Yesterday House leaders formally proposed spending $10 billion to help recession-bruised, fiscally distressed states prevent layoffs of hundreds of thousands of teachers.
The proposal saves teaching jobs without increasing the budget deficit by cutting other stimulus spending.
This is not good enough for conservative deficit hysterics.
The conservative Republican response appears to be: just lie and say helping teachers will increase the deficit anyway. CQ reports:
Privately, Republicans say they expect House Democratic leaders to realize this week that the votes simply are not there -- and certainly not in the Senate -- for a supplemental that expands domestic spending, even if that spending is paid for with cuts elsewhere."We need to get a supplemental passed as soon as possible," [House Minority Leader John] Boehner said. "It should not be used as an excuse for tens of billions of dollars of additional social spending that will pile more debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren."
The conservative Democratic response appears to be: just tell teachers saving their jobs are not as important as saving a fraction of a percent of the national debt. Politico reports:
"...Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) said in an interview ... "There are a number of moderates [sic] who feel that any pay-fors should be for deficit reduction, not to offset new spending ... If you have $10 billion laying around for teachers, reduce the deficit by $10 billion [instead]."
Because of this mathematically illiterate resistance from the Right, the White House may stop pushing to add these funds to the war spending bill, in order to get the underlying bill passed.
Words fail.
Originally posted at OurFuture.org. Earlier: "It's Not About The Deficit. Conservatives Just Hate Teachers."
Follow Bill Scher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/billscher
Which makes sense. If you want to improve something, continue to strengthen it and increase its potential, you CUT the money that goes into it. Doesn't EVERYONE understand that?
Conservative reactionaries are determined to run this country into the ground just to show up "the black guy."
You surely realize by now--don't you--that religious Conservatives hate EVERYBODY...?
Best,
The Kapt'n
Both Democrats and Republicans insist that a good education is essential to success. Education is power. Those who are educated have more power. And so,
... Democrats want to fund more education, pay teachers better, and increase educational opportunities for all. After all, power is best shared.
... Republicans try to cut funding for education, call teachers elitist, and generally want to decrease educational opportunity for the population. They will increase funding for their favorite universities, but will increase costs for ordinary people trying to get an education. After all, education is power, and only the rich should have easy access to power.
Yes, yes. This is an oversimplification. But speaking generally, it is true as far as group dynamics are concerned, even if it does not specifically work out for individuals.
Only, it doesn't fit so well on a headline.
Sad to say, it is even harder now.
- Daniel Boorstin
From an actual news source (AP):
"The difficulty in passing the bill in the House is magnified by disagreement between Republicans supportive of the war — who insist the measure be "clean" of unrelated spending — and Democrats who want funding for the unpopular war to carry unrelated party priorities. Republicans are threatening to withhold support for the overall package if Democratic add-ons are included."
Not to mention that teacher unions are amongst the most powerful in the nation. And Dems are beholden to those unions.
Your headline and article are hyperbole.
Education is a threat to their reliable uninformed voter base and to the drone class that they seem intent on building. Education is a word that they reach for easily come election time, standing around some folksy town square, kissing a baby and patting little Chip-Off-The-Old-Bock, Jr. on the head. Because it sounds good and photographs well, Then they dovetail it neatly into small town family values for the women fok and "bootstraps" for the men folk and go back to Washington and vote against anything related to education. Neat trick. It's why we have Tea Bagges.
As for the conservatives Democrats playing along here, I can't tell you. I'm not a Democrat (Independent) but my guess is that the midterms are coming up and they're saying and doing the "I want to get re-elected and my district is purple" thing.
That's what it makes me think of. At some point though as you point out, they have the choice not to be lazy and buy into it. Sometimes stoopid really is a choice.
Speaking of which. I just read something and copied it to e-mail to my husband. I'm gonna give it to you - because it's funny. How can I tie this into education? Mmmm. Oh! Clearly an example of homeschooling. ;-)
I must check out this blogger "tinfoiler". Andrew Sullivan nabbed it:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/06/quote-13.html