# Holy shit, DeVos was confirmed **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 7, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266 "2017-02-07T19:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/221 "2017-02-09T07:02:28Z")
First let’s note that the Republican Party divides into three main factions: [ul][li] The moderate right wing. There are only two right-wingers in the Senate, both women: Murkowski of Alaska and Collins of Maine.[/li][li] The batshit crazy. This faction includes TeaBaggers, Hyperlibertarians, and the mentally infirm. Their common goal is the complete destruction of the federal government.[/li][li] Those in the middle, whose brain cells sometimes wake-up enough to make them want to embrace right-wing ideals, but mostly just go with the flow and vote with the batshit faction. Although he’s not a Senator, Paul Ryan is the model for this faction. He’s a liar and a hater, admires Ayn Rand, but is not actually demented in a clinical sense.[/li][/ul] > [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > … What I question in the specific case of DeVos is her competence, her background, her intelligence, and her experience: She’s a stupid, incompetent person who bought her way into a cabinet position without any qualifications at all. > > I’m surprised Republicans aren’t outraged. > … > Why pick the worst possible candidate? I think my lead paragraph answers this pretty well. The two right-wingers _did_ vote against DeVos, but we’ve now reached a point where 50 Senators (51 counting Pence) are literally seeking to destroy the government. They are succeeding at doing what the left-wing terrorists in the 1960’s and 70’s wanted to do. What’s ironic is that if the GOP President were an extremist like Ryan, or even one of the batshit crazies, they would have felt a need to restrain their mischief a bit. Paradoxically, Trump — who historically was rather moderate :smack: — has no such qualms. He’s dancing with the Bannons and Draculas that brought him to the party, too dumb and self-absorbed to realize he’s being led around like the organ-grinder’s monkey. Ryan et al are delighted! They’d never have dared to do such blatant sabotage themselves, but they can eventually blame the worst damage on Trump, proud in the knowledge that America’s social contract will be devastated for decades. As for DeVos’ qualifications: Her father was an unscrupulous businessman who became very wealthy and active for homophobic and anti-women causes. Her husband and father-in-law ran Amway, the notorious pyramid-scheme marketing organization. The billionaire husband is very active politically, supporting vouchers as a way to degrade inner city schools further, and right-to-work laws as a way to further reduce the power of impoverished Michigan workers. Ms. DeVos’ brother was the founder of Blackwater USA, the company that was able to skim huge sums from its friends who were burning through taxpayer money insanely for their insane war against Iraq. Ms. DeVos herself has been a consistent advocate of defunding public schools, and giving subsidies to the middle class to increase flight from the public schools. She has made huge campaign contributions to Republicans to advance her anti-school agenda. Some private and charter schools are major scams, totally unregulated and with great scope for skimming (consider “Trump University”) — profit opportunities are _huge_ if the dismantling of public schools continues and, despite the votes of the two GOP Senators who love America, now it certainly will. What’s not to love? ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/222 "2017-02-09T07:23:17Z")
> [@arfurvirus](#): > > We sure weren’t rich, heck my wife son and I moved with nothing but a job offer, $700 scrounged up for an apt, our car and a Uhaul my old man was nice enough to rent for us. we left most of our crap behind. > > clean air, no crime, good svhools, and a real community made it worth it. > > Thank God it’s worked. > > The federal government fucks up everything it touches, including healthcare and education, if you want a better community, make yours better, contribute to a good one, or wallow in your shit. > don’t cry to me. Jesus, I hope your kid can write better than you! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/223 "2017-02-09T07:38:47Z")
> [@arfurvirus](#): > > education should be a local matter. […] > > If your school sucks, or community is garbage […] move 200 miles away to a good community and schools. :dubious: This, of course, is pretty much the _opposite_ of a “local” solution to education problems. In the sense that it’s not a “solution” at all, in any policy sense of the term. It does jack-shit to actually **fix** the problems in a local educational system: it merely allows the minority of people who can afford it to **evade** the problems by abandoning that local system entirely, and leaving the problems for the poorer, less mobile members of the community to deal with unaided. Which in itself is an excellent argument for **less** decentralized control of education policy. If the responsibility for maintaining education systems is devolved down as far as it can go, then whenever a problem develops in a school system, you get the classic “rats leaving a sinking ship” syndrome: i.e., people who can afford to will just abandon it for a better system somewhere else. Once the rats have scuttled, then the problems end up dumped on a depleted community made up of the people least able to cope with them. Not very efficient if our real goal is to provide quality education for **all** kids. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/224 "2017-02-09T08:35:38Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Sessions for AG. :eek: But even he’s not unqualified. Whatever one thinks of his priorities in law enforcement, or how he will likely use his office to further the conservative agenda, he does have a law degree and years of experience as a prosecutor. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/225 "2017-02-09T11:25:45Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Betsy DeVos Orders Immediate Flattening Of All School Globes](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-schlarmann/betsy-devos-orders-immediate-flattening-of-all-school-globes_b_14639376.html) You do realise that that’s marked as satire, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/226 "2017-02-09T11:44:40Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You do realise that that’s marked as satire, don’t you? NO FUCKIN WAY please tell us what jokes is forever ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/227 "2017-02-09T13:26:01Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You do realise that that’s marked as satire, don’t you? Whoa. Looks like _somebody_ here went to a good school! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/228 "2017-02-09T13:26:08Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You do realise that that’s marked as satire, don’t you? No shit, Sherlock. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/229 "2017-02-09T13:35:26Z")
