Speaking Of Fact-Checking
By Mitch Berg
Some of the DFLers’ ads have said that Tom Emmer “supports No Child Left Behind”.
Really?
Seek shelter, DFL and your minions. There’s a storm coming in.
26 Responses to “Speaking Of Fact-Checking”
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July 28th, 2010 at 7:25 am
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mitchpberg, NARN2. NARN2 said: DFL – you say Emmer "supports No Child Left Behind?" Really? http://bit.ly/dhu388 You wanna stick with that story? #stribpol […]
July 28th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Oh no no no. They say he supports “GEORGE BUSH’s No Child Left Behind.” They conveniently leave out that Teddy Kennedy wrote the bill. Bush worked with Kennedy as a gesture of bi-partisanship to placate the the Democratics who were constantly whining about the lack of it back when they were the minority.
July 28th, 2010 at 7:58 am
Also, with the announcement yesterday that state proficiency test scores have IMPROVED, could one argue that NCLB is working or would that be a stretch?
July 28th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Facts – they are for little people.
July 28th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Speaking of fact checking….. I just love right-wing revisionist history.
Y’all just LOVE to make this Ted Kennedy’s project; it was pure ‘W’.
I give you in support of that:
“These reforms express my deep belief in our public schools and their mission to build the mind and character of every child, from every background, in every part of America.
President George W. Bush
January 2001
Three days after taking office in January 2001 as the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush announced No Child Left Behind, his framework for bipartisan education reform that he described as “the cornerstone of my Administration.”
http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/execsumm.html
that’s from the Bush administration’s own U.S. Department of Education
It’s nice you have such a rich fantasy life, gentlemen.
July 28th, 2010 at 9:50 am
DG,
Long story short; Well, no.
Bush came into office serious about either triangulating the Dems or scoring some bipartisan “victories”, depending on your point of view. He did it in an effort to seize some issues from the left (see also Medicaid Part D). It was a hallmark of his terms in Texas, btw, which was one of the reasons I supported Forbes in 2000.
So when he came into office, he knew that education reform was a issue that played well on both sides of the aisle.
NCLB passed with a large raft of other education bills (and spending, spending, spending) with the enthusiastic support of Ted Kennedy and the rest of the Democratics’ “peace through entitlements” crowd.
On a side note, DG? You have GOT to get over this fixation you have with thinking quotes, without context, are even compelling evidence, much less dispositive proof of a thesis (see “conservatives are teh racist”).
you have such a rich fantasy life, gentlemen
As a very wise fella once said, never ascribe to fantasy that which can better be explained by inadequate preparation on your own part.
July 28th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Doggie, Bush came into office declaring his desire to “set a new tone” in Washington. But as we have seen (on all fronts) Democrats do not like to share. Power is a drug, and they are some serious addicts.
July 28th, 2010 at 11:10 am
DG has a severe case of hemianopsia–half his visual field is gone, so when he sees the photos of Bush signing NCLB he can’t see Teddy K off to one side, applauding. We’ll get you a white cane, DG.
We should also get a fire extinguisher for Matt Entenza, who promises to scrap NCLB. It’s a federal program, Matt. Your pants are on fire.
July 28th, 2010 at 11:18 am
“The bill, shepherded through the Senate by Senator Ted Kennedy, one of the bill’s co-authors, received overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_child_left_behind#cite_note-3
Two part question, DG, 1) what part of my comment was “fantasy”; 2) what part of yours wasn’t?
Please keep your answers specific to my overarching point (you do know what a “point is, don’t you?) that labeling NCLB as “George Bush’s NCLB” is deeply dishonest in that the bill was passed (and written) with just as much Dem input as GOP.
July 28th, 2010 at 11:20 am
And Mitch, please stop having my posts go through the moderation queue. Kthxbye.
July 28th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Well Governor Entenza could request the state legislature refuse all those federal education dollars, but that’s about it.
July 28th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Hey DG! Take a look:
http://tinyurl.com/25hjzun
Who is the bloated drunk just over W’s right shoulder? Thaaaat’s right dim-wit, it’s everyone’s favorite Democrat murderer, Ted “Who’s your daddy” Kennedy.
Go ahead and print off a copy and stick it on the tip of your pointy little head, dear.
