It may be hard to believe that billionaires are deeply concerned with the well-being of poor children of color. They fight any tax ibpncreases that might reduce income inequality and improve the quality of life for the families of these children. But they are more than willing to invest in charter schools.
In this article, teacher-writer Jake Jacobs explores the charter-love of the billionaires. Bear in mind that he has only scratched the surface, as there are billionaires in Idaho (the Albertson family), in Texas (Tim Dunn), in North Carolina (Art Pope), in Washington (Bill Gates), in California (Reed Hastings, Eli Broad, Doris Fischer, etc.), all of whom would rather pay to expand charters than to pay for a successful public sector.
Jacobs spreads the blame in a bipartisan manner. But behind it all is charters instead of taxes for the rich.
Jacobs writes:
“Trump went further than Hillary, promising a rapid expansion of charter schools – but this meant charter advocates were siding with both presidential candidates. After winning, Trump wasted no time seeking out the notorious charter maven Eva Moskowitz, CEO of the 41 school Success Academy network in New York City.
“Moskowitz had financial ties to the Trump campaign through Wall Street financier John Paulson. An $8.5 million donor to Success Academy who served as economic advisor to the Trump campaign. Billionaire investor Julian Robertson who gave Success a record-shattering $25 million gift is also a donor to a prominent pro-Trump PAC.
“After meeting Trump, Moskowitz pledged support for his plan to expand charters – as well as controversial private school vouchers – but she stopped short of joining Trump’s cabinet. Next, Moskowitz offered praise to Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (whose foundation had previously donated $300,000 to Success Academy). Moskowitz then invited Ivanka Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan to tour Success charter schools in Harlem.
“Most people do not realize that PACs allied with Moskowitz also helped engineer a political coup in Albany. Her two charter school lobbying groups, Families for Excellent Schools and Great Public Schools PAC, an offshoot of Students First NY, spent over $10 million making pro-charter donors the biggest political manipulators in NY state.
“Another group of hedge funders called New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany financed a massive advertising campaign in 2014 to keep the NY State Senate in Republican hands and pro-charter. Success Academy mega-donor Daniel Loeb contributed $1 million to the group.
“Also pushing charter schools is Reclaim NY, a PAC disguised as a “charity” backed by reclusive billionaire Robert Mercer. When it’s founding VP Steve Bannon stepped down to work in Trump’s White House, it illustrated why The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer reported Mercer has “surrounded” Trump with “his people” by “paying for their seats.”
“MAYORAL CONTROL MATTERS
“As the plan to expand charter schools in NY starts with wealthy donors who in turn fund legislators, an important focus is wresting control from local stakeholders who might oppose charters opening in their neighborhood.
“Just as we see in charter-heavy Chicago, the key to this in NYC was mayoral control. In 2002, the NY legislature upstate first granted then-mayor Michael Bloomberg unilateral control of NYC schools for a term of seven years, dissolving locally-elected school boards. Because Bloomberg was an advocate for privatizing education and had successfully expanded charters, he was granted a six-year renewal in 2009.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I wish the teachers unions would take out full page ads in every newspaper to let the public in on all of these tactics that are being used.
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Two points about Success Academy’s celebrated high test scores:
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POINT 1)
Eva’s students prepare for one particular test, and are drilled for hours each day, and they do well … ON THAT ONE PARTICULAR TEST.
(or at least, they APPEAR to do well, SEE POINT 2) BELOW for more on that)
However, whenever SUCCESS ACADEMY students take a different test, they bomb out. In fact, they were doing so poorly on one — a test that their test prep is not aimed at — that they stopped taking it.
Read Gary Rubenstein’s account here:
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GARY RUBENSTEIN: (CAPS MINE, Jack)
“One thing we know is that Success Academy eighth graders have not done well on the specialized high school entrance exam to gain admissions to one of the eight specialized high schools. They have had three cohorts of students take the entrance exam and the first two cohorts had no students gain admission and the third cohort had six students out of two hundred eligible gain admission to one of the eight specialized high schools.
