Everyone is upset with Bill Bennett's latest gaffe about aborting black babies, while the estimable Mr. Bennett defends himself and refuses to apologize.
Of course, the caveat in his statement that "That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down" is used as a defense, in that he wasn't actually advocating aborting black babies, but just making a point about abortion. True enough, but it misses the point as to why he even thought of that analogy in the first place. Why didn't he talk about aborting rich white babies so that the corporate crime rate would decrease? We can all guess.
But wait, there's more! Over at TPM Cafe Reed Hundt tells a story that we all need to hear.
Reed Hundt was Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission between 1993-97. During that time he was seeking legislation to implement a strategy to place computers and internet access in classrooms and libraries around the country. A good idea, no?
A provision was put in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to accomplish just that. Mr. Hundt called on Bill Bennett, who had been Secretary of Education, to help support the bill when Republican allies were needed for its passage through Congress. Silly Mr. Hundt. He thought that a Secretary of Education might actually support education. So what did Mr. Bennett, that moral philosopher of virtue, tell Mr. Hundt? According to Hundt:
He told me he would not help, because he did not want public schools to obtain new funding, new capability, new tools for success. He wanted them, he said, to fail so that they could be replaced with vouchers,charter schools, religious schools, and other forms of private education
As Hundt writes :
Well, I thought, at least he's candid about his true views.
Yeah, candid. But scary. These people don't want government to work. They want to destroy it. New Orleans was no accident, just part of the plan. Bill Bennett, former Secretary of Education doesn't want public education. he wants to destroy it.
I can't help but think that it's at least partially because public schools, at least in the cities, like the poor areas of New Orleans are full of black people.
By the way the bill passed, thanks to the Dems, Clinton and the help of Olympia Snowe, the one Repub Senator who voted for it. Today nearly 90% of all classrooms and libraries have internet access and the overwhelming majority of all teachers have nothing but praise for the positive impact the technology has made.
The Bill Bennetts of this world need to be exposed for what they are. Elitist bigots. Plain and simple.