Democrats are terrified DeVos will succeed: Christian Schneider

It is telling that Democrats have put so much effort into making Betsy DeVos look like a billionaire Miss Hannigan, delighted at the idea of condemning public school children to lives of squalor. Of all President Trump's Cabinet choices, none congealed progressive opposition as quickly as she did.

House Democrats formed a special caucus to oppose her, and Senate Democrats planned to vote against her as a bloc. And they have posed some peculiar questions to her — such as this one from her Senate confirmation hearing:

"Mrs. DeVos," Sen. Patty Murray of Washington began, "President-elect Trump was recorded bragging about kissing and groping and trying to have sex with women without their consent." Murray then asked DeVos that if such behavior "happened in a school," it would rise to the level of "sexual assault."

"Yes," DeVos answered.

It was adorable to watch Murray tack the "in a school" reference on to the end of the question to make it seem tangentially related to the office of Education secretary. It was actually asked to make DeVos look foolish — if she said no, Democrats would attack her as being in favor of sexual assault. By saying yes, it now makes it look as if she's being disloyal to the man who appointed her.

One wonders what other superfluous questions Democrats could have asked under the guise of being "education" related:

"Mrs. DeVos, if the Russians tried to intervene in an effort to boost a fifth-grader's test score, would you consider that test score to be legitimate?"

"Mrs. DeVos, if an eighth-grade girl tried to sell you some non-existent steaks, would that qualify her for the presidency?"

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The Michigan billionaire has committed the most unpardonable of progressive sins: She has financially supported efforts to allow students educational choices outside the traditional public school framework. DeVos believes in the mission of choice and charter schools so fervently, she has given millions of dollars to organizations and political candidates who share her vision of allowing low-income and minority children to leave underperforming public schools.

Of course, the Democrats aren't afraid of DeVos as Education secretary because they fear she will fail. They shudder at the prospect she will succeed.  Typically, Education secretary is a banal job within the administration. Yet if DeVos is able to demonstrate the benefits in allowing parents to choose how their children are educated, it could strike a blow against teachers' unions and the existing public school cabal.

It's no secret why Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federal of Teachers, called DeVos the "most anti-public education nominee in the history of the department." If students are given the freedom to be educated outside the suffocating system teachers' unions have created for themselves, it will lessen organized labor's stranglehold on taxpayers' checkbooks. If there is less need for public school teachers, union dues collections will drop, and thus less money will be pumped into campaigns helping elect Democrats. Provide students choice, and the left's money tree becomes a shrub.

That is why Democratic senators have pulled out such preposterous talking points in opposing DeVos. The idea, for instance, that DeVos is "anti-public education" has no bearing in reality. Giving parents more options doesn't mean you're against also strengthening public schools, just as Democrats fighting to keep taxpayer dollars flowing to Planned Parenthood doesn't mean they are against other publicly funded women's health centers. They simply see specific benefits in one option and want to keep it on the menu.

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Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., even criticized DeVos for donating $10,000 to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a group that stands up for free speech and individual liberties on college campuses. One of the group's many causes is making sure those accused of sexual assault on campus are given fair hearings; yet this one issue has led some Democrats to question whether DeVos wants to make it "more difficult for campus sexual assault victims to receive justice." (DeVos should respond to that with a single eye-rolling emoji.)

Even when trying to stay on topic, Democrats have whiffed. For instance, writing in The New York Times, Douglas Harris called reform efforts by DeVos in Detroit the "biggest school reform disaster in the country."

His claim rests largely on a study that purports to show Detroit's charter schools have failed students. But as Ramesh Ponnuru points out at National Review, the study shows 47% of Detroit charter schools significantly outperforming traditional public schools on reading and 49% of charters significantly outperforming public schools on math.

If that's "failing," let's hope DeVos can replicate a similarly thorough disaster in schools nationwide.

Christian Schneider is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors and a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow him on Twitter @schneider_cm

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