While I agree with everything said here in the thread, I think we have to be careful about misreading what's in that link, and allowing it to get twisted anymore than we would want anything we say twisted. Reading comprehension is so important. It says, “Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power.”
Now, let me try to clarify the points with a bit of inserted text: “Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas (that we are effective advocates). It is not because of the merit of our positions (that we are effective advocates). It is not because we care about children (that we are effective advocates) and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child (that we are effective advocates). NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power.”