I’ve seen a ton of hate pointed at State Rep. Andria Bennett since her momentous decision last Thursday night. The whole House Bill 240 personal income tax vote. She didn’t like what it would do to itemized deductions. She heard from her constituents. She did what a State Rep. is supposed to do: represent. Let’s face it, it was a crappy bill in an even crappier situation.
It isn’t the Republicans who are trouncing her. It is her own party. Even some of her own colleagues in the House. That is just wrong. There is someone out there with a fake name called Delaware Way. When I got the friend request, I thought it was Nancy Willing because her blog is called The Delaware Way. But last night I defriended this anonymous troll who is NOT Nancy Willing. This anonymous Facebook personality was bashing Bennett very hard with ugly words that are public. This person told me to get off my high horse. That’s fine, I own that. I’ve been hard on many in Delaware politics at one point or another. But I don’t bring out heavy curse words in my descriptions of elected officials. I learned my lesson from doing that ONCE with DSEA over opt out. And it hurt my reputation for a long time. But I never went after someone personally and out of the realm of their lives as a public figure. That is the key difference.
This is what I know about Rep. Bennett. When the IEP Task Force was created back in 2014, I hounded the legislators to add parents to the task force. I received responses from many that it was a done deal. But Rep. Bennett, along with a few others, got the Delaware Senate to rescind their vote, add an amendment to add parents, and vote again on the concurrent resolution. Last year, when I ran for the Capital School Board, she wrote a letter endorsing me. This year, I watched her fight hard for a cursive bill that passed the House and Senate. She voted against the budget back in 2015 along with five other legislators. They were all branded by their own party as Benedict Arnolds but they all showed courage in the face of kicking the can. That same can blew up all over the state budget this year. She always says hi to me when I see her, unlike some down at Legislative Hall. I am sure if I dug around a bit, there are votes she has cast that I would like and hate. They all have those votes.
I have no doubt in the world she upset a lot of plans last Thursday night. But the reality is simple: House Bill 240 was NEVER going to pass the Delaware Senate. With 10 Republicans out of 21 Senators, on a vote that required a 3/5th vote? It wasn’t going to happen. If anything, Bennett saved the bill from an even bigger defeat. There was NO door opening if it passed the House. It was going to die no matter what.
The General Assembly is messed up. The leadership is horrible. If we don’t have legislators on the Right storming out instead of actually voting, we have certain Dems falling all over each other congratulating themselves on their monumental victory last night. Schwartzkopf is not a good leader. He is a great micro-manager though. One of those bosses who is all over you if you do something he doesn’t like. And he STILL hasn’t returned my email I sent to him a few weeks ago. Bennett would within 24-48 hours, no questions asked. And she isn’t even my State Representative!
Like every legislator, they wear different hats. They have the face they put on in front of the public as an elected official. But then they go home to their families and loved ones and they are just like anyone else. So to trounce Bennett the way I’ve seen, calling her the things I’ve seen, that is despicable. You didn’t like her vote? That’s fine. But don’t take it so personal. She is a human being just like Pete and Val and John and Kim and Danny and Tim and all the rest of them. She has a family and friends. She had her reasons. Get over it!
The Season Of Myths 
It is time to adjust the process of raising taxes money. Employed Delawareans can be taxed and survive. Many homeowners are just holding on with fixed SS income, maybe a little more. It is totally unfair to let all the tax increases be paid by homeowners. Shouln’t the banks pay on the 61% (or less) they own of that same house?
It is time to get real about education. The homeowner doesn’t owe the parents for any extreme choice they want for their children. It is time to restructure. All schools should be public, not Charter in any way. Schools should be taught in three levels A,B and C. Very high performance and potential A. Very good performance and interest B. C level should take into account the student’services interests and limitations. Career disruptors should go to a C level and get out of the way of students trying to make the most of their education. We, the tax payers, deserve an efficient system where best outcomes can take place in localized settings.
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What Not: “Schools should be taught in three levels A,B and C. Very high performance and potential A. Very good performance and interest B. C level should take into account the student’ services interests and limitations.”
Give ‘What Not’ a prize. They just identified what most rational parents want. They also just identified how to eliminate the majority of reasons for charters. Unfortunately, it is not the majority of parents, who are controlling the structure of our schools. It is a select vocal few, some on school boards, some in the legislature. While they may be the official representatives, they are not representative of the opinion of the majority of residents or parents.
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It’s time we discuss, do we have a revenue problem or allocation problem. When discussing the need for local education funding, it is time to discuss funding required for social problems vs funding for education.
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We do not have a revenue problem per se. It is most assuredly an allocation and prioritization problem. The most recent budget battle highlights that expenditures have outpaced revenue. Expenditures, if they were realistically curtailed or reformed, could be sufficient to pay for all the needs of the state, including education. Curtailing union graft and political favors by the controlling party is however, near impossible. It is only “for the children” when that carries payment to the obligatory parties keeping the current status quo in place.
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Kevin, thanks for the heads up on DE Way on fb. Send me a link to it. It didn’t come up in a search and I want to see it.
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That Facebook profile has vanished. Gone. Poof!
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One of those “I really wish I had screen-shotted it” moments. But I was very tired listening to the Senate on the audio late Sunday night when I saw it and didn’t think twice.
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