Slate on Guv Patrick and education

By Jim Stergios
February 29th, 2008

Picking up on Fred Siegel’s piece on the politics of hope and the reality of Governor Patrick’s moves to undo education reform (= giving in to special interests), Mickey Kaus from Slate asks

Isn’t it incumbent on those prominent NEA-bashing neoliberal Obama supporters to explain just why his term as president won’t quickly descend into a Patrick-like interest-group quagmire? Jon Alter, this means you! And Charles Peters as well. … P.S.: Patrick could function as Obama’s wrang-wrang, Vonnegut’s term for a pioneer who by his bad example steers others away from a false course. Before neolibs go into a permanent campaign swoon, shouldn’t Obama send them at least a subtle signal that he understands this?

Kaus then needles “Hope= casino gambling?”

If Patrick becomes Barack Obama’s wrang-wrang, and the Governor’s undoing of education reform in the nation’s number one state gets national traction, well, … watch out.