Phone Banking For Kendrick Meek

Just click this link and they will get you all set up.

Florida Democrats PAY ATTENTION

There's a poll out today that on the face of it looks like bad news for Kendrick Meek as he is once again 3rd in a matchup with Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio at about 16%. But here is what Meek and every other Democrat in the State of Florida should be paying attention to.

In the Senate race against Rubio and Meek, Crist gets 45 percent of the Democrats - more than Meek's 36 percent - and 50 percent of the independent voters. Against Greene, Crist gets 51 percent of the Democrats to Greene's 31 percent, and 48 percent of independent voters.

"Crist is getting more support from Democrats than either Greene or Meek. The key for Crist will be whether he can hold this many Democrats once the party's nomination is settled and keep his half of the independent voters," said Brown.

Crist's lead is built almost entirely on the backs of Democrats. If those Democrats actually vote for a REAL DEMOCRAT Kendrick Meek will smoke both Crist and Rubio.

Now I've heard some Democrats who are supporting Crist say that he only has their support because they think Meek doesn't have a shot of beating Rubio. This poll shows that is a damn lie. If those Democrats come back home Rubio is toast and so is Crist.

So the question is, Democrats, do you want somebody whose vote you can actually count on or do you want another guy who will get to the Senate and obstruct every part of the Democratic agenda from within. That's IF the best case scenario happens and he caucuses with the Democrats. I'm one who still see's Crist as a Republican who will caucus with the GOP which in practical matters makes him no better than Rubio. None at all.

So the question for Democrats in Florida is do you want progress or not? Do you want climate change legislation or not? Do you want Social Security and Medicare to remain as we know them or not? Do you want filibuster reform or not? Do you want health care reform to be implemented or not?

Are you going to vote for the Democratic platform or not?

My advice is this, if you are going to vote for Crist you might as well vote for Rubio because at least then we will be dealing with a wingnut that doesn't hide his hand rather than having another drama queen like Crist just looking for attention whenever there is a big vote.

OR you can as a Democrat support the Democrat and help our country forward.

Its your choice.

Can Kendrick Meek Win? - Shorter Version

Hell yes he can if we support him financially!

Kendick Meek Is On The Ballot!!!

Miami Gardens, Fla. - A historic and yearlong grassroots mobilizing effort wrapped up on Monday as Kendrick Meek's U.S. Senate campaign submitted over 140,000 petitions to Supervisor of Elections offices throughout Florida to place Meek's name on the ballot.

Florida law allows candidates for office to qualify for the ballot in one of two ways. Candidates can pay a roughly $10,000 filing fee, or collect 112,476 valid petitions from registered Florida voters, regardless of party affiliation or non-affiliation. Kendrick Meek will be the first statewide candidate to qualify for the ballot by petition.

"Whenever anyone signs their name on a dotted line, it means something. Florida voters from every one of our 67 counties have signed this petition to put my name on the ballot. Traveling to every corner of Florida has taken me into people's homes and introduced me to their lives. People are concerned with the direction of our state, and they want leaders to focus on bringing new, long-term jobs home to Florida. Status quo politicians helped create this economic mess, and Floridians want leaders to transform our economy from recession to recovery," said Kendrick Meek, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. "Our campaign is about putting people ahead of the powerful, and we stand today on a mountain of petitions from Floridians who are saying yes to progress and no to the status quo."

Since April 2009, field staff, organizers and volunteers have worked to collect petitions from Florida voters. Kendrick Meek for U.S. Senate field offices are open in Jacksonville, Miami Gardens, Orlando, Tallahassee, and Tampa.

Kendrick signed his petition Monday morning and submitted petitions to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office. He then traveled to Jacksonville to thank supporters for their work.

In Tallahassee, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman and State Representative Alan Williams submitted petitions to the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office. In Tampa, former Mayor Sandra Freedman, State Representative Janet Cruz and members of the city commission submitted petitions to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office. In Orlando, Sheriff Jerry Demings and members of the city commission submitted petitions to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office.

A Real Grassroots Campaign

Boynton Beach, Fla. - Kendrick Meek joined supporters and volunteers in Boynton Beach today as the campaign's historic effort to help Kendrick qualify for the ballot by petition comes to a close later this month.

