The New York Times included a story by Congressional reporter Carl Hulse in its coverage of Saturday’s reopening debate: “Republicans are seizing closed schools as a political rally.”
Does “grabbing” sound familiar to you? Democrats rarely “grab” or “pounce” on Republicans in the headlines, but the paper ensures that partisanship is underscored when Republicans are allegedly seeking cynical political advantage.
Hulse’s favorite story is that Democrats are putting the GOP on the defensive, but here he allows a little bit the opposite and shows how Republicans express an advantage on the issue. Still, the veteran reporter allowed the Democrats to shape the debate while adopting the tone of that cynical, partisan headline.
When Senate Republicans recently tried to foreclose federal education aid from schools that refuse to reopen once teachers can be vaccinated, a top Democrat accused them of putting on a “political show”. If so, it was a show Republicans were more than happy to put on.
Feel a strong political opportunity Amid parent fear across the country, leading Republican Congressmen have begun tirelessly pounding on President Biden, Democrats, and teachers unions to quickly open schools. They say this is a crucial and long overdue step in preventing school-age Americans from falling too far behind amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Republicans say efforts have not been coordinated But it happened organically when the Senators saw that a driving problem emerged among the voters. They argue that on this issue they have an advantage over Democrats, who are politically allied with unions that represent teachers who are concerned about returning to school premises while the pandemic continues.
Hulse eagerly offered weak defenses to the union axis of Democrats and teachers.
Democrats claim Republicans only recently began campaigning for schools to be reopened and never put similar pressure on the Trump administration to undermine the president of their own party. And they say one of the main reasons schools has found it so difficult to return to normal is that former President Donald J. Trump weathered the pandemic poorly.
They say that if Mr Biden can keep his promise to reopen his school, the problem will ultimately play out to their party’s advantage – a promise the White House has redefined as it comes with the difficulty of the job and the backlash from an important one Organized Labor constituency is facing.
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Currently, Democrats are arguing that Republicans are actually making things harder by proposing to impose conditions on schools that might make reopening difficult, rather than making it easier.
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[Sen. Patty] Murray was the one who accused Mr. Blunt and other Republicans of trying to change the budget on the condition of putting on a political show.
Republicans may have good reasons for this.
“School closings have radicalized suburban mothers in the past six months,” said John Feehery, a former top Republican House official who has asked for personal learning to resume. “Republicans are smart to focus on this.”
More bounce:
Like their Senate counterparts, Republicans in the House have sought to capitalize on this issue. This week, a number of House Panels have been working to cement the details of Mr Biden’s pandemic relief package.
Even if Hulse allows for pro-Republican topics of conversation, he cannot avoid using the “pounce” style.
Given the administration’s focus on experts Republicans like Mr. McConnell were eager to respond to comments by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said schools could be safely reopened even if teachers weren’t vaccinated.
Hulse ended up painting it all as cynical politics, not real worry about a lost year of learning and socialization that American children were suffering from.
Republicans have made it clear that they do not intend to let go of the issue.
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