Did you know that there is a National School Choice Week? Well, I missed it. It was last week. I finally got around to looking at another useless email from my congressman this morning.
Friend-
This week is National School Choice Week; a week dedicated to ensuring every child receives an effective, challenging, and inspiring education. During the week, people from all across the country are raising public awareness to the different K-12 options available to families—after all, every child is unique and what works for some may not work for others.
As the husband of an elementary school teacher, I am a strong supporter of public education. However, I am also in favor of an all-the-above approach to education. School choice options such as vouchers, education savings accounts, and charter schools can and should be options for states and localities to pursue. They can provide an alternative avenue for students in underperforming schools. Just because a child resides within a certain zip code, does not mean they should be subjected to an education system that is not meeting high standards. Choice in education should not be limited to where one lives, but where one wants to go in life.
To find out about the different schooling options available within the Commonwealth of Virginia please click here.
Please do not hesitate to contact me anytime an issue that concerns you comes before the House—especially if it concerns education.
It’s an honor to serve you and Virginia’s First District in the People’s House.
Sincerely,
Rob
From a practical point-of-view, I suppose Wittman’s “position” (in favor of whatever) is harmless, but it would help to know how he wants to spend our money.
So why will I probably end up supporting Rob Wittman? The other guy is worse, of course. Because he comes across to most people as friendly, well-spoken, and reasonable (or at least harmless), Wittman will get the Republican nomination again. If he was going to get a credible Republican challenger, that challenger would already have announced.
Democrats, however, don’t want harmless. Democrats are eager to take on Wittman. Here is an article on the Democrats who are currently lining up to take on Wittman.
One Democrat (Tom Hicks) Drops Out of VA-01 Race, Endorses Another Candidate (John Suddarth)
I missed this the other day, but one Democratic candidate in VA-01 (Tom Hicks) has dropped out and endorsed another candidate, John Suddarth (see press release below). First, here’s Hicks’ statement on dropping out of the race. The other Democrats vying for the nomination to take on Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01) are: Edwin Santana, Ryan Sawyers and Vangie Williams. Also note that Tom Perriello earlier this month endorsed Ryan Sawyers; see below for the video of that. (continued here)
Ryan Sawyers is currently the Chairman of the Prince William County School Board, and he has arguably been running for congress ever since he was elected as Chairman of the School Board. Since Democrats seem to be nominating the most radical people they can find and has demonstrated the capacity to win elected office, I suppose that means Ryan is most likely to get their nomination.
Check Sawyers out. The alternative is definitely worse.
- Newsmakers of 2017: Sawyers says his controversial year as school board chair was about getting things done (fauquier.com): This article makes it sound suing anyone and everyone is a good thing. Check what google news returns on ryan sawyers prince william county.
- Ryan Sawyers recall, Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia (2018) (ballotpedia.org): Here is an alternative view.
- Recall Ryan Sawyers (recallsawyers.com): This website includes a video of the heavy-handed way the guy runs a meeting.
pardon the typo… that should read: “and”
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And also want to be sure to say, I love your honest evaluation of things; I truly appreciate you and your blog. I dunno if you have gleaned that from my comments, but just in case, I’m saying it here. My above comment stems from the fact that I’m just sad for Rob because I think he misses an extraordinary spokesperson in you… Your support would be powerful and would have incredible impact. Just sayin’ 😉
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I’m sorry you are not enthused about Rob. He’s truly passionate and as conservative as you are. Your communication style is simply more hard-hitting. But I think that if you were to sit an talk with him face-to-face you would find that you agree on a lot more than you think you do. Perhaps, you might enjoy attending an in-person event and I think you would probably have many of your questions answered. Just a thought.
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@lynnabbottstudios
I am not qualified to judge the man. I just can’t point to anything he has done that amounts to anything. His voting record says he is a middle of the road Republican who sounds like a Conservative.
I understand the man has a lot of government workers and contractors in his district. I also understand people tend to vote against politicians (those who oppose what they consider their primary interests), not for them. Well, Wittman doesn’t seem to trying to give me any reason to vote for him. So I will vote for him because the other guy is giving me lots of reasons to vote against him.
