My must read of the day is "Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton to Discuss Education," in the Associated Press:
Bush and Clinton were taking the podium Monday at a higher education conference in suburban Dallas organized by Bush, the former Florida governor who is the brother and son of Republican presidents. The former secretary of state, whose husband, Bill Clinton, served two terms in the White House, is the leading Democratic contender in 2016 if she runs for president again.
As both Clinton and Bush weigh their options, the conference offers a bipartisan twist for the two dominant American political families of the late 20th century, both of whom could return to the presidential stage next year.
It is at least the third time in the past year that Bush and Clinton were crossing paths.
What's interesting here is not that they're crossing paths, but where the crossing is happening. Whether or not you agree with Clinton or Bush on specific policies, education should play an important role in any candidate’s 2016 platform.
One of the first things I read after I moved to Washington, D.C., was a book by Margaret Hoover called American Individualism. What intrigued me most was what it had to say about education reform.
Hoover argued that education reform was a way Republicans could make inroads with millenials.
It's an issue young people care deeply about (think of their involvement in Teach for America, AmeriCorps, etc.), and tackling the issue would be a way to attract young voters. Republicans, Hoover contended, are the party that can actually bring about meaningful reform. Democrats can’t because they are too reliant on unions for political donations to actually implement change.
It's true. Teacher’s unions tend to oppose things such as charter schools, and often provide an obstacle when it comes to reforms. The only education reform the Democrats have to offer is Head Start, which creates a facade of doing something, but fails to produce results.
Republicans have a unique opportunity with education. They should listen to Condoleezza Rice's 2012 convention speech and ensure that thousands of children are provided with the opportunity Republicans are so keen to discuss. Opportunity starts with education, and right now "the crisis in K-12 education is grave threat to who we are."
Some Republicans have already begun to discuss concrete ways to improve the education system. Majority leader Eric Cantor gave a speech to the Brookings Institution in January about education, and specifically school choice.
The difficulty Republicans run into is how to do anything about education at the federal level when a large portion of their base says schools should be an issue for states. A candidate who can find a balance between federal initiative and local control could make major gains amongst the millennial generation and potentially amongst low-income communities.