-Caveat Lector- For the Children? http://www.family.org/cforum/citizenmag/webonly/A0017220.html The National Education Association says it's dedicated to educating children, so why is it so busy promoting abortion, homosexuality and a host of other liberal causes? By Dick Carpenter The teacher union boss was not happy. Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association, had invested much of his political and professional capital in advancing homosexuality through the schools. He gave a controversial keynote address at the October 2000 convention of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educational Network. 1 He had written a pro-gay open letter this year to U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige. 2 And he pushed for passage of a resolution at the NEA's annual convention in early July that would have called for the "involvement of gay educators in developing educational material," and holding up "gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender education employees as role models." 3 So it was a bitter pill for Chase to swallow when, in the face of mounting opposition by NEA delegates and a rally outside the convention hall sponsored by Focus on the Family and the California-based Capital Resource Institute, the contentious resolution never made it to the floor for a vote. Instead, the resolution was tabled and a task force created to explore the issue "in a thorough and meaningful way." 4 Just how unhappy was Chase? According to one delegate, the NEA president "pounded on the podium and said he wanted all of the picketers outside and all of the press to know that we will not back away from this issue." But if the sidetracked resolution proved to be a bitter pill, other NEA actions at the annual convention were the sugar to help the medicine go down. The NEA and Abortion Remarkably, an organization that claims to be "for the children" spends an inordinate amount of time "off the education message," some with disastrous consequences. One of the most troubling is the union's unequivocal support of the killing of millions of unborn babies. First adopted in the mid-1980s, the NEA's Resolution I-12 "supports family planning, including the right to reproductive freedom," meaning abortion. Moreover, "[t]he Association urges the government to give high priority to making available all methods of family planning to women and men unable to take advantage of private facilities." 5 As if this were not bad enough, the resolution calls for such "services" to be provided in schools. "The Association also urges the implementation of community-operated, school-based family planning clinics that will provide intensive counseling by trained personnel." 5 Some NEA members see this resolution as unconscionable, and each year they attempt to eliminate or undermine it. Such attempts are routinely shot down by NEA delegates. This year, pro-life NEA members attempted several different strategies, including the introduction of an amendment scuttling Resolution I-12 and two new "business items." As in years past, their efforts were crushed. The amendment to I-12 called for the removal of the phrase "reproductive freedom" from the resolution. But immediately after the amendment's introduction, another delegate led the fight against it by calling for "opposition to consider." NEA rules require a two-thirds majority to not consider proposed amendments, and overwhelmingly, the delegates voted not to consider it. One of the new business items called on the NEA to "educate its members about the need to anesthetize pre-born children, once sensitivity to pain has been established, before an abortion procedure begins." The other item would have required the NEA to " educate its members about the need for life-preserving measures to be used when a child is aborted alive." Delegates voted not to consider either item. 6 As one pro-life delegate said, "It was devastating." National Everything Association And the sugar for Chase's medicine just kept coming. Delegates were given a report on the NEA's current legislative efforts, which include liberal positions on the National Endowment for the Arts, energy policy, environmental protection, fair housing, immigration, military affairs, native lands, public welfare, and trade agreements. 7 During the convention delegates also voted on nuclear relations with Russia, reparations for the descendents of slaves,8 sickle cell anemia, the 2008 Olympics,9 reinstatement of full citizenship rights for felons who complete their sentences, and President Bush's plans to deploy a national missile defense system, which they opposed. 6 The degree to which the union has strayed from education issues was not lost on delegates. One teacher from Illinois complained, "We're the National Education Association not the National Everything Association." 10 New Mexico special education teacher Safi Lee Harnett agreed. "There's a lot of stuff the NEA is into which we should not be involved in." Yet, into them they are. And it's a huge war chest of funds that enables them to influence these diverse areas. Money, Money, Money During the four-day convention, the nearly 10,000 delegates shelled out more than $1 million for the NEA's political action committee (PAC). 11 One only need look at recent campaign donations to see the implications of this giving. National and state teachers unions gave more than 95 percent of their PAC contributions to Democrats, even though 48 percent of members are Democrats, 24 percent are Republicans, and 28 percent are independents. 12 In addition to contributions, the NEA actively supported numerous candidates during the 2000 election. According to one Citizen source, NEA Manager of Political Affairs Jack Pacheco told delegates about the union's efforts to " protect our friends." During the last election, the NEA had at least two people working in Al Gore's Tennessee offices and set up phone banks to make pro-Gore phone calls. Pacheco also boasted that all of the gubernatorial candidates supported by the NEA won. Pacheco went on to describe NEA efforts for the 2002 elections. As a result of a meeting including Bob Chase and NEA representatives from throughout the country, an elaborate plan of action has been developed to influence congressional seats in many states. And one of the biggest targets is North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. "It's time to get Jesse Helms," Pacheco said, as he leaned on delegates for funds. "You give us the money and we will get Jesse." On the ballot measure/legislation side, the NEA was equally active. According to an NEA report released at the convention, last year the union provided more than $9 million to 15 state affiliates to fight ballot measures and legislative campaigns, including voucher proposals in California and Michigan and an Oregon initiative designed to deny funds to public schools that promote homosexuality. 