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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Stop loving public education like a five-year-old loves their mommy
Let's be honest: America needs to grow up when it comes to how we talk about public education. Too often — especially among Democrats — public education is loved the way a five-year-old loves their mommy: emotionally, unconditionally and without question. But love without accountability isn't justice — it's delusion. And our children are the ones paying the price. At the National Parents Union, we love public education too. But we love it enough to fight for its transformation. We're not here to protect systems — we're here to protect children. And right now, our public education system is failing millions of them. Reading scores are dismal. Students with disabilities are being warehoused instead of served. Families are being pushed out of decision-making. And while we're stuck defending outdated structures, political leaders are playing small — more interested in slogans than solutions. Now we're watching Democrats fight it out between two camps: the 'abundance' crowd, led by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, and the 'anti-oligarchy' tour featuring Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). And as someone who listens to parents every single day, let me be real with you: neither message is hitting the mark where it matters most. 'Abundance' sounds like a TED Talk from someone who's never had to ration their child's asthma medication. And it's tone deaf to the fact that right now we have a problem of too many underenrolled schools across the U.S. 'Anti-oligarchy' sounds like a graduate school seminar when families are just trying to afford groceries and keep the lights on. American families don't care what your brand of progressivism is called. They care if they can find a job that pays enough to cover rent. They care if they can get their kids into a decent school without having to move away to find one. They want their kids to be safe. They care if there's a doctor who takes their insurance, and if they'll be able to retire with dignity. This isn't rocket science. It's kitchen table politics. And if Democrats want to stop hemorrhaging support among working-class families, younger voters and communities of color, they need to go back to being the party that fights for the average American. That means leading with our shared values, not white papers. Talking with people — not at them. Understanding the fear, anxiety and anger that is driving society in this moment instead of dismissing it. Listening to what keeps families up at night, and building a vision that meets them where they are. And it also means getting serious about education — starting with rejecting the nonsense that's crept into the conversation. It's painful to watch Democrats setting themselves up for another round of pain and defeat because they are so completely tone-deaf to the majority of the American public on the issue of public school options. Let me say this clearly: you cannot be 'for equity,' 'for accountability,' 'for civil rights,' and also be for vouchers. You can't chase a bag of unregulated magic beans in one breath and claim to care about data and outcomes in the next. The research is clear: Vouchers fail to improve student achievement, especially for the most vulnerable kids. They divert public money into private institutions that can pick and choose which students they serve. They strip away accountability, offering little transparency and no guarantees. What's worse, vouchers erode public trust and weaken the foundation of public education while offering no scalable solution. And while Republicans champion this destruction, let's talk about the hypocrisy. Republicans are actively defunding the research infrastructure and discretionary grants that supported many of their own favored reforms — like charter school expansion and early literacy programs. They're burning down the very innovation system that made their ideas possible. This isn't about improving education — it's about dismantling it. But to watch Democrats continue the same tired, disconnected song and dance about public school options and charter schools — something that has overwhelming, bipartisan support — with 80 percent of American families being in support — I mean, you're just asking to continue losing elections. Americans want results. We want the basics done right. And we want leaders with the courage to stop playing political games and start telling the truth: We need literacy and high expectations for every child. We need federal leadership that ensures equity is more than a buzzword. And we need authentic, lived experience at the center of policy. So here's my message to policymakers: Start listening to the people who have been failed the longest. And start fighting for the kind of public education that is excellent, equitable and accountable. At the National Parents Union, we know what's at stake. We organize across lines — political, racial, economic — because every family deserves a fair shot at the American Dream. But we're also watching closely. Because while Democrats argue over branding and Republicans try to burn it all down, families are hanging on by a thread. We don't need another white paper. We need a movement — one that's noisy, passionate, unapologetically people-powered and laser-focused on what really matters. Keri Rodrigues is president of the National Parents Union. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Stop loving public education like a five-year-old loves their mommy
