Wealthy Political Donors Are Sad Some Republican Candidates Are Running Away From Common Core

Some Common Core shills seem unaware that Common Core is about as popular as Ebola these days with a good segment of the population.

Take the editorial boards at the Washington Post and NY Times, both of whom recently wrote up glowing assessments (yeah, I'm using that word on purpose) to talk about the wonders of Common Core and the ancillary tests that go with them and tow warn about the dangers of opposition to the Core (and the tests).

In reading the Washington Post editorial, you'd think it was still 2011 and Common Core opposition was "fringe" instead of increasing by the year.

It's not just clueless newspaper editorial board shills who don't get what's happening with Common Core with the general populace.

The Wall Street Journal today has a piece that says wealthy GOP donors are getting bummed out that Republican presidential candidates are trashing the Common Core.

The Journal reports that wealthy donors are sticking by the Core and pulling support away from candidates like Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker who initially supported the Core but now oppose it.

Candidates who continue to support Common Core are getting love - and dollars - from the Wall Street Common Core-lovers:

Mr. Bush’s approach is drawing a section of donors who have previously backed education accountability efforts in New York and New Jersey. Daniel Loeb, a New York City hedge-fund manager who encouraged Mr. Christie to run for president in 2012, has given $2,700 to Mr. Bush’s campaign, according to the Bush campaign’s financial disclosure. New Jersey education-minded donors that have given to Mr. Bush include Rick Rieder, of BlackRock Capital, Joseph Amato of Neuberger Berman, and Richard Pechter, the past chairman of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the filing shows.

In July, a fundraiser for Mr. Bush was co-hosted by Mr. Lilley and David Tepper, a billionaire hedge-fund manager who helped cofound the Better Education for Kids organization in New Jersey. Members of the organization that advocates for high education standards have donated to Mr. Christie previously.

Alan Fournier, founder of Pennant Capital Management and co-founder of the New Jersey education organization, gave at least $14,400 to past Christie campaigns, records show. Mr. Fournier gave $50,000 to a super PAC supporting Mr. Bush, disclosure reports show. Mr. Tepper has also given $250,000 to the pro-Bush group, Right to Rise.

Mr. Lilley said his support for Mr. Bush is separate from his official role with Better Education for Kids. A spokesman for Mr. Tepper declined to comment. Mr. Fournier didn’t respond to a request for comment.

So even as opposition to Common Core continues to mount around the country, our "betters" - wealthy Wall Street and hedge fund donors, the newspaper editorial boards that shill for them, and at least two GOP presidential candidates - continue to support it.

As a sidenote, some of those donors backing Bush also back Andrew Cuomo, another lover of Common Core and Common Core testing.

Until the politicians who support the Core are made to pay a political price for that support, we're going to continue to see the political establishment push it.

Christie, Jindal and Walker made political calculations that they would pay a political price for continued support of the Core in a GOP presidential primary race and dropped their support it, with Jindal the strongest in opposition.

There are a whole host of reasons why Christie is losing the backing of donors that have nothing to do with education - he has plummeted in polls (indeed, he may not even qualify for the top ten in the next GOP debate), Bridgegate and other scandals hang around his neck further weighing him down and New Jersey's poor financial health and quality of life have made him a target of barbs from other candidates.

But as the money starts to dry up from CCSS-supporting donors, Christie may start to wonder if he made the wrong calculation in turning rhetorically against the Common Core.

Ironic thing is, since New Jersey still gives the Common Core tests, even though Christie claims he's against the Core, the practical effect is that CCSS will still be taught in schools to ready students for the state tests.

So Christie has the worst of both worlds with the Core - he's really not dropped support for Common Core in effect, since the state tests are still CCSS-tied and schools will have to teach it, but since he's talking trash about CCSS, he's losing some wealthy donors over it.

Jindal was never really a top tier candidate, so I'm not sure his opposition to the Core matters in the GOP money race one way or the other.

Walker, on the other hand, was top tier but has seen his brand and poll numbers drop since Donald Trump entered the race.

He's the guy to watch to see what happens as a result of his "turning" against the Core (I put "turning" in quotes because like Christie, his opposition is more rhetorical than practical in consequence.)

Does Walker pay a political consequence - i.e., have trouble raising money from wealthy donors - because of his turning on the Core?

I'm skeptical that Common Core will be a big reason why Walker has potential money problems, given how the rest of his politics cohabits quite well with the GOP donor base.

If Walker has money problems in the future, it will more likely be due to his poor debate performances and rote campaign stump appearances that give him the reputation of being overly calculated and unable to generate real excitement for his candidacy.

