WASHINGTON (AP) -- The political committee of the National Education Association recommended on Thursday that the 2.7-million member teachers union endorse Democrat John Kerry for president.þþNEA delegates will vote on the recommendation during the union's annual meeting in July.þþThe union's move toward Kerry, the Massachusetts senator and presumptive Democratic nominee, is not a surprise. Since 1976, when it shifted into an active role in national politics, the union has given every presidential endorsement to a Democrat.þþThe NEA has clashed with President Bush over elements of his No Child Left Behind law and plans to sue his administration over what it considers unfunded mandates in the law. The union also has a difficult relationship with Bush's education secretary, Rod Paige, who in February referred to the group as a ``terrorist organization,'' a remark for which he later apologized.þþThe American Federation of Teachers, the second largest teachers union, has endorsed Kerry.þþ^--------þþStealing a page from former presidential candidate Howard Dean, supporters of President Bush will hold more than 5,000 separate parties in all 50 states Thursday night, culminating in a nationwide conference call hosted by Vice President Dick Cheney.þþDuring the call, Cheney will thank the campaign's supporters, answer questions from party hosts and provide an update from the campaign trial.þþThe parties are billed as a way to build grass-roots support for the president and attract others interested in helping the campaign.þþAt the height of Dean's unsuccessful quest for the Democratic nomination, his campaign claimed it set a record for the holding the world's largest conference call. Organizers connected 3,557 phones from house parties across the country.þþþþ
Source: NY Times
