New U.S. House Chair of Education Committee

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@EARTHLINK.NET>]

    Overriding seniority considerations, the U.S. House of
Representatives has selected Rep. John Boehner of Ohio (Cincinnati to
Dayton area) to chair the Education and Workforce Committe. Boehner is
an ultra conservative (Americans for Democratic Action rating 0 in both
1997 and 1998, ACLU rating of 7, American Conservative Union 96) who
previously served as Chair of the House Republican Conference (policy
committee) under Speaker Newt Gingrich and was a major champion of the
"Contract with America" (more accurately, "Contract _on_ America")
    In a statement released soon after the vote Mr. Boehner promised to
"play a pivotal role" in advancing President-elect Bush's education
proposals.
    This might seem like unvarnished bad news, but having such a
right-wing extremist as a key proponent of the Bush testing scheme could
help us organize opposition in civil rights, education reform and even
mainstream Democratic circles.
    Moreover, Boehner comes from a state with a strong movement against
high-stakes testing. That creates an opportunity for grassroots pressure
to undermine his advocacy of the Bush plan, at least with the media.
    As the old saying goes, "Don't Mourn, Organize!"

Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the ARN-L list, send command SIGNOFF ARN-L
to LISTSERV@LISTS.CUA.EDU.