People for the American Way has been keeping tabs on something called stealth vouchers. Essentially what the right wing nut bags are looking to do in the budget reconciliation bill is slip in a voucher program for the Gulf Coast states that will allow any displaced students to take their education dollars from the state and bring them to the school of their choice. Of course, as with any voucher program, this means that religious schools are elligible to receive state funds.
What makes these stealth vouchers more aggregious than the usual voucher proposals, besides their stealth status, is that there will likely be no accompanying legislation to regulate the program. Currently, the status of the law requires that education dollars that are going to religious schools be spent without unnecessarily entangling the state to the religion. Should these stealth vouchers succeed there is likely to be no oversight because no one will realize that the money is being used until violations of the law have occurred. I suspect it is also precisely at that moment that the wingers will reveal their plan.
My thought is that the neocons purpose for just slipping this in the reconciliation bill is twofold:
- No Democrat can reasonably oppose the bill. One of the biggest purposes of reconciliation bill is aid for the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast region. Should any legislator vote against the bill he or she will be excoriated as unpatriotic and unwilling to help the victims of the hurricanes. This will be unfounded considering that amount of CRAP that is going to be allowed in to this bill (think the Bridge to Nowhere which will still be funded).
- With a voucher program in place it will be difficult to stop such a program because the wingers can spin the program. They can point to the fact that it has been in place and no massive religious conversions have taken place and no national disruption has occurred, as reason to leave a voucher program in place, thereby giving the wingers a foot in the door! I liken this tactic to what occurred here in Massachusetts with gay marriage. One year after the marriages were allowed to occur, the state legislature overwhelmingly defeated a constitutional amendment proposal banning gay marriage. The reason many pointed to for this defeat was that people were allowed to see that all hell did not break out like many prophisized. I think this in an inaccurate anaolgy however. In the case of Massachusetts the change was spefically found to be upheld by the state constitution and therefore had an authoritative backing. The stealth vouchers are specifically a way to sidestep at all costs any judicial review. The wingers aren't sure if they can win in a legal battle so they figure going under the radar is better.
These are the type of issues we all need to pounce on and be vocal about. The USA PATRIOT Act was passed in a similar manner and we are now paying for the mistakes. These vouchers threaten to undermine our Constituion and our civil liberties. If the wingers are interested in a fight on this issue I would like to quote their leader and say "Bring it on." But let us have this fight in the proper venue which is in the full light of the public with complete disclosure and comprehensive debate.
Let your legislators know what you think by contacting them here. (Link is through the People for the American Way.)
Cross posted at:Revolution Now!