Once More, This Time with Feeling...

I may have told this story before in this blog. I have had it on MySpace, and I know you can find it on Time Loves a Hero, but I want to share it again.

Long ago, I worked in a program to first generation help and poverty-stricken college students get a college education. It was a federally funded TRIO program, part of President Johnson's War on Poverty.

This story was told to a workshop at an ASPIRE meeting by Dr. Paul Thayer, then Director of TRIO Programs (The Center for Educational Access and Outreach) and Talent Search at Colorado State University. Dr. Thayer is now the Executive Director of Center for Advising and Student Achievement.

Every year, programs take TRIO students to DC to meet local congressmen. It helps give students a look at government and the government a look at the poor.

In the 80's, when the Democrats held the Congress and the Republicans held the White House, TRIO people heard the same rhetoric every trip up Capital Hill.

The Democrats would tell the visiting students how important their work was and how important it was that TRIO Programs be fully funded. “There should be more programs and the current programs should have more funding.”

The Republicans would always say that they had their own funding priorities, and while TRIO Programs were important, they weren't on top of the list.

This ended in 1992 when Governor Bill Clinton was elected President.

The TRIO people returned to Capitol Hill with all of the markers they had received over the years and this is what they heard:

The Democrats told them that they had their own funding priorities, and while TRIO Programs were important, they weren't on top of the list.

The Republicans told them how important their work was and how important it was that TRIO Programs be fully funded. “There should be more programs and the current programs should have better funding.”

The day I heard this story was the day I decided that there weren't too many Republicans in DC and there weren't too many Democrats.

This was the day I decided there are too many politicians.