I haven't posted much the last few days over this whole virtual school spat mainly because things are moving so fast as this farce they call a legislative session winds down. Here is the timeline in a nutshell:
*Tuesday, you'll remember, SB 767 with 32 or 34 amendments on it passed the House. You saw the passionate testimony of Matt Wingard and Kim Thatcher in attempts to kill it there. What you missed was the carrier of the bill, Democrat Sara Gelser. You can hear her on the archived audio, and I recommend if you want to follow this, that you do. On the House floor, she stuck her neck out numerous times saying "the intent is not to shut down schools."
Well, okay, as written with the amendments, Ms. Gelser, it will. Here is what is so bass ackwards about that House ruling. She promised up and down that this bill, if passed, would go to a Senate subcommittee where the current verbage would be amended to assure that no current students would be disenfranchised. So essentially, the House voted on what one representative called a "virtual bill" and "please excuse us if we don't believe you". Yep, a lot of corruption and ill intentions have been revealed with this bill, they need to know we don't take "trust me" at face value. Anyway, it passed. And the clock is ticking on the legislative session.
*It goes to the subcommittee, which took until Friday to finally convene. Lots of wrangling going on. And once they all got seated, count 'em 52 amendments! Even as I write this, there are 56! Yowsa!
*Today is Saturday, it just passed the Senate.
Here is what all that amending did. It protected us. It amends the wording so much it now truly does what the Oregon Education Association (OEA) says it does, although it really isn't needed. It governs online virtual schools. Personally?? I think that is the Board of Education's job, but hey, we set out to protect our school, and whether it passes or not at this point, our school's enrollments, charters, etc. are protected.
You want to know what is at issue right now being wrangled over? The OEA targeted ORCA so much with this bill, that the way the silly bill is written, it seriously disenfranchises Oregon Virtual Academy (ORVA), the online virtual school started by the Board of Education itself in response to ORCA. Good gravy! They want to shut us down so much they forget there are several other virtual schools in this state! Bureaucrats. So, get ready, we'll be up to 60 amendments when we're done, I am not kidding.
Here is something else that is interesting. Because several of us stuck our neck out and filed that complaint revealing the true intention of the OEA with this bill. You have to understand, up until that press conference 10 days ago where it was shown that OEA representative, Laurie Wimmer, wanted the schools shut down by this date or date--up until then it really was a battle that looked like this:
US: "You're trying to shut us down!"
OEA: "No, we're not!"
US: "Yes, you are!"
OEA: "No, we're not!"
etc.......
That email showed the true intentions of this bill, and a lot of Democrats took a second notice. In their defense, on this issue only (there have been a few other votes on other issues that have me steamed right now.....), they spent hours and hours last week hammering out these umpteen amendments to purposely not shut down schools. Although the moratorium is still there and a task force still has to govern this issue, right now the schools are protected. The task force is a battle for another day, specifically, next February.
That press conference and complaint also caused another thing to happen. Many many state representatives and state senators are thinking twice about taking Laurie Wimmer at her word when she bounces into their offices. She lied to them in conference and she lied to them on recorded testimony. They should think twice before taking her word for it.
As parents, in all of this, as a group, we are now considered a force to be reckoned with in our state's capital. I hope so, we'll be watching them day one on that task force.
In the meantime, we are planning a party. I am so proud of our group of parents, kids, and lobbyists. They worked hard. They can be proud they acted above board, with honesty, tenacity and won a hard battle that was truly David and Goliath. It is an honor to know these great people.
And we are planning a party. We deserve it! More on that later.
Let the governor decide if he is going to pass this thing or not. First, he's got to read the thing! Fifty plus amendments and all! Have a great weekend Ted! I know I am!
Jun 27, 2009
Jun 24, 2009
Ummm...What She Said, I Am With Her.....
I have no idea who Glenn Beck is. (Collective gasp heard nationally) I don't. But he got this letter from one of his followers, and I just got it off of a forwarded email. Yep, what she says.....I am with her.....
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why -- what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try -- please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why -- what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try -- please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
Tuesday Debacle
Okay, I don't know how to describe the events of today.
My best advice, grab a cup of coffee and click here. Be sure to click on 6/23/2009 at 12:59 pm. Get ready to commit to 30-45 minutes of the smackdown on the House floor over this bill. It got tense, especially when the one representative specifically mentioned the teacher's union, only to be objected to for "impuning testimony". Listen to him take issue with that, "they are listed at the top of the bill!"
Highlights as I listened:
Sara Gelser carried this bill, and has done nothing but canoodled and politicked for this bill. Yes, the bill she presented on the floor today is drastically watered down and we can be happy for that. BUT! And all of us say this, but! Will she make good on her promise that the bill will go back to the Senate committee with the changes? She promised up and down. Turns out not.
Check out this blog. This is Rob Kremer's blog, who is one of our lobbyists. Turns out the bill which she vehemently promised on record in the House of Representatives of our fine state, is NOT the bill handed over to the Senate.
Are you barfing yet?
So the concessions while it didn't kill the bill, certainly put into place things that we could live with. Things like my youngest son could attend ORCA while this two year "time out" takes place. Not so, as promised
Now, after listening to this, do you feel as I have felt all along?
You can hear well articulated, thought out, proven facts about online virtual schooling. Every argument (about 6-8 of them) presented well.
