Dear House Democrats: Go Easy on Betsy DeVos
I’m not looking for gotcha moments or public chastising of the Secretary, I’m after something larger.
Dear House Democrats,
Congratulations. Now that the celebrating has died down and you’re turning your attention to your new jobs, I want to share an observation about the business of governing.
I hear a lot of enthusiasm for Go After Trump, and it’s hard to argue with putting some pressure on the grifter-in-chief. I’m hoping that you can be selective: it would be impossible to go after every single shady thing he’s done and we should focus on what matters. Foreign nationals funneling money into his personal businesses to influence policy choices: important. Disregarding the intelligence community when it comes to matters of US security: important. Feeding cheeseburgers to football players: not important.
I also understand the urge to Go After Betsy. I’ve read about the committees chomping at the bit to haul in Secretary of Education DeVos. I imagine that it must be tempting to lambaste her while she sits there with that smug expression on her face, generating little YouTube clips that will appear under headlines with words like “slams” and “leaves DeVos speechless.”
I’m suggesting you don’t.
I’m not concerned about her tender sensitivities. She is well-insulated by wealth and her religious faith. You will never say a thing that will bother her in the slightest, and she will never feel a need to explain herself to you.
I’m suggesting that instead, you go after the premises by which she operates.
Most of what DeVos has done, particularly in her rollbacks of existing legislation, is based on a pretty clear principle—business men should be able CONTINUE READING: Dear House Democrats: Go Easy on Betsy DeVos - Progressive.org