Anyway, Governor Cuomo is announcing his budget for New York tomorrow and apparently he’s using it to push for education reform, specifically the arcane concept of tying teachers pay to job performance. How? By tying “…4 percent state aid increases promised to the districts in last year’s budget — some $800 million — to adoption of the teacher-evaluation system developed by the state Education Department, which has been blocked from city schools by a teachers-union lawsuit.”

Long story short, if the districts don’t comply, they don’t get the money.

I know the teachers union hate anything that requires their members to have to do their jobs well in order to keep them, and the Democrat controlled Assembly hates it because the unions give them lots of money so they hate what they’re told to hate. But whenever I hear “performance pay” come up, I think back to high school Chemistry.

Picture it: The L.I., 1991. I was never a particularly good science student, but this year I had a Chemistry teacher who was so effective at her job, only one student passed that year’s Regents for every four who failed. My mom paid a tutor to do what the teacher didn’t so that I could retake the test. The teacher with her 20% success rate kept her job (because of tenure, which is a blog post for another time), but was just moved to teaching non-Regents classes.

Ask yourself something. If you were only 20% effective at your job, would you still have it?

Just in the past few months, Speaker Boehner chose him to be one of the conferee’s of the payroll-tax bill (don’t get me started), and Politico named him runner-up of the Freshman classes “Most Likely to Succeed.”

As his sophomore year starts, Reed recently interviewed with National Journal to reflect back on his time so far in Washington…

My expectation coming to D.C. was that it was going to be a place where people tell you how to vote, tell you what you’re going to do, and rule over you with an iron-fist mentality. I have been pleasantly surprised by our leadership. They really do listen, they let us speak, and let us be an active part of the governing process.

The hardest part of the job is being away from my family. I have an 11- and 13-year-old. They have adjusted to me being a way a bit, but it’s still hard. I tell them that we are trying to do something so America is here for them. I’ve created an internal rule that Sunday is off-limits unless I put it on the schedule myself. That’s family time. I also got the kids iPhones. We’re learning FaceTime and Skype. It’s not the same as seeing them face to face, but being able to see their face is a lot better than just being on the phone.

We’ll all be paying closer attention to the entire New York delegation this year, but Tom Reed is definitely top of the list.

Of course we’re still waiting to see what the new redistricting map looks like, but this makes Westchester an interesting battleground. Yes, it’s a heavily Democrat area, and President Obama won with 60%+ last time. But let’s look what has happened since then…

2009 –Rob Astorino (R-NY) wins his county executive race
2010 – Nan Hayworth (R-NY) wins her congressional race
2011 – (R-NY) picks up two seats in the Westchester legislature.

2012 – Bob Cohen (R-NY) winning his state senate race? Maybe even Mark Rosen (R-NY), whose opponent has been rumoured to be considering retirement, winning in the NY-18?

As they say on teh internets, DEVELOPING…

Hosted by the Rated R Republican, the Blogging Assassin, and not only the voice for the voiceless but the heart and soul of YRs nationwide…The L.I.’s own Brodigan.

This week on the show…

Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent running for Maryland Senate. Dan joins us tells us all about his campaign, who really creates jobs, web analytics, and trust me when I tell you that if you’re fed up with 2012…this cat will make you feel a lot better.
http://bongino.com/
http://twitter.com/dbongino

Will Rahn, reporter for The Daily Caller. Will just got back from the (anti-climatic) New Hampshire primary and tells us what he heard on the ground, reviews each campaign and what their chances are going forward, and what’s this aboot hearing SERIOUS speculation aboot the Veepstakes next week?
http://dailycaller.com
http://twitter.com/willrahn

Brian Maher, Mayor of Walden. NY. We caught up with Brian outside of his fundraised in The O.C. last weekend (that yours truly MCed) who shares with us what he’s learned as Mayor Walden, and what he plans to bring with him to Albany…for a position to be named later.
http://mahertoalbany.com
http://twitter.com/mayorbrianmaher

Plus the delightful sounds of Motion City Soundtrack: “History Lesson,” “A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help),” “Stand Too Close,” “Last Night,” and “@!#?@!.”

