WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Rod Paige called the nation's largest
teachers union a "terrorist organization" during a private White House
meeting with governors on Monday.
Democratic and Republican governors confirmed Paige's remarks about the
National Education Association.
"These were the words, 'The NEA is a terrorist organization,'" said
Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin.
"He was making a joke, probably not a very good one," said Democratic
Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania. "Of course he immediately divorced the
NEA from ordinary teachers, who he said he supports."
"I don't think the NEA is a terrorist organization," said Rendell, who
has butted heads with the group as well. "They're not a terrorist
organization any more than the National Business Organization is a
terrorist organization.
Neither the Education Department nor NEA had an immediate comment on
Paige's comments. Both indicated that statements were forthcoming.
Education has been a top issue for governors, who have sought more
flexibility from the administration on President Bush's "No Child Left
Behind" law, which seeks to improve school performance in part by
allowing parents to move their children from poorly performing schools.
Democrats have said Bush has failed to fully fund the law, giving the
states greater burdens but not the resources to handle them.
Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, said Paige's remarks startled the
governors, who met for nearly two hours with Bush and several Cabinet
officials.
"He is, I guess, very concerned about anybody that questions what the
president is doing," Holden said.
"He was implying that the NEA has not been one of the organizations that
has been working with the administration to try to solve 'No Child Left
Behind,'" he said.
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, said of Paige's comments:
"Somebody asked him about the NEA's role and he offered his perspective
on it."
Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, a Democrat, said the comments were
made in the context of "we can't be supportive of the status quo and
they're the status quo. But whatever the context, it is inappropriate -
I know he wasn't calling teachers terrorists - but to ever suggest that
the organization they belong to was a terrorist organization is uncalled
for."
When Bush welcomed the governors at the State Dining Room during brief
public comments, he told them that rising political tensions of an
election year won't stop him from working closely with them.
"I fully understand it's going to be the year of the sharp elbow and the
quick tongue," Bush said. "But surely we can shuffle that aside
sometimes and focus on our people."
"We'll continue to work hard to help you. Because by helping our
governors, we really help our people," he said.
Bush spent much of the first half of his opening comments on foreign
policy and the war on terrorism, defending his decision to go war in
Iraq and thanking the governors for their work on homeland security.
"The most important job of anyone in public office is to protect the
people of our country," he said.
Bush also defended his domestic policies, telling the governors that he
strongly believed in his education law and that the tax cuts he
championed were helping spur the economy.
The governors are in Washington for four days of discussions at the
annual meeting of the National Governors Association, though the usual
effort to build consensus was marked by partisan politics that Democrats
said couldn't be avoided.
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association,
said he planned to confront Bush on White House predictions of 2.6
million new jobs this year. Bush spokesmen already have backed off those
numbers.
"If the president's not going to fight for jobs, governors will,
Democratic governors will," Vilsack said. "We're on the front line of
that fight every day, and we see the consequences of having lost three
million jobs."
© Copyright 2004 Associated Press
###