Am I being unfair? Perhaps, but here are some websites that look at voting records.
https://votesmart.org/candidate/58133/rob-wittman
https://www.conservativereview.com/scorecard/
http://congress.freedomworks.org/legislators/rob-j-wittman
https://heritageaction.com/scorecard/members/w000804?session=115
One of Wittman’s big priorities is defense spending. He is pushing for the purchase of more navy ships. We need the ships, but it is also pork for his district.
Otherwise, Wittman’s legislative priorities are the usual sort of give aways: promoting broadband access in rural areas and education funding for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.
That is the sort behavior that will most likely get Wittman reelected, but the Constitution does not authorize Congress to fund broadband access and education spending.
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Hi, Tom! I appreciate your putting the links here. Thank you. I’m a little perplexed by one thing that you said in your comment, though. From what I understand, I think it unlikely that Rob Wittman looks at the defense spending as simply a nod to his constituency. If one truly believes in a strong military as I understand he does, then one would want to make sure the military’s equipment and ships, etc., are the very best. I’m sure you that as a fellow conservative you would agree with that.
I believe his wife has been a teacher for many, many years and that his personal educational background is in the math and science field… I think he has an MA or a Ph.d. Thus, it would make sense that he would be passionate about those areas. More so than just your average politician. I don’t think it is about giveaways for him. But I suppose you’d have to discuss that with him personally.
Anyway, I haven’t followed your blog long enough to know which specific votes that you object to. I will continue to read more. I’m sure I will learn a lot. And I really look forward to that.
I do think it would be really great if you could find a way to talk to Rob Wittman face-to-face. It turns out that he is a strong believer/follower of Christ, and I have observed another very outspoken individual (like yourself) speak to Wittman about concerns. And I’m happy to say that the discussion brought about a very good outcome/change.
I think you could have a similar and tremendous impact …I believe you could make a real difference if you could find a way to take your concerns directly to the congressman. But, of course, that’s just my way. I like to bring about direct change whenever possible by talking with people face-to-face.
Anyway, thanks so very much for taking the time to patiently respond to my overly lengthy comments. Forgive me for taking up so much space here.
You are gracious. And I truly appreciate that. I look forward to reading more of your pithy and thoughtful posts. God bless you greatly, Tom!
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@lynnabbottstudios
Here is Wittman’s bio.
https://wittman.house.gov/about/biography.htm.
The main thing Wittman has going for him is that he is not a lawyer.
😆
Wittman is on the Armed Services Committee and serves as the Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. These are obviously positions that maximize his effectiveness in procuring funds for his district, given what is located nearby. Undoubtedly, to get those assignments, he has to get along with the leadership.
Is Wittman sincerely interested in our nation’s defense? I hope so, but I don’t read minds. As a member of the Prince William County Republican Committee, I have seen Wittman at various events. He has been supportive of the election campaigns of Conservatives. He showed up at an event for Delegate Bob Marshall. So I will give him that much. I just have not seen much evidence that he is willing to fight for anything.
One thing I have noticed is that lots of people like politicians who sound very reasonable. We are scared of principled (or ideological) politicians. That is, most of us actually don’t want a politician who is highly principled and emphatic about it. Bob Marshall, for example, was a rare sort who knew how to be highly principled without sounding scary. He was highly principled and willing to stick his neck out in defense of his principles. Nevertheless, he made it sound quite reasonable. Never spoke harshly or excitedly. Gave his arguments in a calm voice and in good humor. Ronald Reagan did the same sort of thing.
I wish that described Wittman too, but I don’t think it does.
Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts. Given you think so highly of the man, perhaps I have evaluated his performance too harshly, and I hope I have.
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You are a great and extremely thoughtful person, Tom! I so appreciate you! God bless you greatly!
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Thank you for being so kind and thoughtful… May our Lord bless you and your family.
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My Accolades for mentioning school vouchers.
Wish our Chicago Newspapers would have written an article about various school options. Perhaps if they did, and people made more aware of vouchers, there might be less reporting about gang killings and shootings in Chicago..
Regards and goodwill blogging.
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I liked that part too.
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