“Last year I checked to see how their students had done on the Regents exams and was unable to find their scores on the public data site. I made some calls to the state, but they said they did not have the scores or know how to get them.
“This year I tried to find their 2016 Regents scores and also had no luck. I speculated that either Success Academy is not reporting their Regents scores or that maybe their students are not taking the Regents.
“After my last post about this, I have learned from two credible sources that SUCCESS ACADEMY STUDENTS STOPPED TAKING THE REGENTS EXAM. So one mystery is solved, but an even bigger one rises to take its place:
“Why don’t Success Academy High School students take the Regents exams?”
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POINT 2)
Eva tasked a Success Academy staffer, Roy Germano, to study how and why their students were doing so well ON THAT ONE PARTICULAR TEST.
Germano took months to carry out his study. He concluded — in a detailed report — that, at least in part, their students’ impressive performance was due to … wait for it … cheating.
So what do you think Eva did next?
Leave no stone unturned to find out the truth of the matter?
Root out all those cheating teachers and administrators before sundown?
Nahhh, she fired Germano and banned him from the all Success Academy school premises. She then verbally trashed him to his former co-workers at Success Academy.
Yeah, that’s a healthy response to what Germano reported — shades of Richard Whitmire, Michelle Rhee, Kaya Henderson, etc.
http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2016/05/success-academy-documents-point-to-possible-cheating-among-challenges-101595
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POLITICO’s Eliza Shapiro:
“Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz did not approve of the finding — made by an ‘ethnographer’ she hired to study her rapidly expanding charter school network — that some teachers at the high-performing network might be responding to the enormous pressure placed on them by cheating.
“So Moskowitz, Success’s combative founder, deployed senior managers to inform the staffer, Roy Germano, that he was banned from visiting schools for the remainder of the year. Moskowitz disparaged Germano to other employees, according to a memo written by Germano in July 2015 and obtained by POLITICO New York, and he was told to halt his research projects immediately.
“Germano was fired last August, approximately a month after the report was completed, and is now a research scholar at New York University.”
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Well stated
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Their tax deductible donations are a fraction of the Taxes they should be paying if they did not own the political class. A fraction of the increased share of income and wealth they have garnered in 4 decades .
“They don’t pay her for the prose ”
Oh no!!! please tell me this isn’t so ,what a slanderous ,scurrilous accusation. (sarcasm noted)
“As the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton continued support of charters schools throughout the election despite embarrassingly vocal opposition from rank-and-file teachers. It was also discovered that fall that the Hillary team was meeting billionaire ‘ed reformers’ (who they called “money and substance folks”) in secret policy roundtables as they simultaneously collected campaign cash. ”
Which Diane I notice you forgot to highlight . Yes the election is over but the rot at the core of the Democratic party is not .
Or we have this, what is NYCPSP to do .
“In a last-minute deal for a two-year renewal of mayoral control, Mayor de Blasio agreed to go around the legislature, promising to help charters expand. The agreement granted permission to revive so-called “zombie” charters, meaning schools that never open or quickly closed. Twenty-two such slots existed in limbo until the agreement. Mayor de Blasio’s position on the uncertified teacher proposal has not been made public, but it was revealed around the same time de Blasio secretly negotiated his side-deal. ”
Now not being a city resident I can not vote for Bill , But I tend to like guys who had their honeymoon in Cuba (LOL). Their heart could be in the right place, especially when they are up against that slime bucket Clintonite Andrew Cuomo who is so thoroughly in bed with the billionaires that I suspect soon he could take the IDC and bolt to the Republican party . And yes Bill De did support Hillary . You do not go up against BOSS CLINTON (TWEED) not good for your future. As not even Warren did.
But here is my point education will not be solved by education nor as a separate issue .
The title of the piece was appropriate “CLASS WAR” . This is a class war and you do not bring a nail clipper to a gun fight .
