In response to a scathing St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial page indictment of her recent shennanigans – holding preschool funding hostage in order to get back at Kathy Thornberg, a functionary of the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary education who dared defy her – state Senator Jane Cunningham shows us her very thin-skin, while ratcheting up her usual level of self-righteous dudgeon. In a letter to the editor (“Saying no to cookie-cutter ratings”, 4/29), she wants us to know the editorial is wrong about her relationship with conservative education reform guru, and former chancellor of the Washington D.C. School district Michelle Rhee; in fact, she claims, “contrary to what the editorial said, I have met Michelle Rhee on several occasions.” Whoopdy-do.

In her letter Cunningham also disavows any but the most noble motives for attacking Thornberg for her efforts to institute the Quality Ratings System (QRS). According to most authorities, the QRS process consists of developing appropriate, local standards which are then used to monitor preschools’ performance. The ratings that the process yields can be used to help preschools improve their performance and to inform parents about how well schools are performing. Doesn’t sound so bad, does it?

Cunningham, however, claims to be honoring the objections to QRS voiced by “public and nonpublic preschool directors and public school superintendents.” Elsewhere, though, she has indicated that the folks who were objecting most strenuously were mostly from the “non-public … religious or secular” segment of preschool providers. So, what’s the real story? You’re guess is as good as mine and I bet it stays that way.

Cunningham’s major criticism of the DESE version of QRS seems to be that it’s a “cookie-cutter” system that  imposes “one-size-fits-all” evaluative measurements on preschools. Ummm….what am I missing? For fairness sake if nothing else, meaningful evaluative standards need to be uniform. And if they aren’t, of course, they don’t really tell us much. Maybe that’s what some of those folks in the less-regulated “non-public” sphere actually want? Else why object so strenuously to standards that have never actually been tried out here in Missouri in a consistent, across-the-board fashion?

Cunningham’s cookie-cutter argument seems flimsy at best, especially when you remember that she’s one of the people in the legislature fighting hardest to impose teacher evaluations that draw strongly on the standardized test performance of a diverse student population. And she wants to talk about “cookie-cutter” and “one-size-fits-all” evaluative systems?

I’m guessing that the real issue depends on whether the cookie-cutter in question comes from Cunningham’s personal drawer. I don’t know about you, but personally, I prefer my education-flavored cookies to come from the stoves of trained educational professionals, not some pol drunk on Tea Party brew.

Cunningham also writes that:

There have been proposals from legislators to allow for competing rating services, much like there are a variety of national and regionally recognized accreditation companies or testing services from which schools choose. All provide valid information and quality control without subjecting pre-schools to the dictates of one individual whom they may not trust and who doesn’t not value the marketplace, which allows quality choices for families.

Gee, what I want when I go shopping for a pre-school is a bunch of diverse ratings that, for all I know measure apples and oranges. Of course, there’s really no danger of such a evaluative tower of babel since, as Cunningham herself has acknowledged in an article in the St. Louis Beacon last October, the legislature can’t get it together to actually do anything:

Cunningham said that for several years, efforts to enact a rating system for preschools in Missouri were debated in both the House and Senate, but the two chambers could never agree on what such a system should include. In the last two years, she said, the issue gained no traction at all.

Do you think maybe the DESE was just trying to impose some best practices in order to fill up the legislative vacuum? It seems, though, that Cunningham prefers to let Missourians founder in the desert while a bunch of ideologues fight about how to micromanage the details of processes that few of them seem to actually understand in the first place.  

Cunningham also, in a nod to to the de rigueur GOP anti-government rhetoric, writes that QRS would impose onerous “resource-draining, duplicative forms and certifications and rules” on pre-school staff. It may be news to Cunningham, but thorough documentation is essential if the evaluative process is to produce results that have any meaning. It’s particularly essential when funding depends on rankings – along with consistent, uniform standards. Everything, in fact, that the DESE was trying to put in place.

One is forced to conclude that Cunningham and her allies really don’t want information about how various pre-schools compare to get out. She actually stated in an interview in the St. Louis Beacon that

If they [i.e., preschools] don’t submit to her [i.e. DESE employee Kathy Thornberg] one-size-fits-all plan,” Cunningham said, “then when money or whatever vouchers become available to give to income-eligible families to choose a preschool, they won’t have a choice. It dramatically reduces the choices for low-income people.

