9/27/00 2:25 p.m.
The Anti-Catholic Press
The Detroit Free Press crosses the line.

By NR's John J. Miller, Ramesh Ponnuru, & Melissa Seckora

he Detroit Free Press crossed the line yesterday when it printed an editorial cartoon by Mike Thompson whose only purpose can be to stir up anti-Catholic resentment.

It features a voucher and Constitution-shredding machine: "Introducing the amazing Vouch-o-Matic! Yes, the Vouch-o-Matic! It slices, dices, chops, and shreds cherished constitutional principles!! It can suck millions out of public education while defying accountability! The Amazing vouch-o-matic blows enough smoke to blind thousands of voters! But wait! There's more! Order now and receive this wooden nickel absolutely free!! To order, rush your tax dollars to: The Roman Catholic Church c/o Kids First! Yes! Order Now!" Click here to see cartoon.

Kids First! Yes! is the group behind a school-choice ballot initiative in Michigan this fall, and it's received substantial support from the Catholic Church. But to suggest the group is actually controlled by the Catholic Church — or to suggest the Catholics are motivated on school choice simply because they want an infusion of tuition dollars for parochial schools — is ill-considered.

There are intelligent arguments to be made against school choice. Catholic-baiting shouldn't be part of the opposition's strategy.