#rsrh ‘Won’t Back Down’ and the Walker Effect.

The interesting bit in this article on union pushback against the new movie Won’t Back Down is not this one…

In real life, Parents Across America, an advocacy group which has received union funding, has launched a “fight Hollywood” campaign asking members to contact entertainers at all involved with the film or even a summer concert to kick it off. The intent, according to its website, which lists phone numbers and emails of agents and publicists, is to brand the film as a “feel bad, not feel good” movie. On their list: Davis and Gyllenhaal, plus Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman, Jack Black, the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and Josh Groban.

…it’s this one:

…the American Federation of Teachers’ president, Randi Weingarten, has denounced the movie for “using the most blatant stereotypes.” She has a point: Gyllenhaal’s fictional child’s teacher is a heartless monster. But when Weingarten falls back on blatant stereotypes herself, blaming growing anti-union sentiment on right wing cabals, she loses credibility. Numerous Democrats, despite all that teachers union funding, are now also pushing back, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who just chaired the Democratic National Convention, and Obama’s education secretary, Arnie Duncan.

Now there’s something that you used to not see every day: Democrats willing to take an on-the-record slap at the teachers’ unions.  What happened?

Oh, right: Scott Walker happened.  Turns out that people outside Wisconsin noticed that you can in fact take on the unions and win, provided that you pick your ground and your shots carefully.  And some of those people doing the noticing were apparently Democrats.  They should send Gov. Walker a fruit basket; they won’t, but they should.

6 thoughts on “#rsrh ‘Won’t Back Down’ and the Walker Effect.”

  1. Walker couldn’t have pulled it off without the groundwork by Daniels, Jindal, and others (including Katrina…) but many *many* more kids will get an actual, useful-in-the-real-world education because Walker won, and other politicians will now try to emulate that success.

    Mew

  2. America’s public schools: where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and every teacher is above average.

  3. @acat: IMO, we can’t reform the public schools, unions or no unions. If you want your children to get an actual, useful-in-the-real-world education, send them to a private classical school.

  4. Given the reports of teachers abusing children in horrible ways, and the willingness of the unions to protect those monsters, Randi Weingarten has no place to complain about bad portrayals of teachers. Clean your own house, Randi.

  5. Ironically, I have a banner ad for Parents Across America on my screen while reading this. I know you don’t control your ads, but they constantly amuse me, the side ad is an anti-obama ad.

  6. @jetty – giving you a “true but not true”.

    Sending kids to private school is better: True. (currently, anyway) If you can afford it, private schools are better. Even there, the key metric isn’t $$$, it’s parental involvement.

    We can’t reform education: False. Just ask Gov Walker, Gov. Jindal, and former Gov. Daniels.

    This cat asserts that the idea of a quality, free education for all children to be a part of the genius that made America great… so is going to keep pushing for reform. Don’t eeyore me, bro.

    Mew

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