Conservatives and No Child Left Behind

The joke cannot be lost on President Bush. He has spent the better part of the last six years appealing to the conservative base of his party. But as Congress begins to debate continuing the No Child Left Behind Act—which is President Bush's only bipartisan domestic policy accomplishment—key conservatives in Congress are openly opposing the law.

This is not surprising. When the law was first passed in 2001 many conservatives held their noses because it increased the federal role in elementary and secondary education. Congressman Tom DeLay told Rush Limbaugh that he voted for, what he called, that awful education bill only to support President Bush. DeLay said that he came to Washington to eliminate the Department of Education so it was very hard to vote for something expanding federal authority.

It is also not surprising that many teachers, principals, and school administrators do not like No Child Left Behind either. No industry embraces regulation and the education law holds schools more accountable for student performance than in the past.

But opposition from conservatives and the education establishment adds up to a big problem for the president.…

Listen to the entire commentary on National Public Radio.