Governor Eric Greitens has resigned, after acknowledging an extramarital affair.
I have followed Governor Greitens because of his determination to increase the number of charter schools in Missouri. He packed the state school board with allies, who proceeded to fire the nonpartisan State Commissioner. Greitens had lined up his choice, a charter advocate. But he never bothered to have the State Senate confirm his appointees, and they had no authority to make decisions so for the foreseeable future, Missouri has no Governor and no State Board of Education. They did not have the legal authority to fire the State Commissioner but they did anyway.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Silver lining of a tragic situation and a litmus test for hypocrisy.
Amidst the controversy – and that there is no State Board or Commissioner – the only piece of education legislation passed this year allows any student – K-12 (yes, K…) to take a virtual course and the local school district pays the tab. Access for outstate small district kids to take singleton courses is a good thing; potential for virtual charter schools is the worry… a crack in the door that will open wide now.
And the Gov isn’t resigning until Friday so all kinds of legislation like this can be signed or vetoed with no additional debate or appeals to public reaction.
Sad that it took this level of controversy to keep the all-GOP government to pass all kinds of anti-public school legislation.
And the hypocrisy? Calls for his resignation and subsequent impeachment talk this week came from both sides of the aisle… yet these same right wing conservative religious watchdogs in Missouri won’t say a word about the president’s lies, bullying, scapegoating, and videotaped comments about women.
The silence of these elected folk in statehouses and Congress is deafening. They’ll criticize their state officials – even ask for tax returns – but not a word about the president is deafening. Sure hope the reports and democrat candidates ask the grand old party boys why they hypocrisy.
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“Sad that it took this level of controversy. . .”
If by that statement you mean his extramarital affair, well it wasn’t that that brought Greitens down. While many focus on that salacious bit (and it’s only a bit a most), the investigation into his usage of his non-profit’s money for campaigning is his true undoing which was being investigated by his Rethuglican colleagues. He campaigned, like the turmp, on ethical reform of the MO legislature. He picked the wrong fight, not that there isn’t a lot that needs to be done in that regard.
When I heard is resignation whining, oops I meant speech, all I could think was “Ya know it’s rather unbecoming of a supposedly tough-guy navy seal to be whining and not acknowledging his role in any of this.” Weasel words from a weaselly wimp. Good riddance!
The Show Me State, just attempting to catch up to its neighbor across the Mississippi River in levels of corruption.
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Yes, Duane, you’re right.
I’m getting embarrassed to be from Missouri.
I’m sure that Harry Truman is rolling over in his grave.
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Sad because the system of checks and balances, the free press, an educated citizenry, statespersons instead of party-first politicians… should keep officials like him and president from pushing through privatization, lowering expectations for some groups of kids, demeaning unions… and arming teachers.
But the pres and governors like this who fire commissioners and railroad their laws are not accountable and they do what they want …and the people and system do not keep them checked.
That’s sad that democracy is not working
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I tried to start a discussion about the way the St. Louis Post dispatch displays the salaries of every public school teacher in the city and county, and I listed about twenty fellow teachers from the school in which the legislator who guided through a magnificent virtual charter schools bill to help them out…..and demanded to know why the pd puts no effort whatsoever into identifying the lobbyists and money involved in making it one of the few things to pass in Missouri this year……..no response…..too hard a point to make, I suppose. I had some fun challenging NRA members to explain why they always give Arne Duncan a free pass to attack their guns……….they exploded with mass hysteria about what I must be up to. I can always count on them.
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Another day, another creep…..
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Good riddance.
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