Libertarian Ideas Make Great Campaign Slogans
I often hear from Libertarians that Republicans and more rarely Democrats like to heist Libertarian talking points when they’re running for some position or other. Some even mean it. Take Representative John Shadegg, for example.
"I personally believe there is no place in the federal government for a Department of Education. It is not in the Constitution. There is no mention anywhere in the Constitution that the federal government has any role in education. I believe that the federal government doesn't have a role in education. I have several members of my family, including my wife, who are teachers, who are not at all happy with the so-called No Child Left Behind bill, which I think has gone far astray from what it was even intended to do. And I would like to hope that at some point we could get the federal government out of the business of education altogether, and acknowledge that this is policy that should be decided at the state level."
He could’ve pulled that right off the Libertarian home page; it’s so basic to their platform. Republicans often campaign on small government, but rarely take it further than such generalities. Shadegg stops short of sponsoring legislation to abolish the Department of Education, but if he can be taken at face value and current indicators say he can, then that’s a surprising statement from a man trying to become the next Republican Majority Leader. Good for him. Although still the dark horse candidate, he certainly has conservatives singing his praises. With statements like that on education one can see why.
With every bill and every “reform”, the Feds create new laws that require new funding for education, much of it bureaucratic. Some efforts have tried to restore funding to the education side of the Department of Education, but they come up short. Shadegg is correct in that education should be an issue for state level and is one where local control definitely carries more weight. I applaud him for the gutsy statement and for one hope he makes it.
I often hear from Libertarians that Republicans and more rarely Democrats like to heist Libertarian talking points when they’re running for some position or other. Some even mean it. Take Representative John Shadegg, for example.
"I personally believe there is no place in the federal government for a Department of Education. It is not in the Constitution. There is no mention anywhere in the Constitution that the federal government has any role in education. I believe that the federal government doesn't have a role in education. I have several members of my family, including my wife, who are teachers, who are not at all happy with the so-called No Child Left Behind bill, which I think has gone far astray from what it was even intended to do. And I would like to hope that at some point we could get the federal government out of the business of education altogether, and acknowledge that this is policy that should be decided at the state level."
He could’ve pulled that right off the Libertarian home page; it’s so basic to their platform. Republicans often campaign on small government, but rarely take it further than such generalities. Shadegg stops short of sponsoring legislation to abolish the Department of Education, but if he can be taken at face value and current indicators say he can, then that’s a surprising statement from a man trying to become the next Republican Majority Leader. Good for him. Although still the dark horse candidate, he certainly has conservatives singing his praises. With statements like that on education one can see why.
With every bill and every “reform”, the Feds create new laws that require new funding for education, much of it bureaucratic. Some efforts have tried to restore funding to the education side of the Department of Education, but they come up short. Shadegg is correct in that education should be an issue for state level and is one where local control definitely carries more weight. I applaud him for the gutsy statement and for one hope he makes it.
posted by Rob Beck | 5:19 AM
1 Comments:
They can talk the talk, but rarely walk the walk. Indeed, Republicans tend to campaign like Libertarians and govern like Democrats.
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