In any case, the Journal piece goes to show that the politics around Common Core remain dicey even for Republicans, where opposition to Common Core is strongest.

The base hates Common Core but the moneyed classes love it and that dichotomy has got even Jeb Bush twisting himself in circles trying to please both.

Jeb Bush - The Gaffer That Keeps On Giving

If Jeb Bush is the nominee, he's a gaffe machine who will keep on giving to Hillary:

Democratic critics of Jeb Bush’s ad-lib Tuesday about cutting women’s health spending were joined by conservatives, who are annoyed that the inartful statement may undermine their efforts to finally score a win against Planned Parenthood.

Despite his swift damage control efforts, Bush’s casual aside Tuesday afternoon that “I’m not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women’s health programs” threw the Democratic attack machine into overdrive.

...

 For Bush, it marked the third time in a month that a carelessly phrased off-the-cuff comment has sparked controversy — causing consternation anew that the party’s best-funded potential nominee has been, in the early months of the primary fight, something of a gaffe machine.

...

Less than an hour after making the comment about the overfunding of “women’s health issues,” Bush posted a statement on his website saying that he “misspoke” and meant only to question the $500 million in federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

It was a swifter reincarnation of Bush’s other explanations in recent weeks of comments in which he seemed to call for the “phasing out” of Medicare — he said later he wasn’t referring to a specific program, just entitlements in general; and his suggestion that “workers need to work longer hours,” which, he later clarified, was an attempt to discuss underemployment, not an insinuation that American workers are lazy.

Good thing Bush has raised $120 million already.

He's going to need a lot of money to explain in campaign ads the stupid stuff he says on the campaign trail.

NYSUT Donates To State Senate Republicans

It's the political giving season:

Earlier this month records show the statewide teachers union donated $7,000 to the campaign arm of the same Senate Republicans.

....

In recent state elections, NYSUT's mission has been to flip the state Senate to Democrats. Last year, the 600,000-member organization went so far as to send out a controversial mailer charging that three Senate Republican candidates weren't protecting women from domestic violence. It drew bipartisan scorn.

Besides the $7,000 donation this year to the Senate Republican campaign arm, the union has contributed to a number of Senate GOP candidates.

NYSUT also has given $54,000 to the campaign arm of its Senate Democratic allies.
Carl Korn, a spokesman for NYSUT, said the GOP donations were to "ensure that our voices are heard in both conferences. Politics is politics and governing is governing, and it's important that teachers' voices are heard because they know best for students."

$7,000 donation to the Senate Republican campaign arm ensures "our voice" is heard in the Senate Republican conference?

Doubtful.

Carl Heastie: Senate Republicans Love Charters - Just Not In Their Own Districts

State of Politics:

Heastie on Friday reiterated the Assembly’s reticence to support lifting the cap on charter schools, which Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan has linked to an extension of mayoral control in New York City.

“For the most part, the Assembly conference are not big supporters of charter schools,” Heastie said. “Charters are something Senate Republicans like to support. They never want them in their district.”

Indeed, John Flanagan loves charters - and charter school money.


How many charter schools are there on Long Island, where Flanagan is from?

Just five.

Flanagan and his fellow Senate Republicans from Long Island sure do love their charters - just not in their own districts.

Dean Skelos Supports Giving Governor Cuomo More Control Of The NY State Education System

From State of Politics:

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos signaled he would be supportive of granting Gov. Andrew Cuomo more authority over the state’s education policy making. 

In an interview with Time Warner Cable News and NY1, Skelos said he backed the idea of changing the process through which the Board of Regents is appointed — essentially controlled by the Democratic-led Assembly.

“We’ve passed legislation a number of times, I believe it was Senator LaValle’s bills that would change the way Regents were selected,” Skelos said in the interview. “Right now, it’s basically Shelly Silver picking the Regents and we think there should be an opportunity for the Senate to be truly part of that process by both houses voting on the confirmations separately so the person who passed the Senate would have to pass the Assembly.”

In addition to raising the possibility of changing how the Regents are appointed, Cuomo has indicated he wants more power over how the state runs public education, which is currently controlled by the semi-autonomous Department of Education and its commissioner. 

“I think we should consider giving the governor more control of education as appropriate,” Skelos said.

The chance that Shelly Silver and Assembly Dems are going to cede power to Cuomo is non-existent.

Nonetheless you can see from Skelos' statements that a) Cuomo and Republicans are on the same team on this and b) if given a chance, they will try and impose more executive control over the state education system.