"From day one of our petition drive we have been focused on people of this state, not on their political parties or ideology. Our fight is for the hard working individuals in this community who want good paying jobs to support themselves and their families. Retirees in this community are searching for work or their savings are going down. Both of these situations were never a part of their retirement plans. We are reaching out to Floridians from all communities who want a future that is better than their present, that rejects the status quo, and puts the interests of people ahead of the powerful," said Kendrick Meek, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

Kendrick Meek and his campaign are entering the final month of an unprecedented petition drive. By collecting 112,476 petitions from Florida voters, Kendrick will be the first statewide candidate in Florida history to earn his place on the ballot by petition.

In recent weeks, Kendrick has met with citrus growers in Dover, students in Gainesville, young professionals in Tallahassee, veterans in Pensacola, unemployed families in Orlando, scientists and engineers in Daytona Beach, and received endorsements from Florida's teachers, firefighters and police officers.

Fiscal Responsibiity For Thee But Not For Me: Marco Rubio Edition

Could this be Marco Rubio's John Edwards haircut moment?

U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio charged grocery bills, repairs to the family minivan and purchases from a wine store less than a mile from his West Miami home to the Republican Party of Florida while he was speaker of the Florida House, according to records obtained by the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald.

Rubio said Wednesday that he paid for all personal expenses billed to an American Express card given to him by the party to use from 2005 to 2008, when he left public office. The rest of the charges, he said, were legitimate party expenses.

Those expenses include a $1,000 charge at Braman Honda in Miami for repairs to the family car in January 2008. Rubio said the minivan was damaged by parking attendants at a political function and that the party agreed to cover half of his insurance deductible. The party also paid $2,976 for him to rent a car in Miami for five weeks.

Rubio said the party allowed him to put personal expenses on the card and the party reviewed his bill monthly.

"I was as diligent as possible to ensure the party did not pay for items that were unrelated to party business," Rubio said in a written statement. "There was no formal process provided by the party regarding personal charges."

But party spokeswoman Katie Gordon said the card was not supposed to be used for personal expenses. "The RPOF American Express card is a corporate card and is meant to be used for business expenses," she said when asked about the party's policy.

IRS rules for political parties, which are tax-exempt, require that their donations go exclusively toward influencing elections.

Records show Rubio sent payments to American Express totaling $13,900 for his personal expenses during his tenure as House speaker. But those payments were not made monthly. He made no contributions to the bill during one six-month stretch in 2007, the records show.

Charges covered by the party as political expenses include:

• $765 at Apple's online store for "computer supplies."

• $25.76 from Everglades Lumber for "supplies."

• $53.49 at Winn-Dixie in Miami for "food."

• $68.33 at Happy Wine in Miami for "beverages'' and "meal."

• $78.10 for two purchases at Farm Stores groceries in suburban Miami.

• $412 at All Fusion Electronics, a music equipment store in Miami, for "supplies."

Rubio's campaign could not find records to explain many of these expenses Wednesday night. But Rubio stressed that GOP staffers also may be responsible for some expenses, since they also had access to the credit card.

Now at this point we all know that this kind of stuff probably won't hurt Rubio with the teabagging GOP base. They don't care about hypocrisy from their candidates, they only care about at least a vocal adherence to their right wing ideology. As long as Rubio continues to paint himself as anti tax, anti Obama and anti spending, he will still probably give Charlie Crist all he can handle in the GOP primary.

But moderates and independents are a different breed. Rubio living high off the hog with his GOP credit card while preaching fiscal responsibility,reducing spending and "shared responsibility" is not likely to sit well with the majority of Florida's general election voters. As progressives we have to continue to hit Rubio and Crist hard over these kinds of issues because whether anyone thinks Congressman Meek has a chance in the Senate race here in Florida, he is a MAJOR upgrade over both of those folks.

Kendrick Meek Scores An Endorsement From The Florida Education Association

Orlando, FL - The Florida Education Association (FEA) announced its endorsement of Kendrick Meek in the Democratic primary this morning at their education conference in Orlando.

"We are gathered in Orlando to fight on behalf of Florida's teachers and students, while the Republican Party of Florida is in town to fight with each other," said Kendrick Meek, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. "We will work together throughout this campaign and in the years ahead to improve Florida's schools and strengthen education to create a more prosperous future for Florida."

"We stood united to reduce class size in Florida and battled the forces of low scholastic expectations wishing to undermine a right our families deserve. Our opponents will never yield and neither will we because as parents and teachers, we know that when it comes to our children and students, we will do whatever it takes to fight for their interests. We can't break our promise to Florida's children, and we won't," added Meek.