What I want to know is how making sure that parents don’t have reliable, consistently derived information about how schools compare does so much for choice?

* Very slightly edited for clarity.

Previously: Cass County Democrats 2012 Back to Blue Dinner: State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) (April 29, 2012)

“…we have to stop the ineffectiveness of the senior advocacy in this Lieutenant Governor’s office under Peter Kinder and give our seniors a voice. And I intend to do that…”

On Saturday night the Cass County Democratic Central Committee hosted their annual back to Blue Dinner in Belton, Missouri. Former State Auditor and current candidate for Lieutenant Governor Susan Monteel (D) was one of the featured speakers:

Susan Montee (D): …Thank you so much. It is, it is good to be back here and it is really great to be here as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

Um, although, you know, like most women I didn’t ever set out to run for political office. Statistics show that fifty percent less women than men even consider running for office. And of those thirty percent less actually run. So I ended up here because along the way I figured out if you want to make something happen sometimes you just have to step in and do it yourself. [laughter] And that’s how I ended up on the city council in St. Joseph. Doing that, I was following in the footsteps of another woman in Missouri. Harriet Woods ran for a city council spot because she wanted to get somebody to do something about a noisy manhole cover outside her house. Harriet Woods went on to be our first woman statewide elected official. In nineteen eighty-four she was elected Lieutenant Governor and we have not had a woman in that position since. And I intend to close that twenty-four year gap. [applause][cheers]…

…When you look at those intervening years, though, it is very noticeable, the very few women that actually make it to the statewide level. We have only had nine women elected to statewide office in the history of Missouri. Last, four years ago it was half. Three out of our six statewide officials were women. And this year we’re in danger of going to zero. And it all is dependent on this race because of all the Republicans and Democrats running for statewide office there are only five women running this year and they are all in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor. [laughter]

I, you know, I don’t even know what to say about that [laughter] except that, um, you know, six months ago I couldn’t get a single taker when I was the chair of the Democratic Party. Just a year ago I thought we had a candidate. Uh, we had a couple of people looking at it, but the Republicans also had a candidate. And by June Steve Tilley had amassed a million dollars in the bank and our candidates faded away.  By Fall he had a million and a half and I had talked to everyone that would listen and yet we were all on a path to let him run unopposed. And it was very clear that he was gonna have so much money that he could spend money against all of our candidates and still have a lot left over to kick start his governor campaign is sixteen. And that was a scenario that I wasn’t gonna live with. And that is another time where I said [applause] you come in and do it yourself. [applause][cheers]

You know, I, I’m a team player. But I, I didn’t do it for that reason. I actually saw a path to victory. And I also saw how important the Lieutenant Governor’s office is.  Our, our former Senator Tom Eagleton, uh, once said that Lieutenant Governor was the best job he ever had. You get up in the morning, you call over to the Governor’s mansion, say, is the Governor still alive, and if they say, yes, you can just go back to bed. [laughter] Uh, but in that joke is, is why we have to take this, uh, as very important. Because the primary responsibility of the Lieutenant Governor is to be Governor should the need arise. And so we should look at our candidates for this office with the same seriousness that we look at the top of the ticket. And I’m the only candidate of all four parties in this race that is ready to lead from day one. [applause]

I also [inaudible] in the [inaudible] duties of the office. As state Auditor I recognize firsthand the, uh, protections that are not there in our laws for our senior citizens. I found that, uh, when individuals were disqualified from working in child care centers they could still come in and work with our long term care facilities, that it didn’t matter that they had had a history of abuse. Now we have to stop the ineffectiveness of the senior advocacy in this Lieutenant Governor’s office under Peter Kinder and give our seniors a voice. And I intend to do that. [applause]

And there will never be a stronger advocate for veteran’s affairs. I come from a, a military family. My dad was a navigator in the Marine Corps. And when I was in second grade his plane was shot down. He is still missing in action in Viet Nam. My mom was thirty-two years old with four kids, one with a congenital heart defect. So I know exactly the type of challenges that face our military families. And we are going to have a lot more young soldiers coming back from Afghanistan and our needs are great. And I will work tirelessly to make sure that our military families get what they earn and deserve the way that I did, because I went to college on the GI Bill. [applause]

