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Content: One example is its association with the Prudential Life
Insurance Company. The NEA receives about $10 million a year, or
30% of the premiums members pay for NEA marketed insurance.(2) In
the political realm, national and state affiliates have been
spending tens of millions of dollars to influence legislation
across the country. Although William Bennett referred to the NEA as
the "heart and center of the Democratic Party," it is active in
both national political parties.(3) In the past, it has boasted of
having more delegates at both the Democratic and Republican
national conventions than any other organization. Now let's turn our focus to the influence of the NEA on the
educational community and the nation at large. Social Issues
In the NEA's magazine NEA Today, a recent article about gay
rights describes the case of a teacher who had been beaten and
robbed by a man he had just met on a city street after inviting him
to his home for sex. The man who attacked the teacher was captured,
prosecuted, and given a sentence of 37 to 75 years in jail. Upon
discovering the actions of its teacher, the local school board
fired him claiming that he had "offended the morals of the
community and set a bad example to the youth whose ideals a teacher
is supposed to foster. "(4)  With the help of the State NEA attorney
the issue was brought to arbitration, and it wasdetermined that the
district did not have just cause to fire the teacher. It was held
that there was no evidence that the teacher's conduct rendered him
"unable to perform the requirements of a classroom teacher. "(5)
The article, submitted by the NEA Office of General Counsel, argues
that "it's simply a matter of time before the Supreme Court
definitively rules that discrimination against homosexuals violates
the Constitution.(6) The article charges the religious right with
wanting teachers to indoctrinate children to hate gays and lesbians
and keep them from teaching.