13 In the face of such lopsided and unrepresentative spending, a group of NEA delegates offered Bylaw Amendment 4, which read, "Active NEA members will be able to obtain that portion of their yearly dues allocated for 'political activity.'" 14 This would have allowed teachers to keep their money from supporting causes with which they disagreed. The delegation defeated the measure. 15 By the end of the convention, some Christian delegates expressed frustration at what they experienced. If the leftist positions and actions taken by the union were not enough, an awards ceremony honored a gay teacher who actively promoted homosexuality, and a student who formed a gay straight alliance (a student club focused on homosexuality) in her school. 16 Several gay-rights organizations hosted booths in the exhibit hall out of which they distributed pro-gay curricula and information. A creationist booth was regularly derided by delegates, and, as one delegate shared, the Republican caucus was "worthless." Perhaps worst of all, many Christian teachers in attendance sat on their hands. "Christians in the NEA don't want to get involved," sighs Harnett. While flying to the convention, a Christian delegate from Alabama attempted to rally her Christian colleagues to speak out. They refused, preferring to "lay low and not get involved." Pennsylvania delegate Sissy Jochmann also saw the same from her colleagues. "We are letting the liberals run this organization." Ready for Some Good News? Christian delegates were quick to add that there were some bright moments both during the convention and after. At the open hearing on the pro-gay Resolution B, some Christian teachers approached the microphone and opposed the resolution based on their faith. Another teacher distributed flyers by Focus on the Family about Resolution B inside the convention hall until he was ordered to leave the building. He continued circulating them outside until he was told by police to stop. (Despite being outside, he was still on convention center property.) Another NEA member, a former lesbian who became a Christian, walked the exhibition hall floor telling teachers about being ex-gay and asked them to vote no on Resolution B because it "invalidated her personal experience." Teachers Saving Children, a pro-life group active in education circles, hosted a booth. While they encountered some hostile moments, they showed a video of the development of pre-born babies in the womb. The power of the video was demonstrated in the large groups of delegates who stopped to watch. In a way that printed material or interaction with those staffing the booth could not, the video provided a graphically compelling case for the life of the unborn. The post-convention activities were equally encouraging. Recognizing the need to network and organize, Christian NEA members are building organizational and communication structures. One delegate is exploring the option of starting a Christian caucus within the NEA, while another is building an email network of Christian teachers. The goal of both is to encourage and to empower Christian teachers to affect change in their schools and in their union. "Christians in the NEA don't want to get involved, but if you're not involved you can't make changes," says Harnett. One Minnesota delegate shares why such change is important. "Kids lives are at stake. This is not about adults. This is about kids and their lives-they need a voice." Unfortunately, the voice coming out of the 2.6 million-member union is not about kids. It's a shrill call for more abortions, more gay rights, more leftist causes, and most of all more power-the power of a union to dominate the $400 billion education industry. Just the type of stuff that helps Mr. Chase's medicine go down. Dick Carpenter is Focus on the Family's education analyst. Endnotes 1. Carpenter, D.M., "Never too young to indocrinate," Citizen, November 2000. p. 26-28. 2. Feldman, S., K. Jennings, and R. Chase, "An open letter to Secretary of Education Rod Paige." 2001, GLSEN. 3. National Education Association, Supplementary report of the 2000-2001 resolutions committee. 2001, National Education Association: Washington, DC. p. 16. 4. Chase, R., Statement of Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association on the designation of a task force for Resolution New B. 2001, National Education Association. 5. National Education Association, NEA resolutions, legislative program. and new business 2000-2001. 2001, Washington, DC: National Education Association. 6. RA Today, "New business items." 2001, National Education Association. 7. National Education Association, Advancing NEA's legislative program. 2001: Washington, DC. p. 15. 8. Erickson, E., "NEA wraps up annual convention." 2001, CNSNews.com. 9. Antonucci, M., Summer school report. 2001, The Education Intelligence Agency. 10. Antonucci, M., Summer school report. 2001, The Education Intelligence Agency. 11. Antonucci, M., Summer school report. 2001, The Education Intelligence Agency. 12. Antonucci, M., Summer school report. 2001, The Education Intelligence Agency. 13. Chase, R., NEA ballot measure/legislative crisis fund. 2001, National Education Association: Washington, DC. p. 6. 14. Association, N.E., Proposed amendments to the constitution, bylaws, and standing rules. 2001, National Education Association. 15. Darcy, W.R., The National Education Association 2001 annual meeting. 2001, Ship of State. 16. Fischer, B., "Human and civil rights awards," RA Today. 2001: Washington, DC. p. 14. [Forwarded For Information Purposes Only - Not Necessarily Endorsed By The Sender - A.K. Pritchard] ------------------------------ A.K. Pritchard http://www.ideasign.com/chiliast/ http://rosie.acmecity.com/songfest/189/ To subscribe to "The Republican" email list - just ask! 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