Romney again - against the teachers this time

[Mass]

Thanks to bluemassgroup.com

http://www.bluemassgroup.com/frontPage.do

Romney: greedy teachers "will torture and twist"
by: David
January 17, 2006 at 00:41:55 EST
Mitt Romney, fresh from slaughtering caged birds, has now turned his sights on his latest target: teachers. The Herald reports that - at an event honoring Martin Luther King Jr., no less - Romney said the following:

They will distort and deprive, they will torture and twist, but don’t forget, to them, it’s first about compensation and jobs.

and, for those who think that the BG is a liberal newspaper, here is what the BG reports.

UPDATE: As alert commenter Dr. Gonzo notes below, the Globe's report on the MLK speech weirdly omits any mention of Romney's inflammatory comments, though it mentions that he was booed. So to read the Globe article - entitled "Romney assails racial divide" - you'd think that Romney was booed for proposing bold new initiatives to close the racial achievement gap, when in fact he was booed for basically calling teachers a bunch of greedy bastards who hate kids. A very shoddy reporting job by the Globe.

[mom cat]

1. Nice fetch ....K&R

[TaleWgnDg]

2. Wouldn't you figure that a graduate of Brigham Young University

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Wouldn't you figure that a graduate of Brigham Young University, Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, and who also made millions in a private investment firm (Baine Investments) and done other securities work, plus "saved" the U.S. Olympics held in Utah, and who's Dad (George Romney) was the Governor of Michigan, would be able to know his audience better? You know, not piss 'em off? Particularly when it comes to a day of celebration of a world-class minority figure such as Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Ah, no, not our G.O.P. Governor Mittens. Nah. Never. Nope. Nada. Zed. Here's the Boston Herald's take on Mittens most recent blunder:

“Sad to say that the teachers union and their supporters will fight these answers with every tool they have,” Romney said to the largely black crowd of roughly 1,000 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

“They will distort and deprive, they will torture and twist, but don’t forget, to them, it’s first about compensation and jobs. To you, it’s about kids and their future,” he said.

Romney’s comments were met with both loud boos and polite applause.

http://news.bostonherald.com/localPolitics/view.bg?articleid=121623

Hhhhmmmm, is this Romney telling us as it is?

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[MannyGoldstein]

3. Romney Needs A Math Lesson

I just posted the following on my site (blueworksbetter.com) regarding Willard Romney's lovely spew:

W. "Mitt" Romney used the occasion of a Martin Luther King tribute breakfast on Monday to blast the Massachusetts teacher's unions. Talking about opposition to charter schools, The Boston Herald reports that our governor remarked:

"Sad to say that the teachers union and their supporters will fight these answers with every tool they have,... They will distort and deprive, they will torture and twist, but don’t forget, to them, it’s first about compensation and jobs. To you, it’s about kids and their future”

I decided to put Romney's assertion to the test - is there any evidence that Massachusetts teachers only care about money? Are they a bunch of rotten hacks, as Romney implies, or - perhaps they are professionals doing a good job?

Let's look at the numbers and see what we can find out:

As part of the "No Child Left Behind" legislation, there is now a set of nationwide tests administered in every state for comparison purposes. The NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), which measures math and reading skills, is administered each year to fourth and eighth graders.

The results of last year's NAEP tests are very good news for Massachusetts residents:

* Massachusetts was ranked first in fourth grade math.
* Massachusetts was ranked first in fourth grade reading.
* Massachusetts was ranked first in eighth grade math.
* Massachusetts was ranked first in eighth grade reading.

Incredibly, Massachusetts ranked first out of all 50 states in each of the four tests, a staggering showing. Given this outcome, how could any thinking person conclude anything other than Massachusetts teachers are phenomenally-gifted and dedicated professionals?

As the parent of a child in the Massachusetts school system, I can only be fearful of the motivations of a politician who desperately seeks to dismantle such a success story. Rather than bad-mouthing successful teachers, Governor Romney should focus on the tens of thousands of jobs that have been lost since he assumed the State House's corner office - reportedly a worst-in-the-nation showing.