"Kendrick has always stood tall for our teachers and educators, and we continue to stand tall with him," said Andy Ford, President of the Florida Education Association. "Together we have battled the special interests who advocate for clients, not our children, and thanks to the class size amendment, teachers can educate our students in classrooms instead of lecture halls. Kendrick has always put education first, and we put him first too."

A graduate of the public school system, Kendrick Meek, a longtime advocate for Florida's schools, was chairman of Florida's Coalition to Reduce Class Size in 2002 and wrote an op-ed in Thursday's Palm Beach Post in support of class size, titled: "Smaller classes a win for kids: Challenges to size amendment will fail."

FOP Endorses Democrat Kendrick Meek In Florida US Senate Race

Orlando, FL - The Florida Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) announced its endorsement of Kendrick Meek in the Democratic primary this morning during their February Board of Trustees Meeting in Orlando.

"Congressman Meek has served Florida's law enforcement community as a Trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol and he served in the Florida Legislature in both the House of Representatives and the Florida Senate as an advocate for education and better opportunities for all Florida citizens. We believe Congressman Meek has worked hard in Washington, D.C. and will continue to represent the best interests of Floridians in the U.S. Senate," stated the Fraternal Order of Police.

In response, Kendrick Meek said: "As a former Captain of the Florida Highway Patrol, I know firsthand the hard work and dedication of the law enforcement community in this state. It is an honor to be endorsed by my brothers and sisters in uniform, some of the finest and most honorable citizens in Florida. Florida's families are in need of economic relief, and that includes Florida's law enforcement families. We are being asked to do more with less, and Florida's law enforcement community deserves better."

The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is an organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. The Florida FOP Labor Council represents law enforcement professionals and more law enforcement bargaining units than any other union in Florida.

I know people are overlooking Congressman Meek because of the coverage of the spitball fight between Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist in the Republican primary, but he is quietly racking up some significant endorsements and he has a great personal as well as professional story. The more Floridians hear about him and from him, the more I think they will be very impressed.

Check Out Florida Senatorial Candidate On TV Tonight

U.S. Senate Candidate Kendrick Meek is appearing on various shows on CNN and MSNBC tonight to discuss the situation in Haiti. His appearances are as follows:

MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews at 5:20 PM

CNN at 7:15 PM

MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews at 7:45 PM

CNN will also be airing a story about Kendrick's work on behalf of Haiti throughout the afternoon and evening.

Statement From Florida Democratic Senatorial Candidate Kendrick Meek On President Obama's Afghanistan Speech

From the press release:

"President Obama's strategic review and subsequent policy decision on Afghanistan puts us on a course for success that we lacked for many years. The decision to wage a second war in Iraq prevented the completion of the mission in Afghanistan. As a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly who has traveled to Afghanistan, I know that our mission will be completed with the help of our allies who are also shouldering the heavy burdens of war alongside our military, and these sacrifices and dangers are shared between all of our citizens. Our success will be realized when terrorists and their accomplices no longer view Afghanistan as a safe haven to plot murderous attacks on innocent civilians."

Florida Senatorial Candidate Kendrick Meek Will Be On ESPN Today

From the press release:

Saturday, November 20, 2009

Today, the Florida Classic football game between the Florida A&M Rattlers and Bethune-Cookman Wildcats is being televised on ESPN and Kendrick Meek, who was a linebacker for the Rattlers and played in the Classic as a student athlete, will be interviewed from the sidelines by game announcers Charlie Neal and Ed Robinson, Jr. at the beginning of the second quarter. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. and the interview should roughly begin at 3 p.m. We hope you can tune in and watch Kendrick on ESPN today.

Everybody tune and and support Congressman and soon to be Senator Meek!

Remember When Charlie Crist And The Republican Legislature Regected Stimulus Funds For Unemployment?

From TBO

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Unemployment compensation taxes paid by Florida businesses will skyrocket next year due to the state's high jobless rate - 11 percent in September.

snip

The increases are needed to replenish the state's Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund. It dropped from more than $1.3 billion last year to zero in August. Florida then began borrowing $300 million a month from the federal government to pay benefits.

That's your Republican economic philosophy in action. I wonder if they will try to paint THAT as a tax cut....

FL Senatorial Candidate Kendrick Meek Speaks On Excessive Overdraft Fees

Another Poll

Wingnut Republican Vern Buchanan wants to know if you support health care reform.

I suggest you let him know...

:)

The Abyss Comes To Florida

This is going to make things a LOT more interesting down here in Florida.