Republicans have a slim majority in the State Senate but their numbers will be bolstered by the five members of the Independent Democratic Conference (e.g., Jeff Klein, Tony Avella, et al.)

It is quite clear that GOPers and IDCers will be voting to give Cuomo all that he wants on education policy.

It's only the Assembly that will stand in the way.

GOP Donors Gave To GOP Candidates, Andrew Cuomo This Election Cycle

From the Capital Playbook Newsletter:

Capital’s Laura Nahmias and Bill Mahoney: Governor Cuomo's top donors gave six times more money to help elect Republicans to the State Senate than they did to similar efforts to aid Democrats, a Capital New York analysis shows. The governor's top 25 donors gave Cuomo's campaign committee $5.1 million between December 1, 2010 and October 24, 2014. The same group of people and organizations spent only $444,604 contributing to Senate Democrats or independent expenditure committees that supported Democrats in this year's election cycle, while they spent $2.7 million—over six times as much money—helping the campaigns of Senate Republicans. Cuomo was criticized by some Democrats for appearing to renege on a promise he made in May this year to help Democrats win control of the Senate. http://bit.ly/1xbtoEL

Gee, how could anybody say that there's a link between the State GOP not helping GOP candidate Astorino and Cuomo not helping State Senate Democrats take back the State Senate?

So what if it appears GOP donors were sending their largesse to every GOP candidate in the state except for Rob Astorino and instead sending those checks to Andrew Cuomo.

Charter School Supporters Want Payback From Cuomo, Legislature

Not a surprise:

Charter school advocates are pushing for a bigger slice of the education pie after Republicans took a larger share of lawmaking power in Albany after last week’s election.

Pro-charter groups who spent millions on advertising, lobbying and campaigns in the fall want favorable treatment from the Legislature and Gov. Cuomo.

They seek to limit Mayor de Blasio’s control of charter schools, expand funding and lift the cap on charter schools in New York, allowing for the creation of more charter schools in the city and across the state.

...

There are currently 28 slots left for charter schools in New York City and an additional 133 upstate. Charter boosters seek to raise or eliminate those caps.

Charter advocates also want more money for charter schools set aside in the state budget. The state’s current budget leaves out facilities funding for many charter schools.

Pro-charter school groups pumped more than $4 million into a super PAC called New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany that helped the Republicans win the state Senate. Charter advocates also spent millions on lobbying.

Governor Cuomo has already told us he plans to "break" the public school system this term and dramatically expand charters acorss the state.

GOP leader Skelos has promised charters are going to get a major emphasis from his caucus this legislative session.

And IDC head Jeff Klein and his IDC betrayers - pro-charter, anti-public school pols all - have indicated they will try and share power with the GOP to push through the Republican agenda.

That means no matter what Assembly Leader Shelly Silver does, this is going through.

Barring something unforeseen, like a major scandal involving a major charter player like Eva Moskowitz or Cuomo getting hauled out in handcuffs by the US attorney investigating him over the Moreland mess, the charter people are going to get what they paid for this legislative session.

GOP Majority In State Senate, With Help Of IDC, Will Push For More Charter Schools, Vouchers, Social Program Cuts

Ken Lovett in the Daily News:

Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos said his conference in the upcoming year will aggressively push for new tax cuts, reduced business regulations, and education alternatives.

Skelos, during a Sunday morning radio appearance on supermarket mogul and and former mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis' AM 970 radio show, made it clear he believes voters this past week rejected much of the progressive agenda the Democrats had pushed.

...

He spoke of the need to adequately fund the traditional public school system while at the same time making clear that charter schools need to be part of the solution, particularly in minority communities.

Skelos also said he will push to help parochial schools. While he didn't specifically reference it, the Senate GOP and Catholic Church last year pushed for enactment of an education investment tax credit that was blocked by the Assembly Democrats.

Skelos also hinted his conference might take aim at various state-funded social programs, saying they should only be available to those who "truly" need them in order to give them a "helping hand up, not a hand down."

He reiterated he believes his conference will work closely with Sen. Jeffrey Klein and his group of breakaway Democrats. He didn't say exactly what form that would take. The past two years, with the Republicans lacking enough members to make up its own majority, the GOP and Independent Democratic Conference formed an unprecedented bipartisan governing coalition to run the chamber.

The blueprint is being laid out for all to see:

The State Senate GOP majority, with the help of the Independent Democratic Conference, will push for an increase or complete elimination of the charter cap, they will push for a voucher program to further undercut the public school system, and they will look to cut social programs to people in need in order to fund more tax cuts for the wealthy.

