Liberal Democrats & School Choice

The Wall Street Journal recently printed an editorial by Clint Bolick, president of the Alliance for School Choice. In it, Bolick discussed a now-familiar phenomenon- Democratic Senators, Vice Presidents and/or Presidents who have opposed school vouchers/choice, but send their own children to expensive private schools in the District of Columbia.

The list reads like a Who's Who of Democratic Presidential contenders: the Clintons, of course, John Edwards, Al Gore (himself educated in private school by his own Senator father), and, potentially, Obama Bin Baden. The last is somewhat of a mystery, in that his children attend private Chicago school, but he hasn't yet had the opportunity to oppose a voucher bill in Congress.

Ironically, former Presidential candidate Tom Vilsack, governor of Iowa, sent his children to public schools, and supported school choice legislation in his state. And, unbelievably, at least to me, Joe Biden of Delaware sends his children to private school, but supported school choice for the general public.

It continues to amaze me how prevalent this Democratic behavior is. It seems to me to be near the height of arrogance, for so-called populists to stiff arm their constituents on getting to choose a quality education for their children, but then removing their own precious children from the D.C., or home state/city public school system, and safely enrolling them in an expensive private institution.

If memory serves, when Mary Landrieu, Democratic Senator from Louisiana, was accosted by a constituent who asked her why she also did this, Landrieu responded with something like, 'because you might get confused and make a bad choice for your own child.'

If you're going to try to rebuild the social welfare state, at least look like you feel it's good enough for your own family to participate. But sending your children to private school while opposing any choice whatsoever for the poor, allegedly downtrodden voters you claim to champion seems awfully curious.

Let's hope that in the next election cycle, this serious hypocrisy comes home to roost with all the relevant, guilty liberal Democratic candidates, for Senate or the White House.