Monday Morning Showdown in the House of Representatives

Here is the basic skuttle butt of this bill.

No one, and I mean no one (okay, except for maybe the Oregon Education Association [OEA] and the governor) wants Senate Bill 767 passed. Last I heard that organization and the governor were not the majority in this state.

No citizen, Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Independent, or whatever else, wants this bill signed into law. The average citizen who you talk to wants choices in public education.

The Republicans in the House don't want this into law because they are anti union.

The Democrats in the House don't want this into law because they don't want their political careers to be attached to a lousy bill that stinks to high heavens. I am curious to see if this becomes a campaign issue in the next election, "Bob Democrat voted against school choice (pic of a pathetic young child)." Polls show time and time again, average Joe's do not want this legislation.

Yet, because the union is the powerhouse it is, and because most of the Democrats in the House have had their campaigns bankrolled by public employee unions, it will most likely be approved. I am not being sarcastic there, it is a matter of public record, and it's true.

And yet there are glimmers of hope. The other parent I did the press conference with went to a town hall meeting Saturday morning of one of her local Democrat reps and asked him what he would vote. He had no idea how far and extensive the ramifications of this bill are. He promised he would vote against. Trust me, we have heard that before, but he seemed genuine. Let's hope the governor or his cronies didn't get to him since then. Trust me, the governor has made it very clear his intentions for this bill, and he is working it.

We are hoping six Democrats (and I am sorry to my Democrat friends, this has become a party issue, and I am not slamming you at all) have a moment of conscience and vote it down. Unfortunately, this has become a bipartisan issue in the capital. On the public streets of this state, it isn't.

I'll let you know 24 hours from now.