Yesterday Jimmy Vielkind reported that Independent Democratic Conference head Jeff Klein said it's time to rethink what it means to be a Democrat:

“I think we have to take a step back, also, and maybe redefine what it means to be a Democrat.”

Since Klein and his fellow Democrats in the IDC plan on joining with the State Senate Republican majority in order to push through pro-charter school proposals, voucher programs, and social program cuts for people in need in order to fund tax cuts for rich people, we do indeed need to "redefine what it means to be a Democrat."

It seems to me that since Klein, Governor Cuomo and so many other Democrats push Republican programs and policies these days, the redefinition of "Democrat" is "Republican."

Independent Democratic Conference Screws Democrats: Part II

According to Capital NY's Jimmy Vielkind, mobbed up Bronx politician Jeff Klein, a full-fledged member of the Independent Democratic Conference and an associate member of organized crime, was looking to complete his betrayal of his Democratic colleagues last night:

SAN JUAN, P.R.—Smiling widely and flanked by three of his colleagues in the Independent Democratic Conference, Bronx Senator Jeff Klein offered few clues about how the leadership structure of the State Senate will appear next year.

“The only thing I'm going to say right now is, I want to make sure the Independent Democratic Conference remains a separate conference. I think we proved to be a very effective force in governing—in a coalition government, when there wasn't a coalition government—and, you know, when we move forward I hope that's going to be what happens. If it's with the Democrats, if it's with the Republicans, I think the most important thing is that we have the I.D.C. as a separate conference,” he said Friday night. “I was very proud of the accomplishments that the I.D.C. and the Republicans in our coalition were able to accomplish. I never backed away from that, even in a Democratic primary or a general election, and I hope my Republican colleagues feel the same.”

Klein spoke to reporters at a “real, authentic event” that the I.D.C. sponsored overlooking the pool at the Intercontinental Hotel, the traditional site of the Somos El Futuro conference. About 100 people sipped Barrilito Rum and enjoyed hand-rolled cigars while paying respects to Klein, whose leathery face contrasted with a baby-blue blazer and open-collared checked shirt.

He qualified an initial statement that he was basically committed to conferencing with Republicans, but then threw shade on his fellow Democrats (“I think we have to take a step back, also, and maybe redefine what it means to be a Democrat”) and spoke happily of his time with the G.O.P. (“Elections mean something. We were validated: I won overwhelmingly in my primary.”)

Wow, so much here.

First, check out the photos below and tell me which one is from Godfather II and which one from Independent Democratic Conference Screws Democrats: Part II

Yeah, I know - you're picking the second photo, but that's only because you recognized Al Pacino.

In any case, the same betrayal that occurred down in Cuba in Godfather II is occurring in Puerto Rico this weekend at Independent Democratic Conference Screws Democrats II, with Klein all set to take his IDC traitors (numbering 5 or 6, depending upon if one newly elected member of the State Senate joins the caucus), join with Republicans to again share power in the Senate and help Governor Cuomo ram through as many corporate-friendly policies as possible before 2016 (when Hillary may top the Dem ticket and bring about a Democratic-controlled State Senate.)

GOP leader Dean Skelos has said he is open to talking to Klein about again sharing power in the Senate, even though this time around Republicans hold a slim majority and don't actually need the IDC members to push through legislation.

Still, adding an extra 5 or 6 IDC traitors to the GOP ranks will give Skelos wiggle room that he doesn't have without them, so I suspect we'll again end up with the GOP/IDC power share pushing through Cuomo's corporate-friendly agenda, altough it seems Klein will not wield the same amount of power this time around - there is unlikely to be a "co-presidency" of the Senate between Skelos and Klein.

Vielkinn reports that no matter what Klein and his fellow IDC rats do, some real bona fide Democrats don't sound all that eager to have them around - not after the last IDC betrayal and Klein making noise about the next one:

Despite Klein's declarations that he is open to a re-alliance, Senate Democrats seem uneager about him, whatever he ends up doing and whatever the details are.

“They betrayed us and got us in the back of the bus. We're still in the back of the bus. So this is the second session in which that betrayal is resonating,” said Senator Bill Perkins, a Harlem Democrat. “Whatever they started continues, and ironically, they're getting a taste of it.”

I noted above that Klein is mobbed up.  You may think I am indulging in hyperbole there, but actually I'm not.

The New York Observer reported the following back in the summer:

State Senator Jeff Klein took a $10,000 campaign donation from a mafia-linked realty company–the same firm he rents his district office space from.

