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Republicans vow to protect high-school dropouts from the eeeeeeevil Obama.
So, during the State of the Union, Obama challenged the states to pass laws saying students could not drop out of school before age 18. (20 states already have laws like that, and some other states let students drop out at age 16 with parental permission.)
He's not proposing a federal law. He's not expanding a government agency to enforce this. He just said, basically, "Hey, you know what would be good? If y'all actually stayed in school until you were 18/got your high school diploma."
And predictably, the Republicans are losing their damn minds over this. "How dare he?" "Who does he think he is?" "That's a state's issue, not a federal one!" Ignoring the fact that he challenged the states to do it, not saying he's going to force it federally. Ignoring the fact that "No Child Left Behind" was a federal program started by a Republican President (which has enormous bipartisan support). And ignoring the fact that getting a high school diploma can only help people, not harm them.
At least one Republican isn't losing his fool mind over this - Darrell Issa. But he seems to be alone. Every other one of the bunch seems to be objecting to this for the most knee-jerk of reasons. Because a Democratic Party President is for it.
And now, the obligatory ad-hominem attack: Well, of course the Republican party is against all states requiring people to stay in school until they're 18. They need ignorant, uneducated people in order to continue to have support.
What? You knew a line like that was coming. If I didn't say it, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to hear it on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. (Probably phrased better too.)
So, during the State of the Union, Obama challenged the states to pass laws saying students could not drop out of school before age 18. (20 states already have laws like that, and some other states let students drop out at age 16 with parental permission.)
He's not proposing a federal law. He's not expanding a government agency to enforce this. He just said, basically, "Hey, you know what would be good? If y'all actually stayed in school until you were 18/got your high school diploma."
And predictably, the Republicans are losing their damn minds over this. "How dare he?" "Who does he think he is?" "That's a state's issue, not a federal one!" Ignoring the fact that he challenged the states to do it, not saying he's going to force it federally. Ignoring the fact that "No Child Left Behind" was a federal program started by a Republican President (which has enormous bipartisan support). And ignoring the fact that getting a high school diploma can only help people, not harm them.
At least one Republican isn't losing his fool mind over this - Darrell Issa. But he seems to be alone. Every other one of the bunch seems to be objecting to this for the most knee-jerk of reasons. Because a Democratic Party President is for it.
And now, the obligatory ad-hominem attack: Well, of course the Republican party is against all states requiring people to stay in school until they're 18. They need ignorant, uneducated people in order to continue to have support.
What? You knew a line like that was coming. If I didn't say it, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to hear it on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. (Probably phrased better too.)