Today in Washington, DC, Mitt Romney said: “American kids get ‘third-world education under President Barack Obama.’
“Millions of kids are getting a third-world education. And America’s minority children suffer the most,” Romney declared. “This is the civil-rights issue of our era.” And it’s the great challenge of our time.” “President Obama has made his choice, and I have made mine. As president, I will be a champion of real education reform in America.”
Seriously, Mitt Romney? how cavilier of you to throw in the education is a Civil Rights issue. That’s true, yet you don’t get to pick and chose when, where, and how it suddenly becomes a Civil Rights issue.
Let’s refresh Mitt Romney’s memory on EDUCATION:
Re-read this April 24, 2012 post by Ametia
ROMNEY WOULD GUT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND MAKE ITS ROLE TO PUSHBACK ON TEACHERS UNIONS
Romney Said He Would Either Consolidate The Education Department With Another Agency Or Make It “A Heck Of A Lot Smaller.”“On Sunday, Mr. Romney said he would look to the education department and HUD for potential cuts. ‘That might not be around later,’ Mr. Romney said of HUD. Mr. Romney said he would either consolidate the education department with another agency or make it ‘a heck of a lot smaller.’” [Wall Street Journal, 4/15/12]
Romney Said He Would Not Get Rid Of The Department Of Education Entirely To Maintain A Federal Role In Pushing Back Against Teachers’ Unions. “‘The Department of Education: I will either consolidate with another agency, or perhaps make it a heck of a lot smaller. I’m not going to get rid of it entirely,’ Romney said, explaining that part of his reasoning behind preserving the agency was to maintain a federal role in pushing back against teachers’ unions.” [First Read, NBC News, 4/15/12]
AS GOVERNOR, ROMNEY CUT HIGHER EDUCATION BY MILLIONS AS TUITION AND FEES INCREASED
Romney Cut $140 Million – 14 Percent – Of The Higher Education Budget During His Tenure. “Another shift hit students at state colleges and universities, where fees soared 63 percent during Romney’s tenure, from an average of $2,959 in 2003 to $4,836 in 2007, according to the state Board of Higher Education. The fee hikes were enacted by each campus to offset deep budget cuts of about $140 million, or about 14 percent, during the fiscal crisis.” [Boston Globe, 6/29/07]
During Romney’s Tenure State Colleges And University “Fees Soared 63 Percent.” “Another shift hit students at state colleges and universities, where fees soared 63 percent during Romney’s tenure, from an average of $2,959 in 2003 to $4,836 in 2007, according to the state Board of Higher Education. The fee hikes were enacted by each campus to offset deep budget cuts of about $140 million, or about 14 percent, during the fiscal crisis.” [Boston Globe, 6/29/07]
Does any of the above read like REAL EDUCATION REFORM under a Romney administration?
Stay tuned for more from the Obama camp on Mitt’s OUTLANDISH statements on education.
Updates & RECAP from conference call today:
- Romney Economics Bad for Education
Ben LaBolt,Press Secretary: We’ve already seen what Romney Economics means for students at every level of their education. Mitt Romney might not want to talk about his lackluster record in Massachusetts, but it’s an important window into what he would bring to the White House. Let’s start with K-12 education. By his second year as governor, Romney had already forced Massachusetts schools to take the second largest cuts per pupil in the country. Those cuts forced school districts to lay off thousands of teachers along with librarians and even police officers, 14,500 in all. Not exactly the record of the job creator. When he got elected he tried to cut funding for early literacy in kindergarten programs, vetoed a bill to create universal pre-k in Massachusetts and questioned the value for early education. As governor he vetoed programs that would’ve helped reduce class sizes in the earliest grades where individual attention is the most important. Romney still believes against all evidence that smaller class sizes are harmful. None of this helps students in Massachusetts get ready for college and the workforce.”
