Clinton Wins Endorsement of National Education Association

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign has picked up the endorsement of the National Education Association, the nation's largest labor union.

The NEA has 3 million members, and its backing gives Clinton a boost in her competitive Democratic primary race against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The announcement caps a week in which Sanders announced he had raised nearly as much money as Clinton during the past three months.

The union calls Clinton a "strong leader who will do what is best for America's students."

The former secretary of state has won eight labor endorsements representing about 7 million workers, including the nation's two main teachers' unions.

The American Federation of Teachers endorsed Clinton during the summer.


http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/clinton-wins-endorsement-national-education-association-34224492

[hrmjustin]

1. Great news to hear. They know a winner when they see one.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. One of my cousins is a principal in NYC and another is a teacher.

I am going to send them an e-mail to thank them.

[dsc]

127. the principal is likely not in the union

[zappaman]

2. but the teachers overwhelmingly want Sanders!

I have a friend who has a coworker who has a neighbor who has a niece who works at a grocery store who has a customer who read a tweet from a teacher who likes Sanders.

What more proof do you need!?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. It is a HUGE endorsement in light of the fact they endorsed Barack Obama in 2008!!!

eom

[dsc]

128. only after he clinched

they stayed neutral up until then.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

132. I didn't know that...Thank you for enlightening me. That makes the endorsement infinitely more...

I din't know that...Thank you for enlightening me. That makes the endorsement infinitely more impressive...

[PosterChild]

83. +100 !! I was going to ask....

..... how you knew but you answered it right there! I nean who can argue with a friend of a friend whoes spouse knows a guy who's son goes to school where there are LITERALLY tens upon tens of teachers ! That aces it!

[treestar]

146. Everyone teacher I know wants Sanders!

I just did an informal poll of my teacher relatives and they all want Sanders!

I just have to laugh when I see these posts. Oh, that's how polling is done. Who knew?

[askew]

5. She didn't win the endorsement. She was handed the endorsement

by the board without input from members. They didn't offer the same opportunity to all candidates to try for the endorsement. It's just another example of the only way Hillary gets anything is by cheating.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Do you have proof that she cheated?

"... It's just another example of the only way Hillary gets anything is by cheating."

Do you have proof that she cheated? My God informs me "bearing false witness" is a biggie. That's why he put in in his Top Ten:

[askew]

9. There were multiple articles here about how the NEA offered Hillary extra time

with the board and didn't allow other candidates the same courtsey. They also were supposed to poll their members and decided not to after finding out they weren't leaning towards Hillary.

Another example of Hillary using her personal relationships with heads of unions to get endorsements against their member's wishes. Just like with NFT.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

15. It seems that you should be accusing the union of chicanery and not Madame Secretary

There were multiple articles here about how the NEA offered Hillary extra time. with the board and didn't allow other candidates the same courtsey. They also were supposed to poll their members and decided not to after finding out they weren't leaning towards Hillary.

It seems that you should be accusing the union of chicanery and not Madame Secretary. In light of your own admission perhaps you would like to withdraw your charges against her. It would be the right thing to do, wouldn't it?

[askew]

17. Nope. This is the shit Hillary has pulled her entire career.

She has no interest in winning fair when it is so much easier to cheat. She tried it in 2008 but Dean stopped her. She did it with NFT already. It's what we get with Hillary. They always have to be shady.

[hifiguy]

89. Damn straight.

[yeoman6987]

28. Why would you want to endorse someone with 25 percent

Poll numbers? They want to endorse a winner which is why Hillary got the endorsement.

[jeff47]

31. Because the election isn't tomorrow.

Obama had less than 25% at this point in 2008. So clearly he lost.

I eagerly await your mindless "Sanders is no Obama" reply.

[yeoman6987]

59. Why?

You said it yourself which means deep down you believe it too.

[Control-Z]

62. Sanders is no Obama.

Even Clinton supporters recognized Obama's charm and charisma. He came off as a cool, calm, superstar. We voted for him in the GE.

I find no charm in Sanders' curmudgeonly personality or the way he communicates. He reminds me of the teacher who verbally degraded me in front of my class and made me cry. I don't like being spoken down to that way.

I would guess I'm not the only one who feels this way.

[zappaman]

85. And 2016 isn't 2008.

Coming off the disaster of Dubya made a huge difference.

