Letter from Washington

Ronald Reagan is, not altogether undeservedly, getting quite a bit of flak from disconsolate Reaganites for defaulting on promises. The latest litmus-test issue that is being closely watched for possible Reagan backsliding is the oft-reiterated promise to jettison the federal Department of Education (DOE).

The issue is fraught with inflammatory symbolism that, if ignited, could mobilize the Right with greater force than did the IRS/Bob Jones University fiasco the Left. In its platform, the Republican Party pledged itself to eliminate the DOE. Reagan himself has urged it passionately, even as late as his January 19 press conference, by implication at least. The themes are familiar: education is first and foremost a parental responsibility. Government’s role is an ancillary one, namely, to assist parents in the discharging of that responsibility. “Today,” said the GOP platform, “parents are losing control of their children’s schooling” because of “huge new bureaucracies” that “misspend our taxes.” The Tenth Amendment serves to structure that ancillary government role by subordinating the federal level to the local/state level.

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Ronald Reagan

Department of Education

Ronald Reagan is, not altogether undeservedly, getting quite a bit of flak from disconsolate Reaganites for defaulting on promises. The latest litmus-test issue that is being closely watched for possible Reagan backsliding is the oft-reiterated promise to jettison the federal Department of Education (DOE).

The issue is fraught with inflammatory symbolism that, if ignited, could mobilize the Right with greater force than did the IRS/Bob Jones University fiasco the Left. In its platform, the Republican Party pledged itself to eliminate the DOE. Reagan himself has urged it passionately, even as late as his January 19 press conference, by implication at least. The themes are familiar: education is first and foremost a parental responsibility. Government’s role is an ancillary one, namely, to assist parents in the discharging of that responsibility. “Today,” said the GOP platform, “parents are losing control of their children’s schooling” because of “huge new bureaucracies” that “misspend our taxes.” The Tenth Amendment serves to structure that ancillary government role by subordinating the federal level to the local/state level.