How The Republicans Like To Win

I'm sure there's many good reasons why New Jersey's Governor Christie hates teacher's unions. But its hard to think of any.

It's not that they're overpaid. The pay they receive for the important job they do is terrible.

There's tenure, sure, and that makes them difficult to fire, but tenure exists for a noble reason. The fact is, there are parents out there who really hate facts like science and history, and if a teacher teaches something that is undeniably true but deemed incompatible with certain political or religious beliefs, those parents will seek to get that teacher fired. Schools are supposed to be about teaching facts and critical thinking, so tenure is a way to make sure that politics doesn't put the education of children at risk.

Wait... I think I just answered my own question.

Governor Christie hates tenure so much because it prevents him from replacing unbiased teachers with ones who will brainwash kids into believing that the Republican party is the one favored by God.

I suppose that's a reasonable goal... except it's not. But no matter. I'm sure Governor Christie believes in having a fair debate on the subject, hearing from both sides of the issue, and using facts to bolster his side of the argument.

Except he doesn't.

Because he's a Republican. And Republicans don't use things like facts to sway Americans. They use the politics of personal destruction.

Like this:
Hero teacher's life destroyed.

Because its not good enough to make reasonable appeals for education reform. Republicans don't like to win by making a solid argument. They like to win by bullying people, destroying lives, ripping people to shreds.

Even heroes.

If Superman was a Democrat, the Republicans would push for Kryptonite to be added to the water supply.

I'm Pretty Sure This Whole Thing Was Staged



Does this look like a guy that's about to heckle Meg Whitman?


You Be The Judge

As any good conspiracy theorist would do, I did some cursory Internet sleuthing. And at first blush, it appears that Ed Buck is a Democrat. He's donated to Democratic campaigns. He likes animals and hates eminent domain development. And he's heckled before. According to LA Weekly, May 25, 2006:

Concern over campaign contributions erupted at a City Council meeting in February. Ed Buck, a West Hollywood resident, confronted [Abbe] Land and said she had accepted more than $40,000 from entities involved in one council agenda item.

There's just one thing... Abbe Land is a Democrat.

That's just the kind of thing that would send a conspiracy nut off the wall. Then I found this:

Time Magazine, November 9, 1987:

Says Ed Buck, a gay Phoenix businessman and conservative Republican who launched the recall movement last July: "Perhaps their support finally drove the point home to Evan Mecham that this is not a band of homosexuals and dissident Republicans."

"CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN!!!" Ed Buck!

And yes, it is the same Ed Buck.

So the question then becomes: Why did Ed Buck heckle Meg Whitman? Is it that he's a tea party style disgruntled Republican? Was he, as Meg Whitman suggested, a plant by her Democratic opponents? Or, far more sinister, was it a plot by Whitman and Christie to boost both their profiles?

Alas, without any smoking gun, say, a signed check from Whitman to Buck, I'd say we probably have to conclude the first probability. Ed Buck is a politically active, fiscally conservative but socially liberal person, who didn't like the fact that Whitman had an event in which she refused to take questions. He's been a vocal proponent of transparency in the past. A Democratic plant seems like a stretch-- this guy beats to his own drum, and clearly is an equal-opportunity heckler.

But that shot of them holding hands.... well. I'll let others do the digging for me.

One last thing. Lets just note Christie's hypocrisy. He talks about bringing America together, and not shouting, when he's done the exact opposite in Jersey. Instead of listening to teachers concerns, he's belittled them. He's raged against the working class. His governing strategy is to take money away from everywhere its needed, while maintaining promises to the wealthy people who donated to his campaign. The school system is weaker now because of him, and all but the wealthiest are struggling. People called him "standing up to" a "heckler" chivalrous (because Whitman is a woman, who obviously can't defend herself), but all Christie was doing was stifling discussion and debate, something he's tried to do at every juncture in his time as New Jersey governor.

This is the guy Republicans think is the future???