Fred Klonsky’s PREA Prez Blog

Utah rejects vouchers and conservatives blame “Karl Rove tactics.”

It was no surprise that Utah voters rejected the statewide voucher plan. That was pretty much predicted. The percentage of the vote did surprise some observers. 62% of the voters turned thumbs down.

I was amused to read the right-wing National Review On-line complain that anti-voucher folks acted like Karl Rove and that it wasn’t fair.

Not surprisingly, voucher opponents have trotted out a tried and true election-shaping mechanism: the politics of confusion and fear. It’s almost as if their campaign strategy is being run by Karl Rove. Facts are few and far between but spooks and scary questions abound. These tactics do seem somewhat fitting given the Halloween time of year.

Berwyn students who protested Iraq war get the book thrown at them.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting:

Holding signs that read “Let us go to school,” and “No war for America,” 10 Morton West High School students suspended over an anti-war protest returned to campus Tuesday to demand they be allowed back in school.

The kids were among 25 who were suspended, with some now facing expulsions, after staging a protest against the Iraq war in the cafeteria last Thursday. About 20 parents and anti-war activists stood with them in front of the Berwyn school Tuesday.

The NY Times, covering the story, quoted one parent:

“Who’s the next group to go off to war?” said Adam Szwarek, whose 16-year-old son, Adam, faces expulsion. “These kids. The kids do a peaceful sit-in and they’re threatened with expulsion, yet the military’s running around the school trying to recruit.”

Pro-charter Democrat gets the boot in Indianapolis. Rotherham frowns.

Rotherham is disappointed that Indianapolis Democratic mayor, Bart Peterson, got tossed out of office on Tuesday. Although there were lots of issues in this campaign, Peterson was an enthusiastic proponent of charters. Oops. It doesn’t exactly provide evidence for the Ed Sector and DFER wing of the Democratic Party’s argument that promoting charters is a key to Democratic electoral victories.