Let's be honest: America needs to grow up when it comes to how we talk about public education. Too often — especially among Democrats — public education is loved the way a five-year-old loves their mommy: emotionally, unconditionally and without question. But love without accountability isn't justice — it's delusion. And our children are the ones paying the price. At the National Parents Union, we love public education too. But we love it enough to fight for its transformation. We're not here to protect systems — we're here to protect children. And right now, our public education system is failing millions of them. Reading scores are dismal. Students with disabilities are being warehoused instead of served. Families are being pushed out of decision-making. And while we're stuck defending outdated structures, political leaders are playing small — more interested in slogans than solutions. Now we're watching Democrats fight it out between two camps: the 'abundance' crowd, led by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, and the 'anti-oligarchy' tour featuring Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). And as someone who listens to parents every single day, let me be real with you: neither message is hitting the mark where it matters most. 'Abundance' sounds like a TED Talk from someone who's never had to ration their child's asthma medication. And it's tone deaf to the fact that right now we have a problem of too many underenrolled schools across the U.S. 'Anti-oligarchy' sounds like a graduate school seminar when families are just trying to afford groceries and keep the lights on. American families don't care what your brand of progressivism is called. They care if they can find a job that pays enough to cover rent. They care if they can get their kids into a decent school without having to move away to find one. They want their kids to be safe. They care if there's a doctor who takes their insurance, and if they'll be able to retire with dignity. This isn't rocket science. It's kitchen table politics. And if Democrats want to stop hemorrhaging support among working-class families, younger voters and communities of color, they need to go back to being the party that fights for the average American. That means leading with our shared values, not white papers. Talking with people — not at them. Understanding the fear, anxiety and anger that is driving society in this moment instead of dismissing it. Listening to what keeps families up at night, and building a vision that meets them where they are. And it also means getting serious about education — starting with rejecting the nonsense that's crept into the conversation. It's painful to watch Democrats setting themselves up for another round of pain and defeat because they are so completely tone-deaf to the majority of the American public on the issue of public school options. Let me say this clearly: you cannot be 'for equity,' 'for accountability,' 'for civil rights,' and also be for vouchers. You can't chase a bag of unregulated magic beans in one breath and claim to care about data and outcomes in the next. The research is clear: Vouchers fail to improve student achievement, especially for the most vulnerable kids. They divert public money into private institutions that can pick and choose which students they serve. They strip away accountability, offering little transparency and no guarantees. What's worse, vouchers erode public trust and weaken the foundation of public education while offering no scalable solution. And while Republicans champion this destruction, let's talk about the hypocrisy. Republicans are actively defunding the research infrastructure and discretionary grants that supported many of their own favored reforms — like charter school expansion and early literacy programs. They're burning down the very innovation system that made their ideas possible. This isn't about improving education — it's about dismantling it. But to watch Democrats continue the same tired, disconnected song and dance about public school options and charter schools — something that has overwhelming, bipartisan support — with 80 percent of American families being in support — I mean, you're just asking to continue losing elections. Americans want results. We want the basics done right. And we want leaders with the courage to stop playing political games and start telling the truth: We need literacy and high expectations for every child. We need federal leadership that ensures equity is more than a buzzword. And we need authentic, lived experience at the center of policy. So here's my message to policymakers: Start listening to the people who have been failed the longest. And start fighting for the kind of public education that is excellent, equitable and accountable. At the National Parents Union, we know what's at stake. We organize across lines — political, racial, economic — because every family deserves a fair shot at the American Dream. But we're also watching closely. Because while Democrats argue over branding and Republicans try to burn it all down, families are hanging on by a thread. We don't need another white paper. We need a movement — one that's noisy, passionate, unapologetically people-powered and laser-focused on what really matters. Keri Rodrigues is president of the National Parents Union.
