A Political Season: Charter Schools: Why Republicans Can’t Make This Issue A Winner ......

December 28, 2009

Charter Schools: Why Republicans Can’t Make This Issue A Winner ......

Thats the answer that Vladimir posits a question to in a post at Redstate (the conservative blog that would swiftly ban me for this point of view...if they hadn't already). Vladimir asks a question that really should be examined by the GOP as a party and conservatives as a movement, namely why don't we make any headway with this issue with blacks? He points out....

The conservative solution is demonstrably the better solution. And it doesn’t take a generation to prove it. Republicans do a lot of hand wringing, trying to figure out how to make the Republican Party and conservative governance relevant to the minority community. Charter schools are a way to do it without pandering.

I completely agree with the above statement. Nonetheless, conservatives get nowhere with the black community on this. Commenters on the issue at Redstate respond with a variety of excuses: its because the constituency that benefits most (poor and working class urban blacks) are not swing voters, or the GOP is made up of moderates with no passion for the issue and some other equally lame ideas.

As is depressingly the case when talking about the GOP and blacks, everybody keeps ducking the real issue and consequently, it never gets addressed. Republicans make no traction with minority communities with charter school initiatives because as a party, the GOP has not made a decision that it considers blacks a necessary or essential political constituency to its aspirations for governance.

The political constituency that most benefits from pushing charter schools as a political strategy are urban, black voters and the GOP has demonstrated no true interest in making inroads with this group. The GOP would be hard pressed to reconcile its manifest disinterest in this group politically with an agressive effort to advance a charter school education agenda, because it would mean championing the interests of blacks.

The GOP certainly has the conservative platform from which to do this, with education and charter schools being an excellent launch point. But we get no value or traction from this excellent advantage we have because as a party, we have yet to decide that we are serious about engaging blacks as a political constituency. Its like fighting with one hand behind your back and its stupid.

Comments (9)

Logging you in...

Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout

Logged in as

0 Vote up Vote down

Doug · 796 weeks ago

I get the sense that there isn't a lot of interest in charter schools for their own sake; just a desire to break teachers' unions and divert public school dollars elsewhere. As for blacks not supporting Republican-championed issues, imperfect as the Democrats are in this area, it seems to me like the black community hasn't been given a lot of reason to trust that Republicans have their best interests at heart.

Report

+1 Vote up Vote down

A Political Season 53p · 796 weeks ago

Your sense may not be that far off the mark. GOP efforts to promote charters probably do gain more energy from ideas about breaking unions than they do from actually delivering educational benefits to society and kids. And yes, there is little reason for trust. As I said, the central issue is the fact that republicans do not view blacks as a political constituency necessary or essential to their aspirations for governance. Until as a party they make a different decision on that front, they won't make traction with charter schools or any of the other issues where they ought to get traction with the black community, but don't.

Report

0 Vote up Vote down

@jeffreyeas · 796 weeks ago

"the central issue is the fact that republicans do not view blacks as a political constituency necessary or essential to their aspirations for governance"

After the 2008 loss, all of the top Republican strategists said "we need to reach out to Hispanics" with nary a word about black people. I think for awhile, Republicans thought that promoting black Republicans to high posts was the way, but that just ends up backfiring and black liberals just call the promoted black Republicans tokens. Charter schools are a local issue, and Democrats are usually in charge of black majority districts and control the purse strings for charter schools. So Dems would just take the credit for their successes anyway.

Report

+1 Vote up Vote down

A Political Season 53p · 796 weeks ago

Yeah, that hispanic outreach worked out really well too. Republicans are not and will not achieve traction with hispanics for the same reason they are not getting there with black voters; they have not decided they really want them in the party or give a damn about their issues. During the campaign, the GOP clearly thought McCain's moderate position on immigration would get them the hispanic vote, but hispanics are not stupid. It was clear that McCain's position on immigration was not shared by the GOP at large. His party was not with him and while they talked out of one side of their mouth saying come on in, they were busy demonizing hispanics out the other side of their mouths. Hispanics heard that loud and clear and voted for Obama in droves. The GOP is still making this essential mistake of faking the funk when it comes to enlarging the party beyond its base demographic.

Report

-1 Vote up Vote down

superdestroyer · 796 weeks ago

Charter schools is a loser idea because of the large number of blacks employed by the schools and the large number of make work jobs in urban school systems. Blacks will ever give up the government jobs to improve education.

Using any resources to appeal to blacks is a waste for Republicans. Republicans would be better off attacking the elite white Democrats who are enablers for the failure of black culture in America.

Report

1 reply · active 796 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

A Political Season 53p · 796 weeks ago

Your position is precisely why the GOP is in the sorry state its in today with no hope of pulling higher levels of support from blacks or latinos. Charter schools is a winning idea because it works. I love how people who think as you do have these lovely, ready made excuses for the stereotypes of blacks which you indulge in. If you stereotype blacks as lazy and predisposed to live off of government dole or makework, then you don't have to stand on your so called conservative principles (so-called, because you talk them, you don't walk them). Your post is a perfect example of the disinterest and disregard I'm talking about.

Your parting comment about the so-called failure of black culture in America is to my mind more indicative of your own failure to reason beyond your prejudice than it is any real commentary on success or lack of success by black America. If you call yourself a conservative that believes in the value of the individual and in the promotion of liberty and freedom, you should stop. Your bias is evident in your comments and gives the lie to any conservative values you claim.

Report

0 Vote up Vote down

@angelatc · 788 weeks ago

I'm late to this conversation...I suggest you read the diaries by MadFloridian on DemocraticUnderground.com . Although the media isn't covering it apparently the Obama administration is making a lot of headway with finding charter schools. Note she isn't a fan of the program, she is retired from one of the worst systems in the country, and never mentions the quality of education in most of her posts, preferring to expound on the faculty-focused issues.

Living in a suburb of Detroit, I can only say that any and all discussions of vouchers or charter schools by the GOP are met with shrieks of "They're trying to bust our unions!!!" I'm certainly no genius, but the public school system is failing.

Report

1 reply · active 788 weeks ago

+1 Vote up Vote down

A Political Season 53p · 788 weeks ago

I lived 8 years in Detroit and was witness to the debacle that followed that millionaire's offer to support charter schools. A plan for Detroit education in my mind has to employ an aggressive deployment of charter schools. The Obama administration has done some things to make funding available, but Obama has the same problem with his party on charters that McCain had on immigration: the rest of his party resists reform in this area and so the gains are limited. At the local level where school decisions get made, charters are fought.

Report

0 Vote up Vote down

@angelatc · 788 weeks ago

"findng" s/b "funding". Drat the combination of a lack of both coffee and edit button.

Report

Post a new comment

Comment as a Guest, or login:

Go back

Share on Facebook

Connected as (Logout)

Email (optional)

Not displayed publicly.

Tweet this comment

Connected as (Logout)

Email (optional)

Not displayed publicly.

Submit Comment

Subscribe to

This section is for comments from A Political Season's community of readers, a wide ranging and diverse group. Please don't assume that A Political Season's management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand.

Comments by IntenseDebate