[Control-Z]

122. It sure did.

I always felt badly for the dem contenders once the financial shit storm hit. I imagine not one of them going in thought they were signing up for that mess. It's amazing what President Obama has managed to achieve!

[zappaman]

123. To some, the last 7 years have been "a disaster".

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=643663

[Control-Z]

124. That makes me sick.

These same people were complaining the first hundred days into Obama's first term. People of this ilk have either had things too easy in life or are too young to have experienced real life. There's a third option I won't name.

[treestar]

147. Well he isn't

and nothing about Obama's numbers at this point prove in the least that BS will do the same, I don't get how people think this is a good argument of any kind. Just because Obama came from behind does not prove BS can. It's silly and very facile.

[riversedge]

101. Seems like Sanders should have developed some personal relationships. thats what

politics is all about--taking time to develop connections, networks, relationships. good for Hillary.

[Bread and Circus]

13. Wow... you really wanna start getting all "truthy" with us near the Clintons? Sniper fire anyone?

Pretty sure you don't want to start promoting truthtelling as a core virtue on your side of the fence. Vast Right Wing Conspiracies aside the Clinton's are not known for "bearing true witness" by anyone, even their most ardent shills.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. Huh, what, where?

Wow... you really wanna start getting all "truthy" with us near the Clintons? Sniper fire anyone
Pretty sure you don't want to start promoting truthtelling as a core virtue on your side of the fence. Vast Right Wing Conspiracies aside the Clinton's are not known for "bearing true witness" by anyone, even their most ardent shills.

Huh, what, where?


I was commenting on "bearing false witness." In the working class Jamaica, Queens milieu from where I come from it was colloquially referred to as "making up shit about people."

[askew]

20. There's a reason that the word most closely associated with Hillary is liar

and that she has the worst trustworthy #s of any major candidate for president in recent memory.

[1StrongBlackMan]

82. Please stop ...

Yes ... the reason she is associated with the term "liar" and viewed as untrustworthy (among non-Democrats) is because the right, the media, and more recently "progressives" have cultivated that image over the last 20 years.

[TheKentuckian]

133. Well that and the lying, the double talk, fake as "evolving", surrounding herself with hacks, and

hedging, dodging, bob and weaving helps too.

[1StrongBlackMan]

136. Yeah. Okay.

[zappaman]

86. Wow.

I usually associate "strong" since she's been tarred and feathered for years by assholes on the right.

But tell us what you really think of her!

[artislife]

16. Two things

One, yes there is no proof she cheated but two there is no proof that this isn't a manmade statement of rules.

So you come out even. That's pretty good though, because we are debating H not god.

[PowerToThePeople]

8. ^^this

SSDD

[hrmjustin]

10. Sour grapes?

[askew]

19. Nope. Not a chance in hell my candidate would get the nomination.

As much as the NEA has heaped praise on O'Malley's time as Governor, he was still never in the running for the nomination.

I have a problem with Hillary's team fixing these union endorsements without the consent of the union members. It's bad for the union long-term to ignore their members wishes. They should have polled the membership or held their endorsement until a nominee was decided. This kind of backroom bullshit should not be applauded by any Democrat.

[hrmjustin]

21. Seems to me unions know how to think for themselves without Hillary 's help.

Seems like they want her.

[askew]

23. No, the union doesn't want Hillary. Her pals on the executive board want her.

It's a big mistake to mix those two up.

[hrmjustin]

24. And you know this how?

[DisgustipatedinCA]

51. Um, because he can read.

[hrmjustin]

57. And what did he read it?

[NJCher]

61. would you like a personal story?

I'm a teacher.

Our union president showed up at a meeting of the executive board and said he had all kinds of Hillary buttons and paraphernalia for the meeting of the general membership. Unions are big on giving away political stuff like T-shirts notepads, etc. In addition, at general membership meetings, they give out door prizes to get the excitement level up.

He put piles of samples on the table and told us all to take what we wanted.

Not one person picked up anything and he had to drag all the stuff home.
'
We'll see what happens at the general membership meeting tomorrow.


Cher

[dsc]

129. were you similarly upset at the unions which endorsed Sanders

without allowing their members to vote (a nurses union and one other that I can't recall). They did the same, exact, precise thing that the unions which endorsed Clinton did. If you think they should hold elections instead of polls and using their boards are you willing to write them some checks so they can do so?

[quickesst]

12. Aaaawww...

....there there now.