You can listen and join in the fund TONIGHT (January 12th) at 8:00 PM!
www.FTRradio.com

He had been getting some national attention over his issues with the Obama Campaign’s HUD Department and his 2012 budget, and this will only help raise his profile…which is very convenient considering he’s one of small amount of names who might have a shot against Andrew Cuomo in 2014.

A little of the interview…

A year after Obama won more than 65 percent of the vote in the county, Republican Rob Astorino was elected as Westchester’s county executive by a margin of 16 points. Astorino highlighted the three issues he has emphasized as county executive, which he considers the key roles of local government anywhere: making sure property taxes are reasonable, maintaining essential services, and attracting businesses and economic development.

His combination of personal appeal and policy knowledge seem to suggest great political potential, but when I prompted him about future ambitions, he smiled and demurred, emphasizing his long-term commitment to reform in Westchester

He attributes his vigorous approach to government reform to his concern for the problems of his home county, and to his wider beliefs about the proper function of government: “The county is tangled with the state,” but Westchester, as a large county, can be “a model, a laboratory for the rest of the state and the federal government. If we can do it in Westchester, it can be done elsewhere.”

Like, say Albany and the state of New York as a whole? Astorino offered some of the few criticisms of Cuomo’s recent “State of the State” address, saying there’s was next to nothing on cutting spending…which could be an opening.

Cuomo has leaned right (at least by New York standards) in cutting income taxes and the MTA Payroll tax for a temporary increase on cats making more than two million, but all the political jiu-jitsu in the world (side note, legalize MMA in NY) won’t help him with a Democrat base who considers spending cuts a beyond the pale slur.

Astorino pull off one upset victory a few years ago (and picking up two legeislative seats in November wasn’t too shabby). If he can do it again when he’s up for re-election next year, could a hat trick in 2014 be that far fetched?

There’s an opening here though. See, as much as it makes me uncomfortable to see other Republicans attacking their opponents as liberals, I’m glad they did because it lets primary voters see a) what’s waiting for him from the Democrats, and b) see how Romney reacts to the attacks. And therein lies his opening to unify everyone, because the biggest issue many of us have with Romney is that we don’t think he’s going to have the balls to punch back and go after President Obama, the Democrats, and the usual Obama Media Complex.

Let’s see Mitt give a full throated defense of capitalism and conservatism as a whole. Defend his record. Point out that while having to fire people may have sucked, in the long run it helped the companies grow and hire more people in the long run. Show conservatives who don’t trust him that he’s not going to accept the liberal premise behind every issue, and hit back against any and all class warfare rhetoric thrown at him…which in this case are coming at him from people on our own side.

I want to see Mitt Romney show us that he’s more than just slightly better than Obama, and here’s his chance. It’s the difference between simply voting for him in November, and actively campaigning for him before then.

Much like his economic and financial reform plans, it’s bold and full of everything conservative would want. It kind of makes you wonder why he wouldn’t have been talking aboot it all last year BEFORE people started voting. He may have gained traction in the polls and New Hampshire might actually be too close to call (I know, you’re shocked my headline was misleading).

Some bulletpoints of note:

Introducing Market Forces into Education System. Governor Huntsman supports an “all of the above” approach to education. The federal role should be acting as a clearinghouse for information and ideas, empowering states and local communities to take ownership of education reform. To this end, the federal government should attempt to minimize its role in trying to deliver outcomes, and instead encourage the growth of a more innovative educational system.

Creating Transparency. The key first step toward deregulation of education is introducing competition and transparency; free markets work best when given access to clear information. Jon Huntsman’s administration will establish meaningful and transparent national standards benchmarked to the world’s highest achieving educational systems and let states compete on how best to get there. Governor Huntsman believes that American students should be setting international standards, not aspiring to meet them. Our current standards are superficial, embarrassingly unambitious, and confusing for teachers.

Real Accountability. The federal government shouldn’t be in the business of running local schools or picking winners. President Huntsman will make sure schools, their administrators, and their boards are held accountable through data-driven measures of processes and achievement. Incentives matter, and communities whose schools fail to meet Common Core benchmarks should not be rewarded. A possible consequence could be restricting access to federal resources. President Huntsman will also use his bully pulpit to encourage adaptation of a parent trigger wherein a significant number of concerned parents could induce state action. On the other hand, principals who demonstrate sustained innovation and success should be rewarded and held up as models for other educators.

