Dems for vouchers: school choice surprise.

• Author: Snell, Lisa
• Position: Citings - Democratic Party - Brief article

MARION Barry, the famous (and notorious) former Washington mayor, still has the capacity to surprise jaded political junkies. Writing in The Washington Post in May, the liberal Democrat endorsed the D.C. school voucher program. "I know it may surprise some that I would support a school voucher program, but I am proud to do so," he announced.

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But maybe that shouldn't have been a surprise. In the last three years, three-quarters of the legislative victories for school choice happened because of Democratic support.

In April 2006, Wisconsin's Democratic governor Jim Doyle signed a big expansion of the Milwaukee voucher program. In June 2006 Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, another Democrat, allowed the creation of a tax-credit scholarship program and signed two new voucher programs into law. In July 20o7 yet another Democrat, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, signed a $16 million increase to the state's tax credit program. Fellow Dem Iowa Gov. Chet Culver increased the state's educational tax credit program by $2.5 million in May 2007.

This summer Louisiana passed a...