Utah vouchers out of context

Must admit to becoming intrigued at the debate in Utah on private school vouchers. Should the state pay private school tuition for rich and poor alike? It's a question voters will answer on Nov. 6.

As a Republican, I've been fascinated by two evolving strategies. The first is that of voucher supporters to take everything "out of context" to try and bolster their arguments. The second is the strategy of current Gov. Jon Huntsman, who says he supports vouchers, but who is a fairly reluctant warrior on behalf of the voucher program.

My previous post about Gov. Huntsman's "dipsy doodle" on the voucher issue is below. I add to it based on recent media reports. It's a fascinating tightrope that the Governor is walking.

Huntsman, of course, signed the bill that is now the subject of the referendum. He says he supports vouchers as one avenue of school reform.

But he is an increasingly reluctant standard bearer for the cause. And with due note. It's not a popular idea with the majority of Utahns, from what I read.

At a news conference almost two weeks ago, Huntsman appeared and gave his tepid approval for a voucher program. BUT he urged Utahns to read up on the issue and decide for themselves.

Then, a pro-voucher group called Parents for Choice, selectively cut and pasted the Governor's remarks into a TV ad. They took his words out of context and used them for their own ends.

That seems disingenuous to me.

The Governor, through his spokesperson, said:

"Huntsman's spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley says the Governor's office did not approve the ad, but "The governor has said that anything in the public domain - people are welcome to use."

That was reported by Glen Warchol of the Salt Lake City Tribune. The whole article is here.

Particularly intriguing is how the Governor has not objected to this cutting and pasting. Note these stories about what Gov. Huntsman REALLY said:

"What you don't see is the part of the press conference in which Huntsman tells Utahns it is OK to vote against vouchers."

"Whatever you think is right, whatever you can justify, is the right answer for you," Huntsman says in the portion vouchers supporters edited out.

And, this analysis from long-time political reporter and columnist Paul Rolly, also of the Tribune:

"Huntsman, after months of sitting on the fence, even though he signed the two pro-voucher bills sent to him by the Legislature, finally agreed to participate with voucher supporters in a press conference Oct. 17, just three weeks before the election. He said he would vote for vouchers, but still urged his constituents to follow their conscience.

"Voucher spin doctors edited his comments as best they could and now are using them in their latest TV ads."

You can read Rolly's piece here.

Reading both these articles and previous ones leads me to only one conclusion: Gov. Jon Huntsman is a supporter of vouchers but isn't as passionate about the issue as those who are so willing to cut and paste his face onto the issue. This is one issue of many that he must address.

Has the issue of creating a new entitlement program in the form of private school vouchers and supported by a fringe group become the "litmus test" for Utah Republicans??

If so, it would seem that many Utah Republicans are allowing this fringe group, dedicated to the single issue of having taxpayers pay for private school, dictate what it means to be a Republican in Utah.

I hope this isn't the case. Not only are new entitlement programs such as school vouchers the downfall of the Republican Party - as we've seen in the U.S. Congress - dividing Republicans on these kinds of issues doesn't allow our party to be the party of leaders.