With Republicans grappling with the fallout of an intra-party battle that may have cost them a House seat, the head of the Senate Republican campaign effort is making a pledge that may ease some of the anger being directed at the party establishment. "

We will not spend money in a contested primary," Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told ABC News in a telephone interview today."

There's no incentive for us to weigh in," said Cornyn, R-Texas. "We have to look at our resources. . . . We're not going to throw money into a [primary] race leading up to the election."

Cornyn said his pledge extends to races for open Senate seats -- not incumbents who may face primaries next year. The NRSC so far has endorsed candidates in four open Senate seats -- Florida, Missouri, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

Cornyn's commitment is most immediately relevant in Florida, where the NRSC's candidate, Gov. Charlie Crist, is facing an aggressive challenge on his right from state House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Some of the same conservative groups that supported Doug Hoffman in New York's 23rd congressional district are making noises about backing Rubio, in a contest that could be the next showdown over the direction of the party. "We're seriously looking at it. We like Marco Rubio a lot. We think that Charlie Crist represents some of the same things that Dede Scozzafava represents," Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said on ABCNews.com's "Top Line" Monday. Scozzafava was the Republican nominee in the New York race.

Now understand that I believe that Kendrick Meek, the very likely Democratic candidate for the Senate here in Florida is more than equipped to dispatch Charlie Crist in a general election next year. But if the wingnuts come calling down here and push Marco Rubio past Crist in a primary it would be like a gift handed to us. The lesson they should have learned last night is that even in a reliably Republican district, if you push a Rush Limbaugh/Sarah Palin/Americans For Prosperity candidate you will lose. Instead these folks are now under the delusion that losing seats equals winning.

I can promise you that I won't be the one to try to snap them out of it either. As a matter of fact can someone send me some info on how I can help Rubio's primary campaign? I think its time for progressives to really get behind him in that race lol.

Action Needed: Another Health Care Poll

There is a health care poll online for the paper of record in Republican Congressman Adam Putnam's 12 congressional district down here in Florida over whether there should be a public option in the health care reform bills. Please go to the site and vote!

You can find the poll on the bottom right.

State Senator Ted Deutch Is In

The following statement was released by Florida State Senator Ted Deutch announcing his candidacy for the US House of Representatives seat being vacated by Robert Wexler.

“It is with great excitement and humility that I announce my candidacy for Congress in Florida’s 19th Congressional District.

“This is a time of extraordinary challenges both at home and abroad. The economy is in crisis, with rising unemployment and skyrocketing foreclosures putting tremendous pressure on our families and seniors. Global concerns are at the forefront with U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq, the threat of terrorism, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and Israel’s essential need for security.

“Much like we face today, my father also lived in a time of extraordinary challenges. As a teenager, my father volunteered for World War II where he bravely fought at the Battle of the Bulge and won a purple heart. My father was the most patriotic man I ever met. He and my mother taught me when your nation faces challenges, you step up and you serve. It is for this reason that I am running for Congress - to continue this legacy of service and to give back to my community.

“I am running for Congress because I want to work hard every day to help solve the difficult challenges that the citizens of South Florida are currently facing. I will bring to Congress the same strong work ethic and common sense that I brought to Tallahassee. I am proud of the results that I have delivered in the Florida State Senate on education and seniors, health care, and through my successful efforts to ensure that the retirement funds of Florida’s workers do not support development of a nuclear weapons program in Iran or aid genocide in Darfur.

“My leadership and proven success as a State Senator is based on simple hard work and remembering that the people always come first. This is the same commitment that I will bring to Congress.”

Here is his website.

Where My Florida Ladies At?

For all the women in Florida I think you want to pay some special attention to the Governor's race next year. If you don't go out and exercise your right to vote you may end up losing other rights before you know it.

TALLAHASSEE - A proposed Constitutional amendment that could outlaw birth control pills in Florida looks a lot like federal legislation that state Attorney General Bill McCollum co-sponsored while in Congress.

McCollum, frontrunner GOP candidate for governor, took no stand last week when asked about the "personhood" question that anti-abortion activists are trying to place on Florida's ballot. The proposed amendment to the state Constitution would establish a human being's "personhood" at the start of biological development, which its sponsors define as fertilization.

That would outlaw abortion and, critics fear, might also lead to bans on oral contraceptives and intrauterine devices, because they can prevent a fertilized egg from developing,

Asked about the initiative, McCollum campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gravitte said that McCollum is firmly "pro-life" but "will not be commenting on hypothetical issues … if this proposal ends up on the ballot voters will certainly know where General McCollum stands."