Axios
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Boston-area residents remember Pope Francis' progressive voice
Catholics and supporters in blue Massachusetts are mourning the loss of Pope Francis as a voice for the rights of the poor, immigrants and communities devastated by climate change. The big picture: The stances Pope Francis took that irked traditionalist Catholics are the same ones Boston-area leaders and residents welcomed as a sign of an institution changing with the times. Whether the next Pope will share those same values remains unclear. State of play: Political leaders, including Gov. Maura Healey, all referenced Francis' record of supporting human rights, immigrant communities and the working poor. "He strove to make the Church more inclusive and welcoming, and he led by reminding us of the dignity and worth of every person," said Healey, the state's first elected woman and openly lesbian governor, in a statement. Pope Francis made waves last year when he allowed priests to bless same-sex couples. The move was at least two decades overdue by Massachusetts standards — and, still, he stopped short of recognizing same-sex marriage — but it defied centuries of precedent and stirred controversy among conservative Catholics. Between the lines: Greater Boston residents who supported Pope Francis' advocacy say his voice is needed now more than ever. His death comes as the nation and world grapple with the Trump administration's trade wars, the unpredictable detainment and deportation of foreigners on U.S. soil and funding cuts to nonprofits that serve low-income families. Pope Francis, who met publicly with Vice President J.D. Vance this weekend, had recently been at odds with the administration's deportation efforts and Vance's mention of Catholic values as justification. What they're saying: "The loss of his voice and his leadership during this critical time in our nation and the world makes his loss even more devastating," says Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, based in Boston. But that doesn't mean the work, or Francis' voice, disappears. "I know my work in advocating for children and families has been deeply influenced by my faith and his powerful example of love, kindness and empathy," Rodrigues tells Axios. "I'll be carrying that with me always." Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston, said Pope Francis "will be remembered for his gracious humility and his willingness to demonstrate his own frailties to a world that is often uncharitable to those made vulnerable." Axios Boston readers who embraced Pope Francis remembered his commitment to supporting the most vulnerable communities. "I will remember Pope Francis as a humble visionary who cared about poor people, who cared about equality for LGBTQ people, who cared about the environment," says Norman Chalupka. "He was a religious leader who exemplified the qualities that all members of the religious community should strive to exemplify." Drea Thorn, formerly of Andover, isn't Catholic but appreciated the pope preaching empathy and kindness to others.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats sense an opportunity to rally opposition to Trump education agenda
Democrats think Donald Trump's DEI-slashing, money-cutting education agenda is an unpopular stance the party can use to reconnect with voters they turned off during the pandemic. They just need to agree on a strategy. Democratic lawmakers, teacher union leaders and fired agency employees have rallied outside Education Department headquarters and filed lawsuits challenging Trump's moves to cull the agency's staff and billions of dollars in spending. The maneuvers feed a progressive base demanding to fight the president on every front. Their next steps are up for debate. Some in the party believe lengthy pandemic school closures, fights about gender and race, and lackluster national test scores helped create a political opening for Trump. Others are pressing for specific policies to address school choice and dwindling test scores, while casting the demolition of the Education Department as perilous for students. Where Democrats settle could pay electoral dividends or keep them in the political wilderness. 'There is a political void being left by the Republicans and Donald Trump. That is an opportunity. Go fill it,' said Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor who clashed with the city's teachers union. 'In the past, we've had a standing on this issue — and a politically better position on this issue — than Republicans. We've frittered it away on secondary issues.' Democrats for decades were viewed as the party more trusted on education, only to see Covid quickly undermine their position. Republican Glenn Youngkin won the 2021 Virginia governor's race with a conservative education message that challenged how race was being taught in schools and pushed for parents to have more say in the classroom. Two years later, polling showed Democrats either trailing or essentially tied with Republicans among voters in four battleground states when it came to which party would ensure public schools prepare students for life after graduation. 'What they need is a more robust Democratic agenda that's an alternative to Trump,' Charles Barone, a former congressional adviser and vice president at the Democrats for Education Reform, said of the party's federal lawmakers. 'We need somebody that's willing to speak truth to power, not hedge on the severity of the problems we're facing for the kids we care about, and to really offer a bold set of initiatives that meet the moment,' said Barone, who is now a senior director with the National Parents Union, a group that opposes Trump's education policy. Several Democrats say their party has the right vision for schools — it's just a matter of delivery. They are emphasizing how Trump's cuts to the agency put programs for low-income students at risk and could undercut efforts to protect students with disabilities, work that states often struggle with. And while Education Secretary Linda McMahon has promised core funds for vulnerable children and K-12 schools will be protected, DOGE's sudden and sometimes-haphazard efforts to streamline the government make it difficult to ease concerns. 'Don't make it about budgets and billionaires,' said Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.). 