The other day, I was in the studio during the radio show I co-host with Republican/Libertarian curmudgeon Emil Franzi. Our guests were Arizona National Republican Committeeman Bruce Ash, and state Sen. (for a while, anyway) Frank Antenori. Bruce was going on about how the Democratic Party was targeting certain Republican lawmakers for removal from office come Election Day.
Please pardon the digression, but I have to mention this: Bruce and others have this really annoying affectation of referring to the opposition party as the “Democrat Party,” and not the “Democratic Party,” which is correct. This is lame-ass, third-grade stuff, like intentionally mispronouncing another kid’s name. (Since it’s childish and stupid, naturally, Rush Limbaugh does it.)
William Safire traced the use of the term as an epithet to the presidential election of 1940. Not content to take one of the worst ass-whuppin’s of all time, GOP candidate Wendell Willkie decided to poke the bear with a sharp stick. He continually referred to the “Democrat Party” because he felt that the Dems were controlled by “undemocratic bosses.” In (ahem) 1984, the Republicans, riding a Reagan high, tried to change the wording of the Republican platform to read “Democrat Party.” Congressman Jack Kemp objected, adding that it “would be an insult to our Democratic friends,” and it was dropped. Boy, was that a long time ago!
In 1996, the Republicans, poised to take another whuppin’, did change it to “Democrat Party” in their platform, explaining that they “wanted to make the subtle point that the Democratic Party had become elitist.” This, from a party whose standard-bearer thinks that a middle-class person makes around $250,000 a year.
A similar proposal to use the term in 2008 was voted down after panel chairman Haley Barbour said, “We should probably use what the actual name is.”
You don’t see Democrats calling the opposition the “Republic Party.” That would be grammatically incorrect and, you know, STUPID! I don’t expect Rush Limbaugh to stop doing it, but I kinda wish Bruce would stop. He’s better than that.
Anyway, I mentioned that while I like Frank Antenori personally, I don’t want him within 200 miles of the state Legislature. Attempting to put words in my mouth, Emil said, “Why? Because he hates kids?”
I said, “No, because he hates teachers.”
Frank exploded. “I don’t hate teachers! I hate teachers’ unions! I despise teachers’ unions!”
Apparently, there’s a lot of that going around. When the Chicago teachers went on strike a couple of weeks ago, the shrieks could be heard from The Wall Street Journal to The New York Times. Much of the outrage focused on the few days of school that kids were missing, and the minor pay raise the teachers were requesting when, in fact, the main point of the strike was to protest the use of standardized test scores as a means of evaluating teacher performance.
The haters of teachers’ unions all act as though these unions just popped up out of nowhere, for no reason whatsoever. (In fact, the prevailing right-wing thought is that all unions came into existence just to give the poor, misunderstood bosses a hard time.)
When I was in high school, we had this really cool math teacher named Dr. Anderson. He had a doctorate in math and had worked for Army intelligence and the CIA, but he was teaching math in an inner-city school, because he was just cool like dat. One time, at a meeting of the Math Club, he told us that he was going to have to leave teaching: He and his wife were having a baby, and he couldn’t afford to raise a family on what he made as a teacher.
Like many teachers at that time, he had more than one job. And I’m not talking working as a day-camp counselor during the summer. I’m talking Tina Fey working nights at a T.G.I. Friday’s clone in Mean Girls. He taught night classes at a local community college, and we always accused him of cracking codes for the National Security Agency on the side, a subject about which he would clam up in a most-curious way.
Through roundabout means, we found out that he made around $3,200 a year as a full-time teacher in the Los Angeles city schools (and that was with a doctorate). You might correctly note that it was a long time ago—and it was—but adjusted for inflation, that $3,200 would today be just less than $19,000. That means that Dr. Anderson would be part of Mitt Romney’s deadbeat 47 percent who don’t pay taxes.
The L.A. teachers later went on strike, and it was quite contentious. The strike was settled, as all teachers’ strikes in all cities since then have been. However (for all those people who think that teachers are overpaid), here in Tucson, the starting salary for beginning teachers isn’t appreciably above that aforementioned, inflation-adjusted $19,000 figure.
