For NEA and Affiliates, It’s Already 2012

posted at 6:43 pm on December 12, 2011 by Mike Antonucci
[ Education ]   

Back in May, and again in July, there was a huge stink about NEA’s decision to endorse President Obama for reelection a year earlier than usual. Despite the debate over what message the endorsement sent to the members and the White House, it was procedurally necessary, because the union could not devote money and resources to the Presidential campaign until after an endorsement – and these days waiting until July of an election year is simply too little, too late.

We now have some indications of what NEA has been doing with the additional time. To begin with, the union cleverly melded its organizing in support of Obama’s latest edu-jobs legislation with organizing for Obama himself in 2012. Though the bill itself has little chance of passage, it does serve the purpose of emphasizing where the President and NEA align, rather than where they differ.

The union devoted the fall to identifying potential Obama activists from among its members in 16 states, presumably those NEA considers to be battleground states. They are: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Along with this recruiting, the union’s PAC has a “Educators for Obama” web site where volunteers can sign up.

NEA is already spending time monitoring the Republican debates and issuing “Just the Facts” reports on issues that arise.

The union is also ramping up its Strategic Federal Initiatives, described as a cross-departmental unit that focuses on the White House and federal agencies and “connects NEA’s legislative, policy and political resources in order to coordinate and leverage our work with the executive branch.”

Important as it is, the Presidential election is only one of many elections in 2012, and the union must identify its preferred candidates for Congress and state legislatures. The selection is the purview of the NEA state affiliate, and the California Teachers Association has its criteria for choosing the perfect candidates:

* “Consistently votes according to NEA recommended positions, contacts NEA for information or questions, attempts to bring others along and takes leadership on NEA bills by being a sponsor, co-author or author.”

* “Consistently is available to NEA staff and leaders.”

* “Consistently is available to NEA staff and leaders at the district office. Calls local leaders before endorsing in local races, attends local NEA and coalition events.”

* “Consistently speaks positively about NEA, public education and unions. Participates in NEA press events and attends NEA functions in DC and in the districts.”

* “Leadership of the Senate or House of Representatives. Actively assists with “behind-the-scenes” activities to support NEA policy.”

The union pays special attention to friendly incumbents, categorizing their election in “tiers” in order to prioritize its support. A “Tier 1″ office-holder is “a candidate who is running for re-election in the same house of the legislature or in Congress and has evidence of all of the following in their CTA assessment: good voting record, access to CTA staff and leaders at Capitol, access to CTA staff and leaders in the district, ongoing communication with CTA, and leadership in state legislature/Congress or party.” A “Tier 2″ candidate would exhibit three of those characteristics, and a “Tier 3″ would exhibit none.

In California as of this writing, only two Congressional incumbents from California rose to the level of Tier 1 – Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) and Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles).

The NEA message will focus on Obama’s retention of public sector jobs, while downplaying or avoiding where the union differs with the President on many education issues. On education, we can expect NEA to devote considerable resources to lambasting GOP proposals.

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