To protect our country's economic future and the health and well being of all Americans, we must find a way to rein in out-of-control costs, provide quality, affordable health care choices to all, and make outrageous insurance industry abuses a thing of the past.
Our goal in Washington must not be to impose but to expect and assist: Expect the most of educators and students and assist them as they work together to meet those expectations. Rather than tightening our grip, we should set clear, ambitious goals and support innovative local efforts to achieve them.
Improving some of the rules under which the Senate functions can begin to replace some of the bad habits Washington has developed with better ones.
Facebook is by far the largest of these social networking sites, and starting with its ill-fated Beacon service, privacy concerns have more than once been raised about how the ubiquitous social networking site handles its user data.
The Freedom Caucus represents a pessimistic, divisive, and gerrymandered view of our nation. If America is to make progress, we must step forward from this form of politics - not just because we disagree with this or that policy but because it is fundamentally undemocratic and tyrannical.
We don't have to settle for Freedom Caucus tactics - those guys are tyrants. We don't have to accept that. In fact, we can't and have this country be what this country really can be.
I have a very clear idea of what the Freedom Caucus has done to this country by terrorizing both the Republican Party and the America people.
As we all become increasingly reliant on social networking websites and new technologies to stay connected, it's important to remain cognizant of how private personal information and data is handled.
I think that we have positive moments in our history and negative moments in our history. We incarcerated Japanese Americans in the state of Colorado, in Camp Amache. You could say that's part of our heritage; I would say it's a shameful part of our heritage and not something we should repeat.
We've got a lot of work to do: not only on education, but on the economy, on our tax code, and on reducing our crushing debt.
Teacher compensation isn't the only factor in cultivating great teaching. Other important priorities include changing how we measure student performance, providing more flexibility to teacher-preparation programs, and improving how we train and support principals.
Demagoguery is not unknown in American history.
Study after study affirms what I saw in the classroom every day as superintendent of Denver Public Schools: Nothing makes a bigger difference for student learning than great teaching.
When I was superintendent of Denver Public Schools, I saw the potential of some of our best and brightest students cut short, punished for the actions of others - kids who had grown up and done well in our school system, and kids who know no other home but America. This is unacceptable.
My time at the Denver Public Schools taught me there is no harder, or more important, job than being a teacher.
Before I was in the Senate, I was a superintendent of the Denver Public Schools, and before that, I was in business.
We don't have to settle for disgraceful politics. We don't have to settle for being as terrible as Donald Trump.
Electoral victory is not an end in itself. It is intended to set in motion a pluralist process to resolve our disputes and move the country forward.
I am most interested in the outcomes at schools and school districts and ensuring that all kids are prepared for college and a career in the 21st-century job market.
Local school districts should be free to adapt their academic programs in ways appropriate for their community, but we cannot allow mindless budget shortfalls to force wrongheaded changes to our children's education.
