First, watch this video with the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie. (H/T National Review)

Oh, he’s not amused! Grah!

The National Review notes that this is not an isolated incident:

I’m not usually the conspiratorial type, but watch Gov. Chris Christie explain how the Obama administration disqualified the state of New Jersey from hundreds of millions in education funds because some clerk in Trenton turned in the wrong excel spreadsheet:

Democrats in Washington have already shown a willingness to withhold federal education dollars from states that don’t follow their preferred tactic for navigating the recession: giving teachers raises like it’s the Gay ’90s. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is more punishment for a state that committed the crime of balancing its budget.

If New Jersey balances its budget, then the federal government has less leverage to intrude into New Jersey’s affairs. And Democrats oppose state autonomy and federalism – so they are not pleased with Christie.

Now check out this story from CNS News.

Excerpt:

Politics may have played a role in the awarding of some Obama administration education reform grants, say pro school-choice groups that believe the reforms did not go far enough.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced Tuesday that nine states and Washington, D.C. qualified for “Race to the Top” grants in the second phase of a program that rewards states for promoting charter schools — public schools run by non-governmental entities, which tie teacher evaluation to student performance.

With 18 states vying for a $3.4 billion pie, the department awarded grants to the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island. Only Delaware and Tennessee received grants in the first phase of the program.

[…]However, while accountability standards were raised, teacher unions have played an inordinate role in determining a state’s reform plan, said Robert Enlow, president of the Foundation for Educational Choice.

[…]He cited Indiana, which had a strong reform plan, but failed to get the full support of the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA), despite a plea from Tony Bennett, the state superintendent for public instruction.

“It is clear – from the reviewers’ comments of the two RttT [Race to the Top] winners – that one factor is crucial to a successful application: Strong statewide support from the teachers’ union,” Bennett wrote in the April 8 letter.

In a letter of response, ISTA President Nate Schnellenberger told Bennett the union would not support the state’s reform plans.

The inclusion of states such as Hawaii and Maryland, and the exclusion of states with marked improvement such as Louisiana and Colorado makes the grants suspect, said Jeanne Allen, the president of the Center for Education Reform, who said the competition ends “not with a bang but with a whimper with a majority of competitors winning –10 of the 18 — and many, it appears, for political reasons, as these states offer little or nothing to fundamentally improve schools and learning for all children.”

“This program is supposed to stimulate and is getting credit for stimulating charter schools, accountability and performance of teachers,” Allen told CNSNews.com. “It is not backing up those statements. The money didn’t necessarily go to states that do all those things.”

Actually, as GMU economist Veronica de Rugy wrote, the stimulus money was also handed out mostly because political concerns.

Excerpt:

Second, the district’s party affiliation matters in where the money is spent. (We still don’t know how much it matters compared to other factors.) The average Democratic district receives 81 percent more than the average Republican district. Even after taking out the money spent through state capitals, the average Democratic district receives at least 30 percent more than the average Republican district.

One thing I don’t like about Obama is all of this bullying and cronyism. Why can’t he just do the right thing, like not killing the Washington, D.C. voucher program which helps poor children to go to better schools? They’re just kids, and they’re poor – let ’em have a chance at a good education like Obama’s children have. Why does he always have to give billions of dollars to his special interest groups, instead of letting them compete so that the customer can choose the best offer? If unions have the best offer, let them get the sale. If not, then let someone else get the sale.