And I, uh, I do have a primary. You know, things change. Uh, Steve Tilley took all his campaign money and bought a bank, uh, because our ethics laws allow that. Uh, and so, suddenly this seemed like a winnable race and, and I’m glad. Winnable is good. If we all think it’s winnable we work a lot harder. Uh, but winnable does not mean easy. This is going to be a difficult race. One of the republicans is taking his checks in two hundred and fifty thousand dollar increments, ’cause our ethics laws allow that, too.

Uh, I, I’m confident that I, I will win this primary. I am twenty-five points up in a poll. I am top of the ticket out of eight. So I feel really good about that, but winning the primary isn’t what we’re trying to do here. It’s all about November. And if we don’t start working now we won’t be able to be successful in November.  So despite that we, the fact that I have a primary and that there are friends in it, I’m asking you to be with me now….

….If we do, start working now we can win this in November. And I intend to do that….Thank you so much. [applause]

Previously:

Missouri – Unite Against the War on Women – Jefferson City march and rally – photos, part 2 (April 28, 2012)

Missouri – Unite Against the War on Women – Jefferson City march and rally – photos (April 28, 2012)

Unite Against the War on Women – march and rally in Jefferson City – April 28, 2012 (April 21, 2012)

We Are Women March 4.28.12 – Susan Montee (D) and Courtney Cole (D) (April 19, 2012)

Approximately three hundred individuals from across the state gathered Saturday morning near the James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Building in Jefferson City for a march to a rally at the Capitol in support of women’s rights.

Arriving on the Capitol lawn.

“Keep Your Religion Out Of My Uterus”

“I Am A Woman! Not A Special Interest”

“Rock The Slut Vote”

State Representative Stephen Webber (D) and current candidate in the 46th Legislative District.

Former state Senator Ken Jacob (D), the Democratic Party candidate in the 44th Legislative District.

“Respect Women”

That’s the whole point.

“…when we do these three things right, invest in education, help invest in jobs here at home, and help care for our most vulnerable then we’re, as a party, standing up for the right values. And that’s the belief that tomorrow is better than today. Folks, that’s what this election is about in two thousand twelve…”

Missouri State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D).

On Saturday night the Cass County Democratic Central Committee hosted their annual back to Blue Dinner in Belton, Missouri. State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) was one of the featured speakers:

Missouri State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D): ….You now, I was talking with, uh, a group of folks the other day about, you know, the challenges that we have with our economy both in Missouri and nationally. And I think about the experience that I had growing up. I was the son of a union carpenter, my mom was a hair dresser. And I think about the experiences that I had on the ground, uh, being able to grow up in a neighborhood where we had those middle class opportunities. And guess what? Unions are part of the solution. And they help make that happen [voice: “Right.”] every single day. [applause]…

[….]

I also want to just say how proud I am to be here, uh, tonight with Teresa Hensley. Uh, when we think [applause] , when we think about the state of Washington right now, not only is Teresa right on the issues, and that’s really, really important, right, because we have somebody up there right now that is wrong on almost every issue., but on top of that Teresa understands that, that public service , public service is more than about simply winning an election. It’s about actually governing and getting things done. And it’s gonna be great to see her as a leader for our state in Washington. Teresa. [applause]

I’m, I’m really excited to be on the campaign trail again and really excited to come to you and ask for your support, uh, in reapplying for my job as State Treasurer, a job that I really love. And, you know, when I think about these campaigns I, I think it’s important to note that, you know, two big pieces of this. You know, we often think about campaigns in terms of, uh, in terms of TV sets and, and raising lots of money, which, don’t get me wrong, I’d like to have both. But we also know that campaigns in Missouri, campaigns in Missouri are won and lost by just a few votes, by just a few votes. You know, in my first election in two thousand two when I was running for the state House, uh, we won that election by just sixty seven votes out of fourteen thousand cast. Now, that was the impact that folks made back then in two thousand two and now I’m serving as State Treasurer. But now, the challenge is upon us to also remember that that same opportunity exists for candidates like Teresa [Hensley] and Chris [Koster] and other candidates all around this state, to have that same opportunity to make sure that we understand that as individuals we can make an impact when we all work together on the journey ahead.