But history draws a connection between McCollum and the "personhood" initiative, since he co-sponsored similar legislation in Congress in 1988. Then-U.S. Rep. McCollum signed on to California Rep. Bob Dornan's House Joint Resolution 529, which would have assigned to "preborn" persons the protections of the Fifth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments governing rights to due process, citizenship and freedom from slavery.

The resolution defined "personhood" to mean "from the moment of conception and without regard to age, health, or condition of dependency."

Paul Dunn, campaign director for Alex Sink, state Chief Financial Officer and McCollum's Democratic rival in the gubernatorial race, called the 1988 resolution "just one example" of McCollum's Congressional record that is "far outside the mainstream."

Now I understand that quite a few women are pro life and against abortions, but are we really living in a world where you don't want to have the option of taking birth control either? I don't think so. And I don't think that kind of thing will fly in Florida either. Bill McCollum is out of the mainstream and its up to the citizens of Florida to drive that point home to him.

Charlie Crist Shafted The American Worker With The Help Of George LeMeiux

Watch this video about how a company by the name of CYVSA in South Florida abused the H-2B visa program in order to bring Mexican workers to Florida to work on the St Regis construction project for less pay that unemployed sheet metal workers here were eminently qualified to do. And keep in mind that this all happened in the middle of one of the worst recessions in our country's history.



Now what was left out of that video? Well for one thing they left out which law firm represented CYVSA in applying for the H-2B visas.

The law firm led by newly appointed U.S. Senator George LeMieux was responsible for securing dozens of visas for foreign workers to enter the country and help construct the St. Regis hotel and condominiums in Bal Harbour – a move that left American sheet metal workers out of a job.

LeMieux is chairman of Gunster Yoakley, a Florida-based law firm which specializes in helping companies hire foreigners to replace American workers inside the United States.

In the case of the St. Regis project, Gunster Yoakley represented CYVSA International, a Mexican sheet metal firm which wanted to bring its own workforce into the country.

That's right, Charlie Crist's puppet, George LeMeiux, just so happened to be the chairman of a law firm that applied for and received H-2B visas for these workers from Mexico. But was it really a coincidence? I mean after all, one of the people who had to sign off on the visa requests was Crist's hand picked director of the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.

What we have here ladies and gentleman looks like a lot of back scratching if you ask me. I don't really believe in coincidences, and the fact that the man who spear headed this travesty against unemployed construction workers here in Florida is now a member of that US Senate, chosen by the man who helped push this through should give every Floridian pause. You really have to look no further than the Republican Congresswoman that represents that district to get to the heart of the matter.

Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen – whose district includes the St. Regis construction site – blasted the use of foreign workers on the project.

"How can you bring folks from another country – no dis on Mexico – to do this construction project when you have so many folks here who could use the work," she said back in March. "It leads me to think that something is happening below the surface and were not being told the truth. Something happened along the way that this company has a cozy relationship with certain bureaucrats who give out these visas."

Told this week that it was LeMieux's law firm that was lurking below the surface, engineering the visas for the foreign workers, the Republican Congresswoman grew defensive.

"I don't know George LeMieux," she said. "I'm not defending George LeMieux. I'm not attacking him. Law firms have lots of clients. I don't criticize law firms for the clients they have."

But she added: "Shame on anyone who was involved in scamming the system."

Yes Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, shame indeed!

The Party Of Projection

The GOP has gotten almost comical in the ways they project their own behavior on to Democrats. In this case its the Republican Party of Florida who is caught in the act by Politifact:

President Barack Obama plans to speak to the nation's schoolchildren on Sept. 8. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the speech will be about "the importance of persisting and succeeding in school," and the department is offering classroom materials to "engage students and stimulate discussion on the importance of education in their lives."

You might think that would be a harmless topic, and that people across the political spectrum could agree on the importance of education.

Not so for the Republican Party of Florida, though, which released a statement "condemning President Obama's use of taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s children to his socialist agenda."

"As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology," said Jim Greer, party chairman, in a news release.
"The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other President, is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power," he added.

"The Democrats have clearly lost the battle to maintain control of the message this summer, so now that school is back in session, President Obama has turned to American’s children to spread his liberal lies, indoctrinating American’s youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves," he concluded.