What I find most hilarious is that politicians and right-wing talking heads all claim to love teachers individually. But when teachers begin to congregate in groups, they apparently present a threat to the American way of life. Antenori and his cronies have already gutted the educational system in Arizona. Maybe the resolution of the Chicago strike will show that the insanity isn’t spreading.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2012.
Excellent article, Tom. I give you an A+ on this one. I really wish that union were the nightmare republic(ans) make them out to be. The world would be a much better place.
While I side with you on the issue, I wish you would have also taken the anti-teachers union Democrats to task, for instance Rahm Emanual and Antonio Villaraigosa. Bashing teachers unions is becoming a fashionable bipartisan effort.
Tom, I generally enjoy most of the content; I do have a couple of points. Democrat vs Democratic: if this party were to be democratic they would have allowed votes to go forward in the Senate rather than flooring them as Reid has done for the past two years. They would also be willing to compromise on issues rather than the “my way or nothing.” They would also be listening to the voters rather than the special interests, but both parties are guilty of that. I rarely agree with Antenori on anything but the unions have created an environment that puts teachers first and student last. If you cannot get rid of underperforming and lazy teachers, much less the convicted felons and child molesters, than how do you expect the schools to get better. The City of NY spends millions each year paying teachers to stay home, thanks to the union. Chicago has long had the worst school system in the country due to the union not allowing adequate disclipinary actions against lazy or non-performing schools. Thanks for the forum.
Is it not Tom, who has a degree in Nuclear Engineering, yet writes a column in a small local paper? Perhaps he thinks he should be paid $100K/ year for his writings, like he seems to think his Math teacher deserved. We need to raise the minimum wage to $20/hour so “Everyone can have a Fair Shot” too, but who’s going to pay for these things, after Obama gets done with his Trickle-up Poverty plan? His debt, has every man, woman, and child owing over $50,000.
Tom. Tom. Tom. What a waste of your valuable ? time. Everyone knows how the G.O.P. hates children and teachers. Just like we know how they hate minorities, homosexuals and the poor and down-trodden. Let’s not forget how they also hate clean air and clean water. What a waste of a column writing about something that’s so well known. Next thing you know you’ll write about how the economy is moving ahead at break neck speed and what a great job Obummer is doing. Another well known fact !!! ( NOT!!)
So why are there so many private schools and charter schools? Its not the teacher or their profession. Its who is going to those schools. And the level of education they come out with. Its a loosing cause to teach in those public schools. If the kids parents dont care then why would the kids. Your a big supporter of private and charter schools….!
Republicans hate education. They hate people being educated and free thinkers. Republicans want to control the minds of the uneducated, that is how they get elected. They use the people to get elected and become millionaires while doing NOTHING for the state, people or the nation. To me the Tea Party is just an American Taliban. out to destroy this country.
Without education our nation will fail. Education is necessary for jobs, Corporations need educated employees. Look at AZ how this state is failing under the Republicans. They are against education, but can spend multi millions on prisons. It should be the other way around.
Frank Antenori is a Republican who is not in office to help the people or the state. He wants to be elected because of the money he can make off Lobbyist. Frank is the worst kind of Republican. I am letting all the people I know to defeat this dude.
And the state don’t have enough educated Republicans so they import them to run for office. Frank is one of those guys.
Thanks, Sam. I rest my case.
While teaching I served on a union committee to work with the board of education on local teacher’s salaries. My argument then, as it would be now, is that teachers should be paid an annual salary comparable to (not higher than) the average of the taxpayers who are paying the salaries. The emphasis is on ‘annual’. We have now reached the point where the average ANNUAL salary of teachers here in Tucson and elsewhere is far above the average annual salary of the taxpayers. Furthermore, teachers – particularly teacher’s unions (see Chicago) – do not recognize the pay as an annual salary, so if you want to get them to work, say 200 days a year rather than 180 they expect salary increases. There is a distortion and you don’t have to hate teachers to acknowledge it. Whether they are overpaid or not is not the point. They are paid adequately and even generously, considering benefits, for the work they perform.
They object to standarized testing because it will Reduce Their Greedy Pay. Naive to think it is about something other than money. The author has conviently stopped short of the full
extrapolation
As for Bruce calling the show on Sat to further press his trite and petty point consider this: a 3rd grader would just lie that a name was called. Bruced strived to justify himself which is what a middle schooler would do so give the man some credit.
Back to hating.