools and other education reforms.
    
    -Provided over $100,000 worth of Amazon stock to the League of Education Voters Foundation to help pass the education reform in Washington State. Last year, the group helped pass I-1240, a ballot measure that created a charter school system in Washington State. In many states, charter schools open the door for privatization by inviting for-profit charter management companies to take over public schools that are ostensibly run by nonprofits.
    
    I like to use the term, “Venture Philanthropy.”
    
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  - Duane Swacker says:
    
    March 7, 2015 at 11:09 am
    
    DEzerov,
    
    Did you mean “vulture philanthropy”?
    
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Chiara says:

March 6, 2015 at 12:08 pm

I genuinely think the goal of the national Democratic Party is to lose the entire Great Lakes region. What do they have left? Minnesota? They’re almost there! 🙂

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jamieliz says:

March 6, 2015 at 12:24 pm

Rahm Emanuel progressive? Someone at WaPo must owe Rahm big time to throw that whopper out there.

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Michael Brocoum says:

March 6, 2015 at 12:39 pm

Remember the Washington Post is now owned by Jeff Bezos. So much for honest opinions. I doubt very much Bezos would support any candidate who is supported by a union.

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GST says:

March 6, 2015 at 12:56 pm

The real progressives at The Progressive Magazine recently reproduced this story from its December 1920 number, an article by Robert M. LaFollette, a real progressive, who describes how corporate capital is out to destroy labor. It is well worth a read:

http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/02/188019/war-organized-capital-against-people

95 years later it speaks to our times and calls out the Washington Post for the lies it spreads in editorials like this one lauding a faux progressive and political animal like Emanuel.

Thankfully the Progressive still publishes and, along with Diane’s blog, the truth still has a chance to reach the masses.

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- Mark Collins says:
  
  March 6, 2015 at 12:58 pm
  
  @GST Thanks for sharing the article.
  
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- Duane Swacker says:
  
  March 7, 2015 at 11:12 am
  
  When I download the pdf it is too small to read. Any help on enlarging it would help.
  
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Mark Collins says:

March 6, 2015 at 12:57 pm

The omnipotent Post opines about Chicago politics!? So sad their decline of recent years. We have enough problems here: DC Public Schools and that circus, gentrification, Metro fires and deaths, a dysfunctional Congress – the list goes on. I’m so glad that the Post offers advice to Chicagoans on how to vote and the city of Chiraq. No worries now. By the way, now that Jeff Bezos has purchased the paper,here’s his plans:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/amazons-bezos-explains-why-he-bought-the-washington-post/?_r=0

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- Concerned Mom of Two says:
  
  March 8, 2015 at 10:48 pm
  
  Really! Chicago is not their domaine but Post never misses an opportunity to promote its support of the corporate education agenda. They regularly printed editorials bashing former Montgomery County, Maryland, Superintendent of Schools, Joshua Starr, because he dared speak out against standardized testing. They regularly give editorial space to Arne Duncan to write his one-sided drivel but never print the other side’s view (e.g., Diane Ravitch). Heck, they won’t even print our side’s view in letters to the editor by common everyday people.
  
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sharsand2013 says:

March 6, 2015 at 1:44 pm

That’s why I’m working so hard for Chuy Garcia. Groups like Reclaim Chicago will hold his feet to the fire if he doesn’t at least attempt to do what he’s promising. We need to support him financially and by spreading the word. I, personally, think he’s a wonderful human being and smart as hell. When people say he’s offering programs that we can’t pay for, we can pay for anything if we tax the rich, stop the loopholes, and stop buying military toys we don’t need. We don’t have to police the world=–but we do have to work to raise the living standards and the future of our children. And yes, we can find the money. We don’t need austerity, we need investments in our children. A progressive tax with no loopholes would be an “easy” answer if we didn’t have such an insane Congress and Supreme Court.

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- Duane Swacker says:
  
  March 7, 2015 at 11:18 am
  
  “. . . think he’s a wonderful human being and smart as hell.”
  
  Isn’t that a handicap in politics???
  
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  - sharsand2013 says:
    
    March 7, 2015 at 1:46 pm
    
    Well, you’re right, but let’s start reaching for higher goals for our politicians. Without them, we are nothing.
    
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Christine says:

March 6, 2015 at 3:16 pm

Does anyone in Chicago care what the Washington Post says about who they should vote in as their Mayor?
Funny Rahm had to reach so far away from his city to find support.

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- Cheryl says:
  
  March 6, 2015 at 8:02 pm
  
  My thoughts exactly.
  
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Arthur Ellison says:

March 6, 2015 at 5:00 pm

Must read the latest in a series of detailed reports on the Chicago give-away to for-profit online diploma mills, to get the “graduation rate” up for mayoral political optics:

http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/03/mixing-profits-and-performance-at-alternative-schools/

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2old2teach says:

March 6, 2015 at 10:12 pm

And the Chicago Tribune published an editorial today praising PARCC. Stomach turning. Rahm has been rather quiet…

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Linda says:

March 7, 2015 at 3:05 pm

“Exposing the Real Politics of Jeff Bezos: Privatization, big business, lower taxes on the rich”, by Zaid Jiam at Alternet

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Other Spaces says:

March 8, 2015 at 3:57 am

The article describes Bezos as “socially liberal, but economically conservative.”

I had not heard of that until Joan Rivers and her daughter described themselves as “socially liberal and fiscally conservative” on TV. Melissa said that they’re also called “country club Republicans.” Prior to that, I saw Joan dodge questions about her political party on different shows, both referring to herself as a Democrat and as a Republican. (No doubt, some of those folks have come to realize that neoliberal DINOs are really on their side.)

From what I could gather, the main thing that distinguishes “country club Republicans” is that they are right-wing rich people who don’t have a problem with gays. Since they may have co-workers, friends and relatives who are gay, they support gay marriage and I believe this is the main reason why they feel “socially liberal.”

They might also be okay with the minorities who work for them, (the Rivers had several minority employees), but they think that generally people are out to get their money. Joan complained about not wanting to support single moms. The way she described them brought the image of the stereotypical “welfare queen” to my mind and I couldn’t watch their shows anymore.

I don’t know what the Rivers paid their help, but if most “country club Republicans” treat their employees the way Bezos does, it means they’d rather buy scanning machines for theft detection than pay a living wage. They can call that “fiscally conservative,” but I see them as paranoid, greedy and anti-social.

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