Tim Kaine's appalling smear of vouchers: Christian Schneider
Last week, the Virginia Democrat attempted to smear school choice programs by tying them to the unconscionable segregation of his home state in the 1950s and 1960s. In fighting the nomination of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Kaine waved the bloody flag of segregation, likening school choice to the "states' rights" movements of a half a century ago. DeVos is a staunch supporter of allowing parents to send their children to private schools using government-funded vouchers.
“I come from a state that understands what a states’ rights argument is because my state made states’ rights arguments when the Supreme Court said we should have equality for all students,” Kaine said. “The leaders in my state said, ‘No, that should be up to the states.’ And so we set up a whole realm of private schools that got taxpayer dollars so kids could flee integrated schools and avoid the law of the land.”
Perhaps Kaine inhaled too many jet fumes on his campaign trips around the country last year, but his attempt to equate school choice with segregation is appalling. When African-American leaders like Howard Fuller and Wisconsin state Rep. Annette "Polly" Williams pushed for Milwaukee school choice in the late 1980s, they weren't white supremacists; they were trying to figure out how to deliver the best possible education to Milwaukee's black children.
Last week, the Virginia Democrat attempted to smear school choice programs by tying them to the unconscionable segregation of his home state in the 1950s and 1960s. In fighting the nomination of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Kaine waved the bloody flag of segregation, likening school choice to the "states' rights" movements of a half a century ago. DeVos is a staunch supporter of allowing parents to send their children to private schools using government-funded vouchers.
“I come from a state that understands what a states’ rights argument is because my state made states’ rights arguments when the Supreme Court said we should have equality for all students,” Kaine said. “The leaders in my state said, ‘No, that should be up to the states.’ And so we set up a whole realm of private schools that got taxpayer dollars so kids could flee integrated schools and avoid the law of the land.”
Perhaps Kaine inhaled too many jet fumes on his campaign trips around the country last year, but his attempt to equate school choice with segregation is appalling. When African-American leaders like Howard Fuller and Wisconsin state Rep. Annette "Polly" Williams pushed for Milwaukee school choice in the late 1980s, they weren't white supremacists; they were trying to figure out how to deliver the best possible education to Milwaukee's black children.