The Bronx pol’s July filing shows that the Hutchinson Metro Center, an affiliate of Simone Development–formerly known as Hutch Realty Partners–kicked in the five figures in June. The donation brings the real estate group’s total contribution to Mr. Klein’s operation to a whopping $93,850 since 2006.

One of the Hutchinson Metro Center’s principals, Waters Development, is co-owned by Michael Contillo and Joseph Deglomini. Mr. Contillo and Mr. Deglomini were indicted in the 1990s of tax evasion, racketeering, and conspiring to raid the pension funds of building trade unions with the help of organized crime.

Mr. Klein relocated his official district office to the Hutchinson Center in 2011. A spokeswoman for the senator said that the move was based on the site’s central location in the Bronx- and Westchester-spanning district.

“Senator’s Klein’s district office is located in the expansive Hutchinson Metro Center complex, as are a number of city agencies including the New York City Housing Authority the City’s 911 call center, federal agencies and prominent New York institutions,” said spokeswoman Candice Giove. “Senator Klein’s district office lease, like all of Senate leases and lease renewals, was subject to procurement and vendor review by the State Senate and was reviewed and signed off on by both the Attorney General and New York State Comptroller.”

The New York Post has previously noted Mr. Klein had rented space and received donations from the mob-tied firm.

Ms. Giove did not immediately respond to requests for comment specifically about Mr. Klein’s acceptance of campaign funds from a mafia-affiliated organization.

According to the Daily News, Hutch Realty Partners purchased 10 acres of land–immediately adjacent to their center where Mr. Klein’s district office is located–from the state for a total of $5.5 million between 2001 and 2005, when the New York Police Department was interested in constructing a call center on the plot. After an extended fight, the city agreed to buy the land from the company for $46 million.

The senator’s camp said he had no input with the state, the city, or Hutch Realty Partners at any time during the land dealings.

“Senator Klein has absolutely no knowledge of the business matters of the Hutchinson Metro Center. He has never intervened in the Hutchinson Metro Center’s dealings with government, and any assertions to the contrary are wrong and unfair,” said Ms. Giove.

Hutch Realty Partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company has donated to other politicians and political causes, including $9,600 to the Bronx Democratic Party and $5,000 to Democratic Senate Minority Leader–and aspiring majority leader–Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Mr. Klein leads the Independent Democratic Conference, which formed a power-sharing arrangement with the Senate Republicans in 2012, but agreed to caucus again with the larger Democratic delegation last month.

If Klein ever betrayed his mobster associates the way he has betrayed his fellow Democrats, he'd end up missing until the police found him in the trunk of a burnt car somewhere in the Bronx with six bullet holes in him.

But Jeff Klein knows who he can betray and who he can't - he knows his fellow Dems will probably turn back to him when they need him even though he has already betrayed them once and is looking to do so again.

I certainly don't think Dems ought to treat his betrayal the way the mob would - that would be insane, immoral and criminal.

But I do think there ought to be some political consequences for Klein's sell-out - and the same goes for the rest of the members of the IDC (Avella, Savino, et al.)

Alas, it seems these traitors live on to repeat their betrayals over and over with impunity.

Nice work if you can get it, I guess - if you're a sociopath like Jeff Klein and his fellow IDCer's.

They're down in Puerto Rico cutting up the cake shaped like New York State right now.

Democrats Slaughtered From Coast To Coast

There's no better emblem of how badly voters took the sledgehammer to Democrats last night then what happened to Congresswoman Louise Slaughter in Western New York:

If Democrats went into Election Day anxious about any local race, it certainly wasn't Louise Slaughter's bid for a 15th term in Congress.

In the end, it was likely that contest that caused them the greatest grief. Republican challenger Mark Assini gave Slaughter the race of her career.

The race was too close to call on Tuesday night. Unofficial results from the polls and a partial count of absentee ballots put Slaughter ahead of Assini, but only by 605 votes — 94,251 to 93,646. Another 2,800 absentee ballots still have to be tallied.

Slaughter claims she's won, but the race is too close to call.

Frankly, the race should have never been close at all.

It was that kind of night for the Democratic Party.

Republicans added seats in the Congress, they took at least seven seats in the Senate, they held on to governor's seats they were supposed to lose (like Scott Walker's in Wisconsin), they made races close that weren't expected to be close (like Slaughter's in Western New York and Mark Warner's in Virginia), and they easily took back the State Senate here in New York.

Message sent: America thinks Democrats suck.

And they do suck - most of them stand for little other than their own careers, many of them govern or vote whatever their corporate masters want and, if you put the politics of a lot of these people up against, say Ronald Reagan's record, they look an awful lot like Republicans.