You have to attack the sources of their wealth. Generated through the inequality that they have engineered for decades through legislation . From the evisceration of labor THROUGH LEGISLATION , to the tax code , to patent protections, to bailouts for billionaires while workers pensions bit the dust. ….. .WHO GETS WHAT.
You have to talk “political revolution ” a ground swell of public anger at the injustice and inequality that has been created by the Oligarchy. You don’t do that by pretending that Robots took jobs (97-2007) or there is a magical skills shortage that does not show up in wages. Politicians have to know that their future lies in their voters not their donors . We elected a fascist we could have elected a populist . I heard a study this morning that 1 in 10 Bernie voters voted for Trump. I am going to guess they weren’t those 30,000 young kids that were at Washington Square with me outside your School. I would bet they were a hell of a lot of working class(my definition is broad) voters in the Midwest and elsewhere . Who knew who was screwing them and how . Thus those polls that showed Populist Sanders with huuuuge leads over Trump were probably correct. The dynamics of the democratic base that enabled Clinton to win were not going to elect her even over a piece of crap like Trump. Who also promised to drain the swamp. I think I will go throw up again. .
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Joel Herman,
The fact that you just bashed Bill de Blasio says it all. Putting the Mayor in the same bucket as politicians like Andrew Cuomo who are fully owned by the pro-charter billionaires demonstrates why – with “supporters” like you — public schools will go down the tubes.
You keep refusing to comment on Tim Kaine and Terry McAuliffe who were 2 Democrats you despise that stood up for pubic schools and are the one reason that Virginia is one of the few states left that is not entirely owned by the billionaires. Any evidence that doesn’t match your viewpoint is ignored.
Meanwhile, you ALSO ignored that it was BERNIE SANDERS who tried very hard to get the DFER candidate to replace those 2 pro-public education Democrats. How much money did Bernie’s chosen candidates take from those billionaires who love charters?
You keep avoiding that question.
Give me the Tim Kaines and Bill de Blasio and you can keep your Bernie-approcved DFER Democrats who would sell out public education in a minute.
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^^^By the way, Hillary Clinton was the ONLY Presidential candidate who stated for the record that high performing charters push out kids. Bernie didn’t say that. He said he likes “public charters” and dropped the issue like a hotcake.
I’d rather have a pro-charter Democrat who does her homework and understands the issues than one who cares so little about the issue of public education that he works hard to elect the DFER candidate to replace the Democrats who have stood up for public education
You’d rather have the DFER candidate that is “progressive” on whatever issues you care about most.
Let’s agree to disagree here.
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^^and finally, it is DISGUSTING for you to imply that anyone who supported Hillary Clinton did it out of fear or for the money. To you she is evil incarnate. To many people, she spent her life working and THINKING about issues.
You just slimed Diane Ravitch, too, by the way. What was her reason for supporting Hillary Clinton? Wasn’t she as smart as you are in recognizing the truly corrupt politicians while understanding that DFER candidates are fine as long as Joel says they are?
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There was not a thing that Hillary Clinton ever stated that anyone ever believed. Nothing that she, ever believed longer than the next poll or contribution. So please stop already . That was the problem . I like Bill de Blasio re read my post . Anyone with the chutzpah to go on a honeymoon in Cuba and run for office in the USA is my type of guy . He has been squeezed by Cuomo and the Billionaires club .It is not a matter of not getting donations . It is the many millions that will be spent to defeat him . Could I make this any clearer. If I lived in NYC I would gladly vote for Bill de . No washing my hands and throwing up like I did after voting for Hillary. And I have spent time talking to others who like Andrew and think Bill stinks to tell them they are wrong
Yes education is only one of my issues. Labor and the economy is my main concern and I view education as part of a greater war in that respect. Call it a Marxian word view that says that economics determines all . Or just take James Carville’s words “its the economy stupid.” Bill was to busy with Monica to make that up.
Northam was running for Governor in Virginia not Kaine, not McAuluffe.
