School Choice: A GOP Winner in 2008

If the Republicans are going to have a chance of winning the Presidency in 2008 then they've got to return to what got them to the top in the first place which is a philosophy of individual freedom, limited government, personal responsibility and a continuation of a strong national security policy that keeps America and its allies safe from the dangers that threaten our way of life. One area that would serve the GOP well would be the greater advocacy of "school choice" that returns the decisions of a child's education back to the parents and the local school system and out off the hands of a D.C. bureaucrat. I'm betting that a lot more of this nation would stand up and applaud a GOP candidate(Some Dems if they dare to brave the teacher unions) who actually called for greater educational freedom that allows them greater access to vouchers that provide them the ability to take their kids out of failing schools and enroll them in parochial schools or charter schools that actually teaches their children to read, write, and learn in general. All in all, our students are best served by an education system in which various schools in a district are actually competing for each and every student(and the cash voucher) by offering greater educational standards and having a bevy of teachers who get their students to learn. As a typical political junkie I've been taking note of the fact that GOP hopefuls like Governor Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani giving speeches in which they point out that if we are going to remain economically competitive with the education minded countries of China and India then we've got to find a way to ensure that our education standards in science and math continue to improve. It is true that Iraq and national security will be on the top of the list but after reading this piece on "school choice" by George Will one can understand how a potential candidate could go far in 2008 by promising greater educational choices for children and their parents then they have a real chance of getting the nod for the GOP in 2008. most recent column to see how the "school choice" movement could be pretty big if the right person presents the right message.