Teacher rebellion sticks red-state GOP in a corner
OKLAHOMA CITY — A teacher rebellion in red states from West Virginia to Arizona has put Republicans on the defensive, forcing them to walk a fine line in the months before midterm elections between placating constituents who are angry over education cuts and conservative supporters who want a smaller government and low taxes.
In Oklahoma, most Republicans last week broke with the party orthodoxy and endorsed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax increases to fund public schools and give teachers a raise of 15 to 18 percent.
They acted after Oklahoma teachers demanded action, inspired by a nineday strike in West Virginia, where they won a 5 percent raise. The rebellion also has spread to Kentucky where teachers thronged the state Capitol on Monday to protest cuts in pensions. And in Arizona, restive teachers also are demanding a 20 percent pay raise.
But the epicenter of the revolt now is Oklahoma, where lawmakers got little praise for approving major tax increases and instead caught flak from both sides of the political divide. Thousands of teachers converged on the state Capitol for a second day Tuesday demanding even more money, while antitax conservatives vowed to challenge incumbents who supported the plan.
“I’ve had some political blowback, people saying this will be my last term in office,” said Rep. Kyle Hilbert, a Republican from rural northeast Oklahoma, who has gotten an earful from conservatives. “I’d rather serve one term and know I did what was best for my district.”
The Oklahoma strike showed no signs of ending, with many of the largest school districts planning to close for a third consecutive day on Wednesday to honor the walkout.
Some Republicans are trying to express their sympathy for the teachers. Three weeks before a closely-watched special election for an open congressional seat in Arizona, Republican hopeful Debbie Lesko is running a TV ad that shows her reading a book to children as she vows to “fix our schools and give our teachers the raise they deserve.”
The protests also have emboldened teachers across the country to run for office. In Kentucky, teachers bruised by their fight over education pensions are preparing to mobilize to support legislative candidates they see as passing a key test: support for education. About two dozen educators or former educators are running for office this year, most of them as Democrats.
For the Democratic Party, which has been losing legislative seats in many of these red states for years, the intensity of the education movement is an opportunity. The Oklahoma Democratic Party set up a tent outside the Capitol during the teacher protests and urged demonstrators to register to vote.
“I think the people who will be held responsible at the end of the day are the people in power,” said Party Chairwoman Anna Langthorn. “I think we have a lot of momentum.”