Senate rejects McLeroy confirmation as SBOE chairman

[sonias]

AAS 5/29/09
Senate rejects McLeroy confirmation as SBOE chairman

By Kate Alexander | Thursday, May 28, 2009, 04:09 PM

The Texas Senate on Thursday refused to confirm Don McLeroy as State Board of Education chairman after an impassioned floor debate.

The 19 to 11 party-line vote was not enough to get McLeroy across the required two-thirds threshold. Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, abstained from the vote.

McLeroy, a Republican from Bryan, was first elected to the board in 1998 and will remain in that position.

But Gov. Rick Perry will now need to appoint another leader from the 15-member board. Critics said McLeroy’s nearly two-year tenure as chairman has been dysfunctional and divisive.

Way to go Dems! (except Lucio) :applause:

Sonia

[Why Syzygy]

1. kick!

:bounce: Our kids have a chance!

[sonias]

2. TFN Message

Senate Sends Message to State Board of Education: No More Culture Wars

Moments ago, the Texas Senate voted to reject Don McLeroy as chairman of the State Board of Education. The 19-11 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for confirmation. Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller is releasing the following statement:

“Watching the state board the last two years has been like watching one train wreck after another. We had hoped that the Legislature would take more action to put this train back on the tracks, but clearly new leadership on the board was a needed first step. The governor should know that parents will be watching closely to see whether he chooses a new chairman who puts the education of their children ahead of personal and political agendas.”

Where the hell are the Republicans on this. Do all 19 of them actually support the inane drivel this man spouts? :grr:

Sonia

[sonias]

3. Texas Observer post

Texas Observer Floorpass blog 5/28/09

The End of Days of Don McLeroy
posted by Reeve Hamilton at 03:19 PM

Texas' State Board of Education now officially, as previously projected, finds itself lacking one Chairman.

The nomination of current chairman, controversial evangelical creationist Don McLeroy, failed in the Senate on a party-line vote. All 19 Republicans voted to confirm, while 11 Democrats voted against McLeroy. After Democrats repeatedly insisted they would remain a solid bloc, Sen. Eddie Lucio demonstrated a notorious lack of reliability with a vote of "present not voting."

Unfortunately for McLeroy, it takes the support of two-thirds of present members to pass a nominee, so, even though Lt. Gov. Dewhurst mistakenly announced that McLeroy had been confirmed, he had in fact been rejected.

(snip)
The prevailing opposition argument has been summed up in a statement put out by Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, which said, "Don McLeroy is not qualified to serve as chairman of such an important board as the State Board of Education. His views on creationism do not square with science; his views on reading do not square with evidence; his views on the future of education in Texas do not square with a diverse state seeking education excellence."

:woohoo:


Sonia

[sonias]

4. School board reins yanked from McLeroy

Houston Chronicle 5/28/09
School board reins yanked from McLeroy
(snip)

It’s not about evolution versus creationism, and it’s not about Democrats versus Republicans,” Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, told his colleagues. “This is not about partisanship. Please forget all the shouting and protests about this nomination from day one. This is about his leadership as chairman.”

McLeroy’s hometown senator, Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, defended the chairman, saying "his service has not been incompetent, illegal or out of bounds."

"I think Texas is watching here because I think, whether intentional or not, there will be a perception … that we are applying a religious test for serving in this state," Ogden said.

(snip)

"If isn’t about evolution, if this isn’t about what the Bible teaches, what is it all about?" asked Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, referring to opposition to McLeroy.

Ogden and Patrick are dunces who want all Texas children to be kept stupid. Patrick specifically said later that all education should be based on religion.

On a related note a BOR poster asks who Perry will appoint to the board. Keep in mind that now that McElroy is out for Board, that nitwit Perry gets to appoint someone that won't get Senate approval until 2011, the next time the Lege meets.

BOR diary 5/29/09
So, Who Will "Lead" the SBOE?
(snip)
Rumor is that his pick will be Cynthia Dunbar, an SBOE representing Austin who's views can't be described as anything but hard right- not exactly an improvement from McLeroy. It also confirms the notion that the SBOE Place 10 race will be one of the most important down ballot races of 2010 in Texas.

I hope the poster is wrong too. Dunbar would be worse than McElroy. :nuke:


Sonia

[sonias]

5. Austin Chronicle's article

Chronic blog 5/28/09
Dems Block McLeroy Nomination to SBOE Chair
(snip)

Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, acknowledged in his floor speech that even sending the nomination back to Gov. Perry doesn’t guarantee another less controversial member will get offered up. There are no shortage of inflammatory, anti-science types on the board to keep the Christian right happy, including Richmond’s Cynthia Dunbar (who represents northern Travis County – including, ironically, UT – in her district). Dunbar drew notice last year with editorials warning of martial law if Obama was elected and a book calling public education a "subtly deceptive tool of perversion."

"Some have said to me privately, 'If you think you’ve had problems with this one, you just wait until you see what comes next,'" Ellis said. "But the constitution doesn’t give us the ability to tell a governor who he can choose; the constitution gives the ability to give a governor advice, and if he takes advice, then two thirds of us give the governor consent."

Asked what led to his fall from the chair, McLeroy said it was because he took on controversial issues and was outspoken. His critics have charged that it was he who made them controversial, to which he responded, "It's just not true."

Part of the controversy, he said, was because "science education is a culture war issue." Asked who was the aggressor in that war, McLeroy said, "Two years ago when I become chairman, the first question I got from a reporter was about evolution. I said wait, we're not even done with English language arts. Clearly the aggressor was the evolution side."

Science education is a culture war issue? McLeroy is :crazy:

Sonia