And, and the second piece of these campaigns, and I think this is really important right now, more than ever in our country, is that the way we campaign and the way we behave during the campaign, it really matters. And that, first of all, we have to run a campaign that’s based on ethics and integrity, and that’s first and foremost. And if you don’t have that foundation a lot’s gonna fall apart underneath you. But, but the second piece of that is making sure that we campaign in a way that really sets us up to actually govern and get things done. And that’s really what’s been lost the last few years, in terms of these elections, is that investment that you have to make in your campaign and talk about real issues. Talk about how we’re going to bring people together to solve problems that are really, really difficult. And, that is the type of campaign I’m gonna be running.

Now, you know, as Treasurer I get a chance to travel all around the state and meet some pretty amazing people along the way. Uh, and it is a constant reminder that the job we have ahead of us is something that we can get done and we have a responsibility to get done. You know, when I was in Joplin not long, during one of my visits, not long after setting up some satellite services for residents there, uh, I had a chance to, during one of my stays I was at a hotel where there was a man with his five daughters, uh, eating breakfast in the hotel lobby. Now, anybody that’s ever ate breakfast in a hotel lobby with five girls and a waffle machine’s involved you know how hard that is[laughter].  Well, he was doing a great job with this and the girls were doing wonderful. And, had a chance later on that day and saw him swimming with them, uh, in the hotel pool and visited with a hotel employee and learned that he had just lost his wife, uh, and his daughters their mother in that terrible storm. And when you think about that experience it reminds us that the job we have is a serious one. But the job we have and the problems we face, they’re not as tough as the problems that that man faced that day. And we have a responsibility to stand up and get things done. And if it’s an election year, that’s no excuse not to get things done. If it doesn’t fit into your partisan ideology, that’s not an excuse not to get things done. We need to stand up and get to work. [applause]

Now, now, I was really disappointed, the Republicans did finally find a candidate to run against me. [laughter] And, and I’ll tell you, this, this is a fellow that has some difficulty grasping the challenges and the seriousness of, of this job and our responsibility. Uh, you know, when he announced he said, I don’t have any problems with the work that, that Clint’s been doing, but, this sounds like a kind of interesting idea to run. [laughter] And a way to fulfill some responsibility to his party. And, he said his campaign strategy has three key points. First of all, he’s gonna ride the Republican wave. Secondly, he’s gonna, quote, go where the votes are, whatever that means. [laughter] And, and, third, he’s actually just gonna focus on campaigning on his dad’s name ID in St. Louis.  Now, when he came into the Missouri House he formed a legislative committee. Remember, he came into the House the same time I came into my work as State Treasurer, a difficult time in the economy. Unemployment was beginning to zoom up to what nearly was ten percent. He formed a legislative committee, chaired it, and the work that he focused on was regulating the color of margarine and how cabooses operate. [laughter] Now, that’s sort of like cleaning out your closet when your house is on fire. You, you’re missing the point. And during that he has not had one idea, nor during this, on how to improve our state, how to make it better. What is he going to do as State Treasurer to improve the job, to improve our lives here in Missouri, to better manage tax dollars.

Now I took office during a crisis and it was a crisis that was deeper than any of us ever expected. It was deeper than any of us expected. And before taking office I worked with both sides, Republicans and Democrats, to provide stability for our investment portfolio, to protect that four billion dollars that I manage, to make sure that we continue to invest capital in farms and small business across our state during a difficult time, and to make sure that we continue to help families save for college. Now, we did those things during tough times and actually got results. That four billion dollars that we manage? That’s money that Missourians, we’ve kept safe, we’ve kept it secure. Other states, by the way, have created burdens for the next generation. Other small towns and municipalities have, have actually gone bust. But, not under my watch. We’ve kept your money safe and secure. We are one of only nine states in the nation that has a triple A credit rating from all three m
ajor rating agencies. [applause] And, we took that a step further and we said, you know, part of growing our economy is making sure that we invest in our assets, small business and agriculture is part of our solution. We’ve invested now one billion dollars, including a hundred and twenty-five right here in the region into small businesses that have touched sixteen thousand jobs and farms since I’ve come into office.

