Ron Wyden, Democratic Senator from Oregon, will vote NO on DeVos. Too bad that one or two Republicans will not vote for this unqualified candidate. The people of Oregon can feel grateful to have a principled senator.
For Immediate Release: Jan. 18, 2017
Contact: Sam Offerdahl, 202-224-5039
Hank Stern, 503-326-7539
Wyden Announces ‘No’ Vote on Betsy DeVos to Head the Department of Education
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today announced he will vote against the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be the next secretary of the Department of Education.
“A bedrock principle of America’s public educational system is investing public money in schools meant to serve everyone, not siphoning off scarce taxpayer dollars to private or religious education. Unfortunately, the president-elect’s choice for Education Secretary has indicated she supports an approach that flies in the face of America’s long-time, commonsense investment in public education opportunities that recognizes education is an essential rung to climb the economic ladder.
“At her nomination hearing yesterday, Betsy DeVos also wavered on fundamental issues like keeping our students safe from gun violence, working to end sexual assault on college campuses, ensuring students with disabilities get a quality education and protecting all students against discrimination and harassment.
“For those reasons and others, I will be voting against the nomination of Betsy DeVos and I will be working to hold the next administration accountable for ensuring the safety of our students and keeping educational opportunities open to all.”
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has also announced his opposition to DeVos: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/blogs/2016/12/14/brown-education-nominee-needs-pay-fine/95443600/
Keep calling and writing his office. An overwhelming number of thank you messages are as important as requests to vote a certain way. It is also a good way to educate him and his staff about things they got wrong in the past.
Yes, I sent my U.S. Rep a note to thank her for boycotting the inauguration.
Even if they don’t always do things you like, it’s important to thank them when they do something you do like.
No sentient being could possibly vote in favor of confirmation of Ms. DeVos. She is the death knell for public education in the United States.
I called my two senators’ offices this morning and asked them to vote against her. And against others, but especially her. They’re both Dems but not always reliable.
Individual votes do not count. Had a Republican voted no. Then we would see which Democrats voted no. As we saw on the Sanders Drug amendment to the Obama care bill 13 Democrats voted with the Republicans and 12 Republicans voted with the Democrats. I am very tired of the dog and pony show.
Warren demonstrated what could have been both yesterday and today at Price’s hearing. Going at Price like a pit bull. What a bunch of swamp dwellers, top to bottom.
About time Congress did something positive!
Thank you Senator Wyden, not only for your supporting of public education, but for also having the temerity to stand up to our national security state a few years ago.
I have been calling them for a couple of weeks and now that the ridiculous “hearing” has occurred resumed. I actually got a real human at Lamar Alexander’s office this morning and I ranted until my voice gave out. My new point with republicans is that if she gets the appointment she claims her faucet of funds to them will shut off. So….those she financially supports should recuse on basis of conflict of interest. They have a better chance of continuing to get DeVos family funding if she just goes back to being a megarich political donor.
Love that logic Cecelia!
From Huffington Post. This got me a little choked up:
As a growing number of Democrats choose to boycott Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday, one Democratic congresswoman is choosing to go to make a statement.
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) isn’t a fan of Trump at all. In fact, she’s disgusted by him and says he used “vile tactics” to gain the presidency. But she’ll be at the capitol on Friday to make sure Trump sees her when he’s sworn in.
“I support my colleagues in their decision to boycott the Presidential Inauguration, but knowing how he operates, I suspect President-elect Donald Trump will use this expression of free speech as an excuse to bypass Democrats and to push his extreme agenda with utter impunity,” Moore said in a statement. “With that in mind, I refuse to be a pawn in the president-elect’s efforts to rally support from congressional Republicans.”
“As a proud Democrat, I want President-elect Trump to see me front and center as he’s sworn in,” she continued. “I want him to see exactly what his opposition looks like. When he sees me, I want him to see The Resistance.”
More than 50 Democratic lawmakers plan to boycott Trump’s inauguration. A number of lawmakers announced they would not attend after Trump attacked civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) last weekend.
Moore also said that she made the decision to attend thinking of First lady Michelle Obama, who said during the presidential campaign that when critics go low, “we go high.”
“I prayed on this and thought of First Lady Michelle Obama as she reminded us to refrain from abandoning decency in the face of intolerance and moral depravity,” she said. “It’s no secret that I find President-elect Trump and his policies repugnant and anathema to my efforts to pursue social justice, and I know a majority of my constituents feel the same. In November, Milwaukee sent a strong, clear message that Donald Trump was the wrong man to lead our country. I intend to deliver that message with my presence at the Presidential Inauguration and serve a (sic) symbol of opposition, not normalization.”
