When the South Carolina primary election polls close at 7 p.m. tonight, Republican voters will have made their decision. Either they want public and private school choice or they don’t. They won’t be speaking for Democrats of course, but it is Republicans who have blocked school choice bills in South Carolina. When this day is done, they will either be able to say, “I told you so,” or they will be on their wrong side of their constituents.

Never has any political race in South Carolina been as pure a referendum on a controversial issue as the Supt. Of Education race is today.  The two leading candidates, Karen Floyd and Bob Staton, represent polar opposite positions on the issue of school choice.  Staton is opposed, and has been endorsed by the state branch of the National Education Association. Floyd “strongly supports” public and private school choice, and has been strongly supported by like-minded groups.

If Staton wins, I will no longer badger Republican representatives to quit blocking school choice.  If Floyd wins, I’ll not let them get a good night’s sleep until they either quit standing in the way or switch parties.

I have said for years that school choice should be a litmus test for Republicans. The party that says it stands for free market solutions to public problems should not tolerate leaders who violate that principle with something as important as education. Today, Republican voters in South Carolina will either affirm or contradict me.

In the end, legislators should do what they think is right, regardless of what the voters say, but if Republican voters stand strongly for school choice in today’s election, the GOP leaders and other Republican representatives who continue to stand against them should switch parties, join the Democratic party, which clearly is the party more suitable to their principles.

It may even be that if all of the Republican legislators who oppose school choice switch parties, the Democratic Party would be the majority party in South Carolina. So be it. We need more clarity in politics. At the end of today, one thing should be perfectly clear – the Republican voters’ consensus on school choice.

Short Stack

Al Gore is smiling –Alberto is a bit of a wimp, but the hurricane season is young. If it’s another one like last year, the global warming brigade will be emboldened.  This story about polar bear cannibalism also fits nicely into their case.  The theory is that polar bears may be turning to cannibalism because longer seasons without ice keep them from getting to their natural food. I want to keep an open mind about the science, but in all of the arguments from the global warming brigade, I’ve not once heard them refute the figures I’ve found that show man’s contribution to problem is so small that’s it’s almost immeasurable. Show me the competing stats and I’ll be happy to reconsider.

When calling, please speak English – By now, you’ve heard about the Philly Cheesesteak joint in Philadelphia with the sign that says, “This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING, PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.”  Update: The city’s Commission on Human Relations is threatening to lodge a discrimination complaint. They say it violates Philadelphia’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in employment, public accommodations and housing because it discourages patronage by non-English speaking customers. All I can say to that is, “when you call to complain about my support for the restaurant owner, please speak English, and file your complaint wherever the heck you want.”