[leftofcool]

77. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Bernie didn't get their endorsement.

[Gman]

109. All endorsements are handed out

There is no "winning endorsements". That's what an endorsement is all about. Geez.

[energy_model]

6. The media will not cover this as extensively as the firefighters non-endorsement

It's not in the agenda.

[BlueWaveDem]

11. Go Hillary!

[oasis]

14. The floodgates for Hillary will open now that the fake scandals

are in the rear view mirror.

If you can't trust a teacher's knowledge, who can you trust?

[askew]

22. I wouldn't count my chickens here.

She has multiple outstanding FOIA lawsuits and an FBI investigation that haven't cleared her yet. Not to mention a lot more email dumps and a likely investigation into her handling of classified material and the double/triple dipping of her aides while working for the government.

Lots more bad stuff to come out for Hillary.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

29. Keep praying she's indicted...

I wouldn't count my chickens here. She has multiple outstanding FOIA lawsuits and an FBI investigation that haven't cleared her yet. Not to mention a lot more email dumps and a likely investigation into her handling of classified material and the double/triple dipping of her aides while working for the government.

Lots more bad stuff to come out for Hillary.

Keep praying she's indicted. You like hardball...That's my wheelhouse



Keep praying she's indicted... Reminds me of when Philadelphia Eagles fans burst into applause when Michael Irvin almost had his neck broke and had to be carried off the field in a stretcher. The Eagles and their fans knew in their bones they could never beat him strg8 up .

[oasis]

30. I'm not counting YOUR chickens, I'm counting MY chickens.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

32. Good One

I'm not counting YOUR chickens, I'm counting MY chickens.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

37. It's funny...

I have met two people in real life who like Bernie, nice people... The last thing I want to do is browbeat them...

[hrmjustin]

36. Lol don't get your hopes up.

[leftofcool]

75. Wishful thinking. But you keep on wishing and hoping. I know the GOP is.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

26. Oasis...

You know what I find most perplexing...

Embodied in all the posts criticizing this endorsement and suggesting it was fraudulently obtained is the assertion that nobody can possibly like or will vote for Hillary Clinton.

I believe Hillary Clinton will be our nominee. I believe it emotionally and I believe it intellectually.

When I ask those who believe that nobody can possibly like or vote for Hillary Clinton to make a wager on who our nominee will be with all the proceeds going to charity they all demur.

If they really believed what they wrote wouldn't they want to wager and have me donate to their favorite charity?

[oasis]

33. We must navigate this sea of irrationality until 3/2.

Super Tuesday+1.

You're doing great, DemocratSinceBirth, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

[retrowire]

42. Isn't the phrase "Man the torpedoes?" n/t

[Ed Suspicious]

71. And "Full steam ahead." if you want to get technical about it.

But I knew what they meant.

[PosterChild]

90. From Wikipedia . ...

Farragut could see the ships pulling back from his high perch, where he was lashed to the rigging of his flagship, USS Hartford. "What's the trouble?", he shouted through a trumpet to USS Brooklyn. "Torpedoes", was the shouted reply. "Damn the torpedoes.", said Farragut, "Four bells, Captain Drayton, go ahead. Jouett, full speed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Farragut

[stonecutter357]

25. K&R!

[Gothmog]

27. This is a major endorsement

[DemocratSinceBirth]

35. I was reluctant to post it because I knew the nastiness that would ensue.

I was reluctant to post it because I knew the nastiness that would ensue. But I don't walk around afraid to speak my mind in real life and I will be damned if I am going to be afraid to speak my mind on an anonymous bulletin board.

Some times a person's gotta do what a person's gotta do.

[leftofcool]

78. It's called sour grapes.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

80. Almost persuaded

[Fawke Em]

34. Sorry Teachers.

Your union just threw you under the bus.

[DCBob]

38. I think the teachers are fine with this.

They surely must know Hillary will do her best to protect teachers and education in her administration.

[Fawke Em]

137. By supporting charter schools?

[NorthCarolina]

45. Their votes probably are worth more than the endorsement though.

[Metric System]

52. Would you like some cheese with your whine?

[Fawke Em]

138. Hardly a whine.

It's a statement of fact.

Hillary doesn't protect anyone that doesn't have at least $500,000 in the bank - and those are the least of her few.

[drynberg]

84. TRUE, NO ONE ASKED ME.

I've paid dues for 41 years and no one asked me...I am not happy.

