In the fall, I posted a thread that Obama would play the part of George Wallace and block poor Black kids from attending the better private schools of DC by catering to his union thugs and destroying School Choice in DC.
Well, it only took him a month and nestled in the ginormous budget yesterday was a poison pill that followed through on what Obama had been hinting at last year, the end of the popular school choice program that helped poor Black kids to escape from the hellish schools they attend and rub shoulders with the children of the wealthier folks that run Obama's government.
The night before this passed he drew rousing applause from Democrats when he promised funding for Charter Schools, that are run by the Unions of course, where attendance is by government consent. Not Free choice for parents and not the same as vouchers to go to Private schools like Sidwell where Obama's privileged little girls go.
Voucher Subterfuge Hoping no one notices, congressional Democrats step between 1,800 D.C. children and a good education.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009; A18
CONGRESSIONAL Democrats want to mandate that the District's unique school voucher program be reauthorized before more federal money can be allocated for it. It is a seemingly innocuous requirement. In truth it is an ill-disguised bid to kill a program that gives some poor parents a choice regarding where their children go to school. Many of the Democrats have never liked vouchers, and it seems they won't let fairness or the interests of low-income, minority children stand in the way of their politics. But it also seems they're too ashamed -- and with good reason -- to admit to what they're doing.
At issue is a provision in the 2009 omnibus spending bill making its way through Congress. The $410 billion package provides funds for the 2009-10 school year to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a pioneering effort that awards scholarships of up to $7,500 a year for low-income students to attend private schools. But language inserted by Democrats into the bill stipulates that any future appropriations will require the reauthorization of the program by Congress and approval from the D.C. Council.
We have no problem with Congress taking a careful look at this initiative and weighing its benefits. After all, it was approved in 2004 as a pilot program, subject to study. In fact, this is the rare experimental program that has been carefully designed to produce comparative results. But the proposed Democratic provision would short-circuit this study. Results are not due until June, and an additional year of testing is planned. Operators of the program need to accept applications this fall for the 2010-11 school year, and reauthorizations are complicated, time-consuming affairs. Indeed, staff members on various House and Senate committees scoffed yesterday when we asked about the chances of getting such a program reauthorized in less than a year. Legislation seeking reauthorization has not even been introduced.
If the Democratic leadership is so worried about process, it might want to review a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office listing the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been appropriated to programs whose authorizations have expired. Many of these programs get far more than the $14 million allocated to the Opportunity Scholarships. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) was right to call out the Democrats for this back-door attempt to kill the voucher program. The attention should embarrass congressional Democrats into doing the right thing. If not, city leaders, including D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), need to let President Obama know that some 1,800 poor children are likely to have their educations disrupted.
In my mind I'm picturing the happy singing White children at the liberal private school in west LA, singing the "Obama's gonna do it" song...and then these poor black kids in the following video whose Public school probably receives as much in funds as the LA school charges per child, but as you can see the black kids are basically begging not to be sent back to a prison they do not deserve.
So much for separate but equal.
How is this different than George Wallace or Little Rock of the 1950s?
Republicans liberated them in 2004, Obama is putting their shackles back on.
Contact Rep. John Boehner.
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