Slaughter, alas, isn't one of those kind of Dems, but she got caught up in it too - a night when a lot of Democrats went down to defeat or had races of their lives that weren't supposed to be races at all.

In the end, I suspect yesterday's election is as much or more of an expression of overall dissatisfaction with the direction of the country as it is a thumbs-up for Republicans.

In two years, many Republican Senators in blue or purple states face re-election and I wouldn't be surprised to see exactly what happened to a lot of Dems last night happen to Republicans in 2016 - especially if Hillary Clinton is at the top of the Democratic ticket.

But before we get to 2016, there's a whole lot of damage that can be done.

Nationwide, will Obama, dying to do a deal to destroy Social Security, get to do it now that Republicans control both the House and the Senate?

Will we finally get passage of No Child Left Behind II now that the GOP has both houses of the legislature?

In New York State, Andrew Cuomo won re-election with 54% of the vote and now has an out-and-out Republican State Senate to work with - no Jeff Klein or Tony Avella needed to ram through anti-teacher or anti-public school legislation or lift the charter cap completely, though I suspect the members of the Independent Democratic Caucus will be seduced to govern as Republicans anyway and really put an exclamation point on the whole thing.

Early on last night, I tweeted this:

Corporate Dems going down all over the place tonight. It be nice if lesson learned was, don't be corporate whore.
— realitybasededucator (@perdidostschool) November 5, 2014

But of course, that won't be the lesson Dems nationwide will take.

The lesson they'll take is to move ever more rightward, ever more corprorate-friendly, ever more corporate-whorey.

The NY Times says the political map has been re-ordered for the next two years, with Republicans in the ascendant across the nation.

That is certainly the case even here in blue New York where a Republican Lite governor has  a Republican State Senate and his eyes aimed on "breaking" the public school "monopoly" and bringing a punitive revision to his APPR teacher evaluation system in order to fire more teachers.

Going to be a bumpy two years.

Cuomo Pow-Wowed With Billionaires Over How To Dismantle The Public School System

Jimmy Vielkind at Capital NY:

ALBANY—In the final days of this year's legislative session, Governor Andrew Cuomo left the Capitol, boarded a state helicopter and flew to Manhattan, where he spent an hour talking about education policy with a room full of billionaires, schedule records show.

It's not clear what Cuomo said during a panel discussion at the Forbes 400 Philanthropy Summit.
An administration spokesman declined to offer details on the governor's remarks and a Forbes spokeswoman demurred, saying the summit was closed to the press.

Cuomo's schedules show he had three preparatory meetings with top staffers—including press aides Melissa DeRosa and Matt Wing as well as Ian Rosenblum, a deputy secretary for education policy—in the run-up to the June 17 discussion. Rosenblum, who left the administration over the summer, accompanied the governor.

...

 Cuomo's office did not announce that he was attending the Forbes event on the day it happened, but it was included on a schedule posted online this week.

...

The Forbes press release touted the presence of Blackstone co-founders Stephen Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, Warren Buffett, junk bond king Michael Milken, Leon Black, Jim Breyer and Paul Tudor Jones, who as head of the Robin Hood Foundation has been a major advocate of charter schools. (He gave Cuomo a $25,000 campaign contribution in 2013.)

...

Cuomo discussed his support of charters, according to a person present for the Forbes conversation. An administration official said the governor discussed his record.

Forbes, the magazine, is expected to detail the summit in its November issue, which is devoted to philanthropy.

Couple the secret meeting with the billionaires to talk about education policy and charter schools along with his comments this week that he plans to "break" the public school "monopoly" by adding many more charter schools around the state and the obvious face that he has not fulfilled his promise to the Working Families Party to work for a Democratic taleover of the State Senate and what you see for the next four years is:

1. A governor who plans a full-on assault against the public school system
2. A governor who plans to either increase or completely lift the charter cap
3. A governor who plans to redo his teacher evaluation system to add "real sanctions" so that more teachers will be declared "ineffective" and fired.
4. A State Senate that will likely be run by the GOP/IDC and give Cuomo whatever he wants on education policy

That's what's coming, folks.

If the State Senate had swung to Democratic control, there's no guarantee that stuff wouldn't have happened anyway.

But you can be sure with a GOP/IDC-led State Senate, it certainly will.

That's why Cuomo hasn't lifted a finger to fulfill his promise to the WFP to push for a Democratic-controlled State Senate.

He wants it that way - as do his billionaire buddies at the Forbes meetings.

StudentsFirst Runs Pro-Republican Ads In NY State Senate Campaigns

Can we dispense with the idea that education reform groups are "liberal"?