July 28th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
You may know that, due to a budget crisis, Hawaii’s 2009-2010 school year was shortened by seventeen days. There were the usual warnings of disaster by the teachers union — which refused to give up non-instructional days in place of classroom days. Yet:
“More than half Hawaii’s public schools did not meet adequate yearly progress under “no child left behind” standards. however that’s still better than last year, with dozens more passing the critical AYP mark this year.”
http://www.khon2.com/content/news/developingstories/story/Test-Scores-Improve-for-Hawaiis-Public-School/R2-70AqC_UmVwRpHbWzmCw.cspx?rss=2433
July 28th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
please stop having my posts go through the moderation queue
Nothing personal; something in your posts or email address trips the mod queue. I’ll see if I can figure it out…
July 28th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
I’m glad I’m not the only one!
😉
July 28th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
(you do know what a “point is, don’t you?)
If not, reach up and touch the top of your head, dear.
July 28th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Not just one quote, Mitch. Bush was the person who originated no child left behind. Not Kennedy. It was Bush’s baby all along. Kennedy helped, but it did not originate with him, and was not primarily pushed by him. Kennedy did lend his support, but no more so than other democrats – I believe if I recall correctly that there were 6 sponsors in congress; 3 dems and 3 republicans. Yet conservatives act as if this were Ted Kennedy’s big project, and as if Republicans and Bush had nothing much to do with it — that is a misrepresentation.
Here are a few more quotes in support of NCLB being a Bush-driven project, not primarily a Kennedy project or a democratic driven project.
“The phrase “no child left behind” was not only a mantra of George W. Bush’s presidential campaign, it provided the name for Bush’s ambitious education-reform bill. Keeping that promise is a tall order, and the president’s supporters are fervent in their belief that the only way it can be done is by enforcing higher standards for all students through increased testing and tougher accountability for schools.”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/nochild/
“President Bush wanted a reform bill so badly that he may have compromised his way into a toothless one.” (BusinessWeek Online, Dec. 26, 2001.)
“As Governor of Texas, President Bush triumphed in creating meaningful and tangible state education reform. The Texas model was the state version of the No Child Left Behind Act with standards and accountability the overarching themes. Seeing success in his own state, President Bush used his expertise on this subject to proclaim that this solution would work best by applying the same reform nationwide.”
http://studentpulse.com/articles/258/george-bush-and-no-child-left-behind-a-federalist-perspective
So while Kennedy had a modest part in NCLB, this was Bush’s baby, this was GOP driven, this was based on what Bush did in Texas. It is inaccurate to claim this is something that Kennedy originated or was the primary driving force behind. That is where you are making an error in fact, claiming it was Kennedy’s project, not W’s.
Give Kennedy minor credit, but the major credit, overwhelmingly, goes to ‘W’ and the Republicans. You might want to check out the votes on this legislation as well. It was bi-partisan, but not equally so.
I’ve had this disagreement over the origin of NCLB with others – KR, was it you, or Terry? You should know your own party’s projects better, gentlemen. tsk tsk and not improperly attribute them.
“
July 28th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
hey, Mitch! now I’m the one getting stuck in moderation! (yeah, I know its nothing personal, not even content driven.)
July 28th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
A liberal in moderation? Impossible.
July 28th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I also am perpetually in moderation (but I’m sure Mitch already knows that since he has to approve all my comments)
July 28th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
By the way, the bill was first introduced by John Boehner in the House, as HR 1. It received 9 more votes from democrats in the house, but distinctly more than 50 votes in the senate from Republicans (passed 91 to 8).
If you care to check your facts.
I’m guessing the fact that it was submitted by a Republican, not a Democrat, and that it originated from ‘W’ modelled on his legislation in Texas, that Bush campaigned on it, and that the DoE claims it originated with Bush makes a fair claim that this was Bush’s baby, not Kennedy’s. You might also want to look at the Bush statements in his first speech to Congress on the subject as well, where Bush claims it is his project, while you are fact checking.
IF you want to be fact-based. Which I assume you do Mitch, titling not one but two parts of this ‘Fact-checking’ — so why didn’t you?
July 28th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
please stop having my posts go through the moderation queue
It’s the link to wikipedia that does it. Leave it be, Mitch.
July 28th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Mine go through the moderations queue all the blanking time. You get used to it…
July 28th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
All of my posts urging everyone who reads SITD — male and female both — to use cialis to enhance their sex life get stuck in moderation. Even references to the wikipedia article on cialis get stuck in moderation. Why is that, Mitch?
July 29th, 2010 at 12:06 am
I dunno, but if comments stay in moderation more than four hours, seek help.
July 29th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Talk about throwing a softball…