This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If all else fails, blame Hillary.
With Election Day looming and most Utah voters still opposed to writing go-to-private-school-free checks, voucher supporters are getting desperate. So in the final weeks of the campaign, they've resorted to a three-pronged diversion: bogeymen, dubious research and, when the opportunity presents itself, moral outrage at a fabricated slip from the other side.
Polls show nearly two out of three Utahns plan to vote against universal private school vouchers. They don't buy the "it's for the poor kids" argument. They don't get why they should raid public schools to subsidize private schools. And they don't believe claims that vouchers will cure Utah's public education woes - teacher shortages, crammed classrooms and, in some cases, declining test scores.
So when preparing a final ad campaign, someone at Vouchers 'R' Us pulled out the handbook and found the section on spooks and scapegoats. And voilĄ, a talking point: Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and labor unions oppose vouchers.
This "the liberals are coming" argument is so tired it's not even worth calling a cliché. And the "free-marketers" and private school developers who push vouchers know it. So they came up with another strategy at a Utah County voucher forum last week. Overstock CEO and voucher money man Patrick Byrne cited a Chicago "study" that found teachers sending their own children to private schools.
"They know what's in the dog food," he said, comparing public schools to mystery meat in a can.
Then finally, a glimmer of light for Parents for Choice in Education this week, a breakthrough chance to play victim: Former State PTA board member Ronda Rose sent out an e-mail to public education backers loosely quoting scripture and linking voucher supporters to the devil.
"This sounds like more of the crap we got during the election last year," Rose wrote last week, responding to a voucher supporter's claim that teachers are breaking the law when they talk about vouchers on school property. "Keep in mind, that by 'their fruits they shall be known' and the more I learn about these 'parents for choice,' the more I know they are from Satan," she added.
Rose says her e-mail was black humor, born out of her frustration with pro-voucher groups' "partial truths . . . and those ads."
"I don't do 'reply all' any more," she said.
Nevertheless, Parents for Choice shopped the story around until they got a bite. Spokeswoman Leah Barker told the Deseret Morning News she was "shocked."
Get her some smelling salts. As insults go, how do Rose's musings stack up against a prolonged campaign to discredit public schools and teachers? Which is worse: the Prince of Darkness or Purina?
"People on both sides do and say things that they probably would not say, except they are so emotionally charged," said Kim Burningham, State School Board chairman. "Ultimately, the public will need to make up their minds on the issues."
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is trying to float above this political tar pit. Three years ago, when he was running, he cashed big checks from Byrne and other voucher lovers. And he sends his kids to private school. But the governor's no dummy. He recognizes that his 80 percent approval rating could take a hit if he gets on the wrong side of a majority of voters. He's going to let them vote the issue "up or down."
Instead, Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert has been dispatched for appearances at town hall meetings organized by pro-voucher lawmakers. Herbert - who twisted arms for voucher votes so energetically during the legislative session, the governor reportedly had to apologize - is available to both sides.
Burningham said he hasn't thought about tapping Herbert's talents.