'Make it about the one position in the one school that affects this one family.' Hayes, who was a high school history teacher for more than 15 years before launching her bid for Congress, also said the message needs to come from multiple angles, including faith leaders and parents. 'I have expressed to my colleagues, this isn't just about teachers unions,' she said. 'This affects everybody in the community, and they need to be part of the conversation and own working towards a solution,' she said. Democrats are deploying multiple strategies they hope will get voters to listen, but some party stalwarts like Emanuel want Democrats to present a muscular alternative to Trump that emphasizes traditional learning and breaks with pandemic-era positions. 'We lost focus on the classroom, and we discussed almost all the other issues around education but the ones that matter most to parents: reading, writing and math,' he said. 'We got into the naming of the school, closing the front door during Covid for way too long, locker rooms, access to bathrooms, and we never dealt with the fundamentals of why parents send kids to schools.' Emanuel added: 'That is where the politics are: 'We made a mistake during Covid, and we're going to fix it.'' Trump has directed his education chief to take 'all necessary steps' to close the Education Department — and the agency has already slashed nearly half its staff, and canceled grants and contracts. While getting needed Democratic votes in Congress to fully shutter the department is unlikely, there's also a sense that federal lawmakers need to show the potential on-the-ground impact of the administration's policies by visiting local schools and classrooms to discuss funding for special education and low-income students. 'Eliminating the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., does not mean anything in Grand Island, Nebraska, or Pueblo, Colorado, because communities have no idea what the U.S. Department of Education does,' said Mary Kusler, the senior director of advocacy for the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union. 'They have a huge opportunity to make this connective tissue around the role of the federal government, not as an amorphous thing off in Washington, D.C., in education but literally as something that impacts each and every day inside their community,' she said of federal lawmakers. Democrats on Capitol Hill are pressuring Trump's Education Department to explain how plans to fire half the agency's staff will affect low-income students and are looking to marshal bipartisan attention. Appropriators have circulated information with colleagues on the House floor about how possible cuts to funding for high-need schools would hit each congressional district. Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, made an ill-fated bid to compel the agency to answer questions. Senators, led by top Democratic appropriator Patty Murray and education committee ranking member Bernie Sanders, have pushed McMahon to detail her plans for the agency in letters that outline the party's policy roadmap. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has launched her own campaign to push back against Trump's efforts to dismantle the department. House Democratic leaders have tapped their educator-turned-lawmaker members like Hayes and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who helped lead a gathering of lawmakers to the Education Department in February and again this month, to defend the agency. That reflects a growing consensus that the party should lean on personal anecdotes from students and families who benefit from federal programs to explain what the agency does. 'People in poll after poll tell you they don't want the Department of Education to close,' Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said. 'This isn't like a messaging problem for Democrats, this is a policy problem for Republicans — they are trying to do something really, really unpopular.' Recent polling shows 58 percent of Americans oppose eliminating the Education Department despite Trump's catchy promise that he'd improve things by sending federal education money 'back to the states.' But even if most Americans don't necessarily want to chuck it, opinions about the agency have been split. About 45 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of the agency last year, according to data from the Pew Research Center. That score was slightly worse than the Justice Department and only the IRS was viewed more negatively among widely-known federal agencies. Trump, McMahon and other Republicans have hitched the need for dramatic change by emphasizing how math and reading test scores have remained weak despite the billions of dollars administered by the agency since its establishment during the Carter administration. 'President Trump has made education reform a cornerstone of his agenda because of the Left's multi-decade failure to prioritize student outcomes,' department spokesperson Savannah Newhouse said in a statement. 'Instead, Democrats kept schools closed during Covid-19 which led to catastrophic learning loss, pushed radical ideology in the classroom, and have protested more about saving the careers of bureaucrats in Washington than about students' plummeting math and reading scores.' Another key problem in countering Trump may be just how passionately the GOP rank and file dislike the Education Department: 64 percent of Republicans Pew surveyed held an unfavorable view while 27 percent saw it in a positive light. 'They're overinterpreting the public's favorability toward our public education system,' Jim Blew, a top Education Department official during Trump's first administration, said of Democrats and their allies. 'People like the concept of public education, that is the commitment from the public to make sure children's educations are funded — they're not committed to what many on the right sometimes call 'government schools.'' Democrats could marshal public support by bashing billionaire Elon Musk's government-cutting blitz, said Blew, a co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, a D.C.-based conservative think tank. But he thinks liberals risk losing their credibility by 'catastrophizing' spending cuts that have not yet materialized and underestimating the public's support for more state control over federal aid. Breaking through Trump's agenda won't be easy, Takano acknowledged. 'It is difficult because the base, the base Republicans, they take everything the president says very, very seriously, very literally,' he said. 'You say anything contrary, they're going to call you a liar.'