So the DoE already has [a new seal](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/02/09/this-must-be-the-new-department-of-education-logo/). ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/230 "2017-02-09T13:47:41Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > So if that’s the case, isn’t it better (for people who are against that position) that the Education Secretary be less qualified? It means it’s going to be harder for her to implement her goals, which as far as I’m concerned, is a good thing. If you are looking for an architect or a builder or a contractor, maybe you want one that is qualified, so they don’t build you something that falls apart. If you just want to burn it all down, it does not require much qualifications to be an arsonist. > [@Quartz](#): > > You do realise that that’s marked as satire, don’t you? Crap, and I just sent in my resume and a picture of my personal [globe flattener.](http://www.webstaurantstore.com/doughxpress-txm-20-manual-tortilla-press-16-x-20-220v/325TXM20%20%20%20%20220.html) Does that mean the job _isn’t_ available? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/231 "2017-02-09T14:32:28Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > So - what exactly are you hysterical about? What horrible damage can DeVos cause because she has never been a teacher herself? She is not directly involved in the data collection - the professionals do that. Federal laws and Congress determine where the federal 8% of the districts’ budgets go… Because she is horrible at interpreting research. She basically compared charter schools against the worst of public schools - schools that literally had the lights turned of because they can’t pay the electricity bill; schools where they cannot find enough teachers to fill the classrooms. And based on that has concluded charters are better than public schools. Because the DoE is in charge of protecting students with disabilities’ rights and she is on record believing that a) States should be allowed to opt out of IDEA b) Students that want to attend charter schools can be required to waive all legal rights under IDEA. The DoE controls $70B in discretionary funding. The Secretary influence where that goes. The DoE is facing a student loan crisis that she would have to address. Maybe we should have vouchers for colleges to benefit the rich. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/232 "2017-02-09T14:54:59Z")
> [@arfurvirus](#): > > … > > If your school sucks, or community is garbage, do what I did when my son was a tot, send him to parochial school, and then move 200 miles away to a good community and schools. A real Right wing problem solving method: Run away! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/233 "2017-02-09T15:01:52Z")
Close, **bobot** , but the Right Wing’s method is: Run away and then blow the bridge up behind you so no one else can get out! ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/234 "2017-02-09T15:22:18Z")
> [@Rick\_Sanchez](#): > > You can’t possibly believe this. Trump’s [approval rating](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/02/06/its-not-unusual-that-trumps-approval-ratings-sagged-its-unusual-that-theyre-this-low/?utm_term=.469a81358af0) is remarkably low for a President allegedly in his “Honeymoon period”. If he carries on like this it’ll be less than 2 years before the Democrats regain control of Congress. And we all know how accurate pollsters are, don’t we? Trump’s ratings are much higher according to Rassmussen who don’t use the notoriously innacurate telephone polling used by other pollsters. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/235 "2017-02-09T15:42:25Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > …I feel the need to repeat myself, because clearly you didn’t _read_ the post you quoted. When someone asks you, “Dear god, why would you make that incredibly awful decision?!”, simply saying “because you couldn’t stop me” is not an answer. It just makes you out to be a _complete tosser_. > > You could explain _why_ you didn’t think that decision was so incredibly awful. Some right-wingers have done this, and it basically comes down to, “The status quo doesn’t work, so clearly a crapshoot on something which works _even worse_ is a great idea.” That, or “The Department of Education shouldn’t exist” - _take note, someone else I quoted who clearly is not paying attention_. Not great explanations. (post shortened) I’m not responsible for the Democrat Party’s inability to retain seats in Congress. DeVos is under attack because the Democrat collective is still hurt, and embarrassed, about Hillary’s losing the WH. Sux to be them. DeVos is under attack because she was nominated by a Republican President. A Republican President who happens to be Trump, but the same thing would occur regardless of which Republican kicked Hillary’s ass. This is the standard operating procedure for the foreseeable future. The Republican administration will do something, the Democrats will whine that they don’t understand, life will go on. As you’ve probably noticed, this thread was started after DeVos’s confirmation. After. When it was too late to do anything but whine about sour grapes. \*How-oh-how did we lose again? What is wrong with us/U.S.? SSDD. You don’t know if DeVos’s service will be a failure or not. You assume she will fail. Or maybe you just hope she will fail. Either way, regardless of the nominee, the Democrat collective will drag their feet, suck their collective thumb, and beg the voters to return the Democrat Party to power. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/236 "2017-02-09T15:46:17Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Ummm…Richard Riley was Governor of SC for almost a decade. And has a law degree. And was partner in a law firm. > > DeVos has a) never held any elected position, b) does not have a law degree, and c) has never held a job (other than ones she made up for herself). I thought your objection was her lack of subject matter experience. In what way is being an elected official “educational experience”? In what way is a law degree “educational experience”? In what way is being a partner at a law firm “educational experience”? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/237 "2017-02-09T15:55:39Z")
> [@arfurvirus](#): > > ahh the Leftist comeback, once trounced on subject matter you revert to grammar policing. It’s right up there with calling everyone you don’t like “Hitler”. > > Wallow in your shit. I think in this particular case, it is a valid thing to do. You are crowing about the superiority of state run education, and what a great education “anyone” could get if they just uproot their families and move somewhere, without a job and precious little money - and relatives who will bail you out. (from your narrative). Then you follow up with a poorly constructed sentence, which indicates that your own education is lacking. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/238 "2017-02-09T15:56:42Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I thought your objection was her lack of subject matter experience. Apparently “thinking” isn’t your thing. Or reading. Or understanding. But by god, you do love to post. Instead of asking stupid questions, focus your energy on understanding what people are saying, Mr. 20%. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/239 "2017-02-09T15:57:32Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > But even he’s not unqualified. Whatever one thinks of his priorities in law enforcement, or how he will likely use his office to further the conservative agenda, he does have a law degree and years of experience as a prosecutor. He was also rejected for a few other positions in the past, for being a racist. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/240 "2017-02-09T15:58:41Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You do realise that that’s marked as satire, don’t you? No shit, Sherlock! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266.md?page=13)