I prefer my Democrats not to be Republicans . If you are self described on economic issues as “conservative” and you are the only Democrat in Virginia to vote like the IDC democrats in NY, with the Republicans , You are a Republican. Probably soon to follow the lead of the West Virginia Governor, if the political winds shift.
Your only issue is education, for you keep telling me that education is just one of my issues. You are correct in that evaluation. So I wont review the whole dismal record, this whining progressive saw from Obama /Clinton . Just drop him and Arne /John a thank you note on NATIONAL CHARTER TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK . It was just wonderful (not!!!),
to see Joe the Plumber sock that one home to the AFT. Shrub had less success than Barrack in the assault on public schools.
I prefer my Presidents not to have been members of Walmart’s Board, Hillary. I prefer them to not support Right to Work, Tim . I suppose no better candidate existed for VP
But how am I to judge the 1.3 term Senator from NY perhaps by the Bankruptcy Bill. If you are going to live by the record of Bill and Barrack, wrap yourself in their policy ,touting their success. That is what I will judge you by . Ronald Reagan senility and all
sent 1000 crooked bankers to jail . Barrack 1 lesser character.
But you better re-read my posts. I have repeatedly stated two things. The Republican base is racist and the election was lost in those States where voters who should have voted for Hillary stayed home. They didn’t stay home because of the Republican slime machine . They stayed home because their lives were not made appreciably better. Clinton out spent Trump damn near 2 to 1 . But in times of economic stress people turn to demagogues . Declining standards of living are the raw material that breeds racism . Lets keep pretending everything is just ducky for people in many parts of this country . Including millennial’s in NYC making less than previous generations , want to bet they are more educated than those that preceded them .
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/03/19/how-millennials-compare-with-their-grandparents/ft_millennials-education_031715/
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world view
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Off-topic
Prior to the presidential campaign, John Podesto, who subsequently became Hillary’s campaign manager, was on a dais with Jeb Bush and Chester Finn calling on donors to support school-privatizing candidates (videotaped).
Yesterday, NBC news reported on Mueller’s investigation identifying a link between Manafort lobbying for Ukraine’s pro-Russian political party and a PR firm working in the U.S. with Manafort’s partner. “In recent months the Justice Dept. told the Podesto firm that it should have registered as a foreign agent.” The referenced activity was between 2012-2014.
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The swamp gets thicker .
I just had a vision of Donald and Hillary sharing a cell . Yes Diane unlike Donald , Hillary may not have committed actionable crimes.
Old News but not fake news
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/02/playbook-lally-weymouth-party-spotted-240194
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(Noticed the party list included Rep. Zeldin, who wasn’t on my radar until his bold Trump support)
Pelosi must have had another engagement at a different palace.
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Linda
Zeldin the Tea party congressman from the east end of long island. I doubt the Hampton crowd. Is registered to vote in his district . So I would bet that his is another stressed demographic.
I live on the eastern end of Suozzi’s district who it looks like I will have to work against in the primary but vote for in the election, sound familiar . But that puts me close enough to Zeldin’s and King’s district to work against them in 2018.
Surprised the xenophobic race baiting,past IRA supporter King was not there
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Off-topic
Hillary’s VP was Tim Kaine, who was one of the strongest supporters of public education.
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I haven’t found info. on why Podesto was chosen as campaign manager. Any insight?
You’re aware the other campaign heavy weight, CAP, published an article in Forbes calling for student outcome measures in universities, weeks after Hillary’s loss? You know CAP’s V.P. of education policy is former TFA?
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Podesta was campaign chair, not campaign manager
Robbie Mook was campaign manager.
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Linda that video of Jeb and Podesta is chilling! Mueller’s investigation did not involve John Podesta, but his brother Tony who runs The Podesta Group lobbying firm. They were paid by a Putin-connected bank, Sberbank, to lobby against the sanctions. This I saw first reported following the Panama Papers leaks, but then again when they announced the Manafort probe as the firm retroactively registered as a foreign lobbyist.
