COMMON CORE AND GOVERNOR LEVEL POLITICS

After loudly proclaiming he supports education, like other Republican governors who make such claims, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has proved he does not; he has moved to drop Common Core. Obviously, he is playing to the radical right wing base in his state. When these things happen, observers should stop and ask why—in not a superficial way, but an in depth look. First, it should be obvious that it is the wrong thing to do for the children in his state therefore counter to his campaign rhetoric. It should be noted that since hurricane Katrina, Louisiana educations system ahs been on an upward roll in its ranking among the nations schools, which means the Common Core would not be a challenge to implement as it would be in some states. Therefore, there must be another reason for the Governors action that has nothing to do with the schools or even education.

It should not surprise anyone that he is up front in telling the people why he is doing it; he publically claims he does not want the federal government involved in education, which brings it back to states rights; a socially conservative position—a socially conservative things required for support of the Republican Party. The demand for states rights in the plantation south is unquestionable a racial thing, which could be awkward for a dark skinned man of Indian descent to play in a conservative state where xenophobia runs rampant in politics but he is skilled at doing it; after all, he is governor. When an observer tries to puts it all together it is clear; Jindal is scared of a primary Tea Party challenge. Republican party hate for teachers unions and collective bargaining is commonly used in the politics of anti public education; however, this is the first time I have seen a challenge to Common Core used to influence politics at the state governor level. The bottom line is simple. Playing with the future of our nations children for political advantage, no matter the excuse, is despicable no matter where you find it.  

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