NEA Obama endorsement? Probably. But not yet.
NEA President Dennis Van Roekel keeps having these delegate teleconferences where delegates to the RA are invited to call in with questions.
Except me. I get screened out.
Hey. I understand. I screen unwanted calls myself.
But here it is:
“Dennis, my friend (union presidents love that “my friend” or “my brother” stuff). Never before in our union’s history have we endorsed a presidential candidate two years before the election. What is it about the current administration’s record toward labor or education that would have it deserve this unprecedented action?”
A number of people have told me over the past few days that they thought the NEA had already endorsed Obama.
Not so.
Oh, the leadership has voted to propose it to the RA. And nobody can seriously believe that the leadership would allow a rejection of the recommendation to take place.
The only real issue is how much push back there will be. How messy the floor fight?
Nobody at the RA will tell you they like Obama’s labor and education policies.
Nobody.
But now that Van Roekel has decided to put it out there, many delegates will feel obligated to go along.
Kind of like when your partner invites the couple with the loud, obnoxious spouse over for dinner without asking you first. You can’t tell your partner to uninvite them.
But my hunch is that unless there is some parliamentary hanky-panky by the leadership, this will not be a cordial dinner.
And that raises the question. What’s the endorsement worth? I and members in my local traveled to Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana in 2008.
In 2012?