- Romney’s Policies:
James Kvaal, Policy Director: Mitt Romney today outlined a very different set of proposals. As a reminder, his budget would make big cuts in the things we need to invest in our future, including education. He’s proposed some $5 trillion in tax cuts above and beyond the cost of extending the Bush tax cuts. And those tax cuts are slanted to the wealthiest Americans and big corporations. He has told his donors that he would merge or dramatically downsize the Department of Education, and he supports the House Republican budget offered by Paul Ryan that would require cuts in domestic spending, including education, by almost 20%. Think of what we’ve learned today, the most troubling aspect was his proposal to stop the clock on decades of reform by no longer insisting that action be taken when a school is struggling, and struggling for years. Instead he would return to the days when failing schools were tolerated for year after year. His proposal – his only proposal in this area is to create school report cards. But it’s not clear how those reports cards are different from the school report cards that are already required by federal law. Moreover, while President Obama strongly supports transparency and has proposed steps to expand transparency, that alone is not going to improve our schools who need tools to help failing schools improve. Governor Romney has also proposed steps to expand school choice. President Obama has also worked to expand school choice, in his case, in public schools. In fact Race to the Top, encouraged states to lift caps on charter schools and expanded and strengthened charter schools in many states. Governor Romney’s proposal also appears to be open to private schools voucher, however, which is troubling because we know from experience that private school vouchers have failed to raise achievement and they drain resources from the public schools that serve the vast majority of children.”
- Romney’s Claim on 6% Unemployment:
Ben LaBolt,Press Secretary: Government economists have been clear that under current law their projection today is that unemployment will hit 6 % by that point. What I think was interesting about this is that Romney moved the goal post in just a matter of weeks. He said that he was going to get it down to 4 % several weeks ago. Now he’s at 6%, and he’s already moved the goal post on a critical promise that he has made. The second question is how he gets to 6% without supporting the programs that the President has put on the table to create jobs now.”
UPDATE of another good article: The Truth About Governor Willard and Education
And the final grade for Mitt Romney is:
Romney Promotes For-Profit College Owned By A Private Equity Firm That Does Business With Romney’s Son Tagg
When asked about his plan for higher education, Mitt Romney has taken to endorsing the for-profit higher education industry, even singling out a specific college business, Full Sail University. When speaking with a local newspaper before the Iowa caucus, he volunteered Full Sail and other for-profit colleges as an answer to the rising costs of college tuition. He has also suggested Full Sail when speaking to college students in both New Hampshire.
Full Sail, like many for-profit colleges, is an odd choice for a conservative. These schools depend on billions in taxpayer aid, much of it wasted on advertisements and bonuses for executives. And as many have demonstrated, companies like Full Sail have a less than stellar track record when it comes to future employment and debt for their students.
As the New York Times pointed out, Full Sail is owned by a private equity firm called TA Associates, which is run by C. Kevin Landry, a major donor to Mitt Romney’s super PAC. According to Bloomberg News, Landry has now given $100,000 to Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney super PAC blanketing the airwaves in Republican primary states.
The complex web of relationships between Full Sail’s owners and Tagg Romney’s investment business with TA Associates presents a conflict of interest for the presidential candidate. Is Mitt Romney promoting a greater degree of taxpayer money to an industry because of his family’s connection to it? Will investors with Tagg’s firm and donors to Romney’s super PAC be given preferential treatment in a Romney administration?
What is known is that Romney has received between $100,000 and $1 million in returns from his stake in the investment company that is partnered with TA Associates, a private equity firm that is getting rich of for-profit universities — while Romney on the campaign trail has touted for-profit education as the future.
SNIP
The complex web of relationships between Full Sail’s owners and Tagg Romney’s investment business with TA Associates presents a conflict of interest for the presidential candidate. Is Mitt Romney promoting a greater degree of taxpayer money to an industry because of his family’s connection to it? Will investors with Tagg’s firm and donors to Romney’s super PAC be given preferential treatment in a Romney administration?
