NEA leaders opt to endorse Obama -- and get some pushback

National Education Association leaders have decided to ask their legislative body in July to formally endorse President Obama for reelection in 2012. The decision was not unanimous because of policy differences between the administration and the NEA, the largest labor union and professional organization in the United States.

The recommendation makes the NEA the first union to signal that it will formally support Obama’s reelection and comes at a time when labor unions feel increasingly besieged by some Republican governors who have taken aim at the collective bargaining rights of their members.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said the decision was also prompted in part because the union is opposed to the agenda of the Republicans who now control the House of Representatives. Though the NEA disagrees with important aspects of the Obama administration’s education policy, he said that the union and the president both have the same vision for a robust and healthy public education system but disagree how to get there.

The Republican Party, he said, does not share the same end goal for public education or for protecting the rights of children, the elderly, the poor and the middle class.

more . . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/nea-leaders-opt-to-endorse-obama----and-get-some-pushback/2011/05/11/AFJhkruG_blog.html#pagebreak

The Obama/Duncan policies have been horrible for public education.

Huge mistake.

Repeating the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome seems foolish to me. They need to become an independent voice which must be wooed if they expect support.

and letting them win would be a Very Bad Thing for them (and almost everybody else).