McCain Backed Abolishing The Department Of Education

Barack Obama's campaign is reminding voters today that John McCain, during the heady days of the "Republican Revolution," once declared that he favored abolishing the Department of Education.

"I would certainly favor doing away with the Department of Energy and I think that given the origins of the Department of Education," the Senator said on CNN's Late Edition in December 1994. "I would favor doing away with it as well."

Linking McCain to "ideologues," Obama declared in his speech Tuesday, "you certainly don't reform our education system by calling to close the Department of Education. That would just make it harder for us to give out financial aid, harder for us to keep track of how our schools are doing, and lead to widening inequality in who gets a college degree."

Republican officials and McCain staffers, meanwhile, are in full-out counter-attack mode, criticizing Obama for his education policies and claiming that the Senator is misrepresenting McCain's proposals on the matter.

"Senator Barack Obama's new campaign attack ad on education," wrote spokesman Tucker Bounds this morning, "claims that John McCain's economic plan will divert money from public education without any factual citation or basis." The campaign provided a list of resolutions increasing funding for federal education efforts that McCain supported.

But Bounds' statement made no mention of McCain's previous support for doing away with the Department of Education. Neither did two counter-attack emails blasted out by the Republican National Committee.

The matter clearly complicates McCain's criticism of Obama's plan and raises questions as to what, exactly, the Republican nominee's education policy would be if he ascends to the White House. Bounds, in his statement, said that "nothing that John McCain has proposed would reduce funding for public schools." But McCain also has not been the steadfast champion of funding No Child Left Behind, as his campaign purports.

While the idea of eliminating the Department of Education certainly is not the Senator's policy as it stands in this campaign -- despite support for the idea among many conservatives -- it remains far-fetched for the McCain campaign to argue that there is no "factual basis" to the Obama camp's attacks over education policy.

Comments

[SeanHannity4Obama]

PUT AN AD OUT!

[hillaryin2012]

Excellent idea to eliminate the department of education. The neocons grew it (NCLB) so they could push defense of marriage and their religious principles via the schools.
Turn the schools back over to the states and local communities.

[BabsfromKansas]

He voted “no” on $5 billion in grants to local educational agencies.
He voted “no” on shifting $11 billion away from corporate tax loopholes to fund education without increasing the federal budget deficit.
He voted “no” on funding smaller class sizes and student testing.
He voted “no” on rolling back $448 billion from George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy to spend on reducing the national debt and funding education.
He voted “no” on education standards.
But John McCain voted “yes” on allowing pray ers and reli gious symbols in public schools.
John McCain voted “yes” on cutting Federal funds to any public school that didn’t allow students to pray in school.
And he voted “yes” to teach abstinence-based s ex education in our public schools.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/John_McCain_Education.htm

[BabsfromKansas]

http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/John_McCain_Education.htm
He voted “no” on $5 billion in grants to local educational agencies.
He voted “no” on shifting $11 billion away from corporate tax loopholes to fund education without increasing the federal budget deficit.
He voted “no” on funding smaller class sizes and student testing.
He voted “no” on rolling back $448 billion from George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy to spend on reducing the national debt and funding education.
He voted “no” on education standards.
But John McCain voted “yes” on allowing prayers and religious symbols in public schools.
John McCain voted “yes” on cutting Federal funds to any public school that didn’t allow students to pray in school.
And he voted “yes” to teach abstinence-based sex education in our public schools.

[JaneEyrez]

McCain is seriously unstable and, by his own admission, was a traitor to his country, despite takling about his horrible time as a POW. Please, read this site:
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/
and after that Google: Songbird McCain.
Our country is at peril and we must stop this!

[Rick K]

This is a good line of attack, but it needs wordsmithing (as much of Obama's legitimate attacks do) - here's a try:

"McCain wants to turn the Education and Energy systems into the Health Care system."

or

"Don't vouchers sound like HMO's?"

That'll do'er.

[Clairemont]

I am a lifelong newly retired educator, State of California.

