JUST ANOTHER ONE OF CONSERVATISM'S "FAILURES":

Choice for the Children: The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program gives disadvantaged children a chance at a private education. (Virginia Walden Ford, 6/17/08, National Review)

If Marion Barry can change his mind on school vouchers, there’s hope that others can as well.

For more than a quarter century, the former D.C. mayor and current City Council member has been an outspoken opponent of school vouchers. But he recently shocked the District by writing in support of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program in an article for the Washington Post.

What changed his mind? Talking to parents and families who know that their child’s scholarship is a lifeline that has rescued them from low-performing schools.

”Moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and other guardians in my community tell me that these programs are making a difference in their children's lives and giving them hope they have never had,” Barry wrote.

He specifically pointed to one mother, Wanda Gaddis, who told him: “The schools in D.C. were not educating my child. At first I did not have a choice, but I am so thankful that I and so many other parents did get choice with the Opportunity Scholarship Program. I can't begin to tell you how much my child's education has improved since starting with this program.”

There's your sales pitch for capitalism: Market Forces, so basic even a crackhead can grasp them.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 17, 2008 8:36 AM