Rhee’s “political contributions” in MO and the key votes for her anti teacher bill
Written by Jersey Jazzman for his blog. Read the entire post here.
Only one Missouri House member who received her “political contribution” voted against her bill.
A watered down HB 1526 eliminating the use of seniority in determining teacher layoffspassed by an 83-78 margin, one vote more than necessary, with Talboy, who received a $1,000 contribution from Students First on March 27, and Penny Hubbard, D-St. Louis, who banked a $500 check the same day, voting on the winning side.
How the winning majority was obtained was described in a legislative report issued today by
Rhee’s anti-teacher tenure bill in MO passed with heavy bully tactics
Written by Mike Wood for the Missouri State Teachers Association. Read the entire post here.
“When the bill came up for a second vote on Thursday, the same disgusting procedure took place. I watched as some members that did not support the bill voted no, and almost ran out of the chamber so as not to have to endure the pressure. It was interesting to watch this play out. You could see the group supporting the bill surround individual members, when the voting board indicated that member had just voted no. If you wanted a few moments, after the supporting group surrounded the member, looked at the board again, you could see the individual member switch their vote to yes. Then the gang of supporter would move on to their next target, another member who dared to vote no.
Many members who stood up to the leadership came out of the chamber and said things like, “I guess that vote killed any chance of me being a committee chair,” or “they came to me six or seven different times asking me to switch my vote.” In the end, there were many members who stood up to the bullying tactics employed by the House Leadership, but not enough.
Many of the members who decided to vote with their leadership and not with their constituents back at home will have a difficult time explaining this vote.“
“When the bill came up for a second vote on Thursday, the same disgusting procedure took place. I watched as some members that did not support the bill voted no, and almost ran out of the chamber so as not to have to endure the pressure. It was interesting to watch this play out. You could see the group supporting the bill surround individual members, when the voting board indicated that member had just voted no. If you wanted a few moments, after the supporting group surrounded the member, looked at the board again, you could see the individual member switch their vote to yes. Then the gang of supporter would move on to their next target, another member who dared to vote no.
Many members who stood up to the leadership came out of the chamber and said things like, “I guess that vote killed any chance of me being a committee chair,” or “they came to me six or seven different times asking me to switch my vote.” In the end, there were many members who stood up to the bullying tactics employed by the House Leadership, but not enough.
Many of the members who decided to vote with their leadership and not with their constituents back at home will have a difficult time explaining this vote.“