MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

REP. JOE COURTNEY (D), CONNECTICUT: Absolutely, Ed. Great to be on the show.

Do you really--am I over the top here?

COURTNEY: No. No.

SCHULTZ: Do the Republicans want to get rid of public education?

COURTNEY: No. You know, your point about this is about America"s future. It was underscored in July when the National College Board issued its report for America"s college completion rate. We were number one in the world in 1986. Today we are number 12 in the world.

This is literally, as you said, about America"s future. And the causes of why we"ve slid so badly is really not because of kids in their last year of high school, or even those kids who are in college. It starts at preschool through grade 12. And the abandonment in terms of the commitment of this country which really goes back to President Lincoln --

SCHULTZ: Yes.

COURTNEY: -- you know, is really hurting.

SCHULTZ: But why--Congressman, why are the Republicans all of a sudden down the stretch in this election cycle so focused on public education and making it the bogeyman, as if it has no value whatsoever?

COURTNEY: It"s astonishing to me, because, you know, there certainly were pro-education Republicans in the past. And I think that the business community certainly understands that our competitive ranking in the world will really depend on whether we have a workforce that"s capable of facing the challenges of the future.

SCHULTZ: I mean, this is beyond attacking the New Deal. This is new territory, isn"t it?

COURTNEY: It is. And as I said, I mean, you would sort of almost view it as outlandish. But if groups like Heritage, which definitely is a very powerful force in Washington, are staking out these kinds of positions, then, again, it is a real threat in terms of the ability of this country to move forward.

SCHULTZ: Well, that was my next question. Are you surprised that the Heritage Foundation has moved even further to the right, or have they been a wolf in sheep"s clothing all along?

COURTNEY: You know, this really is, in my opinion, a new low. And we"ve done hearings on education reform, which is an issue that will be front and center of the next Congress. So, frankly, there isn"t, in my opinion, just a coincidence here, if this issue is coming up.

You know, the business community understands we have got to get a system that is ready to face the challenges. Are country is really slipping and falling behind, as the college board demonstrated in July.

SCHULTZ: Well, if you get rid of the public school system the way the Republicans want to do it--

COURTNEY: Can"t do it.

SCHULTZ: -- you know--I know I"m not qualified to do any home-schooling. Way back when--those days are past me. But the point is, is they"re operating under the assumption that, hey, you just have to go to private school and you"ve got to pay for it. That, of course, will give us a two-class society.

What are the minorities in this country, what are the economically challenged people in this country going to do if they have to pay to go to school? I mean, that"s what the Republicans want. Isn"t it?

COURTNEY: What will the middle class do? I mean, the fact is, is that that is a strategy for failure for America. And that really should be the bottom line here, is that, at a time when the baby boomers are going to be retiring in big numbers from, you know, high-skill essential jobs, I mean, we need to have a system that"s ready to replace that change.

SCHULTZ: Yes. You know, and I don"t want our viewers to think that I don"t believe that there have to be some upgrades and we have to refine our education system. One of the reasons why we have problems in public education is because everybody"s welcome. And every problem comes through the door, every asset comes through the door.

COURTNEY: That"s right.
Advertisement | ad info

SCHULTZ: That is the bottom line. It"s public. You"re going to have all kinds of issues.

But it just seems to me that the conservatives, the Republicans, have put a target on the back of public education and vilified it to the max, thinking that it"s going to be some popular position going into the midterms. And I appreciate you speaking up. But I can just imagine what Senator Ted Kennedy would be saying right now with this kind of garbage being pushed out there by some candidates.

COURTNEY: No, it"s very distressing, because, you know, there really was some consensus even about 10 years ago about the fact that, you know, we"ve got a real problem here in terms of our country"s future. And there was, I think, real dialogue going on, you know, both in terms of business community, labor, teachers, and now it"s just become, again, another one of these hyper-partisan, poisonous debates which, at the end of the day, is just going to hurt us as a country.

SCHULTZ: Congressman, good to have you with us tonight.

COURTNEY: OK, Ed. Always a pleasure.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source