[treestar]

149. why would they do that?

what possible motive could the elected board members have to do other than in the interests of the members?

[DCBob]

39. This is a big one!

Congrats!

[Starry Messenger]

40. K&R

[Number23]

115. Starry, are you a member of this union?? What do you think about this?

[Starry Messenger]

116. I'm in AFT, the other one. :)

NEA is much bigger though, probably the largest union in the US. It's a big get. I think other unions will take this endorsement into consideration in their own deliberations.

[Number23]

118. Gotcha! I knew that you were a union gal but I couldn't remember which one.

And AFT endorsed Hillary a few months ago. So with this endorsement, I guess it's pretty clear that the teachers of America have spoken.

[Starry Messenger]

120. I think that is safe to say. :)

The teachers unions play a very large part in elections, so I'm glad our two unions will be working together. There have been serious court cases trying to limit our ability to have a voice in politics, so we have a common interest in keep the USSC out of the sticky hands of the right-wing.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

41. It's OBVIOUSLY a conspiracy...

Because Bernie. Or something.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

46. Dr. Hobbistein, may I please ask you two questions.

How come every time Senator Bernard Sanders receives an endorsement from a union Hillary Clinton's supporters are either silent or congratulatory, and every time Hillary Clinton receives an endorsement the supporters of Senator Bernard Sanders are hostile, and what does that suggest to you about the character of Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton's supporters?


Thank you in advance.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

47. I can't answer that question.

I'm a Hillary supporter, and I don't want the hide.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

48. It is revealing though. I see the same phenomenon with polling results.

I will give them credit. They deserve an A in intellectual and ethical gymnastics.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

49. They would make Reed Richards proud.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

55. Or Nadia Comaneci

[SoapBox]

43. OK then...

"Eskelsen Garcia said 75 percent of the union's board supported Clinton..."

75% of the union's BOARD, not members.

How many board members, who are they and what's their Hill History?

As we usually find, there are Entrenched Establishment Lifelong Hill supporters involved in this stuff.

Give us the details.

[Metric System]

53. Please don't have a sad.

[SoapBox]

60. Let's just have the honest truth.

What is the actual percentage of dues paying members that support her versus only BOARD MEMBERS that made this decision.

Truth and fact...doesn't seem like too much to ask.

[1StrongBlackMan]

125. Would any of those questions be asked ...

had the union endorsed Bernie?

[dsc]

130. that is how the nurses union which endorsed Sanders did it

that is how the other union which endorsed Sanders did it too. did you have problems with those endorsements (for the record I don't).

[treestar]

148. So the union's board members are part of the establishment now?

And they are elected.

[retrowire]

44. Meh

Endorsement = a Board of elected officials officially announced they like Hillary.

Endorsement =/= Everyone in that union will vote for Hillary.

Endorsements are just headlines. Not votes.

[Metric System]

50. Well deserved. Congrats Hillary!

[aikoaiko]

54. If the NEA likes what they have in the Dept of Ed, then HRC is their candidate.

[ibegurpard]

66. indeed

And with Duncan's departure Obama is installing another education privatizer.

[Armstead]

56. I find this eagerness of unions to jump onto the Clinton bandwagon at this point disturbing

It's still early and there haven't even been any frigging debates yet.

And yet the leadership of the unions want to get onto what they assume is the Inevitable Gravy Train by supporting Clinton in the primary so they can "influence" her when she gets into the WH.

Personally I think they should hold off.

AND, don;t know about this, but does this mean they'll also be pouring funds into her primary campaign? If so, that moeny could be better spent in the GE....But I'm over my head on that one, so it is just a suspicion.

[orpupilofnature57]

58. Are those teachers or other politicians ?

[kenn3d]

