If Abrams and his Gang of Six wanted to drive off any support they enjoyed from reasonable folks, they probably did it with their latest act -- hiring Bob Corkins as education commissioner.
Corkins is a lawyer and lobbyist. He has no background in education, no classroom experience, no administrative experience. No doubt, his supporters like that. That's because they don't like public schools as they exist today. More importantly, they don't like the price tag.
It's a credit to Corkins that he knows he is unprepared for the job, as he asked the state board if it would hire him a tutor. Even the board choked a little on that, perhaps because it realized the possible public relations nightmare.
If you step away from the current board and review its actions, it makes sense that the Gang of Six would hire someone who essentially wants to dismantle public schools as we know them today.
http://www.cjonline.com/stories/101605/opi_stateboard.shtml