Um, hello? There's an election coming up?
posted by bitchphd
So today I surfed on over (ha ha, geddit?) to the California Democratic Party website to sign up as a volunteer, see what's going on, start boning up on local initiatives and candidates.
My god. Check out that site. See, for instance, the page on the Party Voice. Here, you would think, you should find specific, concrete information about the California Dems' issues, their platforms, what they see as the primary political issues in the state.
Only, no. What you get is a lot of the laziest kvetching about the Republicans--seriously, I can bitch about Republicans more interestingly than this even before I have my coffee in the morning--and pretty much squat about what the Democrats actually believe. Other than we don't like Republicans. I mean, P.R. 101, people: how many times does the word "Republican" appear on the page that's supposed to outline the Democratic party platform? Is Mark Foley really the most important and galvanizing issue in the state of California? Because, you know, off the top of my head, I'm thinking: budget. Schools. Growth. Shit, have a platform that promises to cut waiting time at the DMV down to ten minutes--"your time is too important for us to waste"--if you can't come up with anything else.
And then there's the Election Page. Pictures of the candidates and their names. How helpful! Now I know what they're running on. Not, as we say around here. Well, maybe the Propositions--after all, I'm going to vote a straight party-line ticket, it's really the propositions that I want more information about. And I know that propositions in California are a big fat honking deal--shit, 1978's Prop 13 is still screwing with the state's budget and voter's heads. But all we get on the Democratic Party page is a list of what the initiatives are and how to vote on them. Gee, thanks guys. This is less information than I get in my voter's pamphlet.
The Press Room? Coverage of what the governor's doing. Oh wait, he's a Republican! Shit, there's even an "Arnold Page". Which, again, the most puerile and sophomoric kind of apolitical political discourse you can find.
None of this is going to appeal to anyone who isn't already a hard-line Democrat. Shit, I'm a hard-line Democrat, and it doesn't appeal to me. Who the hell is in charge of this site? What the fuck are they thinking? Why would anyone want to volunteer or donate or get involved in an organization that's so fucking bored with or indifferent to its own goals that it can't bother to articulate them? Unless the goal is to recruit volunteers by implying that they won't actually have much to do.
I volunteered anyway, and in fact, that is the impression one gets. You fill out the form, and you get a message saying, in effect, "we call on volunteers when we need them, don't be surprised if you don't hear from us for a while." Way to harness enthusiasm! Way to seem like a party of the people, rather than an indifferent organization that's even somewhat hostile to the input of its members.
You know, I've been getting mail every single day from the Republicans arguing that Angilides (the gubernatorial candidate) is going to raise taxes! Raise taxes! OMG, he's going to raise taxes! And it's pissing me off; here I am, with my koi pond and my quarter-acre lot and my gardeners, in a neighborhood where everyone has a new car in the driveway, the maids and gardeners are all arriving for work as I walk PK to school in the morning, the houses are all beautifully maintained showpieces, the neighbors seem friendly and relaxed, half the kids at the school seem to have stay-home moms and the other half show up in SUVs with mom in a nice suit on her cell phone dropping them off while already conducting business, the guy I chat with most while we wait for our kids to get out of school is a pretty rich businessman who's building a ranch house over the hills and takes his granddaughter out to ride horses every day after school while his daughter is in med classes at UCLA. These people are not hurting for money. And the Republicans think that the tax issue is *the* biggest thing they care about?
But at least it's an issue. I haven't gotten shit from the Democratic party, and I have to struggle to remember Angelide's name (which isn't even on the front page of their web site--there's one mention of "Phil," and three of "Arnold"). I don't give a shit about raising taxes, except that I'd like, you know, to know what they're being raised for. (In fact, the California budget is a fucking mess, and they do need to raise taxes--but the Dems don't seem to be making that case or talking about what needs to be funded.) I've seen the property tax assessments arrive for the landlord, and I imagine they're not spare change. It's the end of the year; people are aware of their property tax assessments, and taxes are on their minds. Why not give them something else to think about or care about during the election?
Like, oh, say, the extent to which standardized testing seems to be driving every fucking thing that's happening at PK's school, and what a pain in the ass it is to have fundraising letters and forms coming home every single day to help pay for music and arts education, and how often we get asked to volunteer at the school for playground duty, to help in the classroom, to help raise money, ad infinitum. Why not make the case that schools constantly dunning you for money and time, teachers pressuring you to keep your kid back a grade because he's only just starting to learn to read, homework that is clearly indicated to prep the kids to take standardized tests, and the growing suspicion that the teacher wants you to keep your kid back because the more kids who are working above their grade level, the better the school's test scores--why not make the case that all this bullshit is something that, you know, good public funding for schools could do a lot to counter? And that instead of focusing on Not Leaving Children Behind, we really ought to be working on Bringing Every Kid Forward--giving them challenging work, making school fun, teaching them music and art instead of how to bubble in forms, praising them for learning to read rather than holding them back so that they already know how to read by the time they start first grade, asking parents to volunteer to teach after school electives instead of sitting at the kitchen table nagging their kids to please, please finish the homework?
And this, mind you, at the supposedly "best" school in the district.
Because, you know, I neither know nor care how much of the $1500 I spent at Ikea was sales taxes. But I do care about the fact that the teacher wants permission to put PK in front of a computer monitor for 25 minutes every day so he can do stupid-ass computer crap to "help" him with his reading because he's "in danger of not meeting grade proficiency standards." Even though this morning on the way to school he read me a letter one of his kindergarten friends wrote him that said: "Dear PK. I hope you have fun in California. I will miss you. Your friend, Karen."