63. "We as an organization DO NOT endorse Clinton." - NEA Facebook Flood

Adam Umak I have a lot of respect and gratitude for my local and state associations. I'm an active member in both, too. However, I will be more than happy to make a motion at the next Rep Assembly this summer in D.C. to dissolve and/or call for a vote of no confidence in NEA leadership from the top down. This is absurd. We need a full member vote on the endorsement for President or at least the ability to debate and discuss the finer points of a candidate's education policy with a vote on the floor of the Rep Assembly without the aid of management guiding us with recommendations.
NEA, you told us to be courageous. You told us to be empowered. But here you are towing the corporate line and NOT listening to educators in and out of the classroom in the exact manner AFT - American Federation of Teachers made their endorsement this past summer. Members, write your local leadership and make it clear that you will not be campaigning, canvassing, phonebanking, or working the polls for this particular endorsed candidate. Why not suspend your PAC contributions, too?
Teachers have your back, Bernie Sanders. We know you have ours. I'm going to make a donation right now. #FeelTheBern
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Renner I'm not with the association on this recommendation. Hillary is a fall back candidate. Vote Sanders - the candidate who stands with the American middle class
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Linda Manning I will have to disagree on this vote. I will not vote for Hillary, I will be voting for the best candidate for education in all ways, Bernie U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hugh Giordano Again, as a union rep I am so upset with this recommendation. Labor is being attacked by every corner of the political system within the two parties and you continue the same failed endorsement track. You have a strong pro labor candidate in Bernie Sanders who actually talks about workers unionzing, collective bargaining, and holding CEO's accountable. THE NEA and other labor leadership who continue to make this corporate and "safe status quo" endorsmemts are the reason why labor unions can not gain traction and why the young unionist, such as myself will have to suffer in the years to come. Here is my recommendation for the NEA --- The leadership needs to be disbanded and retirement notices should be formally handed in. Members of the NEA contact your local and state NEA reps and let them know you want the endorsmemt to go directly to Bernie Sanders. Write a letter, go on facebook, Fax, email, write an op-ed in your local paper Let them know it's time for labor to stand up for what is right, for the movement, for the members, and for the future of labor unions. Support Bernie Sanders in the primary.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Scott Sacharski Sorry NEA board, but I cannot in good conscious follow that recommendation!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Travis Wells I am an active member of NEA and a state delegate. We as an organization DO NOT endorse Clinton.
Put it to a vote OR we will.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The NEA Facebook page is FULL of comments like the above.
https://www.facebook.com/neatoday

[orpupilofnature57]

76. This is how MSM is diffused, people like You who tell the truth,, Thank You !!!

[99Forever]

64. Wins?

More like has it handed to her by her cronies.

"Endorcements" by authoritarians aren't votes.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

68. I quoted ABC NEWS verbatim

Here is their contact information:

http://site.abc.go.com/site/contactus.html


To demonstrate what an altruistic poster DemocratSinceBirth is if you share with him the appropriate information he will bring the perfidy you allege to their attention.

[99Forever]

91. I couldn't give a shit less what your hand-picked quote says, or...

... who Hillary's hand-picked cronies endorse.

Fuck Corporate ABC news. I wouldn't watch their establishment drivel if you paid me.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

92. DemocratSinceBirth would be more than happy to share that information with them...

Being the other directed person DemocratSinceBirth is he would be happy to share that with ABC News if you give him your contact information.

[99Forever]

95. Hold your breath waitng for that to happen.

What sort of person asks for personal information from other people they have never met on the internet?

Seems pretty damn creepy to me.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

96. DemocratSinceBirth needs to fill out the form to apprise them of their perfidy.

You can use a burner, i.e., extra e-mail and put your first name as 99 and your last name as Forever.

DemocratSinceBirth just wants to be helpful, being the loving and kind soul that he was and is.

[99Forever]

97. Are you stalking me?

I'm extremely creeped out. I've heard of such things. Should I get a No Contact Protection Order?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

98. No matter how much you insult DemocrstSinceBirth he still loves you.

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

John 8-7

[99Forever]

102. Who insulted you?

You asked for my personal information. That's what stalkers do. It creeps me out.

OH btw, don't quote stuff from your book of myths and fables, it is meaningless to a thinking, logical person and actually an insult to my intelligence.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

103. DSB wanted to help you file a complaint. It's in the original post on this topic.

OH btw, don't quote stuff from your book of myths and fables, it is meaningless to a thinking, logical person and actually an insult to my intelligence

Re:forgiveness

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

[99Forever]

105. I know how to file complaints.

I expressed neither the desire to "file a complaint" nor the need for your assistance doing so, if I had.

Stalkers use such tactics to gain access to their target's personal information. Perhaps you would be well advised to take note of such and avoid doing so in the future.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

106. Despite your intention to attribute the basest of motives to DSB he loves you, as he loves everybody

eom

[99Forever]

107. Do as you please.

I neither love or hate people I don't know personally. For either to happen, I must have a real world, interpersonal relationship with them. Pixels on a screen don't qualify.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

108. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and may you go in peace./nt

[lunamagica]

139. Some people just don't have a grasp of what irony is. eom

[ibegurpard]

65. always sad to see unions endorsing people

Who are not rock solid on labor issues. Particularly a teachers union endorsing a candidate who supports and promotes charter schools.

