Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Misreads "Shift Among Democrats" On Education
In her recent Washington Post
op-ed, Michelle Rhee ruminated over the outcome of the recent Chicago Teachers Strike and concluded that not only were the Chicago teachers "never about the kids" but also had made a practical, political mistake by not being in step with the rest of the Democratic party.Her contention seems to be that teachers who use a contract dispute to protest increasingly deteriorating conditions in public schools defy the "shift" among most Democrats who she believes increasingly favor the policies that Chicago Mayor Rham Emanuel wanted to enforce on teachers.
But putting aside Rhee's tenuous arguments about who is really "for the kids" in this dispute, what evidence is there that teachers erred strategically by "isolating" themselves from the rest of the Democratic party? And is it true that the only practical lesson for Democrats to draw from the Chicago teachers strike is that they should side against teachers unions and their supporters?
Rhee: "Reformer" Or Lobbyist?
First, let's be clear about Rhee's role in this debate. Although Rhee heads an organiza
IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT...EVER!
op-ed, Michelle Rhee ruminated over the outcome of the recent Chicago Teachers Strike and concluded that not only were the Chicago teachers "never about the kids" but also had made a practical, political mistake by not being in step with the rest of the Democratic party.Her contention seems to be that teachers who use a contract dispute to protest increasingly deteriorating conditions in public schools defy the "shift" among most Democrats who she believes increasingly favor the policies that Chicago Mayor Rham Emanuel wanted to enforce on teachers.
But putting aside Rhee's tenuous arguments about who is really "for the kids" in this dispute, what evidence is there that teachers erred strategically by "isolating" themselves from the rest of the Democratic party? And is it true that the only practical lesson for Democrats to draw from the Chicago teachers strike is that they should side against teachers unions and their supporters?
Rhee: "Reformer" Or Lobbyist?
First, let's be clear about Rhee's role in this debate. Although Rhee heads an organiza
IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT...EVER!