Newton: A split among Democrats
Especially in California, the party is deeply divided on the question of how best to improve schools.By Jim Newton
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| IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT... EVER! |
Gloria Romero is a Democrat. She was elected to the California Assembly as a Democrat and later to the state Senate. She served as Democratic leader of the Senate, the first woman to do so. Ben Austin is a Democrat too. He worked in the White House under President Clinton and was an ardent supporter of Barack Obama. Both Austin and Romero support reform of the nation's education system, and when Romero helped found an organization to push that effort, she and her co-founders (fellow Democrats) called it Democrats for Education Reform.
Eric Bauman chairs the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, and he takes offense at that name. It creates confusion, he says, especially when the group supports a candidate. Specifically, he cites the group's endorsement of Brian Johnson, who is running as a Democrat (though not the only
Three quick notes from Joe Williams to start your week
Three quick notes for you as you start your week:
1.The Los Angeles Times this morning features an incisive op-ed by columnist Jim Newton examining some recent back-and-forth that we have had with the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
Essentially, the County Party demanded that we take the word “Democrats” out of our name based on some flimsy legal reasoning (which they didn’t even run by their lawyer.) The idea wasn’t to actually win their argument but to set-up a situation that was quickly used in a costly direct mail campaign attacking Brian Johnson, a candidate for a state Assembly seat who has been featured as one of DFER’s “Education Reformer of the Month” candidates.
There is plenty of speculation about who might have forced the County Party to get involved in this scheme to try to eliminate a surging Democrat from the race (Brian used to run the Los Angeles office of Teach For America) but this episode only has us redoubling our efforts to support Brian’s campaign. This is one of those moments where even a $20 contribution can send a message about ending this kind of cynical political gamesmanship. Click here to support Brian Johnson’s campaign.
Click here to see DFER’s response to the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
Click here to see our request to meet with state Party leaders to discuss this cynical move.
2. Last week, we released DFER’s manifesto explaining why it is absolutely crucial for Democratic education reformers to go all-in to support President Obama’s re-election. The stakes – both for public education and for our party – are high.
You can give our report a look here. There is a list of easy ways you can help at the end.
3. Finally, don't forget to review our recent policy brief on Mitt Romney: What Kind of President Would Mitt Romney Be on Education? (Check it out.)