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DNC Emails Published by WikiLeaks Show Links to AFT and Common-Core Anxiety
Philadelphia
By now you’ve probably heard about the trove of emails to and from the Democratic National Committee that were released last week by WikiLeaks, an organization that publishes leaked documents to expose what it says is corruption and malfeasance by governments, as well as corporations.
So what if any links do these emails reveal between the DNC and teachers’ unions in particular?
• The DNC communications team appears to be very sensitive about the Common Core State Standards and the issue of local and federal control over schools.
In a May 3 email expressing frustrations about the content of a video emphasizing that the “GOP doesn’t appreciate teachers,” Eric Walker, a deputy communications director at the DNC, wrote the following:
“A) Common core is a political third rail that we should not be touching at all. Get rid of it. B) Most people want local control of education so having [then-GOP presidential candidate Ted] Cruz and [now-GOP nominee Donald] Trump saying it on a DNC video is counterproductive. Would get rid of any references to that.”
Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton supports the common core, as do two of her big backers, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. It’s taken a political beating on the national stage from both Democrats and Republicans, although most states that originally adopted the standards have stuck by them.
• A series of emails on May 4 deal with talking points being crafted by the DNC for a conference call with reporters the next day. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and U.S. Rep Mark Pocan, D-Wis., were slated to speak about how GOP nominee Donald Trump’s rhetoric had contaminated schools.
Walker suggested having Weingarten speak before Pocan on the call, writing, “she’s the bigger draw.”
Eventually, the DNC was told that the AFT had signed off on the talking points.
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Source: http://www.philosophers-stone.co.uk/?p=12979
