Oooo-kay, “teacher” in scare quotes. Farmer publicly supports government union reform, so it’s fair to assume he’s a Republican. Does that mean he’s less of a teacher than peers who vote Democrat? Is that really an argument We Are Ohio wants to make?
We Are Ohio then proceeds, “Here’s What Real Teachers Have to Say About Issue 2″ – as if conservative political beliefs make a teacher a fraud. Cue a series of monologues diligently parroting We Are Ohio talking points: Senate Bill 5 was crafted in the fires of Mt. Doom! The GOP wants to steal our cars and kick our puppies!
Coming from union bosses who create propaganda for a living, this is amazingly stupid propaganda (and not the first example of it). Why should voters blindly accept We Are Ohio’s rhetoric? Because We Are Ohio claims to speak for all public teachers. Why shouldn’t We Are Ohio’s millions from D.C. unions cause alarm? Because We Are Ohio claims to be a nonpartisan group, floating above petty politics.
Truth is, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more partisan bunch than We Are Ohio. Union bosses are so desperate to smear a teacher who won’t toe the union line, they’ve taken an axe to their own platform.
Follow me on Twitter: @jasonahart
Cross-posted at that hero.
My wife is Republican teacher, and she feels the ostracization every day.
ReplyDeleteThe union bosses know that if the rules change and membership or dues payment becomes optional their rice bowl will be empty in a matter of months.
ReplyDeleteThey must project a sense of solidarity because that's the only weapon unions actually have. If they cannot get the members of the bargaining unit to walk in lockstep they will lose big time.
so certainly the unions will lash out at any strays. Folks who disagree with the union but are part of the bargain unit are a danger to continuing union cash flow.
This is about nothing other than the salaries of the union thug bosses. They know it but can't say it.
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I am a republican teacher who used to feel marginalized by the unions. That is until Kasich took office. Now I know what it's actually like to be marginalized. Wish I could have my vote back.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous "republican teacher" - how do you feel Governor Kasich has marginalized you, and how is it worse than your treatment from OEA bosses?
ReplyDeleteI never felt like republicans devalued public education - I always just thought that was a democrat talking point. But from what I've seen from Kasich and this legislature, I've had to eat quite a bit of crow in the past 7 or 8 months.
ReplyDeleteWith everything from SB5 to HB136 and then you see Kasich's budget, and you see what he values and doesn't value. I feel like I've been punched in the stomach.
I still identify myself as a republican. I live my life very conservatively, both fiscally and socially. But this governor and legislature have me questioning the very principles that I used to think that the GOP stood for. Much of it has to do with the way SB5 was pushed through. I am a US Government teacher and I remember telling my students that, when Obamacare was rammed through, you would never see republicans doing this. Now, I am just embarrassed by what my party is doing.
what a crock of anonymous crap.
ReplyDeleteReasonable concerns, but it seems to me like the governor values school choice with good reason. Without Senate Bill 5 and HB 136, the Ohio Education Association has far too much control over Ohio's children - and leaving the state is nearly all Ohio taxpayers can do about it.
ReplyDeleteLook, you don't have to believe me. I don't expect you to. I'm just telling you my story. And I can also tell you that I'm not the only republican educator to feel this way. If Kasich was hoping that people were going to vote for issue 2 along partisan lines, he didn't play his cards right. And that doesn't begin to include cops and firefighters. Those guys were squarely in his corner before this.
ReplyDeleteMy mother is a retired school teacher. She taught for over 30 years, showing up early every day and staying late afterwards as well. She told me she never would have paid union dues if she hadn't been forced to. She loved what she did and worked her butt off to make sure she gave each child the most memorable and productive year that she could. I'll be damned if someone is going to stand around and tell me she wasn't a real teacher.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Republican Teacher, the jury is still out on HB136. It will not pass in its present form and that's because of the lack of Republican support. As for SB5, the Democrats did the same thing in 1983 to pass Collective Bargaining in the state. They did the same thing in 1993 to pass Bill Clinton's tax increase and they did the same thing to pass Obamacare. Yes, I expect more from the Republicans and yes, SB5 is not a perfect law, far from it, but it is better than the alternative, a status quo which Ohioans can no longer afford.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I thought republicans were above tactics like that. That's why I feel sick about this.
ReplyDeleteMy dear anonymous teacher, what part of no more money don't you quite understand?
ReplyDeleteWhat part of the state is broke doesn't compute?
There is a yearning for some perfection, the process and the laws all coming together to yeild a utopia of happy citizens.
And then there is reality: the cost of the state is simply too high. Jobs and employees are fleeing to right to work states where they have a chance at prosperity. If the trend continues all that will be left in Ohio are welfare benes and civil servants.
If you'd like to see what the union/Democrat dystopia actually looks like, try a tour of my town: Lorain. Nothing like empty factories, empty stores and empty stares to make you wish for more of the same, right?
The status quo is simply unsustainable. The state can no longer afford the civil service labor force or the welfare benefits. Government itself has become so complex that the various levels cannot even comply with the demands of the next level up. And any citizen that has a problem with the arrangement gets the same run around. The city blames the county. The county blames the state. The state blames the feds and the taxpayers continue to get screwed.
I really hate to say this but here we are, if we cannot manage an orderly process of change from our current direction the only other alternative is an ugly, protracted struggle and your sensitivities about how Republicans did what they did will matter less than your ability to protect yourself and gather sustenance.
Aren't you even a little bit embarrassed by the fact that Ohio LOST two house seats? Is that the picture of the state you prefer? The state is so bad, the government is so corrupt that people fled.
Rather than be sad about how things are going in the capital why not focus on the ugly reality the citizens of Ohio face?
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