As the Worm Turns in Baton Rouge
Dayne Sherman
March 15, 2014
Column / 850 words
Published in several newspapers & blogs
On Monday, March 10, the Louisiana
Legislative session began. Surely it will not be as acrimonious as the 2012 session, a time when school
teachers gathering at the State Capitol were treated like animals at
the hands of Governor Jindal, Speaker Chuck Kleckly, and some members
of the House Education Committee. You will recall this is when the
governor pushed his education “reform” agenda in marathon
meetings.
Why did the 2012 session kick the
teachers in the face? Governor Jindal thought he was going to be Vice
President of the United States. He had to show that he could go
complete imbecile in order to achieve this goal. With the help of
ALEC--who paid off some of our local legislators with campaign
cash--they forged ahead with unconstitutional education reform that
has mostly failed to meet court muster since.
I have to give props to Mitt Romney: He
had the wisdom to keep Louisiana's Boy Wonder off the GOP ticket. I
respect Romney's judgment for that much if nothing else.
But all is not love and light this
year.
One major battle will be the
implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Senator Ben Nevers and
Representative John Bel Edwards both have common sense bills to
implement the federal Medicaid expansion for Louisiana citizens.
On the other hand, Representative
Jerome “Dee” Richard, an Independent from Thibodaux, usually a
reasonable man, is trying to enforce Tenth Amendment rights regarding
the ACA. He calls denying the health law a “States' Rights”
issue, and does not want to implement the ACA in Louisiana.
Whenever I see someone calling for
"State's Rights," why do I also see images of George
Wallace, German shepherds, fire hoses, and billy clubs? The Medicaid
expansion is absolutely a part of ACA. Indeed, the ACA brings no caps
on medical benefits, children on family insurance plans until 26
years old, free preventative care, 80 percent of premiums going to
actual medical care, and on and on. I hardly think Louisiana needs to
stand in the hospital door and declare: "Bad healthcare now, bad
healthcare tomorrow, bad healthcare forever!"
Let the States'
Rights foolishness fall away into the dustbin of history.
Speaking of tomfoolery and downright
idiocy, I wonder if the proposed secession city of St. George in
Baton Rouge will spill over into this year's legislative gathering? I
and others have dubbed this proposed municipality “St. George Wallace.” The effort is being led by Senator Mack “Bodi” White,
my state senator, a true dim bulb if Louisiana has ever had one in
public office. Why is it that every time I see a photo of Bodi White
I think of the late brute Bull Connor? Maybe it is because they are
both good Methodists. Who knows?
Perhaps the most heat and least light
will come from the battle over the Common Core, a national curriculum
that has been panned from both the left and right as out of touch
with real classrooms, real teaching, and real students.
Liberals and conservatives have lined
up against it with sharpened pitchforks. In the middle is Governor
Jindal. He has backed it 100 percent through his little education
troll, State Superintendent of Education John White, but Jindal has
been sheepish about the whole thing. I suspect Jindal will sacrifice
White over the Common Core before the session is over.
The Common Core is great in theory and
bad in practice. It's mostly a cash grab by companies and pushed by
vulture capitalists like Bill Gates. Dr. Diane Ravitch, a leading
education historian, recently said, “The billionaires will get
bored and find a new hobby. Maybe yachting or polo ponies.”
Let's hope so.
When it comes to higher education
funding, don't expect much. With 80 percent of state funding cut from
college and university budgets, the campuses are heading to
insolvency. The state lacks higher education leaders with enough
fortitude and political juice to make funding improvements happen. As
long as TOPS pays the tuition bill, there won't be much in the way of
help coming from the public either.
At the end of the day we have a
governor who has left the state a fiscal disaster by cutting taxes,
destroying services and infrastructure, and buying politicians
through privatization and the funding local pet projects. Over 100
years ago an astute political observer said, “No man's life,
liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”
This is certainly true in 2014.
According to reports, during the first
week of the session Jindal campaigned in New Hampshire, an
early presidential primary state. Hardly a coincidence. We all know
his heart is not in Louisiana. So be wary, be awake, and be vigilant.
With Bobby Jindal in office and his legislative lapdogs at his feet,
Louisiana could be annexed by Vladimir Putin's Russia before we read
about it in the morning newspaper.
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Dayne Sherman, Writer & Speaker
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Web & Social Media: http://daynesherman.com/
Talk About the South Blog: http://daynesherman.blogspot.com/
Tweet the South - Twitter: http://twitter.com/TweettheSouth/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/daynesherman
***This message speaks only for the writer, a citizen, not for any present or past employer.***
