So you voted ‘yes’ on DeVos. Does that make you a hypocrite?

Below is a list of every senator and the VP Mike Pence who voted “yes” on DeVos’ confirmation on 2/7/2017. She has said she is going to do away with public schools entirely. So if a politician benefited from public schools and then voted for DeVos, I guess that’d be a little — what’s the word — hypocritical, wouldn’t it? Let’s see if any of these politicians fall into that category.

Remember: This is only looking at politicians’ education history vs. their vote for DeVos. It does not take into account any money (*cough* bribery *cough*) they may have received, nor if they were unwilling to listen to their constituents.

Mike Pence (VP)

Columbus North High School — public; Hanover College — private; Indiana University — public

Oh, Pence. Public high school AND public university? That’s not looking too good.

Steve Daines (Mont.)

Bozeman High School — public; Montana State University — public

John Thune (S.D.)

Jones County High School — public; Biola University — private; University of South Dakota — public

Ron Johnson (Wis.)

University of Minnesota — public

Richard M. Burr (N.C.)

Richard J. Reynolds High School — public; Wake Forest University — private

Jeff Sessions (Ala.)

Wilcox County High School — public; Huntingdon College — private; University of Alabama — public

Roger Wicker (Miss.)

University of Mississippi — public; Roy Blunt (Mo.); Southwest Baptist University — private; *Taught at Marshfield High School — public

Bob Corker (Tenn.)

Chattanooga High School — Has now branched into two different schools, the Chatanooga Center for Creative Arts and the Chattanooga School For Arts and Sciences. Both are public; University of Tennessee — public

Michael B. Enzi (Wyo.)

Sheridan High School — public; George Washington University — private; University of Denver — private

John Barrasso (Wyo.)

Central Catholic High School — Merged with the Holy Name High School to form Berks Catholic High School which is private; Georgetown University — private; Yale University — private

Okay, Barrasso, you stayed out of public school. You’re not a hypocrite. This time.

Dean Heller (Nev.)

Carson High School — public; University of Southern California — private

Rob Portman (Ohio)

Cincinnati Country Day School — private; Dartmouth College — private; University of Michigan — public

Bill Cassidy (La.)

Louisiana State University — public

John McCain (Ariz.)

Episcopal High School — private; United States Naval Academy — public

Richard C. Shelby (Ala.)

University of Alabama — public; Birmingham School of Law — private

Mike Lee (Utah)

Timpview High School — public; Brigham Young University — private

Ted Cruz (Tex.)

Faith West Academy — private; Second Baptist High School — private; Princeton University — private; Harvard University — private

Dan Sullivan (Alaska)

Culver Military Academy — private; Harvard University — private; Georgetown University — private

Cory Gardner (Colo.)

Colorado State University — public; University of Colorado — public

Rand Paul (Ky.)

Brazoswood High School — public; Baylor University — private

How was that public high school education, huh, Rand Paul? Good enough to get into Baylor, I see.

Deb Fischer (Neb.)

*mother was an elementary school teacher with Lincoln Public Schools; University of Nebraska-Lincoln — public

Lindsey Graham (S.C.)

D. W. Daniel High School — public; University of South Carolina — public

James M. Inhofe (Okla.)

Tulsa Central High School — public; University of Tulsa — private

Jim Risch (Idaho)

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee — public; University of Idaho — public

James Lankford (Okla.)

*mother was an elementary school librarian; Lakeview Centennial High School — public; University of Texas at Austin — public; Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary — private

Jerry Moran (Kan.)

Fort Hays State University — public; University of Kansas — public

Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.)

La Salle Academy — private; Harvard College — private

Joni Ernst (Iowa)

Stanton High School — public; Iowa State University — public; Columbus College — public

Tom Cotton (Ark.)

Dardanelle High School — public; Harvard College — private

Michael Rounds (S.D.)

South Dakota State University — public

Thad Cochran (Miss.)

Byram High School — public; University of Mississippi — public

No shame in going to public high school and college, Thad. I did it, too. Except you VOTED AGAINST IT.

Mitch McConnell (Ky.)

duPont Manual High School — public; University of Louisville — public; University of Kentucky — public

Michael D. Crapo (Idaho)

Idaho Falls High School — public; Brigham Young University — private; Harvard University — private

John Hoeven (N.D.)

Dartmouth College — private; Northwestern University — private

Pat Roberts (Kan.)

Kansas State University — public

Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.)

Holton-Arms School — private; Duke University — private; University of Virginia — public

Orrin G. Hatch (Utah)

Brigham Young University — private; University of Pittsburg — public

John Kennedy (La.)

Zachary High School — public; Vanderbilt University — private

Thom Tillis (N.C.)

Chattanooga State Community College — public; University of Maryland — public

Todd Young (Ind.)

Carmel High School — public; United States Naval Academy — public

Jeff Flake (Ariz.)

Brigham Young University — private

Tim Scott (S.C.)

Charleston Southern University — private

You didn’t go to a public college, but I don’t know where you went to high school (which, let’s be honest, was probably public). Jury’s still out on you, Scott.

Ben Sasse (Neb.)

Fremont Senior High School — public; Harvard University — private

Marco Rubio (Fla.)

South Miami Senior High School — public; Santa Fe Community College — public; University of Florida — public

David Perdue (Ga.)

*BOTH of his parents were schoolteachers; Georgia Tech — public

Johnny Isakson (Ga.)

University of Georgia — public

Charles E. Grassley (Iowa)

Iowa State Teachers College — now the University of Northern Iowa, and it is public; University of Iowa — public

John Cornyn (Tex.)

American School in Japan — private; Trinity University — private; University of Virginia — public

John Boozman (Ark.)

University of Arkansas — public; Southern College of Optometry — private

Lamar Alexander (Tenn.)

Maryville High School — public; Vanderbilt University — private; New York University — private

Conclusions:

- 4/51 (8%) had no connections to public schools in high school or higher education.

- 3/51 (6%) had no connection to public higher education, but high school information wasn’t found.

- 3/51 (6%) had parents who worked in the public school system.

- 44/51 (86%) had at least one, but on average 1.46, confirmed connections to public education.

My question:

These people are hot-shot senators now, so clearly their education did something right. If public education was good enough for them, why isn’t it good enough for our nation’s future?