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THAT DUMP is NOT draining the swamp. HE IS the SWAMP.
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Can someone tell me if https://www.casas.org has a for profit connection. They issue High School Diplomas known as NEDP. There’s another High School diploma called theTASC. TASC is also has roots in for profit education. Although TASC is listed at non profit, it is owned by S&P Global. There’s no info on casas. The who is information is private. States are paying these companies to issue High School Diplomas.
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Usually Right. The National External Diploma Program (NEDP) is an applied performance assessment system that assesses the high school level skills of adults and out-of-school youth. These are online tests. The website says that NEDP evaluates the reading, writing, math and workforce readiness skills of participants in life and work contexts. The tests are “designed for self-directed youth and adults with life and work experiences and a general familiarity with the computer.”
“Evaluates 70 competencies in ten content areas including Financial Literacy, Health Literacy, Civic Literacy, Geography, History, Science, and Twenty-First Century Workplace.
Evaluates competencies that are based on skills outlined in the Common Core College and Career Readiness standards.”
TASC stands for Tests Assessing Secondary Completions. These are also for-profit online tests that, if passed, are supposed to offer proof of “high school equivalency.” The website says: “The number of states who offer the TASC test as their high school equivalency exam is growing rapidly. Visit your state portal to explore options you have to register and schedule exams virtually, access your test scores online, or find a test center.”
The TASC tests are trademarked by the Data Recognition Corporation DRC|CTB. Fourteen states offer these tests. DRC|CTB also offers the Terra Nova test in addition to the TASC, designed for the adult basic education market. “DRC|CTB assessments have passed rigorous reviews at the state and federal level. ….TASC test is a quality test that is affordable and accessible and included the Common Core State Standards.” If you want more information on the history of DRC|CTB and other tests from this company visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRC/CTB
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Here is my question:
If the reason that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren haven’t come out strongly supporting the NAACP’s moratorium on charter schools is NOT because they are tools of billionaires, then why do people think they support all those “public charters” (especially those “high performing” ones)?
If the answer is that Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the other leaders who the left assumes are NOT owned by the billionaire class support charters because they think they are terrific as long as they aren’t “privately owned” and they get “good results”, then let’s talk about what that says about how long we can expect public education to continue in this country.
Let’s talk about why the platform committee with Hillary Clinton’s approval offered up nearly the entire Bernie Sanders’ platform and it did not include any mention of public education? It is because Bernie Sanders had no changes to make on her platform with regards to education except making sure it had the free college. There was no “compromise” because the Sanders folks weren’t asking the Clintons to strongly condemn charter schools at all.
Which makes sense when you see Bernie endorsing the DFER candidate in Virginia to replace the 2 “nasty” Democrats who just happened to be some of the strongest supporters of public education in the country.
Which makes sense when you see Bernie’s absolute silence on the NAACP’s moratorium.
I like many of Bernie’s policies, but on public education he is MIA and anyone who excuses it by saying “he is just ignorant after years of serving on the education committee” is truly deluded. He believes certain types of charters are perfectly fine and even terrific and it’s not because billionaires are paying him to think so. So perhaps those of you who can understand that it is possible for a politician to be wrong and not corrupt might do the same for other progressive Democrats instead of giving a pass ONLY to the ones you like.
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NYC parent
“The ones I like” make it uncomfortable for the plutocrats. Speculating, would Bernie have had Nina Turner or, the self-proclaimed God, Bloomberg, speak at the convention? Rhetorically, does the difference in choice of speaker seem significant to the Clinton wing of the Dem. party? (You know, maybe if they wanted to win with the base)
If New Mexico’s Rep. Lujan, the national Democratic Party chair, Warren and Sanders are all lukewarm about privatization of America’s most important common good, which has greater opposition to neoliberalism?
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It’s not that Sanders or Warren are “lukewarm”. It is unclear whether either of them has a clue what the issues are.
Do you know why I “trusted” Hillary despite not always agreeing with her? Because overtime she spoke about an issue I believed she understood the nuances and made a considered choice.
