Betsy Devos Confirmation Chances

I was wondering if I could get some feedback from the folks here. Essentially, I'm curious as to what the chances are Betsy Devos will be confirmed as Education Secretary.

If I understand correctly, due to the nuclear option implemented by Harry Reid, confirmation votes for most executive appointments (with the sole exception of SCOTUS?) only require a majority of the Senate, so the best Democrats can do now is delay, not block.

I'm also curious as to what the chances are that she will be confirmed by Republicans, or how likely it is they'll back down due to pressure from the left.

 

Granny says, "Dat's right - she's an Amway huckster dat don't have public school experience...

Why is Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick for education secretary, so unpopular?
Sun, 05 Feb 2017 - Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick for education secretary, may not get approved this week. Why is that?

 

Two obscure Republicans, both women, are voting against her. This will cause a 50-50 tie and VP Pence will cast the deciding vote.

 

Murkowski is obscure? I'm not too sure about that.

Thanks for the replies, folks. I did create this thread on the 23rd of Jan before we had as much media coverage of this confirmation, but it seems what I'd understood before was correct.

I hope another Republican doesn't defect-- though I don't expect them to.

 

They ought too. Betsy is the definition of insider. A billionaire trust funder who donates massive money to corrupt institutions.

Isnt that what trump ran against?

(*)(*)(*)(*) this disgusting charlatan betsy devos. Sad there is not a hell for her to rot in.

 

Yeah, we should just end the department.

I love this. I have lived my life with few to no political victories. At all. I have to sit by and watch as the creep progressives and the war hawk conservatives continue stealing my money to fund their grand visions of utopia.

This is what I want-- an end to the Department of Education. That obviously isn't going to happen. Progressives have had all the victories in the 20th Century. But they have to put the brakes on imposing their vision on the rest of us for four years and they begin rioting in the streets like a bunch of spoiled children.

What about "compromise" that you guys love so much? Well, we're not ending the department. We're just going to put DeVos in there and she's going to let the states do what they want to do, as it was intended. You're against school choice and want to continue selling our children's futures to teacher's unions? Be my guest, call your local representative. But for the next four years, we're going to provide the littlest bit of wiggle room so that we can try something other than the system that has failed our children and squandered money for the last 50 years. Is that a good enough compromise for you, since all you hold is a filibuster-breaking minority in the Senate?

 

What the (*)(*)(*)(*) ever. Its true she is an insider. As for compromise, no. I dont compromise. Betsy devos oversaw one of the absolute worst charter school disasters in this country and no amount of #ilovethisalternativefacts are going to save you.

She is a scumbag piece of utter (*)(*)(*)(*) and should be kept as far away from education as possible. She doesnt even know protections for students with disabilities.

What a joke. Also. Im no sjw democrat progressive so can your idiotic and childish labels. I am against devos because she is a (*)(*)(*)(*)ing idiot insider.

 

I'm no Trump supporter, so we can both agree there.

None of the people Hillary Clinton wanted to nominate were insiders? Obama's cabinet, selected by Citigroup weren't full of insiders?

All of these people are evil. Let's take that for granted. The difference is, you want the evil people to hold exclusive control over education and continue to propagandize children into the progressive ideology. It seems like Republicans still have enough spine to allow some wiggle room somewhere where you can escape the wretched public education system.

Charter schools also have a mixed record. But I figure, worst case scenario they can go to the school they were going to before.

The only reason people are up in arms against DeVos is because she threatens teachers unions, who are more of an insider than DeVos could ever be. Just look at how effectively they've mounted a campaign against her.

 

Wrong. Wrong. And wrong. The principal reason i am against devos is because she is funding groups that teach creationism as science. I am antireligion. I dont believe any more mental slavery is necessary.

Secondly, they didnt need to mount a campaign. Her expose was a (*)(*)(*)(*)ing joke. She couldnt say she would hold all schools to equal standards because her billionaire backers would lose money.

Thirdly, i didnt vote for hillary, and if instead of lumping me together youd have bothered to ask, you wouldnt be arguing nonsense. I dont care who her cabinet picks were because she is a piece of criminal (*)(*)(*)(*) i did not vote for.

Betsy devos knows nothing about education. She is a billionaire trust fundee living in an ivory tower donating hundreds of millions of dollars. She is the definition of washington insider. She is the definition of unfit. She is an abject failure and without her familial wealth would be nothing but another opinionated suburban soccer mom, a footnote of annoyance in a small community.

She is a travesty.

 

The main reasons against DeVos are these

1) She is a Trump pick

2) the Teachers' unions, which are a major player in the DNC, don't like her

I don't believe we should have a D o Ed. Its not a proper power of the federal government

 

Where were all these lunatics when common core was being shoved down our kids throats? CC is a joke especially when it comes to the learning disabled. It makes math that much harder for them.

 

My opinion is that it is ALL about the teachers' unions which OWN the Democrats and the 2 Republican female senators. This is why nothing has been done to improve education. The unions spend a lot of money to get Congress to vote their way. You would think that as human beings, they would WANT children to have an opportunity to get the best education possible, but as long as they can afford to send THEIR children to chi chi schools, what do they care about poor and minirity children? As an educator, I APPLAUD DeVos for wanting vouchers, so that children can leave failing schools and go to better ones. Teacher unions deal in mediocrity. They keep bad teachers and care more about getting big paychecks than actually HELPING children. DeVos is definitely NOT a union supporter and they are threatened which is why they are putting the screws to the Democrats. It is time to NOT be a slave to a union, but actually do what is BEST for the CHILDREN, don't you think? It is their chance to escape their poor and sometimes dangerous neighborhoods. To me, education is the key to getting people to be self sufficient and not relying on welfare.
Do you remember Arne Duncan? The Obama pick's claim to fame was that he was CEO of Chicago schools. Not really something to put on your resume if you want the job...

