Tony Thurmond - A Lesson on Democrat Backstabbing - UPDATE - Tony Calls Diane

Here's a quick update on this post from Diane:

California: Tony Thurmond Called Me

I'm impressed that he called her.
The conversation is interesting in that Tony never says how the task force came to be chosen - and I'm going to venture a guess that Gov Gavin Newsom is the culprit and Tony is covering for him. Which emphasizes the point -- too many Dems are still ed deformers even hiding in plain sight.

UPDATE: In response to posting this on listserves I received the following from Diane confirming that Newsom packed the committee with charter people:

Norm,

A contact who works in the State Capitol in Sacramento contacted me last night to say that Tony Thurmond did not name the committee: Gavin Newsom did.  --- Diane

Back to the original post:

Of the 11 members of the task force appointed by Tony Thurmond, in consultation with Governor Gavin Newsom, at least six are directly connected to the charter industry. How can this be possible when the charter industry supported former Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa against Gavin Newsom, and when the charter industry spent millions to defeat Tony Thurmond, outspending his supporters by a margin of 2-1?.... Diane Ravitch

Diane Ravitch had backed Democrat Tony Thurmond for California State Ed head over the charter industry candidate. And remember the big win in the LA teacher strike over charter schools -- that a task force will be formed? Will we see the fawning Labor Notes cover this story? After all the line being tossed out by the UCORE people especially MORE in this election is how all you gotta do is strike and win. I can think of a song along Beatles lines - All you need is strike, strike, strike.

Jack Gerson: A case study on why not to base one's strategy on appealing to "Democratic friends" like Thurmond and Newsom. Here's the problem with Gavin Newsom tying the moratorium on charter schools with a task force to study the issues raised by charter schools. All along, the question was whether Newsom would be influenced by the billionaires who fund the California Democratic Party and also push charter schools. Looks like the answer to that question is "YES".

Jack pointed out how the Oakland strike didn't win as much as the fawning left press says it did: Jack Gerson - OEA Strike: Balance Sheet, Lessons, ...

Here are some Ravitch posts on Thurmond

• California: More on Tony Thurmond's Charter Task Force
• California: More Information About the Foxes Who Guard the Henhouse 
• California: Did Tony Thurmond Give the Charter Task Force to the Charter Lobby?
• California: Thurmond and Newsom Put the Fox in Charge of the Henhouse

California: Did Tony Thurmond Give the Charter Task Force to the Charter Lobby? | Diane Ravitch's blog

From Diane Ravitch's post:

"Superintendent Tony Thurmond to set up a task force to examine the issues that charters raise and consider any needed revisions in the law.

"Thurmond appointed an 11-member panel. Not a single one of the 11 is a teacher, even though teachers raised the questions in their strikes.

"Worse, a possible majority of the panel represent the charter lobby that fought so hard to defeat Thurmond, smeared him with negative ads, and lost."