Texas Governor Greg Abbott gave a rip roaring State of the State speech this week in which he took our UP advice and declared an “education emergency” in the state. He  called on the Legislature to pass a $1 billion universal school choice bill.  “Government-mandated schools cannot meet the unique needs of every student,” the governor said.

Now to get most other states to similarly declare an “education emergency” to spur the passage of more private and charter options for all students. (Last week’s math and reading scores show Trump should consider a national education emergency, too.)

Abbott’s support doesn’t mean school choice is a slam dunk.  Gene Wu, the Democratic leader in the State House, complains:  “How do we tell people we’re going to take your money and give it to rich people, so they can send their kids to private school, so they don’t have to have their kids with your kids.”  He even sneered that universal school choice is a “scam” that would benefit “billionaire mega-donors.”

But Wu himself has acknowledged that he attended a private high school and sends his own kids to private school.  But he now wants to deny students in failing schools the same opportunity.

When reporters called his office to explain the hypocrisy, they received no response.