I don’t hear that from Bernie at all. I only hear pointless rhetoric. I’d rather have someone in there who understands the issues – who is willing to do that boring homework that is just too much work for so many other politicians — than to make this a simple thing. “Charters are evil” is not what I want to hear. I want intelligent critiques just like I hear from Diane Ravitch. I want to hear something that demonstrates that the speaker hasn’t just been handing some words to say. And that includes people from both sides.
Senator Warren is like that on economic issues. The funny thing is that she is probably far more conservative than many who adore her and don’t pay attention. She doesn’t “hate” Wall Street but she knows exactly what the problems are and isn’t willing to let them get away with things.
Why shouldn’t Mike Bloomberg speak? I despise him for his stance on charter school but I agreed with him on other things he did. I also saw lots of other people speak. I heard Hillary speak. I heard Bernie speak. I thought it was the best DNC I had ever witnessed and I thought “if Hillary can do that I can’t wait to see her in office working her butt off to get things done.” Now I know some people are so certain of her evilness that they didn’t want her to get anything done. So let’s agree to disagree on that. I’ve watched her since Bill Clinton was nominated and it’s disgusting how little actions were used to smear her. “She sat on the WalMart board when old Sam Walton was around” — her biggest critic on that who wrote the definitive article about it put it in CONTEXT. No one else did — even Joel Herman can’t talk stop talking about something that she did more than 25 years ago! If it’s a politician Joel likes he doesn’t care what they did a few years ago!
Frankly, I’m sick of defending Hillary — the election is over and we are stuck with the guy the people who listened to the progressives bashing Hillary figured was not any worse than her.
But I will not give a pass to Bernie for not supporting public schools. He needs to be CRITICIZED for that and criticized often because if he doesn’t hear that he is wrong then he will go on believing he is right to keep on giving the progressive cover that charters need to keep undermining public schools.
It is not about Hillary anymore. She has no power. It’s about whether the progressive politicians who have the bully pulpit care one whit about public education and I see no sign that they do. Not one. And their progressive supporters keep enabling them by saying “we don’t are enough about it either to hold their feet to the fire.”
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The 90% have no clout to hold anyone’s “feet to the fire”, thanks to the oligarchy of the tech moguls and Wall Street which was enabled by complicity within both parties.
Dems-1000 seats lost in 8 years- progressives’ fault? Michael Moore filmed Trumpland to tell the Dem. Presidential campaign that they would lose the election via the Brexit states. Hillary’s campaign told the world she was going to win (and, the campaigns’ input is what pollsters used). You think some votes were lost there?
Which of the following is true? Hillary’s campaign staff were clueless, arrogant or saboteurs?
When are people like you going to shame them? Or, is the blame game reserved for progressives, despite the fact they voted for Hillary while being insulted by the Dem hierarchy and having their efforts to get voters, undercut with the scheduling of a billionaire to speak in prime time at the convention?
If Dems want to serve the rich, they should be upfront about it. Repubs aren’t honest about it but, that’s not a reason for Dems to follow suit.
We can agree to disagree about what caused Hillary’s loss. But, we can’t “agree to disagree about Hillary’s evilness”. I voted for her just like Michael Moore did.
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A couple of weeks ago, David Brock’s Share Blue published an article about the youngest Democrats in Congress. In a revised version of the article, the group’s goal of “helping big business”, was edited out.
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I have no problem acknowledging that Hillary’s campaign staff made mistakes and were arrogant. However, that’s exactly what people said about John Kerry’s staff, about Al Gore’s staff, about Mike Dukakis’ staff. They turned guaranteed victories into defeats by truly terrible opponents. I don’t know which was a less likely “winner” — GW Bush who rode his daddy’s fortune to a brief term as Texas Governor or GW Bush re-elected as a weak President who was spending billions on wars while the country got deeper into debt. The weak President who took Clinton’s budget surplus and made out country bankrupt by giving huge tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.
