Today, Colorado’s teachers unions and their purchased electeds took to the steps of the Capitol to protest Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton’s education policy. Make no mistake, Stapleton’s stance against the financial instability of PERA (the teachers’ pension system) and his being a Republican are the real reasons for the protest.
Nonetheless, we were so, so surprised (actually, we weren’t) to see that the left was so supportive of today’s teachers unions’ public complaints today. After all, the left freaked out last month when the oil and gas industry brought to the State Capitol 3,500 people, some of whom were industry employees, claiming that the rally attendees were paid to be there. Because they worked in the industry. Yeah, it’s kind of a stretch.
Obviously, completely different from the teachers who protest on the taxpayer dime, right?
Actually, we would argue that teachers protesting on the taxpayer dime is worse. First, it’s a waste of taxpayer resources, which is bad enough. But even worse, the teacher protests earlier this year, which caused several school districts to cancel classes due to teacher attendance, forced working parents to scramble to find childcare unexpectedly. It created a hardship for the very people who pay their salaries.
Today’s minor tantrum by top Democrats and teachers should be viewed for exactly what it is – yet another opportunity to advance their agenda and rail against Stapleton.