To GOP, we’re mushrooms — keep us in the dark

ForRepublicans who controlTallahassee and Washington, the playbook on unpopular legislation is the same: Work in secret and spring it on the public.

In Florida, political dark arts created the House Bill 7069, the first step toward the rightwing goal of privatizing public education, nowthat Gov. Rick Scott has signed it. For the first time, private charter school operators will get a share of property tax revenue for construction and maintenance. Yet the publicwould not own those charter schools built with public money.

Over10 years, that portion ofHB7069 could cost the Broward and Palm Beach school districts $500 million. The legislation alsowould allocate $140 million for private charter school companies to supposedly rescue underperforming traditional public schools. Yet therewould be little, if any, oversight of that money.

Ontheir own, such controversial changes likely could have passed theHouse, where charter school profiteers drive the bus. Theywould have had trouble in the sometimes more reasonable Senate.

So supporters packaged the lousy ideas with about 50 others into a budget bill that the Legislature had to pass. In secret, a few people turned a six-page bill about teacher bonuses into a 278-page bill. It passed the Senate by two votes in the evening of the last day of the extended regular session. There had been no debate on what could be transformational education policy.

It getsworse. House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, and his henchmen behindHB7069 have ties to the charter school industry. None of them consulted with school superintendents or school board members because the charter school profiteers consider traditional public schools to be competition. What’s bad for the schools that 2.1 million students attend is good for the schools that roughly 200,000 students attend. Charter school operators covet that construction money because private charters also can be real estate plays.

In response to “gossip and rumors,” the House has posted a video to “explain” HB 7069. The video claims that moneywas not “diverted” to charters by noting the tiny bump in public school spending and the teacher bonuses. The video ignores the shift of construction money.

Meanwhile inWashington, where most attention is focused on all things Donald Trump, James Comey andRobertMueller, SenateRepublicans are trying to sneak through a health care bill that only 21percent of Americans support.

SenateMajority Leader MitchMcConnell, R-Ky., has invoked a rule thatwould allowthe bill to bypass all committees. Thirteen white, male, GOPsenators are crafting legislation for a country that is majority female and where most serious health problems disproportionately affect minorities.

McConnellwants the bill through the Senate by the July 4 recess. LikeHouse Speaker PaulRyan-R-Wis., McConnell wants to hold a vote before the Congressional Budget Office can analyze his chamber’s version of the AmericanHealth Care Act. AfterHouseRepublicans— by four votes— passed their second version of the bill, theCBOfound that 23 million Americanswould lose coverage over a decade. But, hey, itwould have been 24 million under the first version.

Contrast the GOP’s approach with that of Democrats. It took nine months to pass the Affordable CareAct. Therewere 79 hearings just in theHouse. DemocraticHouse leaders held briefings for their members.

It is understandablewhyMcConnell wants to avoid scrutiny. MassiveMedicaid cutswould hurtworking-class Americans in states that PresidentTrumpwon. In states like Ohio andWestVirginia, where opioid overdoses have created a public health crisis, Medicaid is the only drug treatment option for those without private insurance. While theworking poor suffered, the richwould get tax breaks.

SoMcConnell is seeking to buy off senators by phasing in thoseMedicaid cutbacks over seven years— after re-election campaigns ofTrump andRepublican senators. The Charleston Gazette-Mail noted that Sen. ShelleyMoore had said she “didn’t want to push fellowWestVirginians with Medicaid off a cliff, so shewould do so on the installment plan— around 25,000 per year for seven years.”

With their talk of repeal, Republicans are driving insurers fromtheACAmarketplace. Polls, however, showthat most Americans blame theGOP. So forRepublicans, the less public talk, the better. They can’t defend their health care plan any more thanRepublicans inTallahassee can defend their education bill.

Randy Schultz’s email address is randy@bocamag.com.