Rep. Gwen Moore is an amazing member of Congress. I have great respect for her.
I commented on another site today about Al Franken that “it took a great comedian to show DC what a great senator looks like.” The perverse reality we live in today is amplified by the fact that comedians give us better news and analysis than “journalists.” Think of Jon Stewart and Jon Oliver as great examples. Tonight Samantha Bee had the best expose of hypocrisy of Kellyanne Conway and how “journalists” can’t cut through her bs. But her interview with exiled Russian dissident journalist (no quotes) Masha Gessen was amazing. Here’s a quick checklist of things that Gessen went through that Donald’s regime will likely do which mirrors Putin. First pre-election speculation if Donald were to win:
— it feels like we’re staring into an abyss
Post election things to expect (most efforts to successfully resist that she knows of have failed and her biggest worry is a nuclear holocaust):
— he’s certain to do irreparable to the environment that will make the survival of the human species impossible,
— the impossibility of going on to democracy after Trump
(after Bee does a chart that shows what the path is to rock bottom, what low points do you expect to see in our near future?)
— he’s going to lift the sanctions against Russia
— he’s going to start banning one newspaper after the other from the White House
— he is going to start thinking about wars
— he is going to go to the Putin model of holding one press conference per year
— suppose some cities refuse to cooperate with deportation, so he calls on the American people to start reporting on immigrants, and that’s when we start getting into really disgusting territory
— that will be the beginning of the culture of citizen against citizen
— so there’s a Russian joke: We thought we had reached rock bottom and then someone knocked from below
— (in language) he’s very similar to Putin, he uses language to assert his power over reality
— what he’s saying is “I create the right to say whatever the hell I please and what are you going to do about it?”
— it’s instinctual, it’s like a bully in a playground
— the point is to render you completely powerless
— because everything you know how to do (to point out reality) is useless
— the thing to do to resist is to continue panicking, to keep being the hysteric in the room and say, “This is not normal”
— just remember why you’re panicking, write a note to yourself about what you would never do, and when you come to the line, don’t cross it
Thanks Samantha and Masha. It would have been good advice in Germany 1933 and seems apt for the US in 2017.
So what else will he do.
He is setting up the optics that he is bringing jobs back. The fact that most of it is eye wash is irrelevant . When you compare it to Obama running around pushing TPP. It looks great .
We will sit here pretending that the machines took the jobs . Wrong the machines may take the jobs in the future. They took the jobs
pre 1985. They may reduce the jobs created due to re-shoring . But no they did not take the jobs since NAFTA. The only thing perhaps more factious is the assault on Americas teachers blaming them for poverty. The productivity numbers are not there. Almost all gains are in computer chips and components .a high value product that skews the already low productivity number upward.
He may not put on tariffs starting an overt trade war. I wish he were that stupid.
Yesterday.he finally said something that made economic sense . Lets hope he doesn’t succeed .
The dollar is too high. Well you do not talk down the dollar for long.
You use fiscal and monetary policy to do that .
Well the Fed rates are barley above where they were in the heart of the recession. So you aren’t going to get the Fed to help. But you may get the Fed to not hurt. By raising rates and choking demand and jobs as they are starting to do.
The budget hawk Republicans will turn into Keynesian ideologues.
As Darth Vader said, “deficits don’t matter”. The combination of Tax cuts and Infrastructure spending will supper heat the economy as the Housing bubble and Stock bubble before that did.
But why would Ryan go along ? Well tax cuts no brainier .But infrastructure spending will have a poison pill attached The repeal of Davis Bacon and a National Right to Work Law.
Increased debt will lower the dollar against other currencies making foreign products more expensive and American products cheaper overseas . A 10% drop in the dollar is equivalent to a 10% tariff. Some industry may move back.
He will use the popularity to gut the New Deal and Great Society .
He will destroy unions and public schools. He will Gut the EPA . Privatize as much as he can and cut taxes on the wealthy.
But stimulus doe not last forever. When the American people awaken they will be in a far worse place.
Then add the rest of your list .
super (did it again )
does
Betsy thinks Charters should be like Wapiti,
Where bears hardly ever get uppity.
No $$ accounting is ‘er done,
And even kiddies wear a gun,
As Amway keeps school boards hoppity. JVK