Of all President Trump’s Cabinet choices, none congealed progressive opposition as quickly as Education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos. House Democrats formed a special caucus to oppose her. Senate Democrats planned to vote against her as a bloc, and they have posed some peculiar questions to her at her 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.

If she had said no, Democrats would have attacked her as being in favor of sexual assault. Saying yes made it look as if she were being disloyal to Trump.

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.

The Democrats shudder at the prospect she will succeed. Typically, Education secretary is a banal job within the administration. Yet if DeVos demonstrates 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, 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.

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.

As Ramesh Ponnuru points out at National Review, a study shows that 47 percent of Detroit charter schools significantly outperforming traditional public schools on reading and 49 percent 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.


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