The release, which we received via e-mail, told us to click a link to learn more about Obama's speech.

snip

We reviewed the study materials but didn't see any mention of controversial issues, let alone any attempt to indoctrinate students in socialism. The pre-K through 6th grade materials said the main ideas of the speech would be "citizenship, personal responsibility, civic duty." The materials for high schoolers mention "personal responsibility, goals, persistence."

We searched previous media reports to see if former President George W. Bush ever gave a nationwide address to school children, but based on our search, it appears he did not. He did, however, regularly visit individual schools and discuss the importance of education with students.

We wondered whether we should give Greer latitude for legitimate commentary on Obama's speech. But he crossed a line when he said that Obama intended to discuss "plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies" and other policy matters not germane to education. That is factually incorrect, and the party could not offer any support for the statement. For raising the specter of socialist ideology and indoctrination, the party takes its claim to an additional, absurd level. We rate the Republican Party of Florida's statement Pants on Fire!

Hey, if the GOP wants to see indoctrination of school kids all they have to do is look no further than Republican governance in Texas.

Just as a handful of the 15 members of the Texas Board of Education tried to hijack the educational review of the state science curriculum this past year (attempting to stack the panel of experts with anti-science activists and intelligent design advocates like Stephen Meyer of the Discovery Institute), the same board members are now trying to repeat the process with the social studies curriculum.

The outcome of these hearings will be used by publishers to determine what goes into their textbooks. As the second-largest bulk purchaser of textbooks in the country, Texas determines what students learn not only in Texas, but in many other states, where districts purchase the same versions.

The board members have appointed six experts, and, the choices appear carefully crafted to be fair and balanced to differing views: one side representing a commitment to sound education, and the other side representing an agenda of religious far-right extremism.

In addition to Marshall, who holds a seminary degree from Princeton and has no background in social science, they include:

David Barton, whose company, WallBuilders, helped spawn a cottage industry based on the concepts that “separation of church and state is a myth” and that our nation’s founding fathers wanted America to be a theocracy, governed by Christian principles. A self-styled historian, Barton only has an undergraduate degree in religious education. And Daniel Dreisbach, a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington DC, who earned a law degree and a doctorate of philosophy in politics. While unlike Marshall or Barton he does at least boast some credentials, Dreisbach also believes “separation of church and state is a myth.”
On the other hand, the three other board members, Jim Kracht, professor of teaching, learning, and culture and also of geography at Texas A&M University; Jesus Francisco de la Teja, professor and chairman of the history department at Texas State University-San Marcos; and Lybeth Hodges, professor of history and government at Texas Woman’s University, all provide the panel with solid mainstream advanced academic credentials and educational experience.
In their expert reviews, Kracht, de la Teja, and Hodges offer reasonable suggestions for curriculum updates; while the other three offer suggestions that reveal a bizarre political agenda of extremist ideology and biblical exceptionalism.

For instance, Barton (former vice-chairman of the state GOP, and a Republican National Committee operative) said that Texas children should no longer be taught about “democratic” values but “republican” ones. “We don’t pledge allegiance to the flag and the democracy for which it stands,” he wrote.

“It’s a little ‘R’ and a little ‘D,’” Quinn said. “But they’re not fooling anyone.”

Both Barton and Phillips recommended that César Chavez (labor organizer and civil rights leader) and Thurgood Marshall (the nation’s first black US Supreme Court justice who, as a young attorney, successfully argued the public school desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education) be removed from textbooks because they aren’t worthy role models for students.
Perhaps most concerning, Barton also stresses the teaching of the Declaration of Independence and wants to see the state standards stipulate that the document is synonymous with the Constitution.

It’s interesting to note that nowhere in the Constitution is there a reference to God; but in the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson refers to a creator, as well as “the laws of nature and of nature’s God.”

From this, Barton says we can adduce—and children should therefore be taught—the five following principles: 1. There is a fixed moral law derived from God and nature; 2. There is a Creator; 3. The Creator gives to man certain unalienable rights; 4. Government exists primarily to protect God-given rights to every individual; 5. Below God-given rights and moral law, government is directed by the consent of the governed.

Barton goes on to write that these five points are key to what he calls “American Exceptionalism”:

Students must understand that American Exceptionalism is the result of the five distinctive ideas set forth in the first three lines of the Declaration and subsequently secured in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Im telling you, whenever you hear some crazy accusation coming from the GOP about Democrats you should immediately look around and see where in the country Republicans really are trying to do that crazy thing.