What is known is that Romney has received between $100,000 and $1 million in returns from his stake in the investment company that is partnered with TA Associates, a private equity firm that is getting rich of for-profit universities — while Romney on the campaign trail has touted for-profit education as the future.
http://www.republicreport.org/2012/romney-son-tagg/
Mitt Romney Holds Education Roundtable at Philadelphia Charter School
C-Sapn Video:
http://www.c-span.org/Campaign2012/Events/Mitt-Romney-Holds-Education-Roundtable-at-Philadelphia-Charter-School/10737430983/
Philly Mayor Michael Nutter is NOT feelin any love for you, Mitt Romney.
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In West Philly, Romney Faces The Racial Politics Of Education
He called improving schools “the civil rights era of our time.” Outside the school, a heated debate on race, charters, and “if Mitt Romney even knows any Afro-Americans.”
SNIP
Many expressed "shock" that Romney would come to their neighborhood, and a few gave him credit for making a campaign stop in a sturdily Democratic district. But most viewed his visit cynically, and accused him of using them and their community as mere scenery — a ploy to convince the national electorate that he cared about poor black people.
“You want to have an urban experience?" Mayor Nutter said of Romney, drawing vocal support from the crowd. "You want to have a West Philly experience? Then come out here and talk to somebody in West Philly.”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/in-west-philly-romney-faces-the-racial-politics-o
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?!
POLITICSUpdated April 15, 2012, 11:14 p.m. ET.
Romney Specifies Deductions He’d Cut
By SARA MURRAY
PALM BEACH, Fla.—Mitt Romney, speaking at a private fundraising event on Sunday, offered the first details of deductions he would eliminate or limit in order to offset the income tax cut he has proposed for all taxpayers.
Mr. Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, said he would eliminate or limit for high-earners the mortgage interest deduction for second homes, and likely would do the same for the state income tax deduction and state property tax deduction.
He also said he would look to the Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development for budget cuts.
Mr. Romney discussed his plans while speaking to high-dollar donors at a private estate. During the backyard event, which could be heard by reporters outside on a public sidewalk, Mr. Romney offered policy specifics he has yet to unveil on the campaign trail.
Mr. Romney has pledged a 20% cut to income tax rates for taxpayers in all income brackets but has offered few details for how he would pay for the proposal. Mr. Romney also has vowed to bring federal spending under control, while offering few details on which programs he would cut.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577346611860756628.html
SERIOUSLY, ANCHOR BABY?
Marco Rubio: Romney Presidency Will Be ‘About Making And Keeping America Special’
Video- http://www.mediaite.com/tv/marco-rubio-romney-presidency-will-be-about-making-and-keeping-america-special/
by Noah Rothman | 9:36 am, May 24th, 2012
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio appeared on Fox & Friends on Thursday where he discussed his version of the DREAM Act, Hispanic voters and their reluctance to embrace the Republican party and the candidacy of Mitt Romney. Earlier, Romney had praised Rubio on Fox & Friends. When asked about this, Rubio responded that Romney was doing a good job of advancing the cause of the GOP and said a Romney presidency “is going to be about making and keeping America special.”
Mitt Romney in Mass.: The lost years
By: Glenn Thrush
May 23, 2012 07:12 PM EDT
Michael Dukakis wouldn’t stop talking about the “Massachusetts Miracle” during the 1988 campaign.
These days, it’s a minor miracle when the word “Massachusetts” passes from Mitt Romney’s lips for more than a fleeting moment — and the presumptive GOP nominee seldom expounds on his four highly consequential years as a moderate Republican lording over an unruly pack of Bay State liberals.
By choosing to emphasize his experience as a can-do businessman who ran the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and Bain Capital, Romney is shielding himself from the charge that he’s a hidden centrist who passed the nation’s most sweeping local health care reform bill, supported abortion rights and closed tax loopholes for the rich.
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3EEC3F39-40B5-4366-8393-53D0DDC01BD3
Dear kindergarten, elementary, high school, and college students,
I HOPE YOU’VE SHOPPED AROUND.
Sincerely,
Mitt Romney, Bain Capital Alumni