'I don't think this is an issue that moves voters'

From Star Parker's column:

I was aghast to read Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle's response to a question from The New York Times columnist John Tierney, "How long will blacks vote for a party that opposes the voucher programs they strongly favor?"

Doyle's response: "I don't think this is an issue that moves voters."

The discussion took place in context of the Democrat governor's opposition to moves to expand the number of vouchers available in the immensely popular and successful school choice program in Wisconsin.

In a recently released Zogby poll, only 3 percent of respondents, with barely any difference between Democrats and Republicans, listed "Education/Schools" as the two top issues facing the country.

Maybe Doyle is right.

Parker contrasts this with the reality for Doyle's base of black voters in Milwaukee:

Those that argue for school choice correctly make the case that competition produces better products, whether we're talking about computers or schools.

But in addition to the benefits of competition, it is inordinately important that single black mothers have the option of sending their kid to a school where the educational culture is defined by traditional values. This is not the case with public schools.

How much can be expected from a single, poor mother who must compete with a prevailing popular culture that conveys meaninglessness and relativism to her kid, and then must compete with a school system that conveys the same? This mother should, and must, have the option of sending her child to a school that teaches traditional values.

Schools can and must play a vital link in helping to break the cycle of kids from poor, broken families going on to create more poor, broken families.

It is ironic that a country that rejects the idea of imposing values on others maintains a monolithic public school system that does just that.