https://www.wsj.com/articles/eric-holder-takes-virginia-11573167564
Attached is a link to a WSJ opinion piece from Kimberley A. Strassel which outlines the concerted effort the Democratic Party is making to be able to redistrict currently “Red” states to a more favorable environment to get Democrats elected. They are using the courts to fight the Republican Party where that party is strong, possibly due to its own gerrymandering efforts, but not necessarily.
Both of these parties will, where they can, undertake efforts to make political races less competitive, so this isn’t just bashing the Democratic Party. This political duopoly will stop at nothing to keep themselves as the only two options most Americans will consider. They purposely divide us to serve their own ends: if you hate the other guy, you are more likely to vote for one of these parties. This is why everyone should be concerned, and neither of these parties is pure!
But, if you are a charter supporter, this effort to turn what are currently Red states, and thus generally favorable towards public educational choice, to purple or Blue states should concern you given the position the Democratic Party has taken to favor public sector teachers’ unions (and their political contributions) over low income and minority families who benefit from charter schools. The unions had a tough year two years ago, losing the Janus vs AFSME Supreme Court case, which meant that they could not levy dues on members for political activities unless the member allows that. (Having said that, unions and the Democratic Party in many states are making it very, very tough for members to “opt out” of those political contributions.) But, what unions can levy for are dues for collective bargaining purposes. This helps explain why you have seen so many strikes over the past year: Los Angeles, Chicago, Oklahoma, and Denver. Unions are beefing up their collective bargaining positions to be able to continue to levy the dues they depend on so they can fuel their political contributions.
And, Democratic politicians have expressed a willingness to take those contributions and to do the unions’ bidding, at the expense of low income and minority students. That “bidding” includes legislation to thwart the growth of charter schools, which are typically non-union, and which continued to operate while the above districts faced strikes. Witness the positions taken by many of the major Democratic presidential candidates. Unions are using their political puppets to suppress competition from charter schools because they have proven they cannot compete in the classroom.
For charters and their supporters, the prospect of having more anti-charter state legislators is something to be very concerned about. This fight is only just beginning.