Politico
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Democrats sense an opportunity to rally opposition to Trump education agenda
Democrats think Donald Trump's DEI-slashing, money-cutting education agenda is an unpopular stance the party can use to reconnect with voters they turned off during the pandemic. They just need to agree on a strategy. Democratic lawmakers, teacher union leaders and fired agency employees have rallied outside Education Department headquarters and filed lawsuits challenging Trump's moves to cull the agency's staff and billions of dollars in spending. The maneuvers feed a progressive base demanding to fight the president on every front. Their next steps are up for debate. Some in the party believe lengthy pandemic school closures, fights about gender and race, and lackluster national test scores helped create a political opening for Trump. Others are pressing for specific policies to address school choice and dwindling test scores, while casting the demolition of the Education Department as perilous for students. Where Democrats settle could pay electoral dividends or keep them in the political wilderness. 'There is a political void being left by the Republicans and Donald Trump. That is an opportunity. Go fill it,' said Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor who clashed with the city's teachers union. 'In the past, we've had a standing on this issue — and a politically better position on this issue — than Republicans. We've frittered it away on secondary issues.' Democrats for decades were viewed as the party more trusted on education, only to see Covid quickly undermine their position. Republican Glenn Youngkin won the 2021 Virginia governor's race with a conservative education message that challenged how race was being taught in schools and pushed for parents to have more say in the classroom. Two years later, polling showed Democrats either trailing or essentially tied with Republicans among voters in four battleground states when it came to which party would ensure public schools prepare students for life after graduation. 'What they need is a more robust Democratic agenda that's an alternative to Trump,' Charles Barone, a former congressional adviser and vice president at the Democrats for Education Reform, said of the party's federal lawmakers. 'We need somebody that's willing to speak truth to power, not hedge on the severity of the problems we're facing for the kids we care about, and to really offer a bold set of initiatives that meet the moment,' said Barone, who is now a senior director with the National Parents Union, a group that opposes Trump's education policy. Several Democrats say their party has the right vision for schools — it's just a matter of delivery. They are emphasizing how Trump's cuts to the agency put programs for low-income students at risk and could undercut efforts to protect students with disabilities, work that states often struggle with. And while Education Secretary Linda McMahon has promised core funds for vulnerable children and K-12 schools will be protected, DOGE's sudden and sometimes-haphazard efforts to streamline the government make it difficult to ease concerns. 'Don't make it about budgets and billionaires,' said Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.). 'Make it about the one position in the one school that affects this one family.' Hayes, who was a high school history teacher for more than 15 years before launching her bid for Congress, also said the message needs to come from multiple angles, including faith leaders and parents. 'I have expressed to my colleagues, this isn't just about teachers unions,' she said. 'This affects everybody in the community, and they need to be part of the conversation and own working towards a solution,' she said. Democrats are deploying multiple strategies they hope will get voters to listen, but some party stalwarts like Emanuel want Democrats to present a muscular alternative to Trump that emphasizes traditional learning and breaks with pandemic-era positions. 'We lost focus on the classroom, and we discussed almost all the other issues around education but the ones that matter most to parents: reading, writing and math,' he said. 'We got into the naming of the school, closing the front door during Covid for way too long, locker rooms, access to bathrooms, and we never dealt with the fundamentals of why parents send kids to schools.' Emanuel added: 'That is where the politics are: 'We made a mistake during Covid, and we're going to fix it.'' Trump has directed his education chief to take 'all necessary steps' to close the Education Department — and the agency has already slashed nearly half its staff, and canceled grants and contracts. While getting needed Democratic votes in Congress to fully shutter the department is unlikely, there's also a sense that federal lawmakers need to show the potential on-the-ground impact of the administration's policies by visiting local schools and classrooms to discuss funding for special education and low-income students. 