A Republican Education Agenda
Today we wanted to draw attention to an important editorial written by Richard Bond - our former Party Chairman - and our friends at Public Opinion Strategies, Bill McInturff and Alex Bratty, that appeared in this weekend’s Washington Post regarding the desperate need to reform our education system.
A Chance to Say Yes: The GOP and Obama Can Agree on School Reform
Many issues have created a "politics as usual" atmosphere on Capitol Hill recently, but when it comes to educating our children, it appears President Obama and the Republican Party share some views. This commonality of interest provides the president and the GOP a rare opportunity to cooperate on a major issue. In a March address on education, the president proposed several reforms, three of which the Republican Party has been championing for years.
http://bit.ly/2UXYq3
Not only do they highlight an issue that has largely fallen off the national stage, but they make a vital point about the need for Republicans to find policy issues on which they can work with President Obama. The issues of merit pay for teachers, the removal of bad teachers and the expansion of school choice are three fundamental Republican principles that this President has indicated he would support while on the campaign trail. By fighting for these issues Republicans can stand with the President and the vast majority of parents and teachers who understand that kids should be allowed to go to the best schools possible, that great teachers should be rewarded and that bad teachers should be fired. Meanwhile, nearly every congressional Democrat will be left with no one to stand with outside of the teacher union boss allies.
Richard, Bill and Alex also provide well deserved praise for our Republican Governors who do not get enough attention for all they are doing and have done on these issues. From Governor John Engler passing pioneering charter school legislation in Michigan in the 1990’s to Governor Sonny Perdue’s fight for merit pay in Georgia today, this has always been an issue Republican Governors have shown an understanding and passion for accomplishing. It is time Congressional Republicans share more fully in that passion.
Finally focusing on this issue accomplishes several of the goals we outlined in our study entitled “A First Glance at the New Political Landscape” authored shortly after last year’s election. From that research we were able to offer Republicans six broad thoughts on how the party could best move forward. One key point was finding the right times and places to oppose Obama – specifically opposing card check and the bailouts – while also finding times and places to work with Obama. At the time, Iraq and Afghanistan seemed the most obvious choices for this, but education reform would allow us to work with Obama, while also reconnecting with the middle-class in America.
So take some time to review the editorial and let us know what you think about the policy and political implications.
- Michael Meyers
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