Mitt Romney wouldn't eliminate the Department of Education, he'd use it to bust teachers unions

[ProSense]

Mitt Romney wouldn't eliminate the Department of Education, he'd use it to bust teachers unions

by Laura Clawson

Among Mitt Romney's supposed-to-be-secret comments at a high-dollar Florida fundraiser Sunday evening was some information about his plans for the Department of Education, and it turns out that, given the lemons of a Department of Education, he'd make the lemonade of union-busting:

"The Department of Education: I will either consolidate with another agency, or perhaps make it a heck of a lot smaller. I'm not going to get rid of it entirely," Romney said, explaining that part of his reasoning behind preserving the agency was to maintain a federal role in pushing back against teachers' unions. Romney added that he learned in his 1994 campaign for Senate that proposing to eliminate the agency was politically volatile.

Once bitten by Sen. Ted Kennedy's 1994 ad reminding people that they like the Education Department, that it does good things for their kids, two decades shy of proposing to outright eliminate it, apparently. Unfortunately for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it wasn't an issue in Romney's 1994 election, so it would be fully on the chopping block in a Romney presidency.

Teachers unions, obviously, are not amused:

"If all he wants to do is use the Department of Education to go after unions -- then he’s clearly not interested in using it to help kids," Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers said in a statement. "How does it help kids when Romney wants to use the federal government to undermine teachers and their unions? Romney is out of touch. He doesn't get it."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/17/1084112/-Mitt-Romney-wouldn-t-eliminate-the-Department-of-Education-he-d-use-it-to-bust-teachers-unions

[DJ13]

1. Isnt that kinda whats already being done?

[ProSense]

2. Clearly, Romney

is just echoing Obama, right? Why just the other day Obama said the same thing.

Romney 2012!

[bluestateguy]

3. That's why it is just better to abolish DOE

Getting the mammoth federal bureaucracy out of education, with all of their mandates, rules, procedures and shoestrings attached to money.

Better to abolish it than use the DOE as an agent to achieve right wing policy goals.

[ProSense]

4. How about

That's why it is just better to abolish DOE

Getting the mammoth federal bureaucracy out of education, with all of their mandates, rules, procedures and shoestrings attached to money.

Better to abolish it than use the DOE as an agent to achieve right wing policy goals.

...abolishing the RW. I mean, it's fairly absurd to believe that the best way to deal with the RW is to give them what they want.

What next, getting rid of Medicare and Medicaid?

[saras]

7. Nah, let's just dump the Constitution. The Right doesn't like that either. Oops. We DID that.

[ProSense]

8. Really?

"Nah, let's just dump the Constitution. The Right doesn't like that either. Oops. We DID that."

..."we" as in you did that? I mean, "we" who?

Vote Romney because we're already fucked! (sarcasm for the sarcasm impaired)

Actually, lesser of two evils is growing on me.

[saras]

9. Why are YOU suggesting that people on DU vote for Romney? Isn't that against the rules?

I'm suggesting that whoever the fuck is in power, we are the farthest to the right that America's been in 100 years, and ALL of Congress is responsible, not just the wacko right-wing extreme. Every Dem that continues to support the spoiler effect and fight efforts to remove it from American politics is partially to blame.

And, just out of curiousity, are you suggesting that the Supreme Court functioned appropriately during Bush's election? I consider that unconstitutionally broken. How about the Patriot Act? How about the TSA? How about trade treaties that give away our Constitutional rights and protections? Do you think the Bill of Rights is approximately equally enforced?

Looks pretty damned broken to me.

1. Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

No law. Not reasonable laws. No law. Is that hard to understand?

...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Just try organizing and training a left-wing militia.

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
I'll give you this one. We're not doing this. Yet.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Gone. Completely gone, gone forever.

...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.
Gone. Ask Bradley Manning or a bystander at a drone attack.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Maybe 50/50 here. I'll admit it says nothing about COMPETENT counsel.

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Twenty dollars? And jury nullification is across-the-board legal? Cool.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
If you can't PAY bail, it's excessive by definition. There's no way to AVOID cruel and unusual punishment in our current prison system. Total fail.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Total fail.

Nope, I have no problem intellectually with the idea that the current American government, in general, has no respect for the Constitution and the principles it articulates. Morally and emotionally, it's grossly offensive to me, as are the people who support its destruction. But I'm not going to refuse to see it because I don't like it.


The fact that I'd rather eat three-day-old meatloaf than freshly extruded cat shit doesn't mean that I wouldn't prefer a salmon steak, salad, and a Bavarian creme to either. We really don't NEED any more DLC economics. If the Republicans reject everything until forced to accept something, then let's force them to accept something GOOD.

[ProSense]

10. Frankly

I'm suggesting that whoever the fuck is in power, we are the farthest to the right that America's been in 100 years, and ALL of Congress is responsible, not just the wacko right-wing extreme. Every Dem that continues to support the spoiler effect and fight efforts to remove it from American politics is partially to blame.

And, just out of curiousity, are you suggesting that the Supreme Court functioned appropriately during Bush's election? I consider that unconstitutionally broken. How about the Patriot Act? How about the TSA? How about trade treaties that give away our Constitutional rights and protections? Do you think the Bill of Rights is approximately equally enforced?

Looks pretty damned broken to me.

...you shouldn't ramble. I mean, I made none of those suggestions, and at the same time I didn't vote for Bush. I also didn't delude myself into believing that a vote for Gore = Bush and for Kerry = Bush.

Everyone who did "continues to support the spoiler effect and fight efforts to remove it from American politics is partially to blame."

See, pushing false equivalencies and misleading crap doesn't help, and will never help to get out of this mess.

[msongs]

5. Race to the top part 2 nt

[ProSense]

6. Brilliant! n/t