"Jeb!" Selects First Order Wingnut ...

Note: I have promoted this post to the top (left) side of the site and will keep it there for the next several days. I will also update it occasionally.

So, if anyone has any interest in commenting further, you may want to do it there.

As K-12 Chancellor; the Tallahassee Democrat blithely reports as follows:

"I was asked by Governor Bush," Yecke said Monday. "What an honor to be asked to serve under Jeb Bush. Everything Florida is doing is right. You've got strong accountability, and you're closing the achievement gap."

"K-12 chancellor named". The St. Pete Times posts a similarly bland description of the selection in "Minnesotan to be Florida's K-12 chancellor".

However, there is a bit more to this woman than the standard it's "an honor to be asked to serve under Jeb Bush" reflected in the above story. Fortunately, the Tampa Trib digs a bit deeper:



A former Minnesota commissioner of education who was forced out in 2004 was chosen Monday to be Florida's chancellor of K-12 education.

Cheri Yecke, 50, now works for a conservative Minnesota think tank and, until Monday, was a candidate for Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. ...

After being in office for more than a year, however, she lost her confirmation hearing after nine hours of testimony, The Associated Press reported.

That report described Yecke as a controversial figure, painted by critics as a "divisive ideologue who is taking education down the wrong path." ...

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported in April 2004 that detractors said Yecke pushed for social studies standards that were overtly conservative. In June 2003, The Associated Press reported that Yecke believes in creationism but didn't want the subject to be part of new science standards.

A Minnesota Public Radio report said Yecke was campaigning for the congressional seat on educational issues, restrained government spending, retooling Social Security and enacting a ban on same- sex marriages.

"Conservative Minnesota Official To Oversee Florida K-12 Education". The AP story also provides a little insight, noting that Yecke is considered by some to be a "divisive ideologue" who "was removed as her state's education commissioner". "Former Minnesota official picked to oversee K-12".

As noted above, Yecke works for a so-called "conservative Minnesota think tank", the "Center of the American Experiment". "Conservative"? That is putting it politely: these folks are first order wingnuts. The website links to the neo-fascists at Powerline at the top of their main page as follows: "Powerlineblog.com: Scott Johnson and John Hinderaker's Celebrated Blog" (the link is not off to the side in a list, put prominently displayed front, top and center). The site also (in the "About us" section) brags about their associations with folks like Ward Connerly and Charles Murray.

The views expressed by Yecke on this page are disturbing to say the least. Can't imagine what she thinks about "intelligent design"? Might be interesting to see the transcripts of the Minnesota hearings that resulted in her ouster.

Where does "Jeb!" find these losers?

Too bad the Florida Legislature won't say a thing about this embarassing choice.

Update: DKos addresses this issue on the front page today with "How the GOP Works in Florida Affects Us All" with the usual discussion thread. The post includes this link: "I'm sorry, Florida…". As you might expect, Yecke does have some, ahem, "problems" with that crazy theory of evolution: "Yecke's hypocrisy". Here's some info on her failed confirmation hearing: "Paper full of Yecke"; see also "Tales from the State Senate Education Committee meetings: Part I".

Florida Blues has more: "Thanks, Minnesota. Thanks a bunch", including this embarassing bit about treatment of Native Americans. See also "Heart of Darkness: a trip to Willmar".

Also via Florida Blues, this from the Organization of American Historians: "What Happened in Minnesota?"

In the past academic year, the K-12 public school system of Minnesota survived an attempted hijacking of the statewide social studies curriculum by an alliance of radically right-wing and evangelical Christian activists who were empowered, startlingly, by the state's own acting Commissioner of Education. This effort was defeated over the course of several months by a remarkable collaboration between an energized group of K-12 teachers and parents and members of the University of Minnesota's Department of History. We describe this struggle, which has counterparts in a number of other states, and then assess some of its ramifications both for the place of history in K-12 curricula and for the public relevance of academic history.

Read what happened here.

FlaBlog has this: "Right-wing appointment for schools".