The Newt Gingrich part is obvious. He cut and pasted a letter about SB6 today in the Orlando Sentinel, and it uses the exact same language that Jeb Bush's "non-profit" corporation has been using. If anyone wants to have a treasure hunt, I bet you can find matching sentences out there somewhere.
The crazy part? A big Tea Party dude has joined our side. Can you imagine what will happen to November in Florida if Crist can pull some of that action his way by finally giving us the veto we need?
TALLAHASSEE -- As leader of a Tea Party group deep in the Florida Panhandle, Henry Kelley would appear to have nothing in common with a teachers union known as a loyal ally of the Democratic Party.
But Kelley and the Florida Education Association agree on one thing: The teacher-pay bill known as Senate Bill 6 is a bad idea.
Kelley, who has a master's degree in finance and lives in Fort Walton Beach, said he opposes the bill because of its top-down nature: It would empower the education bureaucracy in Tallahassee, instead of elected local school boards, to write rules for a teacher-pay program.
``Everybody's trying to consolidate and create larger government,'' said Kelley, vice chairman of the Tea Party group in Fort Walton Beach. ``Why aren't Republicans acting like Republicans? How can you say you're for limited government if you support this bill?''
I don't know how many times I have to say this. Florida's teachers, parents, and students will decide November in the Sunshine State.
We will not forget this injustice. We have lost three weeks of our lives over it, and we will remember who inflicted this unwarranted stress on our families and our profession.
The Miami Herald knows how powerful we are. It is about time the rest of the country hears us roar. Please visit that link and vote YES to support our struggle.
TALLAHASSEE -- At a recent campaign pitch to the Florida Farm Bureau, attorney general candidate Holly Benson fielded this discordant question: ``Where do you stand on Senate Bill 6?''
``I think every parent has an interest in this,'' said Benson, a Republican.
Scott Maddox, a Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner, recently e-mailed supporters to call Gov. Charlie Crist and urge him to veto the legislation.
On the campaign trail, ``that's the only thing people want to talk about,'' Maddox said. ``I'm out there wanting to talk about consumer and agriculture issues but this is foremost in voters' minds.''
The landmark, yet controversial, legislation that links teacher pay to test scores is emerging as a litmus test for statewide political candidates with an eye toward November.
A litmus test. Exactly. I said that last week.
I honestly never thought I would live to see this day. I truly feel that the empowerment we gained from the Obama presidential campaign has given Florida's Teachers enough hope to actually get this done.
A bunch of normal citizens are going to defeat big business. The grass roots are going to knock Jeb Bush flat on his face.
Sponsored by Republican Party Chairman and state Sen. John Thrasher, the legislation overhauls how teachers are paid and threatens so-called teacher tenure. It ignited divisive politics in the Legislature that is now spilling into the election.
The interest from the U.S. Senate race, featuring Crist, and the gubernatorial contest is obvious. But a number of trade groups -- from the Florida Chamber of Commerce to Associated Industries of Florida -- are using a candidate's position on the bill to make decisions about endorsements and campaign cash in down-ballot races.
``We are looking to see what statewide candidates are saying about this,'' said Barney Bishop, the AIF president, ``and whether they are going to look at it from the business perspective. We think it's important to change the education system.''
That is Barney Bishop. He is a new villain in this epic. "They" think it's important to change the education system so it can work just like their factories. We got his email address, and he is going to pay for this:
``If the governor vetoes this bill, he's listening to the wrong people,'' said Barney Bishop, president of Associated Industries of Florida. Bishop said the Florida Education Association stymies reform by defending incompetent and ineffective teachers. But he acknowledged the union has done an effective job at mobilizing opposition by urging people to call and write the governor and legislators.
``They've done a good job of rustling up folks,'' Bishop said, ``but it's not the majority. It's a very vocal minority.''
That is a stupid statement, but then again he is Jeb Bush's buddy. These fatcats STILL don't understand the Facebook. We will educate them properly. And that includes Marco Rubio and Bill McCollum, who both have made public statements supporting SB6. It will be a November to remember.
I have never seen people so upset over a bill in my eight years in the Legislature.
Let's do the math for Mr. Barney Bishop. Over 100,000 calls, emails, and snails from parents, students, teachers, professors, and concerned citizens.
Less than 3,000 supporting the bill.
That makes 97% AGAINST.
Do politicians know math better than big business? Let's see.
Tea Party opposition to a Republican-sponsored teacher-pay bill has caught the attention of Gov. Charlie Crist and his advisors in his race for the U.S. Senate.
That could be significant, because it could provide even broader cover for Crist to veto the bill: He could point out that opposition runs the gamut of the political spectrum.
Crist received a resounding welcome from child advocates at a dinner Monday in Tallahassee, and 17-year old Miami-Dade high school student Michelle Ruiz pleaded with Crist to veto the bill. The governor said his skepticism about the bill is not related to his U.S. Senate aspirations, and he had some blunt words for his critics.
``I always try to listen to the people regardless,'' Crist said, ``and if they can't respect that, tough.''
This is getting crazy good.