Book Review - Voucher Wars: Waging the Legal Battle over School Choice
Voucher Wars: Waging the Legal Battle over School Choice
By Clint Bolick
Cato Institute, 2003, 277 pages. $12.00 paperback
Whether one supports or combats educational vouchers, there can be no denying that Clint Bolick stood at the forefront of the controversy. As a legal advocate for the Institute for Justice, he spearheaded 16 school choice defenses through the courthouse as well as submitting countless briefs and arguments for cases internationally.
Voucher Wars is his account written in the uncertain aftermath of the 2002 Supreme Court decision Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, where his long efforts climaxed into constitutional victory.
At first glance, Mr. Bolick seems an unlikely pioneer. Raised in New Jersey, he attended fine suburban schools before relocating to Washington D.C. Nevertheless, he became a champion for the underdog. His eloquent introduction speaks of his career and book as the “story of a freedom movement.” Rather than casting voucher debates in philosophical and economic terms, his passion for choice grew from a passion for social equity, rescuing “generations of children from educational cesspools.”
Throughout the book, this drive is unremitting. Even when private schools faltered and Courts of Appeal balked at seeming church-state infractions, Mr. Bolick simply pressed into new states and court systems. When teachers unions and African American leadership vowed to fight every choice proposal, his blunt, confident prose demonstrates he never doubted the right side would prevail.
Unfortunately, Mr. Bolick’s greatest strength may have also been his fatal weakness. He descended upon legal battles much like the United States invaded Iraq. His confidence borders on militaristic and in some cases alienated the very individuals he alleged he was protecting. In Ohio, for example, he describes how the Attorney General’s cold reception dismayed him, feeling his legal and oratorical superiority deserved more respect from “inexperienced” and “unimpressive” office. He filed a rare court motion “to goad the state into a more cooperative posture.” Other times, he entered the fray before becoming fully acquainted with the community, causing some locals to bristle with annoyance.
Despite this occasional livid enthusiasm, Mr. Bolick services choice advocacy by providing a clear over-view of its low and high points. Voucher Wars concludes with his triumphant Zelman brief which could easily inspire excitement, or at the least, constitutional awe, into even the most tepid reader. It is a supremely necessary and highly recommended work for anyone who cares about freedom and educational equality in America.
Danielle Mendola is a former research intern with The Buckeye Institute.
