The Bloggers Get Results

One day after guest-blogger Ann Althouse wrote at Instapundit about an outrageous little get-out-the-vote effort that utilized public school kids, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the program is toast...

Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent William Andrekopoulos late Wednesday ordered all principals in his district to suspend any community canvassing by students, including the distribution of election literature.

The move came after consultation with the city attorney following a day in which the district had received dozens of calls from people criticizing its involvement in a get-out-the-vote effort during school hours by hundreds of children, some as young as 11. The students' participation in the program was reported Wednesday in the Journal Sentinel.

The program was administered at 33 MPS schools in conjunction with Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund, a group whose parent organization has endorsed Sen. John Kerry for president. The project also includes three high schools in Madison and a high school in Racine.

"There were too many variables associated with canvassing for the district to manage," said Roseann St. Aubin, MPS communications director. "The administration felt it had to take action to avoid the appearance of any impropriety."

Larry Marx, co-executive director of Wisconsin Citizen Action and Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund, called the superintendent's decision "extremely unfortunate."

"The students are bearing the brunt of a decision based on political pressure that is being brought on the district," Marx said. "This is a project that the district should be proud of. It is outrageous that partisan pressure is brought to bear that is making kids suffer."

No, Mr. Marx (man, that name is... well, extremely coincidental), it's not okay. First of all, sending the kids out of the classroom to traipse around town doesn't further education in civics. Second, having a group that openly endorses John Kerry running the program and deciding where the canvassing efforts take place means suspicion is appropriate.

Man, November 2nd can't come fast enough.