Republicans peddle snake oil and a bridge to Brooklyn

Which would you prefer to believe?  A used car salesman or a Republican political strategist?   A guy with a great deal on a slightly used bridge in Brooklyn or a FoxNews star?  A traveling snake oil salesman or the Koch Brothers' advertising guru?

There's no truth in a single one of  'em.    Here's one for the books, or "How Common Core got thrown under the bus" [with thanks to Jay Bookman in his AJC column].

Despite the fact that Common Core was so clearly a voluntary, state-led effort in which Republican officials played a major role, a vocal element within the Republican base has . . .  twisted it into a conspiracy of sorts by the federal government to seize control of local schools. . . . 

To their credit . . . [most] top Republican leaders haven’t indulged in the misbegotten rhetoric surrounding Common Core. . . .  The one major exception . . .  is Richard Woods, who happens to be the Republican candidate for state schools superintendent.

Woods is the snake oil salesman, who claims that Common Core is a federal power grab to control education and that it violates the U. S. Constitution.

It does no such thing.   The federal government's involvement?   None.  Zero.   As Bookman explains, Georgia led the development of the Common Core educational standards, which were later adopted by 45 other states.   Our own governor, Sonny Purdue, was co-chair of the original initiative from the National Governors Association, and the ceremony to celebrate it's completion was held in a Gwinnett high school.  Georgia has spent millions of dollars preparing its teachers to implement the standards, and 75% of teachers in a poll last year supported the program.

And yet, we are in danger of electing a man as Georgia School Superintendent who has tried to tarnish this state-initiated program as a bogus "conspiracy" attempt by the federal government to control our lives.   Why?

Why would he do that?    Is it just a crass political ploy, knowing anything that has a whiff of "federal government control" will rile up those voters who just love snake oil and Koch Brothers' PAC money?    Or even worse, perhaps . . . does he really believe in that paranoid fiction?   Either one should disqualify him to be in control of our school system.

Vote for Valerie Wilson for State School Superintendent.   She's smarter than that . . . and a savvy shopper when it comes to Koch oil and used cars.

Ralph