April 15, 2008

Teachers Union in PA Goes Heavy on Endorsement Ads, Light on "Ed"

Posted by Aaron Tang at 5:18PM

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As millions of eyes have been trained on Pennsylvania for the past six weeks, incredible numbers of ads, speeches, and other forms of political messaging have hit the airwaves. Some of these ads have been though provoking, many have been negative, and all of them have been expensive. But one ad caught the attention of some education advocates last week.

The ad was a radio spot purchased by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in Pennsylvania, for the cost of $329,425. The ad supports Hillary Clinton for president, although previous AFT ads in New Hampshire and Iowa also supported Senators Obama and Edwards.

You can listen to the ad and read the script here. As you listen or read, pay attention to what is NOT said, bearing in mind that the ad was bought by the nation's largest urban teachers union, which has nearly one and a half million members.

If you don't have time to check out the ad, I'll cut to the chase for you. In 57 seconds of talking, the American Federation of Teachers advertisement mentions the word "education" a grand total of zero times. It mentions the word "school" just once -- when a woman named Margo announces that she is a public school teacher. Margo's next line should be about Hillary's plan to improve schools, help students learn, refocus our national energies on our children, right? Instead, Margo says that she supports Hillary Clinton because "She's capable, she's experienced, and she's a fighter."

In other words, the major education lobbyist group at play in the Democratic primary is buying ads that are education free. What hope do our children have if even the teachers don't think education is an issue that merits our attention this election cycle?