I don’t have a problems with criticisms of Clinton’s campaign staff or some of her choices during the campaign (although I do think much of that is “20/20 hindsight”). She made mistakes.
But what I am hearing is not a candidate making the same mistakes as other Democrats have, but a corrupt candidate who will sell out every progressive ideal because she had absolutely no values except how much some rich and powerful person who donated a lot of money to her wanted her to do.
And it was that lie that made 60% of the country decide she was crooked Hillary, as much of a moral failure as Trump.
And, getting back to the main question:
Bernie is NOT a Democrat. He is a progressive who doesn’t believe strongly in public education. At most, he probably believes in teachers’ UNIONS more than he believes in public education and would be happy to have a unionized charter “public charter”.
Unlike the progressive who defend him while declaring that every Democrat who doesn’t agree with them on some issue is doing it because they can’t wait to sell out to billionaires, I just think Bernie is ignorant on the issue and doesn’t care about it. And he doesn’t have to care, because his progressive supporters keep making excuses for him. I wish a few of them would tell him the truth. But I bet if you looked closely at his advisors you’d see just as many DFER guys like the Virginia candidate Bernie fought so hard for. I don’t know if the pro-public school voices close to Bernie are too cowed to speak up or if there are just too many people around him who believe all the hype about “failing” public schools and how charters are working miracles.
But quit blaming the DNC for Bernie’s lackluster support of public schools. It’s nonsense. This is all Bernie and he has never kowtowed to people with money. Until his supporters start educating him, his lack of support is genuinely hurting public schools.
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Hillary, in defeat, had/has an opportunity to make a rallying cry so that the votes of the 50+% won’t be in vain. I don’t think she’s evil, crooked nor a moral failure. (Speaking fees for a post election, point/counterpoint between Robbie M. and Corey L. seems like an idea that merited review of scruples.)
The 3 busiest days in Capitol switchboard history were opposition to the DeVos’ privatization. I accept that neither Independent Socialists nor Democrats want to capitalize on the opportunity, which foretells a bleak future for America’s most important common good and for communities, students, democracy and future national prosperity.
What a testament to optimism that so many think the Dems and/or Bernie will change.
Many of us are relegated to scavenging for the crumbs from a few politicians who talk about American oligarchy.
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Hillary is silent because at any moment, trump will initiate a prosecution of her based on vindictiveness and a need to change the subject
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Is that a commendation?
Please forgive the tone of the question. Diane, you are the finest American I know. You are courageous and every other positive thing that has been said about you. Hillary is a good person and both you and Michael Moore carrying her banner confirms the case.
Political campaigns require boldness. Circumspection, like Hillary’s position now, is good decision making.
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Bernie’s statement on charter schools during the presidential debates did cause confusion – a day later, articles noted this and so he partially clarified his position the following night, saying
“I believe in public education and I believe in public charter schools. I do not believe in privately controlled charter schools.”
NPR analyzed this statement, explaining that many different models of charter management exist (and they mention Diane):
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/03/15/470376273/bernie-sanders-says-he-opposes-private-charter-schools-what-does-that-mean
Bernie has publicly said he wants to “do away with” bubble tests which put him at direct odds with Clinton who said she would want her grandchild to take them.
But it’s fair to say Bernie (and Sen. Warren) do not weigh in sufficiently on K-12 education policy, despite being on the Senate Committee (I think the reason for this is because Bernie straddles different factions in the Committee and might even serve as a whip, rounding up votes).
Bernie’s influence on education policy was big in the end – he sponsored the ESSA amendment for the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority, which passed into law, and will give several states flexibility to move away from standardized testing to pilot alternative assessments. Bernie also made Hillary agree to a college tuition plan in exchange for his endorsement.
Another reason Bernie may not be sufficiently aware of the charter debate is because Vermont is the most education-reform-insulated state in the the US, proving that if you work on the root cause issues of corruption like campaign finance, all the other issues improve as well. Diane wrote about it here:
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