I wish we were this organized

by David Safier

I envy the conservatives' ability to think 2 or 3 steps ahead when they're trying to sell an agenda to voters. I think they stink at governing, and their ideology tends to be anywhere from wrong headed to inhumane. But man, can they put together a frontal assault to push their agenda.

Either this is quite a coincidence or a beautifully conceived, 3 step campaign:

1. Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute spoke to the Senate Education Committee last week. His subject was the "Florida education miracle." Undoubtedly, he used the phrase "4th grade reading scores" about a dozen times, talking about how the scores have shot upward in Florida while they've stagnated or declined in Arizona. (While the statement about reading scores is basically accurate, Ladner selectively omits facts that make the Florida rise look less spectacular than he paints it.)
2. A G.I. Daily Email blasts Head Start, saying a recent study "proves" Head Start — and, by  inference, early childhood education — is pretty much worthless. Interestingly, the email, which normally would be written by Matthew Ladner, is written by Jay Greene, who runs a blog where Ladner often posts. It wouldn't look good for both items 1 & 2 to come from Ladner.
3. House Republican Rich Crandall proposes legislation that would hold third graders back if they're reading below a set level (which I think, by the way, is not an unreasonable idea, though the devil is in the details, and I haven't seen the proposed legislation). That happens to be exactly what they do in Florida (see Matthew Ladner, Item 1). But part of the legislation is to add extra help, including summer school, for children who are behind in their reading skills. And that takes money. Where will the money come from? Crandall wants to take money from First Things First, a program designated for early childhood education. After all, Crandall says, First Things First doesn't emphasize literacy, and it's only for kids under 5 (see Jay Greene's email about how these under-5 programs aren't worth a hell of a lot, Item 2).

Now, when Crandall pushes the legislation, he's got Ladner's Florida story to fall back on, and when he pushes for the extra money, he's got Greene's Head-Start-doesn't-help story to refer to.