Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) attacks on DeVos have sparked outrage because of his long-standing ties to charter schools and private schools.
January 18, 2017
HYPOCRISY: Sheldon Whitehouse Goes After DeVos For Supporting Measures He’s Used
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) attacks on DeVos have sparked outrage because of his long-standing ties to charter schools and private schools.
RedState’s Joe Cunnningham blasted “Sheldon Whitehouse’s curious, hypocritical attacks on Betsy DeVos”:
… According to financial disclosures from more than a decade ago, Whitehouse owned stock in a for-profit education company, Edison Schools, which has a history of battling teachers unions and public education (the company has since reverted back to being a private entity instead of a public one).
Now, again, this is all within Whitehouse’s right as a citizen and a parent. Where you choose to send your child to school and what companies you invest in are freedoms we in this country have. However, it is just a tad hypocritical to attack someone for their stances and actions when it comes to education when your own history isn’t the best example, is it not?
In addition to Whitehouse’s earnings from a charter school company, the Daily Caller reported that Whitehouse sent his children to private schools.
Whitehouse also chose to place his children in private schools, rather than in the public school system.
When asked during a 2012 Senate debate why he sent his children to private schools, Whitehouse answered: “I want the best education that I can for them, and I felt that in their circumstances the places that I chose to send them were the best schools for them.”
Whitehouse himself even attended St. Paul’s School, a private boarding school in Concord, NH.
Given Whitehouse’s extensive involvement in private schools and profiting from charters, there can only be one reason he is so fiercely critical of DeVos. He has received over $44,000 from the two national teachers unions, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association.