Take StudentsFirst, for example:

ALBANY—A pro-charter school group spent a combined $78,000 on Thursday on radio and TV ads in three competitive State Senate races, according to financial disclosure filed with the state's Board of Elections.

New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, formed by StudentsFirst and run by the New York chapter of the organization, spent $47,000 on a radio ad on behalf of Republican State Senate candidate Tom Croci, who is vying to replace State Senator Lee Zeldin, a Republican who is vacating the seat to run for Congress.

...

Republicans have repeatedly tried to tie Democratic candidates to de Blasio as a way of alienating voters outside New York City. De Blasio campaigned on a pledge to limit the influence of charters in New York City.

New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, an independent expenditure political action committee created last month and funded largely by pro-charter hedge fund executives, is dedicated to preserving the current majority in the Senate. The upper chamber is controlled by the Republicans and the Independent Democratic Conference, who have been largely supportive of charter schools.

Capital reported yesterday that the PAC had spent $107,000 surveying battleground State Senate districts around New York.

New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany spent an additional $31,000 on cable and radio "media productions," in two competitive districts in the Hudson Valley.

Time and time again, we see these education reforms groups - from the Orwellian-named "Democrats for Education Reform" to supposed Democrat Michelle Rhee's group, StudentsFirst - raising money from the wealthiest (and toniest) of Republican donors (i.e., hedge fundies and other Wall Street types), then using that money to promote right-wing policies and right wing candidates, mostly with (R) after their names.

Carl Korn, spokesman for NYSUT (which is putting up some ads for Senate Dems), puts all this in perspective:

"What we see here is a small group of hedge fund billionaires working to privatize public education by siphoning money away from those schools that serve the vast majority of New Yorkers," NYSUT spokesman Carl Korn told Capital. "In terms of our work, we are proud to support those candidates who support public education and oppose the overreliance of standardized testing…We're working aggressively in a number of Senate races, and Assembly races , to elect candidates whose values align with out members".

StudentsFirst is using dark money from unknown sources to push for their right-wing policies and elect right-wing candidates to keep the State Senate Republican.

There's nothing "liberal" about them - they're no different than any other Republican donor group.

Which is fine - I have no problem with Republican donors groups raising cash and putting it into campaigns to elect their own people and push their own causes and issues.

I simply want those Republican donors to openly say "We're a Republican interest group pushing Republican causes and Republican candidates."

Not to much to ask, right?

Apparently with StudentsFirst it is.

Can't Vote For The GOP, But...

...If this is what happens if they take back the Congress, well, some of this I COULD support:

The conservative wave sweeping toward the 2010 midterm elections could put in power a group of congressional Republicans who are largely disenchanted with a recent expansion of the federal role in K-12 policy and leery of offering incentives for states in areas such as adoption of common standards and assessments.

Lawmakers on both sides of the political divide also say the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, needs a major shakeup. But it might be harder to reauthorize the nearly 9-year-old law if the GOP takes over one or both chambers, say longtime Capitol Hill aides from both parties.

“I’d say, expect more gridlock in the short term,” said Vic Klatt, a former top aide to Republicans on the House education committee. “If the Democrats with their huge majorities [in both houses] couldn’t move [reauthorization], it’s hard to picture it being any different if Republicans control the House or the House and the Senate.”

...

If Republicans do land a majority in the House, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota—who served as a U.S. Marine Corps colonel and helicopter pilot and was not in Congress in 2001 when the NCLB law was passed—would likely become the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

Over the summer, Rep. Kline talked to superintendents and administrators in his congressional district to get their views on the Obama administration’s blueprint for renewing the ESEA, released in March. The proposal seeks to give states more flexibility in intervening in most schools, while pushing states to adopt standards to help ensure students are college- and-career-ready. But so far, Rep. Kline hasn’t heard a groundswell of support from school leaders back in his southern Minnesota district.

“They’re frankly not real thrilled with the blueprint,” Rep. Kline said in an interview this week. Although educators in his district want to see a fix for the NCLB law, he said, there are “objections to anything ... that comes in and tells them how to do their job. ... One of the things that we’ve been insisting on is that we have to make [the law] simpler, easier to comply with, and more flexible, therefore putting some meaning back into local control.”

Rep. Kline declined to discuss what his priorities would be should he become education chairman, saying such questions were premature. But his take on some of the administration’s major policy initiatives gives an indication of where he—and many in the House Republican caucus—are leaning.

For instance, Rep. Kline casts a wary eye on the federal role in championing the Common Core State Standards Initiative. That effort, which resulted in the creation of reading and mathematics standards that so far have been adopted by nearly 40 states, was state-led, through the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association.

