David Sirota: W. enters my wife’s schoolboard race

[PETRUS]

Our family gets a close-up look of how big money has taken over politics -- even at the local level

*snip*

Emily had thought a “big” contribution meant a few friends joining up to scrape together $500. But, in the last few weeks, news broke that oil CEOs and financial executives were cutting $10,000 and $25,000 checks to her opponent. We found out that notorious front groups like Stand for Children were funneling in tens of thousands of dollars of out-of-state financial industry cash, and we started hearing about serious threats of retribution from big-time professional politicians.

Not surprisingly, many of these donors and politicians are part of the larger national network aimed at undermining traditional public education — a movement that has succeeded in voucherizing the school system in neighboring Douglas County and that has placed Rupert Murdoch-funded voucher activists right here in Denver. In the process, this little grass-roots school-board race has become so inundated by big money and national political forces that none other than former President George W. Bush just made an education-themed appearance – one clearly designed to influence the education debate dominating the upcoming school board election.

*snip*

http://www.salon.com/2011/10/21/w_enters_my_wifes_schoolboard_race/singleton

More at the link.

[AleksS]

1. That's messed up

Tens of thousands of dollas for a local school board race? That's messed up. If that doesn't scream that something's wrong with America's system, I don't know what does.

[denverbill]

2. Yes, an unpaid school board position to boot. n/t

[Evasporque]

3. City or Country officials can deal with outside money by enacting campaign funding laws

for local elections at the local level....

[Gman]

5. That's a good long term solution but in the short term when you get blindsided like this

See my post below...

[Gman]

4. DEMONIZE THEM!!!

Yell and scream and raise all kinds of hell when this type thing happens. Do t talk abou anything else but that outsiders are trying to tell "us" how to educate our kids. Again, DEMONIZE THEM!!!

[Missy Vixen]

6. And those who might make a difference with no personal fortune

are pushed aside by those who see the financial benefits of holding an unpaid political office.

The system is broken.

-MV
former officeholder

[Solly Mack]

7. K/R

[YankeyMCC]

8. Stand for Children is a front group?

The Mass and local chapter has helped our town win funding and other wins for the schools in our town repeatedly.

It surprises me to hear that the local chapters in this piece are being used as fronts, that's all.

[Gabi Hayes]

11. here you go.....they're about as bad as it gets:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Stand+for+Children+is+a+front+group&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8

--------------------------

here's just one example, but it's highly representative of just how insidious this problem is. fear for your children....

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/22/959102/-The-Mind-Trust:-The-Celebrity-Corporate-Government-Plan-to-Privatize-Indiana-Education

When former NBC Today Show co-host Jane Pauley walked out onto a stagein her birth city, Indianapolis, a year ago, some in the audience, including Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett and former mayor Bart Peterson, understood what was behind Pauley’s show of empathy for Indiana’s school children, even though it may have been hidden to those there to see a celebrity.

Pauley spoke with pride of her son Ross—who had just joined the teaching staff of a charter school—and how she heard in Washington about the great things happening in the school reform movement back in her former hometown.

As member of the Board of the Mind Trust, a nonprofit school reform group in Indianapolis which has over $12 million to attack public education, Pauley was there to help sell the corporate privatization of public education. This coming May, in fact, Pauley will even join New York Times’ David Brooks (a “Quiet Revolution” quack) onstage at the Mind Trust’s “Grow What Works: Campaign to Accelerate Education Reform.”

The Mind Trust is the product of President and former Indianapolis Democratic mayor Bart Peterson and CEO David Harris, the mayor’s first Charter School Director in Indianapolis. In 2001, the Indiana legislature passed a charter school law which made Peterson the first mayor to have the authority to charter schools in the country. For their various programs, Harris, Peterson, and the Lilly Endowment-funded Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of Indianapolis received $11.3 million from the Gates Foundation. To the Indianapolis Charter Schools Facilities Fund, a loan program which operated from 2005 to 2009, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) added another $1 million.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Heavens yes - it's Michelle Rhee's group

And they have successfully presented themselves as a group that really does stand for children.

[madfloridian]

14. Here you go. What Jonah Edelman said out loud about the group's purpose.

His words at the Aspen institute were stunning. The group is anti-union, and they give huge money to "reformers."


Jonah Edelman’s blunt talk freaks out almost everybody

There is a transcript now of Jonah Edelman's remarks at Aspen. The video was taken down at the Aspen Ideas Festival website, but teachers and others got it right back up again. Then Caroline Grannan at Parents Across America transcribed his words.

"..."I’m being quite blunt here. The individual candidates were essentially a vehicle to execute a political objective, which was to tilt toward Madigan. The press never picked up on it. We endorsed nine individuals – and six of them were Democrats, three Republicans – and tilted our money toward Madigan, who was expecting because of Bruce Rauner’s leadership … that all our money was going to go to Republicans. That was really a show of – indication to him that we could be a new partner to take the place of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. That was the point. Luckily, it never got covered that way. That wouldn’t have worked well in Illinois – Madigan is not particularly well liked. And it did work."

.."So in the intervening time, Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor … and he strongly supports our proposal. Jim (apparently Crown) … talked about the talking point that we made up and he (Emanuel) repeated about a thousand times, probably, on the campaign trail about the Houston kids going to school four years more than the Chicago kids. That was another shoe that dropped, and it really put a lot of pressure on the unions, particularly on the Chicago Teachers Union because they didn’t support it.

..."After the election we went back to Madigan, and I confirmed – reviewed the proposal that we had already discussed and I confirmed the support. He said he was supportive. The next day he created an Education Reform Commission and his political director called to ask for our suggestions who should be on it. And so in Aurora, Ill., in December, out of nowhere, there were hearings on our proposal. In addition, we hired 11 lobbyists, including four of the absolute best insiders, and seven of the best minority lobbyists – preventing the unions from hiring them. We enlisted a state public affairs firm. We had tens of thousands of supporters. … We raised $3 million for our political action committee. That’s more money than either of the unions have in their political action committees."

[paulk]

9. interesting

I'd been wondering why there was so much money obviously being spent on the school board races here - I've never seen so many fliers, unpaid volunteers (yeah, right) knocking on doors, etc, for a school board race in the twenty years I've lived in Denver. Upon doing a little research I'm discovering that the candidates who seem to have the most funding are the ones that are for "reform" (read: vouchers), and are opposed by the teacher's union... Imagine that.

It's also interesting that without fail our brand new so called Democratic mayor, Mr. Hancock, has endorsed the money pro "reform" candidate in every race (there are three districts). Kind of goes right along with the treatment received (and approved by the mayor) by the Occupy Denver folks.

And to think I voted for the asshole! Oh well, he was a slight bit better than the asshole running against him. I guess those are the choices we get in our wonderful new corporate democracy here in the USA.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Denver teachers are all over this

I've been getting emails from them for months now. Wish I was closer so I could help them. This is an uphill battle, with the good guys grossly outfunded.

[Trillo]

10. Kinda puts a lie on the face that public education is funded

locally.

[madfloridian]

15. The day Stand for Children's Jonah Edelman got caught with his pants down.

http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2011/07/jonah-edelman-caught-with-his-pants.html

Follow the many links to more coverage.

[madfloridian]

17. the video....the juicy part

http://preaprez.wordpress.com/2011/07/09/heres-the-juicy-part/

[Hotler]

16. Kicking n/t