The "American Federation for Children" -- a right-wing "education reform" organization founded and funded by religious right activist multimillionaire Betsy DeVos (former Republican candidate for governor of Michigan and sister of Blackwater founder Erik Prince) and dedicated to electing state legislators who'll fund Christian schools with taxpayer money and crush public employees' unions -- is having a party in Washington, D.C., today, and they have invited Republican governors who have been working to fix education forever by firing all the greedy teachers and letting profit-seeking private interests manage the schools more "efficiently."
Rhee and Walker joined Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett to receive an award for their hard work undoing private schools so churches can take them over. The American Federation for Children is a rebranded organization that Devos funded and advocated for over the years -- Advocates for School Choice. They've simply put a new coat of paint on an old horse and then slapped Michelle Rhee up on their pedestal to add some liberal cred to the whole thing.
Advocates for School Choice found their brand a bit tarnished after they were fined $5.2 million for funneling corporate contributions which violated Ohio law into Wisconsin. Scott Jensen, the former Wisconsin Assembly Speaker who recently admitted to wrongdoing in the Wisconsin caucus scandal was also employed by the Alliance for School Choice. He settled the case by paying a fine to the state for using official staff for campaign activities. The lobbyist for the Wisconsin chapter of AFC is also working for Wisconsin Prosperity network, a Koch firm, funded in concert with the DeVos and Walton (Wal-Mart) families.
To be honest, I expect extreme right-wingers like Walker and Corbett to be the darling of the DeVos and Koch machines. But let's get real about Michelle Rhee. She's as much of a right-wing tool as they are, and no liberal heroine to schools or children. If this doesn't prove it, I'm not sure what would.
