Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.
Black Voters Demand School Choice
The days when black voters were subjected to racist “literacy tests” before casting a vote—like being quizzed on arcane state history or required to guess the number of marbles in a glass jar—are, thankfully, gone. Yet we now encounter new disenfranchisement in the form of politicians who expect our support but deny our overwhelming desire for education freedom for our children.
Black voters have repeatedly expressed support for school choice, with nearly 80% endorsing policies like education savings accounts and vouchers, according to Morning Consult. Polling by RealClear Opinion Research also shows that black voters support school choice more than any other race. Clearly, our communities want our children to have the same opportunities as others, regardless of race, geography or socioeconomic status. We need courageous leadership that will equip our students to thrive.
Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, are widely courting black voters. They hear, firsthand, from the same people we as pastors and community leaders hear from. But do they listen to these constituents when it comes to education freedom?
Kamala Harris Under Scrutiny for Supporting Bans on Fracking, Offshore Drilling
The Commonwealth Foundation’s André Béliveau on how Kamala Harris’ energy stances and previous support for fracking and offshore drilling bans could impact her electability.
Watch here.
Harris and Trump Are Bombarding Pennsylvania With Political Ads
Presidential campaigns are pouring millions of dollars into battleground-state advertising, but no corner of America has seen more money in the past three weeks—or received more ads—than Pennsylvania.
Of the more than $110 million spent across seven swing states since July 22—the day after President Biden dropped out and endorsed Kamala Harris—roughly $42 million has gone into Pennsylvania, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis through Aug. 12 of data from ad-tracking firm AdImpact. That is more than double the $17.8 million spent in Georgia.
State Teachers Union Should Level With Its Members About Using Their Dues for Politics
With Labor Day fast approaching, Pennsylvania school teachers and students will soon start filing back into their classrooms around the same time the country takes the plunge into the final, intense stretch before the November elections.
Since most of the Commonwealth’s educators are represented by a union—the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA)—and given the state’s political significance, public-school teachers are sure to receive plenty of suggestions from their union about who to vote for.
