Academic

ARNE DUNCAN?S INVITATION JUST THE START OF THE PROBLEM: So U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Dunca?

By Glenn Reynolds

ARNE DUNCAN’S INVITATION JUST THE START OF THE PROBLEM:

So U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan invited every Education Department employee to attend Rev. Al Sharpton?s Glenn Beck counter-rally. As David Boaz explained in the Examiner, it was a ?highly inappropriate? thing to do, pushing people who are supposed to serve all Americans to support one side of a ?political debate.? But that?s just the most obvious problem with Duncan?s weekend doings.

Perhaps just as troubling as his rally-prodding is that Duncan declared education ?the civil rights issue of our generation? at Sharpton?s event. This only about a year after helping to kill an education program widely supported by many of the people he and Sharpton insist they want to empower. I?m talking, of course, about Washington, DC?s, Opportunity Scholarship Program, a voucher program that was proven effective. But the heck with success ? Duncan and President Obama let the union-hated program die.

The cause for concern, though, doesn?t end there. According to the Examiner, an Education Department spokeswoman tried to gloss over the boss?s out-of-bounds play by suggesting that Sharpton?s rally was but a mere ?back-to-school event.? Sound familiar?

Is there a bigger embarrassment for the Administration than Duncan? Well, probably . . . .

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on September 01, 2010 (boomark / email).