NEA’s Obama endorsement comes as union’s influence wavers
The National Education Association’s (NEA) early endorsement of President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election bid has sparked speculation about what motivated the nation’s biggest teachers’ union.
Some experts speculate the premature endorsement may be a sign that the NEA is terrified. The union has just witnessed a slew of school choice victories and experts surmised it could be a confirmation of the union’s increasingly weak political position across the country. (THE TWEET BEAT: White House uses Twitter to get aggressive with critics)
Sarah Longwell of the Center for Union Facts told The Daily Caller the union normally would’ve forced a candidate to give into more demands before handing out an endorsement. But, faced with what Longwell describes as a “losing PR battle,” the NEA needed national help now.
“They could have held out and won some concessions from the administration, which has been, admittedly a little hard on teachers’ unions,” Longwell said, adding that Education Secretary Arne
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/06/neas-obama-endorsement-comes-as-unions-influence-wavers/#ixzz1RKSrcB9x
White House uses Twitter to bully critics
ADVERTISEMENT
President Obama’s director of progressive media is obsessed with one particular conservative provocateur. Jesse Lee’s duties at the White House include “online response” — and there has been no shortage of responses to one person who routinely communicates with him on Twitter.
Of the 267 tweets written by Lee in just over a month, a stunning 40 of them have been directed at Kevin Eder, a prolific Twitter user with more than 83,000 tweets to his credit. That means 15 percent of Lee’s tweets — from an official White House account no less — have been with Eder.
One such example happened last week in a dispute over the budget.
Eder posted this tweet: “Hmm…it can’t be true that @SenateDems haven’t passed a budget in 790 days and the only plan Obama has is a speech. Right, @jesseclee44?”
To which Lee responded: “@keder @SenateDems Plan is keep negotiating w/ Rs & Ds, not default & trash economy, not voucherize Medicare to fund more tax cuts for rich.”
Lee’s obsession has impressed Eder, even if he’s a bit baffled by the White House’s decision to engage with him so aggressively. (Obama to meet with congressional leadership to discuss debt ceiling)
“I like going back and forth with him,” Eder said of Lee. “But if you engage your fiercest critics on new media, you’re doing two things: On the one hand, you’re showing that you take their opinion seriously. That’s good for the non-influencer public to watch what’s happening. But on the other hand, the
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/06/white-house-uses-twitter-to-bully-critics/#ixzz1RKT8RTam