Writing in the Connecticut Law Tribune (free reg.) Laurence Cohen agrees that CT Atty General Blumenthal has really stepped in it with has anti-No Child Left Behind lawsuit:
…in all the years he has been in the saddle, he’s only had one real clunker, one grotesque piece of litigation that, not only will he probably lose, but that will leave him with a rare public relations black mark…
…it makes Connecticut look ridiculous to be standing on the sidelines, yapping about how unfair it is that the state actually has to fund testing and evaluation of student performance and progress.
The testing issue, oddly enough, actually makes the public policy point for President Bush. He stands up there at the bully pulpit and says that NCLB is an important prod to force states to pay more attention to pockets of failure within their systems — and now here comes Exhibit A: wealthy, snobby Connecticut, to complain about what a burden it is to test and monitor student performance…
…What really makes all of this a special fiasco for Blumenthal is the recent initiative by the NAACP to join the lawsuit — on the side of the enemy: President Bush and his right-wing, white boys.
The NAACP argument is a clever public relations ploy that would make Blumenthal proud — if he weren’t on the wrong side of it. In essence, the NAACP suggests that the dumb Blumenthal litigation is a diversion and a distraction from the real matter at hand: rescuing minority students stuck in hideous public schools. As the state NAACP spokeswoman put it so delicately: “We feel that the state is using this as an excuse to not provide equitable education for minority and poor children”…
Blumenthal is a talented pol with a bright future so people are starting to wonder, what’s the exit strategy?
PS—Very inside baseball side note: The No Child attack dogs thought it would be an especially good idea to have a high profile suit in USS Joe Lieberman’s backyard since he was heavily involved in the creation of NCLB and they hate him for it. ‘Ol Joe looks pretty good now…and it’s further evidence that Democratic pols should be wary before swallowing this sort of BS advice hook, line, and sinker…besides, aren’t we supposed to be standing up for minorities? I thought so at least…