[DrBulldog]

67. So let's count 'em up.

NEA administration: say 500 people, voting for Hillary.

Independent-minded teachers belonging to the NEA: say 200,000, voting for Bernie.

HEY, I like those odds!

[BlueWaveDem]

70. NEA has 3 million members.

[jopacaco]

69. My husband and I are NEA members

We were never asked for any input nor were there any polls of members that we saw (and we were looking).

[DemocratSinceBirth]

72. The assertion embodied in your statement is that nobody can possibly like or vote...

The assertion embodied in your statement is that nobody can possibly like or vote for Hillary Clinton. If that assertion is correct you and your husband have nothing to worry about. Senator Sanders will throttle her in the caucuses and primaries and the National Education Association will be shown the folly of their ways, the hard way.

[Comrade Grumpy]

117. There is no such assertion in her statement.

She simply said she's an NEA member, wasn't consulted, wasn't polled, and hadn't seen any NEA polls.

How did the NEA arrive at its decision? Do you know?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

121. How did the NEA arrive at its decision? Do you know?

How did the NEA arrive at its decision? Do you know?

I assume they canvassed their members. That being said I am not going to accuse an individual or organization of malfeasance without evidence. That's how we roll in America.

[nyabingi]

73. I think it's safe to assume that

this decision reflected the wishes of the leadership of the NEA moreso than the rank-and-file teachers.

Hillary has no excitement behind her campaign and she is one of the most least inspiring candidates running for president right now, Democrat or Republican.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

79. She inspires me.

I often ask myself WWHD, What would Hillary do?

[nyabingi]

99. What is it exactly that inspires you

about Hillary Clinton? I'm trying to see what it is about her that makes her fans so giddy with inspiration.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

100. The way she meshes strength with empathy. Without the proper balance neither value works.

eom

[nyabingi]

141. And what exactly do you mean by "strength"? What "strength" has Hillary shown? (nt)

[DemocratSinceBirth]

142. The way she hasn't flinched in nearly thirty five years of partisan attacks.

She's Elliott Ness in a pant suit, wow !!!

[nyabingi]

143. Every politician has to deal with partisan attacks

and the way she has handled them isn't a very good rationale for thinking she's going to be a good leader.

I'm more interested in what kind of person she is, what kind of policies she's supported, and what her observable moral sensibility is. You can't deny that her stances on many things have "evolved" depending on the current political environment (the Bush regime's Iraq war, gay marriage, for example) dictates and that is why many people feel she is more interested in staying in office than fixing some of the problems we have. Her coziness to Wall Street and the one percenter class (which she and Bill are a part of now) also makes it hard to believe that she will actually stand up for working class Americans (even though she says she will).

"Strength" is not enduring criticism and partisan attacks. She wouldn't be a politician if she wasn't prepared to defend herself and her stances continually. "Strength" is having moral conviction and standing firm behind those convictions whether they are polling high or not and even when you're the only voice in the room dissenting.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

145. " Every politician has to deal with partisan attacks..."

" Every politician has to deal with partisan attacks..."

Not to the level she has... As Eleanor Roosevelt said " to be a woman in politics she has to have the skin of a rhinoceros." Hillary has the skin of a rhinoceros, coated in Kevlar.

I was raised by a widowed mother so strong women aren't alien to me and Hillary Clinton is the strongest woman I have ever seen...

I was for full equality of glbtq folks long before it was cool and sometimes to the chagrin of my friends and associates. I knew Bush's fantastic misadventure in Iraq was not only morally questionable but a strategic folly. But I don't have the burden of getting elected and a politician who can't get elected is useless, regardless of the nobility of his or her intentions.

Hillary has always been in the mainstream of Democratic thought and politics. Ironically that's a bad place to be on a site that calls itself Democratic Underground but it works for me.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

111. That seems a touch ad hominem but as you can see by my avatar I am drawn to strong people...

That seems a touch ad hominem but as you can see by my avatar I am drawn to strong people, physically and emotionally.