Rep. Kline has no problem with, for instance, Minnesota and Wisconsin getting together and coming up with their own set of more-rigorous academic standards. But the federal incentives for adopting the common-core standards make him—and many of his fellow House Republicans—uneasy, he said.

...

“We’re watching this very closely,” Rep. Kline said of the standards push. “If we are, in fact, putting in a de facto national curriculum, my caucus will rebel. I’m very leery when [the action] shifts over to the U.S. Department of Education providing either rewards or punishment” for adopting certain standards. “That’s dangerous,” he said.

Rep. Kline also has qualms about the administration’s $350 million program aimed at helping states develop common, richer students assessments, funded with Race to the Top money. He wants to ensure that it doesn’t lead to Education Department involvement in creating the tests.

The Obama administration also asked for $1.35 billion in the fiscal 2011 budget to continue the Race to the Top program for an additional year and extend grant eligibility from states to school districts; Rep. Kline said he wouldn’t support that plan. He thinks the program was too rigid and imposed federal policy preferences on states.

“This is the U.S. Department of Education putting [out its] view of what needs to be done. ... It’s not the states deciding. It’s not local control,” he said.

I know it's dangerous to suppose Repubs would actually follow through on what Kline has outlined above, and I know they are very friendly to charters and very hostile to unions (indeed, he says the one piece of common ground he has with Obama is the need to end teacher tenure.)

But what the hell, Obama is very friendly to charters and very hostile to unions and tenure AND he wants to impose national standards, a national curriculum, and a government that ONLY rewards states that pass Gates Foundation-approved reforms.

Oh, and he also wants assess those new national standards with lots of new standardized tests and to fire teachers and close schools based on those tests.

So how much worse would a GOP-led Congress that doesn't want to go along with the Obama/Duncan national standards agenda (including the new battery of assessments they're pushing that will eventually be used to fire teachers)?

What say you out there in the ed blogosphere?

Should we start hoping for a GOP takeover of the Congress as the fly in Obama's ed deform ointment?

Or is that like cutting our nose off to spite our face?

(Sorry for the cliches...really, really tired...)

GOP Praises Obama's Pro-Privatization, Union-Busting Education Agenda

Obama and the Republican Party agree - teachers unions are the problem with education today and charter schools and privatization of public education are the answer:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 28) -- For all of the partisan rancor surrounding President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, there was one domestic area where the president could claim legitimate bipartisan achievement: education.

During his first year in office, Obama has drawn praise from conservatives like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for his approach to improving the nation's schools. The administration's centerpiece initiative, a program called Race to the Top, has been lauded by some reform activists for injecting competition into the federal grant process. It also has been credited with nudging states to adopt higher standards and more accountability for schools.

It was no surprise, then, that at a time when the White House is trying to renew its cross-party appeal, Obama chose to devote a significant chunk of his speech to education. And it was a rare issue that escaped withering criticism in most Republican responses.

"This year, we have broken through the stalemate between left and right by launching a national competition to improve our schools," the president said. "The idea here is simple: Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform -- reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to inner-cities.

...

In the official Republican response to the State of the Union, Virginia's new governor, Robert McDonnell, highlighted the GOP's agreement with Obama on education, making no mention of policy differences.

"The president and I agree on expanding the number of high-quality charter schools and rewarding teachers for excellent performance," McDonnell said. "More school choices for parents and students mean more accountability and greater achievement."

Two senior Republican congressmen also praised the education portion of Obama's speech. The ranking Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, said Obama and Duncan "have indicated a surprising willingness to take on education special interests."

Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., said he had "every intention" of working with the administration on further reforms, including the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Much of the GOP support for Obama's education initiatives stems from the administration's apparent willingness to buck traditional Democratic allies like the teachers' unions in calling for an expansion of charter schools and "pay for performance" in teacher compensation. The administration has been able to hold the support from the Democratic base because of its pledges to dramatically increase federal spending on schools. The stimulus package alone contained more than $100 billion for education initiatives, including the "Race to the Top" program and aid to states to prevent teachers from being laid off.

Great - the one bill Obama will actually sign into law will be the NCLB reauthorization.

Make no mistake, it's going to be a bad one - longer school days, longer school years, teacher evaluation and pay tied to test scores, more school "turnaround" (i.e., creating more charter schools.)

I am still hoping that some Repubs kill this bill just because they don't want to give him any victories before 2012, but I don't think that's going to happen.

I just don't think they will be able to refrain from helping a Democratic president break the unions.