December 16, 2009 01:01 AM UTC

Jane Norton: Abolishing Department of Education "Not That Radical"

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• by: Colorado Pols

Following up on our note from last week, the Colorado Independent reports:

Former Lt. Governor Jane Norton said she was spurred to try to win Colorado Democratic Michael Bennet’s U.S. Senate seat by what she sees as the dramatic expansion of government in the Obama era. In stump speeches, emails and interviews, she has vowed to work to cut federal spending as a way to end the “government takeover” of the private sector. One of the ways Norton proposes to trim spending is to eliminate the federal Department of Education…

Although she is the clear frontrunner in the race to unseat Bennet, Norton has not been the top choice among conservative grassroots voters in the state- a bloc of voters being increasingly influenced by the anti-tax anti-establishment Tea Party movement here. For that reason, events like the one at the Lamplighter may be much more attractive to the Norton campaign than the small number of attendees might suggest. Blogger and Tea Party organizer Randy Smith is exactly the kind of local opinion leader Norton would like to win enthusiastic support from to shore up the conservative base in the state while downplaying her deep establishment connections…

So the question rising from the night at the Lamlighter is one not only the Colorado left blogosphere is interested in asking: Is Norton serious about eliminating the Department of Education or was she merely playing the small crowd for effect, safe beyond the gaze of Denver media?

Oh she’s serious alright, says her campaign manager:

“She believes state and local control is better than having them taken over by the the federal government… She supports a return to a balance that has state and local jurisdictions as preeminent, empowering parents rather than bureaucrats,” he told the Colorado independent.

The idea is not that radical, he said.

“Federal involvement in education is a matter of legislation, so now it’s a matter of rebalancing… States have rights under the Constitution. We got to this point through intrusive government… [through] rolling federal intrusions, just as we’re seeing in health care and with the Detroit automakers.”

Cummings said Norton supports charter schools and increased choice for parents. He didn’t offer specifics on her plan to eliminate the Department of Education.

The Independent concludes with a brief discussion of why abolishing the Department of Education would in fact be a really bad idea–but you already knew that. Many of the most populated areas in Colorado, centered around the Denver metro area, have long seen strong education policies as a vitally important plank in electoral politics–and eliminating the Department of Education altogether isn’t going to play well come general election time. This wouldn’t be the first hare-brained idea that makes the “Tea Party” cheer and everybody else cringe–the question is how many of these a viable U.S. Senate candidate can afford.