Conservatives to Close Grade Schools

by Steve Benen @ Crooks and Liars

Jonah Goldberg offers a new talking point for the GOP: close public schools. [ed. note: Look for them to now be called "government" schools - sounds much more nefarious].

Here's a good question for you: Why have public schools at all?

OK, cue the marching music. We need public schools because blah blah blah and yada yada yada. We could say blah is common culture and yada is the government's interest in promoting the general welfare. Or that children are the future. And a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Because we can't leave any child behind.

The problem with all these bromides is that they leave out the simple fact that one of the surest ways to leave a kid "behind" is to hand him over to the government. Americans want universal education, just as they want universally safe food. But nobody believes that the government should run 90% of the restaurants, farms and supermarkets. Why should it run 90% of the schools — particularly when it gets terrible results?

Let's do all we can to share Goldberg's words of wisdom to American families from coast to coast — the right wants to shut down your local public school and privatize education. That ought to go over well.