[OccupyCU] Fwd: Is Democrats For Public Education Just a Toothless, Cynical Sound Byte?

[David Johnson via OccupyCU]

    *Is Democrats For Public Education Just a Toothless, Cynical Sound
    Byte?*


      *A Black Agenda Radio commentary by BAR managing editor Bruce A.
      Dixon*

Last month at a teachers union meeting the Democratic National 
Committee's Donna Brazile announced the formation of Democrats For 
Public Education. 
<http://www.salon.com/2014/07/14/michelle_rhees_minions_meet_their_match_new_anti_charter_group_declares_war/> 
Supposedly DFPE will fight against the policies of elite Democrats and 
Republicans who want to privatize public education. As the daughter of a 
longshoreman from a family of teachers and a product of public schools 
Brazile declared herself unafraid to call out those of her own party who 
are demonizing teachers and privatizing public education, though as a 
top Democrat she did not use the p-word.
But Donna Brazile didn't call out anybody, not then and not in the month 
since. Because if she did name names, number one would have to be her 
president, Barack Obama, and number two would be his Secretary of 
Education Arne Duncan.
Cabinet appointments are not accidents. Presidents pick appointees with 
proven commitment and track records of accomplishing the very policies a 
president wants imposed, and President Obama was deeply in the pocket of 
the charter school sugar daddies 
<http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/obama-and-charter-school-sugar-daddies>.
As Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan ravaged, savaged and 
privatized. He fired thousands of mostly black teachers 
<http://blackagendareport.com/content/black-chicago-teachers-win-discrimination-lawsuit-against-arne-duncans-mass-firings> 
with little or no due process, and handed big chunks of public resources 
over to the operators of private charter schools. This record and his 
personal friendship with the president got Duncan appointed 
<http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/did-barack-obama-just-appoint-underqualified-stooge-and-privatizer-secretary-education> 
Secretary of Education.
Over the last six years, President Obama, Secretary Duncan and their 
Department of Education have let representatives of the private charter 
schools, testing companies, and consultants from the Walton Family, Eli 
Broad, Bill & Melinda Gates and other foundations ideologically 
committed to running schools like businesses and education like a market 
write the federal guidelines school districts must follow to receive 
federal funds – something they call the Race To The Top 
<http://blackagendareport.com/category/education-public-education/race-top> 
program. The same consultants have also been allowed to deeply embed 
themselves embed themselves in the supposedly impartial private 
institutions officially recognized by the Department of Education which 
evaluate schools, school districts.
By now the processes of privatization have an institutional momentum 
backed up by billions of public and private dollars. You can't fight 
that juggernaut if you cannot name its name and the names of the 
politicians it buys and rents. But Democrats don't publicly criticize 
each other much, black Democrats even less, and a prominent black 
Democrat contradicting the black president is unthinkable, it's just not 
in their DNA.
So why does DFPE exist? It can raise money, but nothing compared to the 
vast sums its opponents can.Apart from possible interference in next 
year's Chicago mayoral contest, its only conceivable purpose is an 
utterly cynical one. DFPE will house surrogates for Hillary Clinton's 
2018 campaign who will give the credulous faithful an excuse to believe 
that Hillary, unlike Barack, is not on the side of the privatizers and 
charter school sugar daddies, the same way Obama had unofficial 
spokespeople everywhere assuring us that he was pro net neutrality, 
against the Patriot Act, the Iraq war, torture, wanted to renegotiate 
NAFTA, and whatever else some of us wanted to hear. Democrats For Public 
Education is just that, the cynical sound byte that some self-deceiving 
Democrats need to hear.
Teachers unions after all, don't just provide big checks to Democratic 
presidential candidates, its rank and file activists are the foot 
soldiers, the door to door and phone canvassers, the flesh and blood of 
a nationwide street operation which a successful Democratic presidential 
candidate needs to mobilize the Democratic base. You want to make that 
happen you've got to tell those foot soldiers what they want to hear, 
whether your candidate means it or not. That's called a campaign field 
operation.
For Black Agenda Radio I'm Bruce Dixon. Find us on the web at 
www.blackagendareport.com <http://www.blackagendareport.com/>, and while 
you're there be sure to subscribe to our free weekly email updates at 
www.blackagendareport.com/subscribe 
<http://www.blackagendareport.com/subscribe>. That's 
www.blackagendareport.com/subscribe 
<http://www.blackagendareport.com/subscribe>.
/Bruce A. Dixon used to do campaign field operations, and is now 
managing editor at Black Agenda Report, and a state committee member of 
the GA Green Party. He lives and works in Marietta GA and can be reached 
via this site's contact page, or at bruce.dixon(at)blackagendareport.com./


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