The Battle for the Children

Last night I linked to an interesting Opinion Journal column on the "fertility gap" between liberals and conservatives. Conservatives have far more children than liberals, so it is likely that at some point not too many years from now, conservatives will outnumber liberals.

David French at NRO's Phi Beta Cons (linked above) makes an interesting point, that since liberals aren't actually having as many children as conservatives, the political battle lines instead are being drawn in our nation's public schools, which are staffed largely by liberals who are fighting for the "hearts and minds" of the nation's children.

"After decades of litigation, the balance of power is increasingly clear: While parents who can afford to do so have a right to opt out of public schooling (through home schools or private schools), if the kids are in public schools they are essentially wards of the state and can be subjected to all kinds of state indoctrination without parental consent."

He concludes: "Why does the Left need to have children...when they can raise yours?"