We see you, Rob Portman
Dear Senator Portman,
When you delivered Sinclair Community College’s 2011 commencement address, you opened your remarks with a little joke about the assembled parents not having to pay tuition anymore. Perhaps you thought it was your delivery or poor acoustics that made the joke fall flat. Wrong, Senator. No one laughed at your little bon mot because almost none of the assembled graduates went to school on their parents’ dime. It would not have taken much for you to research the makeup of the audience you were about to address, (many of them non-traditional students and parents themselves), yet you had given no thought to what it might have taken for them to get to this moment. By implying — even in jest — that they had done so through anything other than their own hard work and sacrifice was not only unfunny, it was an insult.
I was reminded of that insult to public school students when you voted on Tuesday to confirm the utterly unqualified Betsy deVos. In the years since that commencement address, I have been inclined to cut you a little bit of slack. Like a lot of people, I think my senators are a little less awful than everyone else’s. I pay attention to the small stories and notice when you cross party lines for the greater good. I was particularly impressed when you changed your position on marriage equality after your own son came out. Sometimes it takes having a bit more skin in the game to make us see an issue differently.
So when the vote on Betsy deVos’ confirmation was imminent, I called you. I called you a lot. So did thousands of people. Reasonable people can disagree about the federal government’s role in ensuring quality education for all students, but not one has made a single argument that she is qualified for this job. Not even you.
I tell my students that they have a voice in their democracy — they can vote, and they can and should contact their elected representatives to make their positions known. Despite what our new president may think, elected officials don’t just serve the people in their party or the ones who vote for them; they work for all of us, and not just in election years. After Tuesday’s vote, I’m not sure what to tell my students. Many of them feel disconnected from politics because they don’t think their voices matter. Perhaps they are right.
If the number of times I couldn’t get a line through to your office is any indication, you were swamped with calls from constituents expressing their extreme concern about this nominee. (Plenty of recent stories have mentioned this deluge of calls to you and your peers.) Your Facebook wall is flooded with outrage. There have been demonstrations outside your office in Columbus. The voices of opposition have been loud and clear.
But you voted for her anyway. I’m sure the $51,000 she contributed to your run for office didn’t sway you. Nor did the fact that you’re not up for election for six more years and had nothing to lose by ignoring your constituents — except for your integrity.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a guy who thought most students had their public college tution paid for by their parents would vote to confirm someone whose parents’ money bought her a cabinet position. Believing you might do otherwise was my mistake. Here’s your mistake, Senator. We Ohioans are resilient and we are smart. Whatever the future holds for you, we see you, Rob Portman. And we will remember.
