It's Lawsuit, Not Law Suite

One would figure that a person running for Montana State Superintendent of Public Instruction would know that.

Many thanks to Montana Headlines for pointing to Herman's website.  And I do beg to differ, MH.  Without going into the details of Herman's inconsistent and rather truthy statement of issues, that virulently pink website makes it obvious that Denise Juneau is going to clean Herman's clock in November.

(Okay, Just because the silliness is too delicious to ignore, let's take a look at some of Elaine Herman's 'ideas'.

In the past 16 years the State Superintendents representing education have chosen to vote with the environmentalists rather than in the best interest of our children and the state’s economy.

The SoPI has one vote, the same as any other voter.  On the Land Board, that means one of five.  So Elaine is arguing that the Land Board is in the pocket of environmentalists ... except that there is no evidence of that at all.  It's simple fear mongering.  She wants Montana to believe that 'environmentalists' hate our children.  That's pretty stupid.

Denise writes:

Working together, we can strike a balance between conservation and responsible commerce. Montana has a long tradition of maintaining community school funding through industries such as logging, mining and ranching. All this has happened without sacrificing the recreational opportunities that people come from around the world to enjoy.

Sounds reasonable.

Elaine's master plan:

I will make responsible choices to maximize the educational funding and give relief to the tax payers. When our natural resources are harvested in a responsible manner, we will create high paying jobs, which in turn, increase the tax basis and add additional funds directly into the education system.

She just wrote that she will give relief to taxpayers by shifting the burden to other taxpayers who are making more money off the public trust of our lands.  That strikes me a helluva lot like McCain's promise to pay back borrowed money spent on the war by using borrowed money not spent on the war to pay back the borrowed money.  I can't be the only one to think that's just dumb, can I?

As regards the "law Suite", Elaine's response is almost laughable.  Yes, the other candidates  (obviously the website hasn't acknowledged the primary) are worried about funding.  Elaine thinks of the children, just after she worried about funding.   Yes, it is about funding.  One initially can presume that Elaine wants children to be paid, or something.  But let's hear her out.

Okay.  The "Law Suite" is bad because it pits the Daddy against the Mommy.  Except the Daddy in this case are the Parents of Montana Schoolchildren and the Mommy are the School districts.  That is retarded.  First things first, I find it goddamned offensive that I am not a parent, but I damned sure am a Montana landowner.  I pay those taxes too, and Elaine blithely ignores myself and many others in setting up her false opposition.  You really want to see a funding crisis?  Only tax parents for Precious Q. Snowflake's education.  Second, the Montana Teacher's Union has joined the lawsuit.  Not acknowledging that is missing a great big part of the picture.  Can anyone seriously trust Elaine to run Public Education with such a dim view?  Third, this isn't a custody battle for children.  It's a state struggle over the meaning of our Constitution.  Herman's shallow interpretation might play well with the 'morans', but Juneau will eat her for breakfast when it comes to the truth.

Finally, Herman makes a great big hairy deal about 'promises she will keep'.  But she presents not even the first clue how.  What the hell is this "tighter sieve" she will run funding through, other than a stupid sound bite?  Considering that Montana is one of the better educated states in the union, who cares what a magazine rates us as?  If the promise is to take politics out of the classroom, how can that be trusted when Elaine's entire website is rife with it?  Herman promises that if her criteria are met, she will do everything she can to "make it happen".  Like what?  Murder?  Please.  Expounding on qualifications would be appropriate at this point, but Denise Juneau has them, and Elaine Herman doesn't.

Which one has a legal degree?  Which one has been an administrator?  Which one has created programs that have fostered success nationally?  Which one can make it happen?  That would be Denise Juneau.

Finally, Elaine needs a proof-reader.  This is from her "about" page.

Elaine's Background

Elaine Sollie Herman
Born 03/27/1946 Billings Mt
Current residence: Helena MT 59601
Retired Financial Advisor (having held a series 7)
Daughter: Lisa Beth Herman- Social Worker Seattle WA
BS from the University of Montana Bozeman (Elementary Education)

Elaine Herman appears to be a nice concerned individual.  But this is one race in which she deserves to get creamed.)

Comments

[dew-r-lite]

Maybe I'm a moran, but my prediction, based on meeting the candidates, is that it'll be a slaughter.

[Wulfgar]

Then we are both morans, my friend. Because I also predict a slaughter. There is the question of whether we predict it the same way ... but I think we do.

[dew-r-lite]

We certainly do.

There's certainly a good chance for an early night on election night this year, with most races decided within an hour after polls close.