Californians still don't have an Education FY08-09 budget because Schwarzorino is waiting to get his sales tax increase. (I'll be paying 8.75%) I want to remind everyone that Californians pay every kind of tax: income, property, sales, use fees for parks and services, tons and tons of little teeny tiny nickel/dime surcharge taxes, regulatory fees on everything: gas at the pump, utilities, dmv, ......

California Dept of Education (pending) budget
$56 Billion for K-14 State programs
$6 Billion for U.S. Ed. Department programs
$6.5 Billion in other educational expenses such as Bureaucratic Operation, Credentialing,
68.5 Billion Total Visit: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fr/eb/gbltr08.asp Tables 1, 3

I'm confused how the $1 billion ($936 million) in lottery fund works and won't go there. Apparently, I'm supposed to be a good Californian and buy my share of lottery tickets, which I don't. More than enough fools to buy them and save me the burden.

$68 billion is the budget equivalent of the U.S. Department of Education.

That's quite a tax load for the average Californian. Will we have room in our pockets to pay for a federal Pre-K program when the State of California already funds a State Pre-K?

Am I wrong to be concerned? Are these 2 behemoths in control?

[BrighterStar]

Basically the federal government takes tax dollars from people in the local communities and sends it to Washington. Then local school districts hire administrators to request grants from the department of education. The department of educations hires bureaucrats to review grants and award money to go back to the local communities. Seems like a poor way to educate our children. McCain is right. We should eliminate the Department of education.

[patianneb]

When I first moved to this town in NC about 15 years ago the public schools were horrible. One of the reasons was, as in many towns like this, until the recent past it had been a place where 5% of the people owned 95% of everything.
All the schools were meant to do was give students just enough "book learnin'" so they could read, write and do "sums" sufficiently to get them to the furniture and textile factories where it would take the combined efforts of an entire family to scrabble enough together to get by.
Public schools were for people who couldn't afford any better and therefore didn't deserve any better.

If you think McCain's thinking varies from this, you're wrong, because an uneducated society by its very defintion so preoccupied just trying to stay alive, it does what it's told, and as such is a prime asset to those who would exploit it.

In fact, just a few weeks ago, that's what McC claimed; "America's most valuable asset is its BLOOD."

[quindy]

So true.

[Jaid]

McSame/Palin doesn't mind demolishing the Department of Education because he is a POW. He has no interest in Education just War! Mcsame is only interested in War! The POW is interested in War! Just war! Education has no place in the McSame War Room. He loves war and he wants to join Bush in becoming the next War president. Rethugs only value war!

[Rick K]

"Just remember, I was educated for five years in a little classroom in Asia..."

[chosenson]

"Choosing a Republican to clean up this mess is like asking the iceberg to save the Titanic." - Hillary Clinton

[ldillworth]

Tucker Bounds strikes me a ridiculous sad little man.

[Rick K]

I think we should make a mockery of his CLOO - Current Level Of Outrage. The higher Tucker's CLOO, the better Obama is doing.

O can even respond to Bounds comments by saying, "oh I guess I hit a new CLOO level." and say nothing else.

[poco767c]

McCain's academic record is not exactly exemplary.

[annieR]

THE MCCAINS VS. CHILDREN: John McCain did not support the children's health care legislation. Cindy McCain's beer company squashed an increase in Arizona liquor taxes (Arizona is 16% below the national level) for early childhood education and much needed additional pediatric hospital beds. Further, Cindy's company is pushing legislation that would require the majority of REGISTERED voters for any referendum to increase Arizona liquor tax (NY Times, Aug. 23, 2008). Further, Sarah Palin's meeting with McCain campaign people in Phoenix just before being nominated for VP was held at the Delgados, the head of Cindy's company, and the same individual obstructing programs benefiting Arizona's children. So much for the McCain's and Palin's concern for children!

[Grannysue]

When your a D student you want to do away with Education, just like Bushy.

[Ramirez]

When you're a "C " student you are taught about contractions.

[Daly]

when you allow your kids to drop of school - doing away with Ed is no problem