 

Hey, if you guys want to buy into the Charter School and Voucher Scams, then you should pass a collection plate to pay for them.

The problem is, DeVos already got her plan in Michigan, and the quality of education plummeted as billions were diverted to voucher plans that didn't work and Charter Schools that were little more than Ponzi schemes.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/betsy-devos-michigan-school-experiment-232399

Despite two decades of charter-school growth, the state’s overall academic progress has failed to keep pace with other states: Michigan ranks near the bottom for fourth- and eighth-grade math and fourth-grade reading on a nationally representative test, nicknamed the “Nation’s Report Card.” Notably, the state’s charter schools scored worse on that test than their traditional public-school counterparts, according to an analysis of federal data.

Critics say Michigan’s laissez-faire attitude about charter-school regulation has led to marginal and, in some cases, terrible schools in the state’s poorest communities as part of a system dominated by for-profit operators. Charter-school growth has also weakened the finances and enrollment of traditional public-school districts like Detroit’s, at a time when many communities are still recovering from the economic downturn that hit Michigan’s auto industry particularly hard.

 

In your rant, there are some valid complaints. The Teachers unions do protect some bad teachers. (They also protect good teachers from petty bureaucrats).

The thing is, Vouchers are not the answer. Wisconsin has been doing vouchers for two decades now, and they are no better off than when they started.

You see, the key thing in a child's education isn't what school they are in or whether or not their teacher is in a union. (50% of new teachers burn out within 5 years, anyway.) It's how committed the parents are. The reason why private school and parochial school kids do well is because their parents are involved, as opposed to public school kids, whose parents more often than not see the schools as "Free Day Care".

 

Well, charter schools are doing great in NYC. Public schools there are dangerous and academically poor. Teachers' unions are bad news and that is why people denigrate charter schools and vouchers. The power of unions needs to be broken for the sake of the children.

 

^^^ Classy ^^^

 

Sure is, ain't it? I never claimed to be tolerant. DeVos is a surefire cancer. The idiot couldn't even answer basic questions about equal accountability without revealing her bias.

She is DANGEROUS.

 

I suggest you take a look at charter schools in NYC. As a retired teacher who worked in a Catholic school, I know how bad the public schools are. My daughter worked in one and she used to tell HORROR stories about the place and these were not isolated stories. There are GOOD kids trapped in these schools who would like to get an education, move on to college and get a decent job. The unions have a stranglehold on these schools. They run them and De Blasio allows it. They actually have rubber rooms where teachers who have been accused of things are kept. They are not in the classroom, but are still paid their salary. They don't seem to fire anyone. Then there are those who have done things and are sent to new schools who are not told about past transgressions, so they can do it again. All Thanks to the union who places their own welfare above the welfare of the CHILDREN which they are supposed to be committed to teach. Every now and again, I would get a public school child in my class, and what that child did NOT know was mind-boggling, but they were eager to learn and catch up. I never joined a union, although in public school, you don't have a choice.
Once some public elementary school kids on their way home from school passed by my school as we were dismissing. They could see into our gym and said, " They don't have metal detectors." One of our third graders said, "Our teachers are our metal detectors."
There are many parents who care about their children's education. They don't have the means or resources to send them to good schools. Eva Moskowitz started charter schools in NYC and there is a lottery of thousands for children to get in. She has fought for more, but De Blasio who is owned by the union keeps resisting, even though he can see what a difference these schools have made. Democrats don't care about education except when it pertains to their own children. I bet some of you on here have no clue what it is like for children in poor neighborhoods. As long as your kids go to school in a good neighborhood and have opportunities, that's all that matters.
I am for Betsy DeVos because she wants charter schools and vouchers because she cares and is not beholden to unions. She also wants to rid us of Common Core which was started by Obama's idiotic education pick. What are younpeople so afraid of? That she may actually SUCCEED?

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Dangerous to who ? Unions? Good!

 

What I'm hearing is that two Republican chicks are voting against her which will make it 50 to 50 and then Pence will be the deciding factor, which of course she'll then be appointed.

 

Why Trump likes her: she has advocated for school choice.

Why the left hates her: she has advocated for school choice.

 

There is really only one reason why Democrats oppose her, ok two but one real reason and one gimmie.

Shes pro school choice.

Democrats simply cannot allow this.

If children aren't enrolled in public schools then they cannot be indoctrinated by the anti-free market/capitalism, revisionist history, and "ur White ur evil" structures that the Left has spent decades establishing in public education.

They put in years and years and years of work and they are just now starting to see the payoff.

They cant allow somebody to come in and take kids out of that assembly line if brainwashing.

And the gimmie reason is, shes a Trump pick - Dems are going to oppose anybody he picks just because he picked them.

 

So will she do what is best for our education? If so, I wouldn't care if she was a blob from outer space.

Any proof of what you claim, BTW?

 

Her belief that schools should spread God's word and she supports school choice as a back door way of funding religious indoctrination camps is a pretty large elephant in the room you have ignored......

 

She really scares the hell out of you, eh?