[leftofcool]

81. Translation: Darnit, my candidate didn't get that endorsement.

[nyabingi]

93. Bernie isn't my candidate yet.

My statement is just pointing out the fact that Hillary is the candidate who is favored by Wall Street and big money donors, and many of the nation's unions are so desperate to regain the power they've lost over the years that they are willing to latch onto anyone they think is going to be able do something for them in the future.

Hillary may possibly do something to start rolling back right-to-work laws and other regressive legislation that has stymied union membership, but we'll have to see. Obama promised to be an advocate for unions too but he hasn't really done anything.

Since Hillary is so up Goldman Sach's and Wall Street's behinds though, I'd be pleasantly surprised if she actually stood up for unions.

[d_legendary1]

74. Two days ago the rank and file asked to hold off on the endorsement

Two days later HRC gets the nod. Either the polling process was unanimous or the heads gave their members the finger and did it without their consent.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-84564866/

If the latter occurred it's gonna hurt the NEA's credibility when their endorsement is called into question.

[hifiguy]

88. Why? She'd shaft them just the way Obama did

with another useless piece of corporate shit like Duncan who will continue the war on public education.

Wise the fuck up, people.

[Prism]

94. "People in power select power!"

Neat. This is my surprised face. Looks a lot like my bored face.

[Babel_17]

104. Makes DWS's decision to hold back debates look like what it is

It's gaming the system and allowing a relatively few individuals to "call it" before Secretary Clinton has to face her opponents in even a single nationally televised debate. That's not representative of how a democracy, or our Democratic party, should work.

[Logical]

114. What with the unrelated photo? Weird. nt

[workinclasszero]

119. This is a great endorsement

for Hillary!

[jkbRN]

126. Waiting for the uprising

of the actual members

[FloridaBlues]

131. Smart educated people! Good for her

[kenn3d]

134. Some teachers resisting union endorsement of Hillary Rodham Clinton for president - LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-clinton-teachers-20151001-story.html

One of the most hotly debated issues among rank-and-file educators this week is whether Clinton deserves their support. Many are saying no — or at least, not yet — and calling upon their state leaders to resist a move by the president of the union representing 3 million teachers to endorse Clinton.
---
The disaffection is a major political problem for Clinton. Teachers have long been some of the most valuable boots on the ground for the Democratic Party, knocking on doors, making phone calls, getting out the vote. Democratic support for charter schools, harsh teacher evaluation models, and funding schemes that reward districts for cracking down when test scores falter have shrunk this volunteer army.
---
The reaction has been angrier and more energized than that union's leaders anticipated. Facebook lighted up. Nearly 5,000 teachers signed a petition demanding the endorsement be reversed, and members accused their president — Clinton friend, advisor and fundraiser Randi Weingarten — of cronyism and imperiousness. Weingarten is on the board of Priorities USA, the super PAC that has raised about $40 million for Clinton.
"The union's endorsement was done from the top, pretty much without debate," said Stanley Aronowitz, a professor of sociology at the City University of New York who writes frequently about organized labor. "This, from the union with the slogan 'Democracy in education.' … It used to be that if you had a dispirited or discouraged membership, they grumbled but let it go. With the endorsement, the grumbling has manifested itself into insurgencies."
---
Many NEA members are demanding that their union not commit money and personnel the way the American Federation of Teachers did. They want any move to endorse Clinton brought before the full 8,000-member assembly, which could very well block it.
"Clinton's connections to the people who are involved in the education 'reform' movement are pretty clear and out there," said Peter Greene, a teacher and blogger in Franklin, Pa. "She has a lot of ties to the charter movement."
Activist teachers note that one of those ties is Broad, who is particularly reviled by the union rank and file. Broad has been a major force behind the expansion of charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which now has more of them than any other district in the country. He is leading an effort to more than double the number.
Charters are independently operated and exempt from some rules that govern traditional schools. Most are nonunion.

[Ken Burch]

135. They always endorse the most conservative Dem in the race, presidentially.

Hell, they endorsed Bill when he based his campaign on a "fuck teachers' unions" program.

The NEA is part of the center-right status quo.

[DCBob]

140. This gives Hillary credibility amidst all the negative press.

Should give a boost to her numbers.

[riversedge]

144. CNN-->Top teachers union endorses Hillary Clinton

JW4Hillary Retweeted
CNN Politics ‏@CNNPolitics 17h17 hours ago

Top teachers union endorses Hillary Clinton http://cnn.it/1M8fg2S (via @Eugene_Scott)