A Short SCOTUS Nightmare

Supporting the Establishment in Iowa

Don't pull a hamstring doing that victory dance just yet my fellow pedagogues. While I am guilty as charged for failing to slap on my black armband and lower my flag to half mast in honor of the passing of Chief Justice Scalia, I am not half as optimistic as I was before I heard this name floated as one who could appease both sides in a confirmation standoff: Cory Effing Booker. 

Just when you thought you were going to get a breather from the Friedrichs ruling, a Booker appointment could put us right back where we were before Anton set out for his final hunting trip. In case you're not hip to this guy he's the textbook Neoliberal. All for LGBT rights and a staunch defender of Bain Capital. He criticized Obama for being mean to private equity operators. In May 2012, Booker defended Bain Capital’s record and criticized Obama's attack on private equity. In response, the Republican National Committee, created a petition called "I Stand With Cory Booker".  Yeah, that's our guy, looking out for those poor, oppressed little equity folk. Booker supports the DREAM Act and Opposes Teacher's Unions. Some say before the freshman Senator from Illinois emerged out of nowhere in 2008 Booker was in line to be America's original Black president. And when you look at the way Obama and Booker both dance that odd Neoliberal line between the social causes and the financial ones it's easy to see why the DNC would have Booker on the same radar screen as B.O. They are birds of a Neoliberal feather. 

In case you weren't further aware this guy sits on a board for Democrats for Ed Reform. He supports vouchers, charters, privatization of public schools and merit pay. He found an ally in Chris Christie when they lured Zuckerberg into investing some of his Facebook millions in Newark Schools. Never mind that they managed to piss away $100 Million -- a lot of it on $1000 a day consultants, huge surprise there right? In typical ed reform fashion the results were wholly predictable."Everybody's getting paid, but Raheem still can't read," Vivian Cox Fraser, president of the Urban League of Essex County in New Jersey, told the CNBC magazine.

The other day a right leaning friend of a friend cracked on social media "I can just imagine who Obummer is going to appoint now..." My response was to the effect that it really couldn't be any worse.  I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention now was I?