This document (SEIU Battleground Poll) is a memo detailing Democrats and Independents Concerns Regarding Congress in Colorado, New Hampshire and Nevada. The Benenson Strategy Group conducted a poll on behalf of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to figure out what Democrats need to do to stay in power through the 2010 election.  After reading through the document, I came up with 3 trends repeated in their answers.

1. Democrats and Independents don’t like deal cutting.
2. Democrats and Independents haven’t seen a change since the Democrats took power.
3. Democrats and Independents don’t like to see narrow interests taking precedent of the greater good.

So Democrats and Independents don’t like deal cutting? According to the poll takers “one key element to [winning in November] will be demonstrating that individual Democrats, unlike Republicans, are placing what’s best for the country ahead of narrow individual interests.”  Excuse me? Allow me to use health care to demonstrate who is putting narrow individual interests first with a little help from a list circulated by Congressman John Shadegg (R) AZ.

Current special deals in the health care bill:

(Read more after the leap)

Okay, this is it.  The Democrats have thrown down the gauntlet.  A challenge has been laid on the table and the beginning only start this weekend!  No, I’m not talking about whether the coming health care (non)vote takes place, I’m talking about March Madness®.  I’m talking Hoosier Hysteria.  I’m talking about the NCAA tournament baby!

Thomas Cook of Blue Indiana is challenging Hoosier Access to some bipartisan bracket busting and this is an open challenge.

So, by fellow  GOP bloggers and readers of blogs, go sign up here at ESPN.com for  the Hoosier Blog Bracket and let’s make the winner is from Hoosier Access!
Btw, sign up here.

The audacity of arrogance on parade! Since, the states and communities can’t do it, BHO can! The Administration insists you raise the bar on your education standards or lose funding; translation- adopt our superior national curriculum standards or no soup cash for you!

From an article on MSN:

Obama wants to expand the federal government’s role in education, which traditionally is a state and local responsibility. His approach has been to use the federal purse as leverage to encourage states to adopt his ideas.Many schools count on a key source of federal aid, known as Title I, to help disadvantaged students — $14.5 billion this budget year. Under Obama’s proposal, to qualify for that money, states would have to adopt and certify that they have “college- and career-ready standards in reading and mathematics.” The deadline for setting the new standards is 2014.

Obama wants to encourage states to enact education standards that the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State Schools Officers are developing. All states but Alaska and Texas have endorsed the effort; Kentucky adopted the standards earlier this month.

there’s more:

The Obama administration wants to see a uniform set of standards in schools nationwide, in hopes that it will make the U.S. more competitive internationally. Many other countries operate under a single set of standards.

National curriculum standards is the wrong direction for ed reform, however, plans are full throttle ahead. We must insist that our governors are not bribed or strong-armed into this heinous, losing scheme. Once the feds own our schools, we will never get them back.

The greatness of the national standard curriculum is utterly irrelevant. Students are not uniform in their abilities and cannot be expected to fit into some national or international mold. Not only will this one-size-fits all fail our students but it will kill innovation in curriculum development. Only a free-market creates the necessary competitive environment that facilitates progress.

I made the point in an earlier post that private schooled students consistently far outscore their public school peers. Now, we have homeschooled students outscoring the private schooled kids. Why is this? Simple: individuality. Homeschooled students are the freest learners. The homeschool curriculum market is vast and varied.

Public school students deserve the same benefits of private and homeschooled kids. We can realize this for them through universal school choice. The free market can see that their individual educational needs are met at half the cost.

We must insist education reform pursues what works, for the sake of our children.

Related articles by Zemanta

• New National Math, English Standards Drafted (usnews.com)
• Guidelines for U.S. Classrooms: States Closer to National Education Standards (abcnews.go.com)

Public education is a fundamental and vital substructure of American society. It has often been the staging area for equality and civil rights. The attempts to bring a more egalitarian model for public education have been valiantly implemented since Brown vs. Board of Education. Despite these great efforts public education in America continues to receive a failing grade.

We must work to see that the federal and state funds for education from taxpayers are producing greater results for parents and students. Educational equality will only be realized when families of all income brackets have the freedom to choose from a diverse selection of educational programs that best suits the needs of their children.

Public schools are suffering from poor test scores, high drop-out rates, violence, and a plethora of social ills. Our government has attempted reforms and greater funding all of which have not produced the desired results.

It is time to break up the government monopoly on education and implement universal school vouchers. Universal school vouchers would finally bring about equitable educational opportunities for Americans regardless of family income.

Studies show that private schools produce greater student outcomes than do government ran public schools. Parents and students in private school settings show the greatest margin of satisfaction in teacher performance, school safety, academic standards, school discipline, parental involvement and administration. Public school students and their parents tend to be less satisfied on these same issues.

