Will Obama Stand Up for These Kids? (Black kids at Sidwell Friends on school choice vouchers)

wsj ^ | 3 3 2009 | William MacGurn

[dennisw]

Dick Durbin has a nasty surprise for two of Sasha and Malia Obama's new schoolmates. And it puts the president in an awkward position.

The children are Sarah and James Parker. Like the Obama girls, Sarah and James attend the Sidwell Friends School in our nation's capital. Unlike the Obama girls, they could not afford the school without the $7,500 voucher they receive from the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. Unfortunately, a spending bill the Senate takes up this week includes a poison pill that would kill this program -- and with it perhaps the Parker children's hopes for a Sidwell diploma.

Known as the "Durbin language" after the Illinois Democrat who came up with it last year, the provision mandates that the scholarship program ends after the next school year unless Congress reauthorizes it and the District of Columbia approves. The beauty of this language is that it allows opponents to kill the program simply by doing nothing. Just the sort of sneaky maneuver that's so handy when you don't want inner-city moms and dads to catch on that you are cutting one of their lifelines.

Deborah Parker says such a move would be devastating for her kids. "I once took Sarah to Roosevelt High School to see its metal detectors and security guards," she says. "I wanted to scare her into appreciation for what she has at Sidwell." It's not just safety, either. According to the latest test scores, fewer than half of Roosevelt's students are proficient in reading or math.

That's the reality that the Parkers and 1,700 other low-income students face if Sen. Durbin and his allies get their way. And it points to perhaps the most odious of double standards in American life today: the way some of our loudest champions of public education

[dennisw]

The two Parker children---Dick Turban will sabotage their education because he is a teacher's union stooge

[Need4Truth]

Democrats uber alles.

[pillut48]

They are just older ‘previable fetuses’ and so no, HolyO has ZERO concern for any other children (sometimes I wonder even his own!) and the problems they may face because of democrat shenanigans ‘remaking’ America!

FEH.

[bergmeid]

Too bad for those kids. They deserved a competent black president. Not that inexperienced and incompetent POS that we have now.

[wombtotomb]

wow, I wish I could have gotten a voucher for 7500 per kid to send my kids to a school of my choice. I guess they will just have to do what the rest of us lowly folks do, move to an area that has a better school system and get the hell off the public dole. Oh, I guess that is unthinkable in DC huh?

[SECURE AMERICA]

The children are Sarah and James Parker. Like the Obama girls, Sarah and James attend the Sidwell Friends School in our nation’s capital. Unlike the Obama girls, they could not afford the school without the $7,500 voucher they receive from the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program.

Durbin and the rest of the libera lelites could give less then a rats ass about children like Sarah and James except in what way can they make then indebted to the Government for everything in order to demand their vote later on.

[EQAndyBuzz]

This is where Democrat and Republican activists go their separate ways. If these two were Republicans and were going to have their vouchers cut, Democrat activists from around the country would converge on Washington demanding that the program stay in place. CNN would be all over this, calling the President an elitist Nazi.

We on the other hand will bitch and moan when this program goes away, the two kids will go back to Public school and life will move on.

What should we do? How about take up a collection for these two kids, present it to them at a press conference and force the media to ask why is this program going away when 9000 earmarks are being allowed to pass.

[tcrlaf]

Are you kidding???

Can’t have poor trash like this influencing RICH DEMOCRAT KIDS, now can we??

Democrat Elitists are SERVED by people like this, they don’t share a classroom with them! Just think of all those Rich K Street Democrats who are devestated when they learn thier kid won’t be attending Sidwell because the seat was given to someone from the streets of DC?

Imagine the SHAME these rich Democrats have to endure on the cocktail party circuit! CHANGE!!!!

[dynachrome]

I hate to say this. Did Deborah Parker vote for O-bozo based upon skin color?

[Oldpuppymax]

Somehow I don’t think this will receive wall to wall MSM attention.

[NellieMae]

I believe that if the voucher system were to be enacted it would greatly benefit the education of our children and the taxpayer money saved would be very substantial. When real conservatives finally get control of the government maybe we can prove this to be true.

[JSDude1]

They look like nice kids now they just have to convince their family and friends to stop voting Democrat becuase the Democrats are beholden to the Unions more than parents and students!..