Katy Atkinson calls John Andrews “the gift that keeps on giving.”
Atkinson is a veteran Republican activist now deploying her talents and wicked sense of humor as spokeswoman for the Yes on C and D campaign.
Andrews, former president of the state Senate, is a talk show host and Denver Post columnist who is ostensibly opposed to Referendums C and D. But his rants against the budget reform package backfire so often that one has to wonder if he’s actually a double agent on Atkinson’s payroll.
First, Andrews used his Feb. 2 Post column to call for the total privatization of every college, community college and university in the state. Then, on July 14, Andrews presented a double gift to the Yes on C and D team, calling for $100 million a year cuts from K-12 school budgets and urging still higher college tuition.
“Higher education is a remarkable bargain for affluent Colorado families. I’d like to see tuition go up as much or more” than the 15 percent hikes already posted at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University this year, Andrews said.
But great as they were, Andrews’ past inadvertent efforts on behalf of C and D pale in comparison to his invocation of Saddam Hussein as the driving spirit of C and D foes on KOA radio Aug. 29. Andrews first mocked concerns that community colleges would close if Referendum C fails, telling host Mike Rosen, “A lot of those community colleges are nothing more than local jobs programs.”
Then, turning to complaints that the anti-C and D Independence Institute is violating election law by not releasing names of its donors, Andrews shocked his listeners with this: “What harm is done if even (Russian President) Vladimir Putin was writing those checks? Say Saddam Hussein smuggled money out of his Swiss bank accounts to write those checks so the Independence Institute could say, ‘Colorado, don’t raise taxes.’ What harm is done?”
The ode to Saddam prompted Coloradopols.com, a blog devoted to political gossip and partisan billingsgate, to open a discussion board devoted to Andrews’ counter-productive crusade, headlined: “Um, You’re Not Helping.”
But the best non-help was yet to come, when someone with the screen name “Horace Mann” posted this note: “John Andrews has come out publicly in support of a complete cut-off of ALL public monies for education, from (kindergarten) through graduate school,” citing www.honestedu.org/vips/ as the source.
That site does indeed urge elimination of public education at all levels and asks supporters to sign a pledge: “I proclaim publicly that I favor ending government involvement in education.”
One VIP signatory is “John K. Andrews, Colo. State Senator.”
Thus, Andrews is not only on record urging privatizing all higher education, he apparently supports abolishing all public schools.
The website makes it clear that “ending government involvement in education” would leave private schools and home schooling as the only options to Americans of all income levels. Opposing even publicly financed vouchers for private schools, the site answers the rhetorical question, “What about the poor?” by saying, “Providing educational opportunities for low-income families can be met without edu-welfare by replacing the government educational dole with a system of private scholarships funded by charitable donations.”
Thus, in John Andrews’ ideal world, the poor will have the right to beg the local patron for a few years of schooling. If the patron says no, that’s just their tough luck. Viewed in this light, Andrews’ plan to cut $100 million a year from Colorado’s K-12 schools is merely a first step toward his goal of ending all public support of education.
As a practicing politician, Andrews’ call to abolish all public education is remarkable, given that the website itself warns: “If you are considering running for elective office, your public endorsement (of ending public schools) may be used against you by your opponents.”
No kidding. And as Horace Mann recognized, it can also be used to discredit Andrews’ campaign to “starve the beast” of public education in Colorado.
Bob Ewegen is deputy editorial page editor of The Denver Post (bewegen@denverpost.com). He has written on state and local government since 1963.
