Louisiana Legislator Was For School Vouchers, Until She Realized Muslims Exist

I had seen several stories on Republican Louisiana State Representative Valarie Hodges (pictured at right) who was an advocate of and voted for a Louisiana law that allows parents to utilize vouchers to send their children to religious schools.  So far I've bitten my tongue and refrained from commenting.  I just can't do it any longer since in my view Ms. Hodges represents both the stupidity and alternate universe mindset of the majority of today's Republicans.  When she voted for the bill backed by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal - a certifiable loon and bigot in my opinion - Ms. Hodges believed that only Christian schools would qualify for the vouchers.  Imagine her horror when she woke up to the fact that Muslims and non-Christian parents could also use these vouchers at their own religious affiliated schools.  The Livingston Parish News looks at Ms. Hodges' reaction to this shocking reality. 

Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Watson, says she had no idea that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s overhaul of the state’s educational system might mean taxpayer support of Muslim schools.

“I actually support funding for teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion, which is Christianity, in public schools or private schools,” the District 64 Representative said Monday.  “I liked the idea of giving parents the option of sending their children to a public school or a Christian school,” Hodges said.

Hodges mistakenly assumed that “religious” meant “Christian.”  HB976, now signed into law as Act 2, proposed, among other things, a voucher program allowing state educational funds to be used to send students to schools run by religious groups.

Other members of the local legislative delegation, including Senator Dale Erdey, Rep. J. Rogers Pope and Rep. Sherman Mack, opposed HB976. They argued that public school funds should stay with the public schools.

Local lawmakers said they feared that funding of non-public schools with public school money would gradually erode the state support that has helped Livingston Parish become one of the best school systems in the state. Livingston Parish, as a predominantly residential community, does not have a strong tax base bolstered by large-scale industry and commerce. In spite of voter support for school taxes, the parish has traditionally been heavily dependent on state support.

The lawsuit claims Act 2 is unconstitutional in part because it does not “have a single object or purpose,” as required by the constitution. Act 2 is 47 pages long and covers multiple topics and purposes.  The lawsuit also claims that Act 2 violates a provision in the state constitution that “state funding for public education shall be equitably allocated to public school systems.”

The new system improperly uses public school funding for vouchers to pay tuition to private schools, including those run by religious groups, according to the lawsuit.

Hodges said she was sympathetic with the Governor’s overall goal of bringing “meaningful reform to our education system, because we are next to the last in the nation.”  “I initially supported the bill because I understand the need to address and reform our education system in Louisiana,” Hodges said. “However, once you look at the details of the bill there were more questions than answers about the long term impact these changes could potentially have.

One does have to wonder whether or not Ms. Hodges has enough sense to come in out of the rain.  While she is obviously and idiot, her mindset demonstrates that the GOP and its Christianist base never cease to seek special rights for far right versions of Christianity.