Legislative Lunchbox v. 5

"Do legislators deserve the same apples teachers get for their efforts in education? Every Friday, "Hoosier Mom on Politics" makes that decision, giving two legislators a good or bad apple, depending on their support of Public Education and Indiana’s children. Check back every Friday at lunchtime to see what the Hoosier Mom packs in the Legislator Lunchbox for the week!

For this post of the “Legislative Lunchbox”, I chose to pack a lunch for State House Majority Leader Rep. Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) and for Senator James Buck (R-Tipton). The Hoosier Mom has found that this week, things have come down to whether or not these gentlemen need to go back to manners school. A high-quality character is turning out to be a rarity in certain education reform circles in the State Legislature. Additionally, we appear to be at a disappointing juncture in the legislative process given the lack of any real concerted effort to do what is right for Hoosier kid's education.

Rep. Bosma received a good apple for extending an olive branch to Glenda Ritz yesterday, when he agreed to drop a proposal which strips Glenda of her authority that we - the tax-paying voters - gave to her in the last election. Specifically, he sent a bill, authored by ALEC member and Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis), to the House Rules Committee where bills go to die. This bill was designed to transfer control of the State's school voucher program from the State Superintendent's office to the Governor's office. Essentially, it was a blatant power grab since these reform agenda-minded legislators were still feeling sour grapes over Glenda Ritz (Democratic Party) 'unexpected' victory over Daniel's hand-picked golden-boy Tony Bennett (Republican Party). The Indy Star article states that "the goal [of the bill] is to send a message". Send a message? By overstepping your legislative responsibilities in an attempt to subvert the decision of 1.3 million voters? This must be a joke! How about next time that you want to "send a message", you just do it the way us regular folk send messages: a letter, email, phone call, text message, facebook...heck you could probably even schedule a meeting with her and talk in person.Who knew there are so many ways to send a message! Rep. Bosma, you are getting a good apple this week, not because you are showing leadership and support on the issue of Public Education and what is best for Hoosier children. Rather, because out of all the Republican legislators in the House, you are the only one that has attempted to "send a message" in a manner that is consistent with the character and values expected of our State legislators. I hope you begin to consider the damage that has been done to Public Education over the past few years, and continue to communicate with Superintendent Ritz about ways the House and IDOE can work together to accomplish goals that are truly in the best interest of Hoosier children.


Representative Jim Buck received a bad apple in his lunchbox for his letter to a concerned Hoosier voter and Public School teacher who expressed concern in a letter for the fact that so many of the members of the House and Senate Education Committees have absolutely no idea about or experience with Education and Education related matters, outside of their position on the Committee. Here is a quote from the Senator's letter, just to get an idea of how inappropriate his response is:

"It is my hope that in the future you will appear sober. As your correspondence reads, you seem to be in a state of deliriousness or absent mindedness and may have written your email while in an inebriated state. Considering your correspondence has no relevance to truth or fact, it is also my hope that you will continue to further educate yourself on, not only the goals and objectives of the American Legislative Exchange Council, but also on the intentions of our General Assembly members."

Yes, you are reading that correct. The fine Senator from Tipton blatantly accuses the letter-writer of being drunk because the writer had the audacity to question the intentions of the "American Legislative Exchange Council" (A.L.E.C.) and the State legislator's buy-in to A.L.E.C.'s corporate education reform propaganda machine. Just to be clear, the letter-writer states they weren't inebriated when writing the letter: in fact this person doesn't drink at all. Which is ironically, quite unlike most of our Founding Fathers: like Thomas Jefferson, John and Samuel Adams (you, know - the guy with the Boston Lager), and the rest of the lot (see "The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition"). Now assuming that the writer wasn't inebriated at the time of writing the letter and doesn't need to check into a Betty Ford clinic (which political party did her husband belong to?), that pretty much means the Sen. Buck is being a bully to a constituent who was exercising the 1st Amendment right to free speech. Come on, Sen. Buck, it is best to maintain a character consistent with the esteem of the office which you hold, and seek to be proactive in engaging constituents in civil conversation. In fact, most of us would actually like to know exactly what the intentions of the General Assembly members are! The bills and measures I have seen only point to one thing: destruction of the quality of Hoosier children's education. Shame on you for your letter, and even more so - shame on you for supporting the destruction of the access to public education. Your constituents support the local public schools in your district: it is time you got on board the bus and support public education or face the consequences in the next election.


The Hoosier Mom hopes all the readers will spread the word about the Legislative Lunchbox. Feel free to email me with suggestions for next week’s lunch: for whom should I pack lunch and why?