Dear Delegate: HB1508 Deserves Every Republican Vote
Not only is school choice a positive good, voting against it isn't going to save you from the Democrats anyway (so do the right thing).
Good morning, Delegate.
Look — I know it is probably oh-dark-thirty in the AM and advice is just about the last thing you want to hear about a bill.
HB 1508 is a good piece of legislation. You should vote for it.
What is it? In layman’s terms, it takes the state portion of per-pupil dollars and puts it in the hands of parents.
It’s the right thing to do.
Now someone — probably a consultant or lobbyist paid to say so — is telling you that school choice is a net loser which you will have to defend the vote in the upcoming 2023 election.
Yet in every state where school choice has been introduced, it has been a wild and unmitigated success.
Ask Ron DeSantis in Florida. Ask Greg Abbott in Texas. School choice is good for rural students. New Hampshire is loving their ESAs. Iowa’s governor is leading on ESAs. The idea is battle tried and battle tested.
Need some easy messaging?
So do the right thing today and take it straight into the Democrats teeth.
After all, it’s not like you’re defending. . . this, right?
That’s utterly indefensible.
That’s what school choice helps prevent. Because parents can walk their children right out of any school which threatens to interpose themselves between parents and their kids.
Sure — I could show you numbers as to why school choice works. That’s might not be entirely persuasive. You want to know whether or not you can get reelected if you vote for this.
The answer is ABSOLUTELY ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND OF COURSE YOU ARE GOING TO GET RE-ELECTED VOTING FOR THIS WHO THE HELL IS TELLING YOU OTHERWISE OTHER THAN THE FOLKS TELLING YOU TO IGNORE THE SUCCESS STORIES IN EVERY SINGLE STATE THAT HAS ADOPTED THESE SOLUTIONS YOU KNOW THIS WHY IS MY CAPS LOCK STUCK ALL OF THE SUDDEN?
Here’s the thing: Virginia Democrats are going to treat you as if you had voted for the bill anyway. Constants and variables, right? Voters will always forgive you for doing the right thing.
And at the end of the day, this is the right thing to do.
Not only that, but it is eminently and easily defensible in the public square. 72% of Americans support school choice; 68% of Democrats support school choice.
This is easy, right?
Meanwhile, not only are there a lot of Republicans back home who know instinctively that this is the Holy Grail, but there are a lot of minority voters who are looking for you to show a little bit of leadership on an issue they deeply care about.
YOU ARE A GREAT DELEGATE.
HB 1508 deserves your support.
DO IT FOR AMERICA.
Paid for and Authorized by Your Gut and Your Conscience.
Now go get that coffee.
Oh — and repeat this talking point:
Yours in caffeinated conservative rectitude,
Shaun Kenney is the editor of The Republican Standard, former chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Fluvanna County, and a former executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia.