Posted on 06/14/2013 11:38:15 AM PDT by drewh
As a Republican, I never expected to be working with Hillary Clinton. But, because I’ve been through the partisan microwave so many times, I care more these days about problem-solving than scoring political points (which is why I helped cofound No Labels. I care more about what works than who wins).
I’ve spent the better part of my career in politics and public policy working on and fighting for education reforms. I worked for a Texas governor in the mid-’80s who passed the infamous “No Pass, No Play” rule, which meant if a student didn’t pass their courses, they couldn’t play football. You can imagine how that went over in Texas: it got the governor un-elected.
And it was work I was doing to support charter schools in Texas that was the focus of my initial meeting with George W. Bush, who went on to enact significant charter laws as governor of Texas. I later went to work for him when he ran for reelection, then worked on his campaigns for president, where we spent a lot of time talking about "No Child Left Behind," an idea which became landmark federal education legislation.
But as I’ve recently reflected on almost 30 years of working on this issue—after the billions of dollars that have been spent and hundreds of programs and pilots that have been tried—the fact is that we have made remarkably little progress. In fact, we’ve gone backward. I was shocked to see that while some innovative charter schools that represent very poor students are sending almost 100 percent of their students to college, nearly three-quarters of them are dropping out.
Then I began reading Republican David Brooks’s columns about emerging research and science revealing the wisdom of very early intervention strategies. It is increasingly clear that if learning and nutrition strategies are implemented with very young children, they will be significantly more likely to succeed in life—and less likely to need costly remediation later.
Folks on my side of the aisle will say it is heresy to be working with Hillary Clinton. Fortunately, at this stage of my life, I don’t care. Says Brooks: “millions of parents don’t have the means, the skill, or, in some cases, the interest in building their children’s future. Early childhood education is about building structures so both parents and children learn practical life skills.”
Seems like a very conservative approach to me. Invest a little early and save lots later.
“We’ve got big challenges; our students are falling further and further behind in math and science,” says Sara Martinez Tucker, CEO of the National Math + Science Initiative and the former undersecretary of education under President George W. Bush. “But we can fix it. The research shows that the early years really matter. Getting them excited. Getting them to want to learn about what’s out there. If we get it right there, hooked on either math or science, that’s huge. Not just for our kids, but for the future of our country.”
A year ago or so, I was connected with a nonprofit organization, The Next Generation, which is dedicated to precisely these issues. Since then I have been working closely with the organization’s professionals, who have been developing smart strategies on these topics.
Then a few months ago, Hillary Clinton expressed an interest in what we were doing. She wanted to learn more, which was not entirely surprising, given her early and long history of working on related issues. As she learned more about the Next Generation, we learned more about her thinking on the subject, which was insightful and intellectually penetrating. It became clear there was a lot of potential synergy and that a partnership made a lot of sense.
It pleased my conservative instincts to see Secretary Clinton’s push for a focus not on government solutions, but on personal responsibility and behavior, supported by private-sector approaches to the problem. To provide American parents with the resources they need to help their children succeed, Too Small to Fail will work to: • Promote new research on the science of children’s brain development and on the effect of early nutrition on childhood development; • Launch a personal action campaign aimed at encouraging parents and caregivers to take simple actions that are proven to improve learning and health; • Launch a private-sector action campaign designed to secure business commitments that will improve conditions for families; and • Convene childhood-development experts, parents, private-sector leaders, and other stakeholders in a major, national discussion that helps advance understanding of the science of early childhood development.
I know I’m going to take a lot of heat from some folks on my side of the aisle who will say it is heresy to be working with Hillary Clinton. Fortunately, at this stage of my life, I don’t care. More to the point, if hyper-partisans will look at these issues and the remarkable science and research surfacing now about the wisdom and efficacy of these strategies, I believe they will recognize it is the smart thing to do. It is the right thing to do. And it is the conservative thing to do.
LOL. I agree, but the press will milk this for the stupid voter (I don’t like low info voter it is too PC).
What a gigantic pile of self-serving BS.
This guy is an idiot. Hillary is worse than Obama as she is a conniver. The woman makes the ingenuity of Wile E. Coyote look lame when it comes to creating scenarios that fall apart, but in her case always somebody else has to clean up her messes.
There is no doubt in my mind that Hillary is responsible for the scenario that became Fast & Furious. There is no doubt in my mind that Hillary had say in the scenario that became Behghazi. There is no doubt in my mind that Hillary dreamed up the IRS scam. She’s diabolical. She’s manipulative, and totally Marxist. She as a President would be far worse than what we have simply because she would be covered at her every move by the gentlemanly never hit on a female standard, the media, and her uncanny ability to make blatant lies forgiveable.
Hillary must never see the WH as her residence ever again.
Anything other than a Cattleman 65 crease is a joke.
I agree. He was never good for Bush and I think a number of us commented on that here. But poor GWB was so darn trusting of expertise that he let people he had hired totally betray him.
The One Party System stikes again.
A loving bromance, so appropriate.
Mark’s many boyfriends would be wise to insist that he be checked for rectal syphilis at least once a week.
Yep, she is a real champion of limited government and the rule of law. I don't know why she doesn't run as a Republican.
TOOL.
And he has done a great job for her these last six years it would seem.
The big change here is now, after all these years, he finally gets to actually work WITH her, not just for her.
And he has a great track record too.
He has been on the winning side for the last two elections
Republicans are so stupid it surprises me that they can remember to breathe.
I think it must be a requirement to run for any office higher than dog catcher. The higher the office more stupid you have to be
It was obvious as early as late summer 2008 this guy was a ringer for the Democrats sent to torpedo the Republican Presidential nominee. The only question left unanswered is whether or not the nominee was a ringer as well.
Only because it just wasn't the right time.
Rove friend, colleague, liberal whore, political consultant ping.
I don't blame Rubio for seeking the Hispanic vote....he sure can't please a group of holier than thou "conservatives" so he might as well try for a new foundation...
More of a lateral transfer, but no worries, McKinnon will jump back on Jeb Bush's nominee team just in time for another GOP loss.
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