Successful D.C. voucher program killed, of course it doesn't affect Obama's kids

The D.C. school voucher program has been a success story in the country's often grim education system. This program allows disadvantaged D.C. children in failing schools to attend others to get a good education.

But the Senate killed the program. Worse yet, the White House and senators knew from a report how successful the D.C. program has been, and they delayed the release of the report until after killing the program.

The children of these politicians, including the First Daughters, won't be affected by this for obvious reasons. Poor minority kids are the ones who will suffer. Whatever happened to President Obama's promise on improving education for all children?

Blame the teacher's unions. Blame their lobbyists. Blame their cozy relations with the Democrats. Blame those Democratic Senators whose only concern is staying in power -- not the welfare of children.

The educated middle class

Inauguration is this Tuesday, and David Frum writes in Newsweek about "How the GOP Can Rise Again" still:

A generation ago, the great majority of the most educated Americans voted Republican. The elder George Bush, for instance, defeated Michael Dukakis among college graduates by 25 points. But that advantage has been eroding, and last year Barack Obama became the first Democrat since Lyndon Johnson to win a majority of American voters with four years of higher education.

This is no small bloc, especially within white America, where Republicans do best. Almost one third of white Americans hold a college degree, up from one fifth in 1990. Republicans cannot win without this growing group.

No disrespect to Mr. Frum, best-selling author and all, but pundits and political analysts have already beaten this horse to death multiple times since November 5, 2008. But to his credit, maybe nobody specifically talked about the "educated middle class." Perhaps this article is submitted to generate pre-launch (going live Inauguration Day) buzz for his "political group blog," NewMajority.com?

Yes, the educated middle class may have abandoned the Republicans in this election, but they were likely indoctrinated, not educated, in liberal American colleges and universities. How can one claim to be educated when supporting Obama's nationalized health care promise, "free" college tuition, and so-called "tax cuts"? Maybe educated in arts and social sciences, but not Economics 101. How can an educated person believe that Big Government should get bigger and spend its way out of an economic crisis? America's budget deficit is almost $2 trillion in fiscal 2009! Still the Democrats want to pass a stimulus bill worth $850 billion.

For the real educated middle class voters, I still think they went Democrat because they're simply pissed at Republicans for being more and more like Democrats every year they are in office. Add to the fact that the media portrayed Obama as The One, one can easily justify in his or her conservative heart that there's nothing wrong with abandoning one's principles -- everyone else has and everyone says it's okay.

I do agree that this bloc of voters is important to the GOP. The tough job, however, is to educate these educated middle class voters on true conservative principles, and hope they educate their children and future generations about them...

Can there be change in public education?

The economy has trumped other issues in being the central focus of Congress, the outgoing administration, and the incoming administration. Nobody is talking about the sad state of public education. Yet education is one issue that both political parties claim to care about, and an issue that has a generational impact.

Public schools in America are in trouble. Children are kept in underperforming schools. Ineffective teachers are keeping their jobs. The government keeps throwing money into the system, but improvements are hard to come by. Why?

With the Democrats in control of Congress and the White House, there is a golden opportunity for the party to tackle America's education problem, if the Democrats are willing to break some bad habits, mainly its close ties with the teachers' unions.

Academic debates about conservatism are useless

All right, enough is enough. Why are conservatives still debating their future? Why is there still talk about how Republicans failed in the past two elections? The future is now, and it'll be over in a blink of an eye.

It's really simple why Democrats are in power now. They got more votes. They registered more new voters. They increased their base significantly. Young people, old people, women, minorities, and even white males are voting blue like never before! Why? Because the Democrats promise to take care of them: college education, medical care, child care, affirmative action, and job security.

Conservatives understand that these government programs will be implemented at the cost of higher taxes, a bloated government, depressed economy, and inflation. But you know what? Voters don't care. If young people are getting free college tuition from Washington, then the young mothers want free daycare.

The question is, Why aren't the voters keen on conservative ideas? The answer is straight forward: education. The teachers unions are destroying the nation's education system. Unionized labor has endangered airlines and automakers. Our education system is in need of serious help just like General Motors. Schools and academia are filled with liberal "educators" and activists. Children aren't being educated, they are being indoctrinated. Worse yet, indoctrinated with liberalism. They learn to be less of an individual, less independent, less driven, and less intelligent.

And when voters are dumbed down, guess who wins? The political party that promises to help them in any way, shape, or form! There is a generation of young voters who graduated from these schools, and they want their piece of the government pie. This is also a generation of instant fame, where one can become famous with a viral video on YouTube. They do not see Obama as a leftist. They see Obama as a celebrity, and they love him, just like how they idolize other Hollywood entertainers.

If conservatives are serious about turning the tide, the movement has to start with re-education. Major efforts should be aimed at countering the grip of teachers' unions and the Department of Education. The failures of the education system should be exposed constantly. More conservative material has to enter the schools, be it textbooks or after-school programs. Something has to be done so our children understand that government does not make America great.

So forget all the talk about Traditionalist and Reformist and Neocons. Each and every conservative is important. Each and every conservative needs to educate the next generation on the ideals which founded this great country. Only then can conservatives retake power and steer the nation to the right path.

Obama urged to send daughters to public school

Being the first family means relocating to Washington, D.C. and scoping out the education choices around town. Right now chances are that the Obama daughters will attend a private institution rather than a public school. The D.C. Board of Education really wants to teach the young Obamas, though.

Teachers union encourages members to wear Obama button

United Federation of Teachers has been handing out Obama/Biden buttons for members to wear, sparking a complaint from the Department of Education. The DOE has a long-standing policy of not mixing education and politics. The UFT will challenge the DOE decision.

I'm all for the teachers' right to free speech and wear buttons for a cause within the confines of school policy. In this case, the UFT already publicly endorsed a candidate and are encouraging its members -- public school teachers -- to promote its political agenda, even during class. Public schools are funded by taxpayers and should not be a place for politics.