Huckabee on Vouchers: The Mystery Continues
In a letter to National Review Online, Huckabee's Director of Research, Joe Carter, writes that "Governor Huckabee is a supporter of school vouchers, and has always been a supporter of school vouchers."
Carter's claim contradicts many news reports:
--As the Club pointed out in a December 13th press release, the Concord Monitor reports that the New Hampshire affiliate of the National Education Association endorsed Huckabee specifically because of his opposition to school vouchers. In fact, the affiliate's President, Rhonda Wesolowski, released the following statement about the NEA's endorsement of Huckabee:
Among Republicans, Governor Huckabee was the only candidate to show us a sincere interest in education. He changed his schedule to accommodate our meeting time . . . He cares deeply about education, and understands that we need to educate the whole child, exposing children to the arts and music as well as stressing achievement in math and verbal skills. Governor Huckabee opposes vouchers and he supports measured growth of learning over a period of time, parental involvement in education, increasing Pell Grants to improve access to higher education, and legislation that would close the gaps in learning by reducing class size.
--In a September interview with the New York Jewish Week, entitled, "Surging Huckabee Is Anti-Voucher," Governor Huckabee told reporter James Besser that he opposes school vouchers because they may lead to "inequality" in schooling, "could undercut public education," and because "with government money comes control."
--Huckabee's opposition to school vouchers was also documented in an Arkansas Times article in September 2005.
It is true, as Carter claims, that Huckabee occasionally declares his support for vouchers, as the Club for Growth demonstrated here, but these moments raise serious questions about Mike Huckabee's veracity on the campaign trail and beg the critical question: What is Huckabee's position on vouchers and why is he refusing to give voters a straight answer?
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