Teacher
Unions
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I will speak plainly -- I will speak plainly on
another subject of importance. We're not educating all of our children.
Too many are being forced to absorb the fads of the moment.
Not for the nothing are we the biggest education spenders and among the
lowest education achievers among the leading industrial nations.
The teachers unions nominated Bill Clinton in 1992. They're funding his
re-election now. And they, his most reliable supporters, know he will
maintain the status quo.
And I say this -- I say this not to the teachers, but to their unions.
I say this, if education were a war, you would be losing it. If it were
a business, you would be driving it into bankruptcy. If it were a
patient, it would be dying.
And to the teachers union, I say, when I am
president, I will disregard
your political power for the sake of the parents, the children, the
schools and the nation. I plan to enrich your vocabulary with those
words you fear -- school choice and competition and opportunity
scholarships.
All this for low and middle income families so that you will join the
rest of us in accountability, while others compete with you for the
commendable privilege of giving our children a real education.
- August
15, 1996, I'm Bob Dole Accepts Nomination, San Diego,
California
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And I say this -- I say this not to the
teachers, but to their unions.
That call to arms during Dole's acceptance speech was the only time all
night I whooped. From
the sound of things, it resonated with the delegates as well. The
next morning, however, it didn't matter that Dole pointedly said his
war was with the unions, not the teachers. The Today Show,
and GMA, and whatever CBS was airing, focused on Dole's attack on teachers. In his
own acceptance speech a few weeks later, Bill
Clinton went out of his way (as I remember) to condemn the
Republican
attack on our wonderful, brave, and dedicated teacher corps. The
teachers were up in arms. I don't need to tell you what the kids
were hearing in school the next day.
I
guess you saw this earlier, on Drudge:
ROMNEY
DECLARES WAR ON TEACHERS UNIONS...
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.[...] And he declared
war on teachers unions, saying they “are the clearest example of a
group that has lost its way.” He said Mr. Obama is too beholden to the
unions to be able to reform the school system. |
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Poor Dole didn't have a
chance in his public "debate," but that was in 1996. Fox News was
barely getting started; the internet still finding its
voice. Not now. Mitt
won't have any problem getting his message out, as long as he's up to
it. So far it appears he is; I'm Bob Dole never was.
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