Expanding on an allusion in my last MJS column, I recall that President Reagan was bitterly criticized by referring for "welfare queens" driving welfare Cadillac." This was, his critics, said unfair. There might certainly be welfare cheats but they are not characteristic of the whole program. There were, moreover, procedures in place to catch cheaters.
Might not Governor Doyle have had his own "welfare Cadillac" moment in suggesting that the school choice program is somehow characterized by the now-convicted principal of the now closed "Mandella [sic]School of Math & Science" who used taxpayer money to buy him a Mercedes Benz? This isn't characteristic of the choice program and the accountability measures that he wants aren't - and weren't - necessary to detect this crime. Choice schools are already required to undergo independent financial audits.
When Reagan complained of the misuse of funds by poor people, he was being racist. So I might have suggested that Doyle is playing on the bigoted notion that you just can't trust black people with tax money, but I understand that we are no longer supposed to do that. Good thing, too.
1 comment:
Yup.
And when I mentioned the possibility that Doyle was playing the race card with that remark, it was vilification-city from Xoff.
There's another possibility, though, and that's that Doyle was playing to the 3/4ths of Wisconsin voters who view Milwaukee as a giant sewer into which most State tax dollars flow.
Just so happens he used a black crook as the icon.
Pure co-incidence.
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