The three or so in the pro position (one of them my idiotic representative, Michael Dembrow) can easily have holes poked in them. His whole argument that he represents and teaches at our local community college, which is a cutting edge college in online education. I do agree, it is. Yet he is having problems getting materials to his online students. We are comparing apples to chicken wings! ORCA's, as well as the other virtual schools already have a tested infrastructure. We have a tech support number to call to help us. If he would pick up his phone at his desk and call his community college's tech support, he might be in business. More than anything, his ineptness showed how he is in that generation that isn't electronic. So why should we all have to pay for his inability to post his syllabus?
Same for the two other folks who posted "pro" arguments. So it was 6-8 well positioned and argued statements against three. They were compelling. It would make anyone listening think, "Well of course, this is a silly bill. Vote no."
And yet, it passed.
My husband watched it at work, and barged through the door with shards flying out of his eyes. There is no other tactful way to say it.....he is now officially pissed off.
I have been saying it all along, how can you listen to that much reason and pass this bill?
Hmmm....must be something fishy going on.
I have huge hope in that Rob Kremer's promise to force Sara (the anti-christ) Gelser to keep her promise on the enrollment conditions. That distinction makes a huge difference for families for the next two years.
A long drawn out two years, wondering if this legislation stacked task force will have a majority of votes that have had their campaigns bankrolled by unions. It's a concern.
And this legislation session ends Friday. We can hope for a long shot that it just lingers in these dumb committees and we all go home. Ha! I know a lot of Dems are looking for a way for this bill to die without having the union cut their campaign funding.
Yucky!
Here is one of our best advocates, Representative Matt Wingard, who is a Republican for the House. These are his closing arguments, and he sums up the whole charade very well.
As things arrive on youtube, I can add more. This is Kim Thatcher's testimony several minutes before Matt's conclusion show above, from the House floor smackdown this last Tuesday. You are also seeing Sara Gelser, she is the one with the dark hair and incredibly busy dress, that Kim addresses at the beginning. Sara is in the pockets of the unions and cahoots with the Dems.
My best advice, grab a cup of coffee and click here. Be sure to click on 6/23/2009 at 12:59 pm. Get ready to commit to 30-45 minutes of the smackdown on the House floor over this bill. It got tense, especially when the one representative specifically mentioned the teacher's union, only to be objected to for "impuning testimony". Listen to him take issue with that, "they are listed at the top of the bill!"
Highlights as I listened:
Sara Gelser carried this bill, and has done nothing but canoodled and politicked for this bill. Yes, the bill she presented on the floor today is drastically watered down and we can be happy for that. BUT! And all of us say this, but! Will she make good on her promise that the bill will go back to the Senate committee with the changes? She promised up and down. Turns out not.
Check out this blog. This is Rob Kremer's blog, who is one of our lobbyists. Turns out the bill which she vehemently promised on record in the House of Representatives of our fine state, is NOT the bill handed over to the Senate.
Are you barfing yet?
So the concessions while it didn't kill the bill, certainly put into place things that we could live with. Things like my youngest son could attend ORCA while this two year "time out" takes place. Not so, as promised
Now, after listening to this, do you feel as I have felt all along?
You can hear well articulated, thought out, proven facts about online virtual schooling. Every argument (about 6-8 of them) presented well.
The three or so in the pro position (one of them my idiotic representative, Michael Dembrow) can easily have holes poked in them. His whole argument that he represents and teaches at our local community college, which is a cutting edge college in online education. I do agree, it is. Yet he is having problems getting materials to his online students. We are comparing apples to chicken wings! ORCA's, as well as the other virtual schools already have a tested infrastructure. We have a tech support number to call to help us. If he would pick up his phone at his desk and call his community college's tech support, he might be in business. More than anything, his ineptness showed how he is in that generation that isn't electronic. So why should we all have to pay for his inability to post his syllabus?
Same for the two other folks who posted "pro" arguments. So it was 6-8 well positioned and argued statements against three. They were compelling. It would make anyone listening think, "Well of course, this is a silly bill. Vote no."
And yet, it passed.
My husband watched it at work, and barged through the door with shards flying out of his eyes. There is no other tactful way to say it.....he is now officially pissed off.
I have been saying it all along, how can you listen to that much reason and pass this bill?
Hmmm....must be something fishy going on.
I have huge hope in that Rob Kremer's promise to force Sara (the anti-christ) Gelser to keep her promise on the enrollment conditions. That distinction makes a huge difference for families for the next two years.
A long drawn out two years, wondering if this legislation stacked task force will have a majority of votes that have had their campaigns bankrolled by unions. It's a concern.
And this legislation session ends Friday. We can hope for a long shot that it just lingers in these dumb committees and we all go home. Ha! I know a lot of Dems are looking for a way for this bill to die without having the union cut their campaign funding.
Yucky!
Here is one of our best advocates, Representative Matt Wingard, who is a Republican for the House. These are his closing arguments, and he sums up the whole charade very well.
As things arrive on youtube, I can add more. This is Kim Thatcher's testimony several minutes before Matt's conclusion show above, from the House floor smackdown this last Tuesday. You are also seeing Sara Gelser, she is the one with the dark hair and incredibly busy dress, that Kim addresses at the beginning. Sara is in the pockets of the unions and cahoots with the Dems.
Jun 21, 2009
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.
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.
Jun 19, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)