Teachers are individuals, each with individual political leaning. Unions are organizations. Individuals are free to think and to vote for whomever they feel is the best candidate regardless of who their union or other organization endorses.

As a retired UW employee, I can assure you that in higher education there is every stripe of political leaning, and although many like to discuss the issues (on their own time, in my case in the State Van commuting to Madison), in all my years at the UW I never encountered disrespect or nastiness in those discussions, and I learned more about what the other side was thinking and why. It may not have changed my mind much, but it enhanced my understanding of what they were thinking, and they learned of my views.

I'll agree with Donnaw, though, a lot of pressure does exist on teachers to be liberal, from various sources. It varies from district to district though; guess mine just happens to be a little more open to different viewpoints. Heck, one really conservative teacher is best friends with one of our most liberal teachers. Now if only our politicians could mirror that!

As I read many of the comments, I wonder how many people here have actually been a student in the past 10 years. Or even stepped in a school. Because as a current student, I can very honestly say my teachers probably 60-40 liberal to conservative.

Also, even though a bias or stereotype exists, that doesn't mean you have to believe it. It's up to you to actually talk with people and educate yourself, rather than judge them, then blame the stereotype for somehow forcing you to believe it. Stereotypes exist only because people choose not to question them. That also goes for saying that a union completely represents the views of all people affiliated in any way. Definitely not true, I've had many teachers--even very liberal ones--that disagree with unions and agree with conservatives over some issues.

You must be smokin' some good stuff there Rick.

John, as you can see from the posts on the story titled "CRG tied to anti-teacher flier", hoping for civility amongst our most frequent commenters on the Gazette may be an effort in futility.

As for your assertion that the generalizations of educators as liberals is totally untrue, isn't that a matter of perception? For instance, you are what I would consider to be quite liberal. Yet you yourself probably think that you are much closer to the center than I do. Therefore, when you say that educators in Wisconsin aren't liberal, you obviously mean that they aren't to the left of you. That doesn't mean they aren't liberal.

By the way, those conservative, relative to you and probably liberal to me, colleagues you know don't really amount to much since they and all the other colleagues in education that you know comprise only a small fraction of the sum total of educators in Wisconsin. And since you know only a handful of those educators, the few you know may very well comprise a statistical aberration, couldn't that be true?)

More "bizzarity" from Eyster. When is the last time you seen a group of conservative teachers (oxymoron)demonstrating at the Capitol? I thought, your thoughts, could not ever become more ridiculous than your last, but again, you and gayprimer continue to out do yourself with each successive blather.

Shopierehuh

Scott Walker is not privatizing deer hunting.

Third_Eye,

Eyster said, "I was much interested to read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s report by two of their best journalists, ...."

Eyster is borderline literate.

John, I often wonder why these folks who don't like the way you write bother to come to your blog and further their frustration by leaving a comment.

Don't be poaching
the Sheriff of Nottingham's deer!

Here is something that outdoors lovers should read before they vote. This is a link to an article about the privatization of public lands in Wisconsin by Walker and his handlers. Those of you who hunt and fish, those who use the county forests, the state forests, the water access, boat launches, the hiking and walking trails, the state campgrounds should be concerned and read this and think about it before voting on June 5.

In Texas there is very little public land. If you do not have several thousand dollars for a deer lease, you do not deer hunt. Texas is where Walker's "deer czar" is from, he intends to implement Texas style deer hunting in Wisconsin.

http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/featur...

Some of you are too insecure to consider another point of view.
You fear that that you may be wrong.
You react with anger.
Mommy and Daddy didn't do a very good job, did they?

"UNusually lacking in CIVILITY on the part of several readers who have commented. WHY?"

It's because of the way you write John

Also I have afew relatives who are teachers. The one relative who is a conservative doesn't even venture into a discussion of politics at school because the discussions are so derisive of conservatives. She fears retribution if they were to find out she was conservative. Eyster, you are nuts!.

“The generalizations of educators as LIBERALS is totally untrue…”

Oh my, just how is the weather out there in the land of denial? Let’s consider why those of us who aren’t educators might think this is true. Start with the teachers’ public face, the unions. It’s becoming increasingly hard to distinguish the NEA and AFT from the DNC. When’s the last time the NEA endorsed a Republican? When’s the last time our local teachers’ unions endorsed a Republican? How many school systems push agendas that are socially progressive rather than conservative in nature? Saying that you happen to know a conservative teacher hardly refutes the generalization!

What next – maybe you’ll remount your high horse and tell us that the mainstream media isn’t really liberal either?