Dissecting the crushing anti-AEA ad currently running on statewide TV

The Foundation for Accountability in Education has just gone up on statewide TV with a crushing anti-Alabama Education Association (AEA) ad driving home conservatives’ belief that the AEA is the biggest obstacle to improving education in Alabama, and noting that the liberal group is now running candidates in Republican primaries.

Here’s the transcript of the ad titled, “If I Wanted Our Children to Fail…” which can be viewed above.

If I wanted our children to fail …
… I’d need a stranglehold on the public schools.
And I’d use the power of liberal big government unions to get it.
I’d fill their coffers with your tax dollars …
… And bankroll politicians who’d block reform.
Then, I’d make it impossible to pay our best teachers more money …
… And equally impossible for our poorest families to escape the schools that are failing them.
I’d call myself the “Alabama Education Association.”
But I wouldn’t fight for education. Or students. Or parents. Or our best teachers.
I’d fight for mediocrity over merit and seniority instead of success.
If I wanted our children to fail …
I’d even slip liberal politicians into our primaries, pretend they were conservatives
… and hope you didn’t notice.

Sponsored by Foundation for Accountability in Education.

Let’s take a minute to dissect the ad, breaking down what real-world situation each line is probably describing.

Line:
If I wanted our children to fail …
… I’d need a stranglehold on the public schools.

Explanation:
From The Daily Caller —

For much of the last four decades, the Alabama Education Association has risen to become one of the most powerful teachers’ unions in the country. As odd as it may seem in a dark red state, over the years long-time AEA executive director Paul Hubbert, oftentimes described as the “shadow governor” of Alabama, has earned his union the distinction of being one of the most politically involved organizations of its type in the country.

Line:
And I’d use the power of liberal big government unions to get it.
I’d fill their coffers with your tax dollars …
… And bankroll politicians who’d block reform.

Explanation:
The AEA is the Alabama affiliate of the National Education Association, America’s largest teachers’ union.

The NEA and their affiliates spent $2,475,284 on lobbying in 2013. They have so far in the 2014 election cycle been the top contributing group of any organization in the US, making $17,627,865 in political contributions (ranked #1 of 12,890 groups tracked by OpenSecrets.org). And the overwhelming majority of that money goes to liberals.

This bar shows the difference in the number of Democrats the NEA has donated to this cycle, compared to the number of Republicans (Blue = Dem, Red = GOP).

Students, teachers, parents, and hardworking Americans are all victims of what the video below describes as a “political machine” that takes money out of taxpayers’ wallets and gives it to union bosses, who turn around and put it in the pockets of politicians. This video is the best explanation we’ve seen of how the teachers’ union coffers are being filled with our tax dollars.

Line:
Then, I’d make it impossible to pay our best teachers more money …
… And equally impossible for our poorest families to escape the schools that are failing them.

Explanation:
Here’s what the AEA’s own website says about paying teachers based on how well they perform in the classroom:

“The idea of merit pay, also called pay for performance, in public schools is destructive.”

The AEA also fought tooth and nail to stop Alabama’s landmark school choice bill, which allows students in chronically failing schools to transfer to successful schools and offers scholarships to students from low-income families.

AEA boss Henry Mabry called this “insanity.”

Line:
I’d call myself the “Alabama Education Association.”
But I wouldn’t fight for education. Or students. Or parents. Or our best teachers.
I’d fight for mediocrity over merit and seniority instead of success.

Explanation:
The AEA fought a bill in the Alabama Legislature this year that would have made teacher effectiveness a consideration when school districts are forced to make layoffs due to tight budgets. Many districts currently use seniority as the deciding factor in which teachers stay. The last teacher hired is the first teacher fired, regardless of his or her impact on students. This is called “last in first out,” or simply “LIFO.”

Line:
If I wanted our children to fail …
I’d even slip liberal politicians into our primaries, pretend they were conservatives
… and hope you didn’t notice.

Explanation:
The Alabama Education Association has been the single biggest contributor to Democrats in Alabama for Decades. That continues now, even though Republicans took the majority. But the AEA realizes that Democrats can’t win in many areas of the state, so they are donating massive sums of money to candidates they have recruited to run in GOP primaries.

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