Department of Education Reform. The Department of Education has grown too large and powerful, and is restricting the flexibility of states and local communities to implement education reforms. Massively scaling down the department will clear the way for necessary reforms at the local level and free up precious resources.

Acknowledging Hard Truths. Public policy must be driven by reality. We need an education system that is designed to equip all students to be informed citizens and allows all children to maximize their God-given talents. Governor Huntsman believes that every child has a genius within; the challenge lies in empowering it. In preparing our youth to join an able citizenry, our education system should both provide generous opportunity for students to achieve their highest level of performance, while simultaneously acknowledging economic realities and making graduates both “college” and “career” ready. We need to reevaluate our “at all costs” emphasis on higher education for everyone in an environment where that emphasis only disadvantages individuals in the long run.

I have been waiting for any of the candidates to bring up Education Reform in any of the debates, or to speak on it in detail on the campaign trail. And while some reporters/blggers from the right are feeling a “Huntsman surge” on the ground, apparently the only way I may get to hear it is if he mangaes to not come in behind Ron Paul in tomorrow’s primaries.

#headdesk

There’s hasn’t been a quote that has better summed up Romney’s base of support then from one of his surrogates yesterday, “It’s not even about picking someone with your own beliefs and principles.” Say what you will about Ron Paul supporters, but they at least have specific domestic and foreign policy beliefs that they advocate for. Romney supporters? All they tell you is that “he can win” without any evidence that can back it up.

What is a single accomplishment he had as governor? HE CAN WIN! What’s a single conservative principle that he is passionate about? HE CAN WIN! Have you ever taken a close look at his “job creation” record? HE CAN WIN!

And this is where the frustration for us activists (or as one Mittbot called me, “conservative wack jobs”) comes from. For a lot of us, we started to get involved after the debacle of the McCain campaign and our first taste was 2010. There we found dynamic leaders with bold ideas for turning the country around, advocated for them, and got them elected. Now we find ourselves with a candidate who is slightly better than Obama and thinks simply not being Obama will get him a victory, and that seems to be the one principle the Mittbots support. Democrats supported the same principle in 2004 with John Kerry.

This is where the Mittbots usually start with their indignant, “well, who are you gonna support when YOUR candidate drops out?” I’ll vote for slightly better for Obama. But support? Show any enthusiasm or energy for? There are hundreds of other candidates running in other races who share my own “beliefs and principles.” I’ll support them.

P.S. Don’t get me wrong, none of this is to say that he other candidates haven’t all been different shades of terrible.

Unlike most of the other rumoured NY Senate candidates I left myself get excited by (::cough::dansenor::cough::), Mark Cendella seems more serious than the rest and while a definitive announcement hasn’t been made yet, he’s hired the guy who led Bob Turner to victory, and has been making the rounds talking to GOP heads and even grabbed some time with journalist Fed Dicker at the recent State of the State.

Cendella, who supported Ron Paul in ’08 and sits on the board of the club for growth, plans a jumping starting his own campaign with his own millions (a necessity if you’re running state wide in New York). He plans on drawing from his background as a young entrepreneur and job creator as the cornerstone of his campaign…

After Yale, according to the book The Intelligent Entrepreneur, which tells the story of three successful Harvard Business School grads, he moved to California and began a career importing and exporting, capitalizing on Japan’s interest in American pet food. He turned down Harvard Business School on account of his new company, but lying in a hotel bed in Tokyo one day, decided that even being the king of Japanese pet food wouldn’t exactly satisfy his ambitions. So he re-applied to Harvard Business School and ultimately enrolled. After Harvard, he rose to become a senior vice president at the employment site HotJobs.com, before it was sold in 2002.

But the cornerstone of Cenedella’s Senate campaign would be his own company, TheLadders.com, an employment site Cenedella founded in 2003 that now counts 270 employees.

“Marc is a populist scientist of employment,” reads his bio on the Ladders site, which also says that his “passion in life is jobs,” and calls him a “widely recognized thought leader on job search, career management, recruiting and business.”

As the say in the biz, DEVELOPING…