An unlikely proponent of school vouchers is covered recently in the Wall Street Journal: Rev. James Meeks, Democratic state senator from Chicago, and friend of Obama. Article is here..

From the article:

"Certainly he's [Meeks] not a man to hold his tongue. He speaks frankly about elected officials "owned by unions." About politicians who send their own kids to private schools--while opposing the choice for the less fortunate. In 2006, he gained notoriety for language in a fiery sermon that appeared directed at Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

"We don't have slave masters," he said. "We got mayors. But they still the same white people who are presiding over systems where black people are not able . . . to be educated.""

Strong words, but true, and only remarkable in that so few in the black community have seemed to notice the enchainment of the current system of public education. It affects all Americans, regardless of race, but has been especially devastating for blacks. Ironically, the same liberal-left that fought segregation and racism brought in teachers' unions, and entrenchment of the idea of socialized education. By the time blacks had full access to public education, public education was in a slide.

Black conservative Ken Hamblin used to say with chagrin that if he were a KKK leader, he could think of no more effective way to destroy blacks than to follow the exact path that U.S. public schools have followed.

Democrats have enjoyed extraordinary support from black voters, consistently in the neighborhood of 90%. But that will not necessarily endure forever. The generation will come that tires of a 44% graduation rate at Ranier Beach High School. As Lincoln said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

Meeks is an early-adopter--millions more to follow.