Parents in public schools are reported as desiring smaller class sizes, improved safety, better curriculum and higher academic standards. Despite, increases in federal funding, surpassing most private school per student costs, government schools are still unable to deliver consumer satisfaction.

In 1989, 530 random public school families and 250 random private school families from Dayton, Ohio and Washington D. C. received scholarships from the Parents Advancing Choice in Education program (PACE). The students and parents were polled about their educational satisfaction.

The Student Poll:

The Parent Poll:

(Read more after  the leap)

Election Day is exciting in that it is the culmination of sometimes 4 years of work (or in Brown’s case 4 months).  It’s also horrible because there just isn’t a whole lot more that we can do.

So, for some of us it’s the most boring day of the Election.  So I’m stuck worrying or trying to divine meaning from simple things like this:

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%22scott+brown%22

This means I’m alternatively excited and discouraged about the race.  One minute I’m ready to declare Scott Brown already elected, another I remember how Barack Obama was leading Hillary Clinton by 10 points going into New Hampshire in 2008.  We all know how that worked out.

In the meantime the national media has arrived at our downtown hotel headquarters.  This is also the place where we will be holding our victory celebration.  Carl Cameron of Fox News is down in the lobby.  Cameras are being set up in the ballroom as well.

In the meantime, there is a great National Review article about Scott’s schedule for today.

After only 4 months on the campaign trail the guy from Wrentham who drives a truck may just become a US Senator- as a Republican in MA.

It’s snowing in Boston, where I’m set up at the campaign’s temporary headquarters in a downtown hotel.  Right now the focus is on getting out the vote in this low turnout special election.  Over 500 Brown volunteers are on the phone calling supporters (not including the thousands from across the country who have signed up to call online).

In addition, the Brown campaign has been closely watching all voting today to make sure that each individual’s right to vote is preserved- and not diminished by fraudulent voters.  We’ve already witnessed some election shenanigans that we hope don’t effect the ultimate outcome.

I’ll try to keep you all updated throughout the day.

The real meaning of Christmas…

Christmas isn’t all that political … right (from Northwest Indiana Politics)

I couldn’t resist, even though I know you will all be spending time with family and unwrapping presents … so no one will have time to read this political site … right!

Christmas is a bit political isn’t it? (See Christmas Story on Blueletter) If you believe, as I do, that Jesus is actually God incarnate, born of the virgin Mary, in a stable in Bethlehem roughly 2,000 years ago. If you believe that this birth and his eventual crucifixion and resurrection make up the perfect trifecta of prophetic implication, such that humans can have contact with the only Holy deity. Then Christmas is a lot political, and makes people around you cringe. Words we don’t use much in post modern society aren’t they? Words that can make a conversation go mighty quiet, and people walk away uncomfortable that anyone would be so rude to talk about religion or faith. It’s so much easier to pretend about Santa Claus or gaze at a lit tree, but to push faith in Jesus that’s going too far.

It’s not that faith is uncomfortable, it’s that a faith of specifics and a faith in a specific truth like Christ is uncomfortable. In this culture we celebrate the fact that everyone has their own beliefs … yet the downside is that we’ve lost the ability to truly debate which of those beliefs are right and which are just plain hogwash. It’s even become rude to suggest that one has a belief that is true, since this assigns “false” to another belief. Let’s be frank, truth exists and all other beliefs are false, even if that hurts someone feelings.

Please enjoy your families, pray for peace in Jerusalem, remember Jesus’ birth in the lowly manger, give gifts of joy, worship with hearts of grace and mercy … Merry Christmas Indiana.

Friday, December 18

• Indianapolis, IN

Time: 12-2pm

Location: Shapiro’s (w/ Congressman Mike Pence!)

808 S. Meridian St

Indianapolis, IN 46225
Hope to have you there!

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From the Indiana Health Reform group email:
Please join the Indiana Health Reform group at the events near you!
As the health care debate heats up in Washington, the Indiana Campaign for Responsible Health Reform has launched their “Start Over on Health Reform” campaign.  This tour will be visiting several Indiana cities and we invite citizens to attend and tell Senator Bayh that it’s time to start over on health reform.  The current legislation proposed is fiscally reckless, it will lead us down the road to total government control of our health and it will make those with private insurance pay even more.

This bill will also include a tax on medical devices ($20billion) this industry employees thousands of Hoosiers! And with almost 10% unemployment in Indiana, small businesses cannot handle these additional taxes!!

It’s time to tell Senator Bayh and Congress to “START OVER ON HEALTH REFORM”. Please join us at the events near you! For more information visit www.inhealthreform.org or call 317-452-3275.  Follow us on Facebook Twitter YouTube.