Education - A Winning Issue for Republicans
John C. Bowman
The 2000 presidential election has certainly been one for the record books. We had a candidate who lost the state he claims as home, on the thirtieth anniversary of his father's career ending political defeat. We saw an election that has to be decided in the state where Jeb Bush the brother of George W. Bush is Governor, and the state campaign chairman for Al Gore is Bob Butterworth who is in charge of the election recount.
But this election was not only about lost opportunities, but also new opportunities. On education, George W. Bush proved you can take an issue that has for years been considered a Democratic issue and make it an issue that appeals to your base, the independent base and even your opponents base.
Leading Democrat and former U.S. Representative Floyd Flake perhaps said it best: "Saving the future of our country by educating our children should not be thought of as a Democratic or Republican idea." But this 2000 election will give rise for Republicans to take notice of this political occasion. The education debate when framed along with the dreams and aspirations parents hold for their children becomes a winning issue.
Coupled with taxpayer dissatisfaction of increased taxes, the business community who is demanding an better-educated worker, leadership on education issues will no longer belong to those who insist upon the continuation of the status quo. The great defenders of the status quo are the teacher unions and the education bureaucrats.
There is also very little doubt that teacher unions are committed to the Democratic Party, and in particular their policies which favor "big" government. Teacher unions, like most labor unions consider their political power connected to their economic power. When current President Bill Clinton advocated hiring 100,000 new teachers, his agenda included more than helping reduce class size. He saw an opportunity to add to the Democratic political coffers. Teacher unions viewed the new teachers as little more than added political power.
In fact, the support of the labor unions for Al Gore could serve as an impetus for enacting the type of campaign finance reform advocated by John McCain, Bush's primary election opponent. So, in addition to making education a Republican issue, we may see an added pressure to enact campaign finance reform, which directly goes after labor union contributions. In many states workers are required as a condition of employment to join the union, including teachers. A national right to work law might actually be easier to pass than campaign finance reform.
Future political candidates on the federal level who are able to put forth a pro-worker agenda, which focuses on fair treatment of employees, freedom of association and an end to compulsory unionism may find a receptive audience. Robert Hunter, director of labor policy for the Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy makes a compelling statement in regards to unions: "They (unions) have to question what their whole purpose is. Their old class warfare mentality just doesn't sell well today."
Mr. Hunter is right. But Democrats proved in 2000 that they could count on the labor union vote. Republicans discovered they could not. Coupled with a paid holiday for many labor union members, organized efforts paid off in Michigan and several other states. Gore's apparent abandonment of Ohio, which also has a large union population, could haunt Democrats for years.
This election will certainly have ramifications for years to come. Outside of the Northeast United States and the West Coast, most of the Middle America----the Heartland if you will---responded to George W. Bush's message. Politicians will take notice. Republicans will be comfortable pushing education reforms long deliberated and too long delayed without the fear of teachers unions.
John C. Bowman, is President of Children First Tennessee, a private-scholarship program located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He is A Senior Fellow with the Tennessee Institute for Public Policy. He can be contacted at: [email protected]