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Sunday Comics, Schoolhouse Rock and Teaching Partisan Politics
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ShareMay 21, 2008 4:34 PM
ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: In addition to teaching school kids about the Constitution and trade in government class, maybe there should be a section of the class devoted to about partisan bickering too.
It might be a little more real-life.
Case in point comes from a recent email tiff between Sean Spicer, the Assistant US Trade Representative and Joe Shoemaker, spokesman for Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate.
Spicer sent an email Wednesday morning to his normal distribution list, touting this past week's 'The Mini Page', which is like a weekly newspaper for kids folded into the comics section of the newspaper that goes to their parents.
"This past Sunday, in the comics section of papers nationwide (including the Post), was an insert called the Mini Page that explained trade at a children’s level," read Spicer's email. "If you missed it, it is attached in PDF above. On page 4 there is an explanation of why the Colombia trade agreement is in the best interest of American workers."
The Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which has been a lightening rod for Democratic Presidential candidates as they campaigned in the rust belt earlier this year, was stalled in the House of Representatives by Democrats after President Bush tried to use a procedural maneuver to ram it through.
None of the procedural bickering was mentioned in The Mini Page, but the Colombia Free Trade Agreement was, after a longer section on trade with China in light of the upcoming Olympics, a word finder with trade-themed words, a mini guide to Olympic sports, and a dot to dot drawing exercise.
From The Mini Page: "Countries make trade agreements with other nations to exchange goods and services. For example, the United States has agreed to let Colombia sell products here duty-free, or without tariffs. However, the U.S. pays a tariff to sell goods in Colombia. But the two countries have been negotiating, or discussing, an agreement for duty-free exports to Colombia from the United States."
Spicer is thanked for his help at the end of the item.
Shoemaker read Spicer's email about trying to help kids learn about trade, saw the section in The Mini Page and thought it was a thinly veiled attempt to equate those who oppose the Free Trade Agreement with children.
In short, he thought it was condescending. So Shoemaker, who is on Spicer's email list, hit "reply all" and shot back a condescending email of his own back at Spicer.
"Thank you for your helpful (if somewhat condescending) explanation of trade 'at a children's level,'" wrote Shoemaker. "In that vein, I wanted to bring to your attention a series known as Schoolhouse Rock! Between 1973 and 1986 a series of fifty-two educational short films featuring songs about schoolhouse topics (grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and politics) were played on ABC Saturday and Sunday morning children's programs. One of those short films ("I'm Just a Bill") dealt extensively with the legislative process -- at a children's level. If you missed it, it is attached in PDF form above and the hyperlink is: http://www.school-house-rock.com/Bill.html)."
Spicer, who spent 13 years working as a spokesman on Capitol Hill before going to work for US Trade Representative Amb. Susan Schwab said knows how a bill becomes a law, but he meant no harm with his email. He said he sends out ten or more emails a week to his distribution list, said this afternoon that Shoemaker got it all wrong. He didn't mean to be condescending and couldn't have made the language in his email any simpler.
"As a communicator I'm pretty proud of the fact that we were able to reach out to children on trade," he said today.
"We've gotten too partisan when you can't send a simple email," he said over the phone this afternoon, adding later, "If you're offended by the Mini Page you've gotten pretty thin skin."
May 21, 2008 in Veepstakes | Permalink | User Comments (2)
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vote counts:
Clinton 18,200,357
Obama 18,148,061
Posted by: a new name | May 21, 2008 4:45:26 PM
I would like to see the mini page address the age old story of Robin Hood, but put it in today's context so that the children will educate their parents.
Here's a classic legend for you.
Hillary Clinton is running for President of the U.S. and has $109 million dollars in the bank. Unfortunately, her campaign has lost miserably. The presidential campaign is not technically over, but there is no way for her to win. The longer she stays in the race, the deeper her campaign goes into debt.
She says she is staying in the race because, according to her supporters, she's got commitment to her cause. Hillary Clinton says she's in it to win it. She's so committed to her supporters and her cause that she loaned her campaign millions of dollars to keep her candidacy alive. She loaned her campaign this money with interest.
See if the children can calculate how much money Hillary Clinton collects in interest by staying in the race versus how much money she would lose if she were to bow out now. They will have to do the research to get the exact amount she's lent and at what interest rates.
Hillary supporters, according to her, are mostly a bunch of hard working poor people without much education. Hillary's other friends, her super wealthy lobbyist friends can only give so much.
Hillary has lots more money in the bank and does not need the money she has loaned her campaign. She could take the loss of interest instead of profiting off of poor people, but for some reason, she has asked her poor supporters to help her pay off her debt plus interest.
Is this like what Robin Hood did? Would you prefer to be like Robin Hood or Hillary Clinton? Again, how much profit does Hillary Clinton make while asking for poor people to keep a dead campaign afloat?
Would be interesting to see what the children have to say.
Posted by: Is It Right? | May 21, 2008 6:55:23 PM
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