re: #24 Charles Johnson

Uh, I beg to differ. Bilingual education is absolutely a right/left issue. There’s a simple reason why every conservative politician opposes it, and it has nothing to do with improving education. The opposition is driven by xenophobia, and it’s obvious in everything they say about it.

I’ve been following this issue for years and the idea that conservatives give a rip about improving education is laughable.

I realize you hold all the power cards here, but here are some facts which point toward the possibility that conservatives do care about education.

(1) Democrats control California, Republicans control Texas. On the whole.
(2) NAEP scores do not place California head and shoulders above Texas. It’s rather a tie, but if one has to break the tie, then the advantage goes to Texas.

Here’s the numbers for 8th grade reading as of 2013:

W: TX 279, CA 275
B: TX 253, CA 247
H: TX 255, CA 252
A: TX 285, CA 280
L: TX 254, CA 251
N: TX 276, CA 276

Here W=white, B=black, H=Hispanic, A=Asian, L=Low priced lunch eligible, N=Low priced lunch not eligible.

Somehow or other, the richer state, with the Democrats in charge and calling every last shot, have managed only to stay close. The Republicans, in the poorer state, and making all the wrong decisions and not even caring, have managed to equal or exceed Democrat results.