But reading and writing letters isn't part of the proficiency test. So it doesn't count. Practical literacy--like being able to communicate with other people, whether through first-grader's letters or through half-decent websites--isn't something we care about.
My god. Check out that site. See, for instance, the page on the Party Voice. Here, you would think, you should find specific, concrete information about the California Dems' issues, their platforms, what they see as the primary political issues in the state.
Only, no. What you get is a lot of the laziest kvetching about the Republicans--seriously, I can bitch about Republicans more interestingly than this even before I have my coffee in the morning--and pretty much squat about what the Democrats actually believe. Other than we don't like Republicans. I mean, P.R. 101, people: how many times does the word "Republican" appear on the page that's supposed to outline the Democratic party platform? Is Mark Foley really the most important and galvanizing issue in the state of California? Because, you know, off the top of my head, I'm thinking: budget. Schools. Growth. Shit, have a platform that promises to cut waiting time at the DMV down to ten minutes--"your time is too important for us to waste"--if you can't come up with anything else.
And then there's the Election Page. Pictures of the candidates and their names. How helpful! Now I know what they're running on. Not, as we say around here. Well, maybe the Propositions--after all, I'm going to vote a straight party-line ticket, it's really the propositions that I want more information about. And I know that propositions in California are a big fat honking deal--shit, 1978's Prop 13 is still screwing with the state's budget and voter's heads. But all we get on the Democratic Party page is a list of what the initiatives are and how to vote on them. Gee, thanks guys. This is less information than I get in my voter's pamphlet.
The Press Room? Coverage of what the governor's doing. Oh wait, he's a Republican! Shit, there's even an "Arnold Page". Which, again, the most puerile and sophomoric kind of apolitical political discourse you can find.
None of this is going to appeal to anyone who isn't already a hard-line Democrat. Shit, I'm a hard-line Democrat, and it doesn't appeal to me. Who the hell is in charge of this site? What the fuck are they thinking? Why would anyone want to volunteer or donate or get involved in an organization that's so fucking bored with or indifferent to its own goals that it can't bother to articulate them? Unless the goal is to recruit volunteers by implying that they won't actually have much to do.
I volunteered anyway, and in fact, that is the impression one gets. You fill out the form, and you get a message saying, in effect, "we call on volunteers when we need them, don't be surprised if you don't hear from us for a while." Way to harness enthusiasm! Way to seem like a party of the people, rather than an indifferent organization that's even somewhat hostile to the input of its members.
You know, I've been getting mail every single day from the Republicans arguing that Angilides (the gubernatorial candidate) is going to raise taxes! Raise taxes! OMG, he's going to raise taxes! And it's pissing me off; here I am, with my koi pond and my quarter-acre lot and my gardeners, in a neighborhood where everyone has a new car in the driveway, the maids and gardeners are all arriving for work as I walk PK to school in the morning, the houses are all beautifully maintained showpieces, the neighbors seem friendly and relaxed, half the kids at the school seem to have stay-home moms and the other half show up in SUVs with mom in a nice suit on her cell phone dropping them off while already conducting business, the guy I chat with most while we wait for our kids to get out of school is a pretty rich businessman who's building a ranch house over the hills and takes his granddaughter out to ride horses every day after school while his daughter is in med classes at UCLA. These people are not hurting for money. And the Republicans think that the tax issue is *the* biggest thing they care about?
But at least it's an issue. I haven't gotten shit from the Democratic party, and I have to struggle to remember Angelide's name (which isn't even on the front page of their web site--there's one mention of "Phil," and three of "Arnold"). I don't give a shit about raising taxes, except that I'd like, you know, to know what they're being raised for. (In fact, the California budget is a fucking mess, and they do need to raise taxes--but the Dems don't seem to be making that case or talking about what needs to be funded.) I've seen the property tax assessments arrive for the landlord, and I imagine they're not spare change. It's the end of the year; people are aware of their property tax assessments, and taxes are on their minds. Why not give them something else to think about or care about during the election?
Like, oh, say, the extent to which standardized testing seems to be driving every fucking thing that's happening at PK's school, and what a pain in the ass it is to have fundraising letters and forms coming home every single day to help pay for music and arts education, and how often we get asked to volunteer at the school for playground duty, to help in the classroom, to help raise money, ad infinitum. Why not make the case that schools constantly dunning you for money and time, teachers pressuring you to keep your kid back a grade because he's only just starting to learn to read, homework that is clearly indicated to prep the kids to take standardized tests, and the growing suspicion that the teacher wants you to keep your kid back because the more kids who are working above their grade level, the better the school's test scores--why not make the case that all this bullshit is something that, you know, good public funding for schools could do a lot to counter? And that instead of focusing on Not Leaving Children Behind, we really ought to be working on Bringing Every Kid Forward--giving them challenging work, making school fun, teaching them music and art instead of how to bubble in forms, praising them for learning to read rather than holding them back so that they already know how to read by the time they start first grade, asking parents to volunteer to teach after school electives instead of sitting at the kitchen table nagging their kids to please, please finish the homework?
And this, mind you, at the supposedly "best" school in the district.
Because, you know, I neither know nor care how much of the $1500 I spent at Ikea was sales taxes. But I do care about the fact that the teacher wants permission to put PK in front of a computer monitor for 25 minutes every day so he can do stupid-ass computer crap to "help" him with his reading because he's "in danger of not meeting grade proficiency standards." Even though this morning on the way to school he read me a letter one of his kindergarten friends wrote him that said: "Dear PK. I hope you have fun in California. I will miss you. Your friend, Karen."
But reading and writing letters isn't part of the proficiency test. So it doesn't count. Practical literacy--like being able to communicate with other people, whether through first-grader's letters or through half-decent websites--isn't something we care about.
Posted at 8:50 AM
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