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Sunday, October 24, 2010

More questions for Senator Thrasher

By Jaxson, Guest Writer

Having watched the Gianoulis-Thrasher debate on WJXX this morning, I walked away with some questions about John Thrasher.

1. If you are such a great state senator, why don't you decide to run for the Florida Senate from your real home in Clay County? Deborah Gianoulis lived within the boundaries of Senate District 8 for more than three decades. Having been an actual resident of a district, instead of a carpetbagging opportunist, actually defines the point of representation. Although there is a center of the arts in his name, Senator Thrasher appears to be running away from something in Clay County.

2. Does Senator Thrasher know what political parties are for? He snidely derided Deborah Gianoulis for accepting support from the Democratic Party. Stop the presses! A Democrat is getting support from her own party? Senator Thrasher was very artful in this attempt to distract from the fact that the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida is locked in such a tight race.

3. Does Senator Thrasher realize that he is a liberal? Senator Thrasher opposes new taxes. This means that he is a conservative. Wrong! Although he has been trying to claim that Deborah Gianoulis would be willing to tax anything that moves, Senator Thrasher is really the candidate who is in favor of higher taxes. Senator Thrasher wants to play the hero when he advocates making major cuts in state revenue, but fails to acknowledge that county and municipal government have to raise their taxes to make up for the shortfall. This is one reason why Duval County politicians opposed Amendment 1 back in 2008. Senator Thrasher, however, decided to single out Deborah Gianoulis' opposition because he did not want a few facts to get in the way of a good mudslinging.

4. Does John Thrasher belive in home rule? Not likely. Remember Senate Bill 6? This 'education reform' bill was an epic power grab from Tallahassee that dictated how school districts negotiated pay with educators, that forced schools to adopt expensive new tests, that penalized school districts for not abiding by state mandates. This 'education reform' bill was part of a long line of unfunded state mandates that burdened the school districts. Senator Thrasher should be taken with a grain of salt the next time he complains about Washington D.C. being imperious with its power.

5. Whats up with Senator Thrasher and the teachers unions? Senator Thrasher never hesitates to cry wolf when he gets the chance. Those mean unions are opposed to any meaningful change to education. I am not sure that Senator Thrasher is even aware that Duval County's school system already has a merit pay plan in place (and was approved by the Florida Department of Education). How did the merit pay plan come into place? The district negotiated with the unions. Since then, the merit pay plan has won the support of the teachers. Once again, Senator Thrasher doesn't like to worry about the facts when they get in the way of old-fashioned demagoguery.

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