Mike Huckabee and school vouchers

Hat tip to SC Huckster.

In following the lazy pattern of much political discussion, I’ve heard the silly charge the Mike Huckabee opposes school vouchers because he rejected one notion of them. I have not found the article to which SC Huckster is referring, but since I don’t get the magazine and am not heading to the library to find it, but I’ll deal with this one here and in general, and hopefully we can put the whole thing to rest.

Mike Huckabee supports choice in public schools, homeschooling, and private schools. It is true that he has come out against using school vouchers for parochial schools, but for a very good reason which many private school advocates share — government money comes with strings.

Churches are threatened with penalties if they dare to preach against sinful behavior. The Boy Scouts have had to defend themselves. If tax exemption has been used as an excuse to impose regulation, how long do you think it will take for that tax money to come with demands against teaching abstinence, Creation, church history, religion, and the like?

I don’t want to see the government interfering in the religious, or otherwise private, schools.

It is that which Gov. Huckabee actually opposes.

In fact, he has done a lot which conservatives should applaud in terms of education — the Home School Legal Defense Association has endorsed him, citing that Gov. Huckabee was the first governor to appoint a homeschooler to the state Board of Education.

I would encourage you to check out Mike Huckabee’s Issues page on education. So, here’s the link again.

I would also invite the press to examine statements for meaning, rather than looking to see what kind of controversy can be stirred by pulling a single sentence or vote out of context. That is inexcusably lazy, and it doesn’t serve the public interest in any way, or by any stretch of the imagination.