And we all know how important education is, is a, is a key piece of this. Uh, we have a college savings plan in Missouri now, a college savings plan that’s ranked number six in terms of low cost and number one in terms of performance. We’re a leader now. Other states are calling us to ask what they can do to improve their college savings plan. [applause] And, and even the Republican State Auditor, the Republican State Auditor said, guess what, Clint Zweifel is doing an excellent in his administration. Only the third agency out of the entire state, a hundred and fifty audits, to get such a rating. You can clap. [applause]

So, it’s a reminder that, you know, that those things aren’t about politics, they’re about getting things done. And in this state, making sure that we believe and we invest in the belief and the value that politics should be the art of the possible. It’s about the idea of creating the opportunities for our kids in education to better themselves, whether it’s going to a community college or a trade school or an apprenticeship program or a university so that they have those opportunities. But also to make sure that we reinvest inside our state and our infrastructure so that there are jobs here for them to keep them here at home. And then finally, making care, making sure that we care for our most vulnerable so that they don’t fall through the cracks during some of the most difficult times.

You know, last year I, after twenty-four months, I championed a proposal in our state’s housing commission, uh, that began to really touch the issue of homeless, homelessness in Missouri. Uh, we have twenty-four thousand homeless Missourians on any given night. And of that twenty-four thousand, sixteen thousand are children with an average age of eight. Five thousand are our veterans who are returning home and not yet really have the stability to find a place to call their own.

We know have, so we looked at that problem. We met with veterans organizations, met with lots of folks in the mental health community and said, we have a housing commission that should be able to do more than that. We now have the states’ leading housing commission in terms of its commitment to veterans, children aging out of the foster care, and those who are suffering from chronic homelessness to actually provide a safe place for them to call home and supportive services to top. That’s good news for Missouri. [applause]

And one of those people that I had a chance to meet on that journey, her name was [xxxxxxx] and I can tell her story. She was on the street for more than a year and was homeless for even longer than that time period. Uh, [xxxxxx] was raped while she was on the streets, she was in a wheel chair, uh, and she had lost the basic hope that all of us take for granted, right, that sense of optimism that tomorrow’s gonna be better than today. Um, she happened to find an agency that was doing some of this good work that we’ve helped support. Uh, she got back on her feet. She now has a bachelor’s degree, she’s working on her CPA, and she’s a resource advocate helping other individuals care for these, care, care and improve their lives.

So it’s a reminder that when we do these three things right, invest in education, help invest in jobs here at home, and help care for our most vulnerable then we’re, as a party, standing up for the right values. And that’s the belief that tomorrow is better than today. Folks, that’s what this election is about in two thousand twelve.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your State Treasurer. [applause] Thank you so much.

Worth reading today: the New York Times editorial titled “A Senator Fights Back.” The Times piece describes the unfair fight facing Claire McCaskill as she opts to try to fight back against the GOP SuperPACs that are pouring money into Missouri to try to unseat her.

The money (literally) quote:

Republican interest groups are outspending Ms. McCaskill and other Missouri Democrats by a 7-to-1 ratio; Ms. McCaskill herself is being outspent by 3 to 1. Though she has raised nearly $10 million, the amount could be dwarfed by the unlimited money at the disposal of Republican-oriented groups.

A sample of what the money is buying:

“Fourteen thousand dollars,” one Crossroads GPS ad intones, while a beleaguered father holds his head in his hands. “Under President Obama and Senator Claire McCaskill, that’s what every man, woman and child in America owes in new government debt.” The ad wrongly suggests that individuals will “owe” the government a check for that amount, and of course never mentions that Mr. Rove’s patron, President George W. Bush, was responsible for nearly five times more of the current debt than President Obama.

What the Times thinks about the situation:

Crossroads GPS claims to be a tax-exempt social welfare group, so it does not have to disclose its big corporate donors. That lie is no less outrageous than it was in 2010, when these groups first started sheltering their political activity under a tax loophole. It is long past time for the Internal Revenue Service to begin investigating and prosecuting this clear violation of the law.

