Florida House Speaker admits he wants to close public schools

[KayLaw]

Johnnie Byrd is another sqinty-eyed right-wing Republican who may have gone too far lately. He's been shooting his mouth off more than usual and tipped his hand about his true desire for public education.

He says shutting down public schools is the " next rennaissance in education." He's also called his fellow House members sheep.

This article sums up best all the crap that comes from his mouth and what we have to put up with down here and what I see as the true face of the Republican party.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/02/27/Opinion/Wooly_bully.shtml

[ithacan]

1. that's the goal of No Child Left Behind

and the goal too of the Religious Right, who believe that government should not be in the business of education.

It's good to see someone actually admitting that this is indeed the goal of the Republican party, and not just in Florida.

[RainDog]

4. religious reich wing

doesn't simply think that govt should not be in the biz of education, they think that they should be the ones to educate you, the better to indoctrinate your children, my dear.

my, what big assholes you have, Granny Bush.

and if you don't buy their b.s., they think you should be killed, in their most extreme expressions, but barring that, they think anyone who does not agree with them should be second-class citizens.

[Racenut20]

2. Don't make me angry !!!!!

Or I will vote for Johnny Byrd for the Senate. hehehehe

[Florida_Geek]

3. This guy is crazy

One of his big goals in the last session (that he did not get) was an Alzheimers center at Univ. of South Florida. While most here would not have a problem with that, there was one problem, he wanted the center to be named after his father or they would not get the money.

[mac2]

5. Johnnie is knee deep in public education...

even getting his law degree from one. Here's his bio. Link: http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=BS039055

I sent an e-mail to ask what high school he attended.

Hypocrites.

[LincolnMcGrath]

6. Only a mild Florida cracker

The Florida Senate is where the real weirdos are.


Look folks, why is this news? We have known what they wanted for decades.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. A FRAUD HAS BEEN COMMITTED ON THE PUBLIC!

If this was the Republican plan all along, then they intentionally and maliciously lied to the public. This is FRAUD and misrepresentation and they should pay dearly for the damage they've committed to our children in their quest for something they could never have achieved if they had an honest discussion.

And shame, SHAME on the news media for allowing this lie to go this long. Republicans, in their quest to send money to the private school cronies have subjected our public school children to cruel and unusual punishment. Their budgets have been cut, their programs have been reduced, their teachers have been stressed out to an extent that deserves restitution.

Anyone who doubts that traditional public school education has been replaced with an education that teaches how to take one test should see some of the mottos that are flying around for the tenth grade class who must take the FCAT this year. One of them is drumming home the message, "You have worked for this your ENTIRE lives." It's sick, and Republicans should be punished for this fraudent social engineering.

[KayLaw]

8. It's the dishonesty that gets me

If their plans to destroy Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, public education, etcetera are so sound, if their plans to take over oil-rich countries are wise and honorable, why not just spell it out to the public? Be honest about it, damn it. But they know their ideas benefit on a small group and harm the general public, so they just lie and sneak around like the filthy rats they are.

[mac2]

9. It's robbery of the public for their elite......

schools and party. The Bush brothers are profitting off of the testing, etc.

Go to the AU web site. You will hear a web radio discussion about public vrs. private systems. They aren't better. How could they be? Not only that but the voucher systems to religious groups show fraud and not a better educated child (testing showed this in Cleveland).

Mostly, they don't even take the same required tests that public students do. I'd like to see their record of SATS, etc. compared. I wasn't impressed with rich kids at the Univerisity and ones I trained later in laboratory procedures for research.

President George Bush was privately educated. I'm not impressed. President & Mrs. Clinton were publcally educated until college. Need I say more?

What urks me is we pay for their teachers (educated in the public colleges), we pay for their busing, and computers. We pay....for their religious agenda to ruin our democracy. They are greedy.

We have proof..it is not a good system. It's full of fraud.

[rfkrocks]

10. sheep-he looks like another sh word

you don't want public schools byrd-how about a trip to a madrassa? you can pray all you want and educate yourself the way you want to be educated...you know the earth is flat, the earth is the center of the universe but in paraphrase of PF "Hey Speaker leave those kids alone!"

[dusty64]

11. Holy shit!

The extreme right is laying their putrid agenda out for all to see, they don't even try to hide it anymore. If we can't buck the electronic "voting" machines in November and trounce em, I really fear for the future.