Uh-Oh, the “Table Scrap Republicans” are Mad at Me

(Annie Black) – If you have a hundred dollars in your pocket and a mugger robs you – but gives $20 back – you’ve still been mugged and are out $80 of YOUR money!

And with that in mind…

Seems I stirred the hornet’s nest with some of my GOP colleagues for voting against an anti-charter school bill (AB109) and naming the five Republicans who voted with the Democrats for it.

One of those Republicans wrote on Twitter that she supports charter schools and would “never vote to harm” them.  She went on to note that each GOP member of the Education Committee voted for the bill in committee and that the Charter School Authority supported it.

Furthermore, she wrote that the bill was amended and “Instead of 100% licensing for CORE subjects it is 80% by 2026 (was 70%).”

And this is the problem.

First, members of the Charter School Authority are political appointees by the governor.  As such, I don’t take their word as gospel on anything.  Instead, I contacted actual charter school leaders and they opposed the bill.

Secondly, this sort of amendment to the bill is the same trap Republicans have been stepping into for years.

Democrats propose, for example, raising taxes by a million dollars.  Then Republicans “negotiate” the tax hike down to $800,000 – and claim “victory” because it’s not as bad as it could have been.

Government bureaucracies do the same thing.

They ask for, say, a million dollar increase in their budget.  And then when the amount is amended to “only” an $800,000 boost they claim a $200,000 budget “cut” – while Republicans clap themselves on the back for “saving” money.

To be fair, negotiating to make a bad bill “less bad” is an arguable position to take.  But it perpetuates the decades-long system of Democrats getting the gold mine while Republicans get the shaft.

Over and over again in these amendment “negotiations,” Democrats end up with the feast while Republicans get table scraps in return for being docile, go-along-to-get-along wind sockets.

There are two inconvenient truths here about AB109…

1.)  Charter schools are not the problem.  Our failing traditional pubic schools are the problem.  There are waiting lists to get into many charter schools.  Parents freely CHOOSE to send their kids to a charter school knowing full well the charter school does things very differently from traditional public schools.

Leave them alone and focus on the REAL problem.

2.)  There should be zero restrictions on the number of teachers in charter schools – especially in the midst of the ongoing teacher shortage – who have expertise and experience in various professional fields simply because they don’t have a “teaching degree.”

Not 70 percent.  Not 80 percent.  Not 100 percent.  ZERO.

This bill hurts charter schools no matter how you slice it or how it was amended.  It’s part of an organized campaign by the teachers’ unions to castrate school choice – even school choice made within the existing public school monopoly.

But now, when GOP candidates run for the Legislature next year and try to make the claim that Democrats oppose parental school choice based on this bill, the Democrats will have what they so desperately want…

The ability to claim the bill was “bi-partisan.”

And Republican voters wonder why we don’t win more seats?

I know this is how the “game” has been played for years.  Republicans give an inch.  Then another inch.  Then another inch.  And pretty soon Democrats have gotten the whole enchilada.

“Compromise” isn’t a four-letter word.  Then again, neither is “Opposition.”

Republicans need to stop negotiating hostages from a position of weakness.  They need to stop sympathizing with their captors.  It’s time to stop saying, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”

It’s time to become a principled, outspoken opposition party, not a meek, submissive minority party.  I only wish more Republicans here in Carson City – including the paid staff of the Assembly GOP caucus – understood that.

What do you think?

Annie

P.S.  All five conservative members of the Assembly Freedom Caucus voted against this bill, including Assemblyman Richard McArthur, a member of the Education Committee.

P.P.S.  Both the conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute and Americans for Prosperity oppose AB109.  Republican legislators should check in with them more often.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Any politician, of any race or party, who fights against charter schools that give many black youngsters their one shot at a decent life does not deserve the vote of anybody who really believes that black lives matter.” – Thomas Sowell

“We need to give our children the best education possible. I want to give parents a choice. No child’s future should be determined by their zip code. I want the best quality education in district schools, magnet schools, parochials, charter schools.” – Black NYC Democrat mayoral candidate Ray McGuire

“I want the best education for kids in any form — by whatever means necessary.”

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Annie Black is the Nevada State Assemblywoman representing District 19.  You can get more information and subscribe to her AnnieGram newsletter by visiting www.AnnieBlack.net