The Colorado news/investigative website Face the State recently unearthed an e-mail between two state lawmakers showcasing a rather unsavory attitude towards school reform, an attitude that’s supported by teachers unions — financially. In an e-mail to a fellow Democrat in the legislature, State Representative Mike Merrifield said of education reformers: “There must be a special place in Hell for these Privatizers, Charerizers, and Voucherizers! They deserve it!” This, coming from the chair of the state House Education Committee.

Anyone experienced in school reform won’t be surprised to find out that, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Merrifield’s top donor in his 2006 re-election campaign was the Colorado Education Association. In fact, Merrifield received a staggering 70 percent of his campaign chest from organized labor — out of his top ten donors in 2006, all ten were labor unions.