Arrogant GOP still fights simple majority
Simple majority is still alive:
Most people have probably had enough of the antiquated, ridiculous Constitutional amendment passed before most of us were even born, an amendment that frequently turns what would otherwise be landslide victories into narrow defeats. Majority rule is good enough for stadiums but it's not good enough for the schools we put our kids in. And the GOP won't even let the citizens vote on the darn thing, as if Depression era and World War II era votes are somehow sacrosanct. (A point Goldy has made in the past, I believe.)
It was funny, during yesterday's late-night debate over the student press bill, which I caught on TVW thanks to my friends at Starbucks, Republicans kept repeating that freedom isn't the way things work in the real world. (I paraphrase for effect, of course.)
No kidding. In the real world, people who claim to represent positive values constantly find a way to ignore those values in the name of greed and ideological purity. It's obvious that many Republicans don't trust voters in local school districts to decide, using the same standard as virtually every other election, whether they wish to tax themselves to benefit children. That's an awfully arrogant position to take, and sadly, one that will probably prevail in the state Senate, as (irony of ironies) you need a super-majority there to place it on the ballot.
The state House has voted once again to support a constitutional amendment to allow simple-majority approval of special property-tax levies for public schools.So off it goes to the Senate, where Republicans will, doubtless, stand up there and babble about the WASL standards they wish to impose upon my child, while making sure that it's hard to pass local bond and levy measures. They either can't see or don't care about the obvious contradiction in their positions.
It passed on a strong 79-19 vote Monday and now heads to the Senate, which narrowly defeated a similar measure earlier this month.
The House has passed the measure for more than a decade, only to watch it die in the Senate. Two years ago, the measure passed the House on a 73-25 vote, but it was defeated in the Senate, 25-23.
Most people have probably had enough of the antiquated, ridiculous Constitutional amendment passed before most of us were even born, an amendment that frequently turns what would otherwise be landslide victories into narrow defeats. Majority rule is good enough for stadiums but it's not good enough for the schools we put our kids in. And the GOP won't even let the citizens vote on the darn thing, as if Depression era and World War II era votes are somehow sacrosanct. (A point Goldy has made in the past, I believe.)
It was funny, during yesterday's late-night debate over the student press bill, which I caught on TVW thanks to my friends at Starbucks, Republicans kept repeating that freedom isn't the way things work in the real world. (I paraphrase for effect, of course.)
No kidding. In the real world, people who claim to represent positive values constantly find a way to ignore those values in the name of greed and ideological purity. It's obvious that many Republicans don't trust voters in local school districts to decide, using the same standard as virtually every other election, whether they wish to tax themselves to benefit children. That's an awfully arrogant position to take, and sadly, one that will probably prevail in the state Senate, as (irony of ironies) you need a super-majority there to place it on the ballot.