'Eliminating the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., does not mean anything in Grand Island, Nebraska, or Pueblo, Colorado, because communities have no idea what the U.S. Department of Education does,' said Mary Kusler, the senior director of advocacy for the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union. 'They have a huge opportunity to make this connective tissue around the role of the federal government, not as an amorphous thing off in Washington, D.C., in education but literally as something that impacts each and every day inside their community,' she said of federal lawmakers. Democrats on Capitol Hill are pressuring Trump's Education Department to explain how plans to fire half the agency's staff will affect low-income students and are looking to marshal bipartisan attention. Appropriators have circulated information with colleagues on the House floor about how possible cuts to funding for high-need schools would hit each congressional district. Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott , the top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, made an ill-fated bid to compel the agency to answer questions. Senators, led by top Democratic appropriator Patty Murray and education committee ranking member Bernie Sanders , have pushed McMahon to detail her plans for the agency in letters that outline the party's policy roadmap. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has launched her own campaign to push back against Trump's efforts to dismantle the department. House Democratic leaders have tapped their educator-turned-lawmaker members like Hayes and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who helped lead a gathering of lawmakers to the Education Department in February and again this month, to defend the agency. That reflects a growing consensus that the party should lean on personal anecdotes from students and families who benefit from federal programs to explain what the agency does. 'People in poll after poll tell you they don't want the Department of Education to close,' Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said. 'This isn't like a messaging problem for Democrats, this is a policy problem for Republicans — they are trying to do something really, really unpopular.' Recent polling shows 58 percent of Americans oppose eliminating the Education Department despite Trump's catchy promise that he'd improve things by sending federal education money 'back to the states.' But even if most Americans don't necessarily want to chuck it, opinions about the agency have been split. About 45 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of the agency last year, according to data from the Pew Research Center. That score was slightly worse than the Justice Department and only the IRS was viewed more negatively among widely-known federal agencies. Trump, McMahon and other Republicans have hitched the need for dramatic change by emphasizing how math and reading test scores have remained weak despite the billions of dollars administered by the agency since its establishment during the Carter administration. 'President Trump has made education reform a cornerstone of his agenda because of the Left's multi-decade failure to prioritize student outcomes,' department spokesperson Savannah Newhouse said in a statement. 'Instead, Democrats kept schools closed during Covid-19 which led to catastrophic learning loss, pushed radical ideology in the classroom, and have protested more about saving the careers of bureaucrats in Washington than about students' plummeting math and reading scores.' Another key problem in countering Trump may be just how passionately the GOP rank and file dislike the Education Department: 64 percent of Republicans Pew surveyed held an unfavorable view while 27 percent saw it in a positive light. 'They're overinterpreting the public's favorability toward our public education system,' Jim Blew, a top Education Department official during Trump's first administration, said of Democrats and their allies. 'People like the concept of public education, that is the commitment from the public to make sure children's educations are funded — they're not committed to what many on the right sometimes call 'government schools.'' Democrats could marshal public support by bashing billionaire Elon Musk's government-cutting blitz, said Blew, a co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, a D.C.-based conservative think tank. But he thinks liberals risk losing their credibility by 'catastrophizing' spending cuts that have not yet materialized and underestimating the public's support for more state control over federal aid. Breaking through Trump's agenda won't be easy, Takano acknowledged. 'It is difficult because the base, the base Republicans, they take everything the president says very, very seriously, very literally,' he said. 'You say anything contrary, they're going to call you a liar.'
