ALEC to Ravitch: Why pick on us?

In an interesting response to a Diane Ravitch piece in Edweek ("What You Need To Know About ALEC"), Adam Peshek, ALEC's ed director, asks: Why pick on us? Obama agrees with ALEC, claims Peshek, who has nothing but praise for the administration. Peshek has a good point. How about a response, Mr. President or Sec. Duncan.

Writes Peshek:

In reality, we are far from alone in this effort. There are dozens of organizations on both sides of the political spectrum that have spent decades promoting the policies we support. In fact, President Barack Obama has done more for charter schools and teaching-profession reforms than any other administration. Apparently, our ideas are only acceptable if they stay confined to think tanks, books, and intellectual debates. Now, as decades of work are paying off in policy changes, the other side is crying foul.

 As you might expect, Peshek is covering his own, and ALEC's ass. On the issue of charter schools, merit pay however, he is able to use Obama's ed policies as a left cover for this extreme right-wing group which lately has come under fire, especially because of their support for racist Stand Your Ground laws. Ironically, one area where ALEC and Obama disagree is on Common Core Standards, which Obama supports and ALEC opposes as a federal intrusion into state education.