Saturday, September 06, 2008

Putting Lipstick on a Pig: McCain's Education Policy

About a week ago, I gave the Obama team an 'F' on education policy. Well, this week McCain spoke and his sorry excuse was to say that, "A pitbull with lipstick ate my education policy." Furthermore, he backtracked and obfuscated on two ideas that I particularly liked, a.) end NCLB and b.) eliminate the Department of Education.

By retarding the education conversation, I decided to simply treat McCain's antics like a candidate more suited to greet shopper's at special interest events rather than influence something as important as child development. Rather than fail him, he qualifies for Special Ed. In keeping with Sarah Palin's gift of creating snarky names for things she loves we will refer to the McCain-Palin education policy as the Greeter policy.

The Greeter policy puts lipstick on the Bush education policy that McCain and Palin plan to continue and expand. The Bush-McCain-Palin policy is the bloated pig of NCLB trussed up with right-wing union-bashing, redecorated big government interference with local issues, and another four years of suppressing and silencing education critics.

This does not reach across partisan nor professional differences. This is Bush all over again.

NO THANKS! Don't tell a reform story to gullible voters when you want their vote and plan more Washington interference with schools to your cronies. That's bad form.

Here's McCain's words from the acceptance speech. I'll bold the troubling and polarizing rhetoric.
Education is the civil rights issue of this century. Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice, remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.

When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it to them. Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one. Many will choose a charter school. But they will have that choice and their children will have that opportunity.

Sen. Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies. I want schools to answer to parents and students. And when I'm president, they will.

The entire concept of failing schools is a NCLB myth invented by neocons. The Greeter policy firmly entrenches this idea into the Bush-McCain-Palin strategy. Without it, an intelligent conversation can take place about education.

Education is not a shopping trip. And public schools, unions, and so-called bad teachers cannot cure inadequate i.q., learning disabilities, willful ignorance, poverty, and a slew of cultural phenomenon that ails society. The Greeter policy is solely a strategy to bully and beat up public schools, steal the public funds and enrich cronies already wallowing in stolen national wealth.

I feel cheated by the Republican platform and Americans should demand their money back from the Bush years of lies and social thievery.

Obama's policy still fails but they haven't written public schools off. That counts for extra credit in my book.

3 comments:

CT Bob said...

So, based on your article, McCain gets an "F" for failing, but Obama deserves at least a "D-" because you gave him extra credit, is that right?

That means you prefer Obama's education policies over McCain's. Case closed!

LOL!

Anonymous said...

OK LIPSTICK ON A PIG.... is not a big deal...

I mean really were you born yeasterday?

People have used that term for ages...

And it has never been associated with a slur on a person... It is a slur on the plan for change that has nothing new in it. So If you think palin and McCain are closer to your beliefs on how this country should be run.... then vote that way.... But I do question how you can go from Hillary to McCain Palin...

Obama, Biden, Hillary issues
Equal Pay for women
Palin McCain
Voted against this and has rarely supported any womens issues

Obama, Biden, Hillary
Right to choose abortion

Palin McCain
No abortion even for rape.

Obama, Biden, Hillary
Schools should be funded
Palin, McCain
Choose your school.... Which I might add does not work in small rural areas, as there is no way for the kid to get to the next county for school

Obama, Biden, Hillary
Energy use solar, wind, bio, and some drilling ( by the way did you know there are 30,000 wells in the US that could be drilled today that the oil industry has not even tried to drill)
McCain Palin
DRILL DRILL DRILL
oh plus there is the whole flip flop on windfall taxing the oil industry. Palin got Alaska a ton of money by widfall taxing the oil industry.

Sex Ed.
Obama, Biden, Hillary
Comprehensive sex ed.... including condoms, and birth control
McCain Palin
NO SEX ED....only abstinence and the results of this are clear

So by all means vote your conscience
but do not try to tell me you were for Hillary, be honest you are for a woman... and since that seems to be your only issue..... WHo is actually being sexist.

Anonymous said...

The "failure" of a public school, is the failure of the public.

"ALL WOMEN SEND OBAMA OUR LIPSTICK!!!!" - That comment receives an F. McCain/Palin supporters are too insecure to part with their lipstick.