(Guest post by Greg Forster)
In the Corner, Jim Manzi’s comment on Grover Whitehurst’s proposals for education reform is that it’s really no longer a matter of arguing over what would help; it’s just a question of figuring out how to make it happen in the face of entrenched union opposition. Manzi thinks that’s a good sign:
It is striking how far thoughtful, mainstream liberal wonk opinion has moved on the question of educational reform….When one side of the political divide loses its own ideological belief in a specific position and defends it based purely on interest-group power, this often creates an opportunity for real change.
It seems to me that education reform is ripening as political issue for Republicans, if they are willing to seize it, as they did welfare reform 20 years ago. Like welfare reform, this would probably imply being willing to engage on the policy detail, and to work with Democrats in order to create a bipartisan solution with staying power. It looks to me like there is lots of common ground to be found.
I think that’s right, but it will all hinge on the willingness of enough Democrats to buck the teacher union mafia, just as welfare reform hinged on the willingness of enough Democrats to buck the social-services union mafia twenty years ago. Fortunately, there are reasons to think that could happen. And the best part is, today the people turning against the unions are not just any Dems, they’re the social justice Dems, who bring to the table their unique cultural power to annoint and legitimize things within the Left.
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