Thursday, December 10, 2009

Democrats want to ban school choice but pay for abortion and needles

I know politics is not always a zero sum game where one side wins and the other loses on each issue or day but the view for this session in terms of Washington D.C. in particular and our values as a Democratic Party in general seems really clear:

The bill reflects Democrats' control of Congress and the White House. A long-standing ban on the funding of abortion by the District of Columbia government would be overturned, as would a ban on that city's needle exchange programs. It would phase out a Washington, D.C., school voucher program favored by Republicans.

So to reiterate the above, Democrats would end a voucher program that is giving poor children the same type of choice that President Obama, many leading Democrats, many upper and middle income Americans like myself exercise: to choice a private school because we think it is better for our child than the government assigned public school. While at the same time, the government is making it possible for abortions and needles that help drug abusers use drugs more safely.

So Democrats ban school choice but support abortion?
So Democrats won't pay for a good school but will pay for needles for drug addicts?

Now in truth, I agree with allowing public funding for abortion. Abortion rights are constitutional and fundamental. If a poor person can't afford it they should get help. I would have rules, and standards; but in general I agree. Likewise, if a person is going to use illegal drugs no matter what we do, and we have a way to stop the spread of heinous diseases by making clean needles available we should. This should obviously be done in conjuction with other programs including: vigorous law enforcement, drug treatment regimes, and general outreach. But in a free society that respects civil liberties, there will always be drug abusers.

So I'm the one trying to be consistent in doing the right thing. People should have choice in abortion rights and school choice. The District should be able to choose which anti-drug programs work best for them. I'm not naive to think that the right thing always fits into neat categories, but in this case it does.

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