Meanwhile, while a few politicians and pundits fret about the situation, those of us in Missouri and other similar states can sit back and watch the unedifying spectacle of corporations trying to buy our democracy.

The issue for politicians like Claire McCaskill is that the opposition, thanks to their unlimited funds, can keep lobbing lies like Groucho Marx used to lob his jokes, so fast and furiously that it doesn’t make any difference if a few miss their mark. Or, in the current case, so fast and furiously and with such relentless repetition that it becomes impossible to respond effectively or to lay any particular calumny to rest. No matter how fast you clean off spitballs, enough of them will leave a sticky film.

The issue for the rest of us is that the attacks on both our democratic process and the governmental structures that have shored up the American middle class are subject to such a fast and furious onslaught that we are unable to focus and set priorities. We are always rallying to put out brush fires and never get to the major conflagration that is threatening us.

Surely, though, pushback against the conditions that permit the subversion of our elections by big money has to be our most important focus. Electing officials who have our interests at heart is essential if we are to form a bulwark against the current GOP attack on essential social structures.  Sadly, as the Times observes on the topic of legislating greater transparency in campaign finance, the fight may already be nearly lost:

Congress could also require disclosure of donors, and end the coordination between outside groups and political parties. That is increasingly unlikely, however, as long as some members of Congress owe their elections, and their allegiance, to the same groups.

Previously:

Missouri – Unite Against the War on Women – Jefferson City march and rally – photos (April 28, 2012)

Unite Against the War on Women – march and rally in Jefferson City – April 28, 2012 (April 21, 2012)

We Are Women March 4.28.12 – Susan Montee (D) and Courtney Cole (D) (April 19, 2012)

Approximately three hundred individuals from across the state gathered Saturday morning near the James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Building in Jefferson City for a march to a rally at the Capitol in support of women’s rights.

The march to the Capitol.

In the two hours as people gathered in the staging area for the march near the James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Building they took the opportunity to introduce themselves to each other, visit, talk politics and policy, exchange ideas for signs, and take photographs.

Nancy Maxwell, the Democratic Party candidate in the 54th Legislative District,

in the staging area before the start of the march to the Capitol.

Gadsden ovaries.

Courtney Cole.

Peggy Cochran.

Teresa Hensley, the Democratic Party candidate in the 4th Congressional District,

spoke to the crowd about the impact of domestic violence and her experiences in

successfully dealing with those cases as Cass County Prosecutor.

Previously:

Unite Against the War on Women – march and rally in Jefferson City – April 28, 2012 (April 21, 2012)

We Are Women March 4.28.12 – Susan Montee (D) and Courtney Cole (D) (April 19, 2012)

Approximately three hundred individuals from across the state gathered this morning near the James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Building in Jefferson City for a march to a rally at the Capitol in support of women’s rights.

The march to the Capitol.

Participants started gathering in the parking lot two hours before start of the march.

“I Have A Voice, I Vote”

“Allow me to probe you, M’lady” and “So then…What do I do with these huddled masses?”

“I’ll Show You My Tramp Stamp In Nov!”

An officer from the Jefferson City Police Department provided an escort for the march.

March organizers Courtney Cole (left) and Paula Willmarth (right) react to a remark by one of the speakers at the rally.

“This slut will remember in November.”

“Keep your Boehner out of my Uterus.”

“I can’t believe we are still fighting this shit!”

Most others can’t either.

Last night, via Twitter:

TruthTeam2012 ‏ @truthteam2012

@BarackObama joins American women who aren’t “closing their eyes” to the GOP’s assault on women’s health. http://pic.twitter.com/VMX4bPHa 7:43 PM – 27 Apr 12 via web

From President Obama’s remarks at the Women’s Leadership Forum last night:

We’ve got governors in Virgina, in Pennsylvania, all across the country saying women can’t be trusted to make their own decisions. They’re passing bills forcing women to get ultrasounds even when they don’t want one. If you don’t like it, the governor of Pennsylvania said you can “close your eyes.” When it comes to what’s going on out there, you’re not going to close your eyes. Women across America aren’t closing their eyes. As long as I’m President, I won’t either.

It’s going to be a good day today.