The Foundry

ST. PAUL — There is still not a lot of action on the floor of the convention hall, which is giving bloggers (stationed far above the floor) time to get to know each other. To our right is Hip Hop Republican founder Richard Ivory, who says he is a huge fan of Heritage senior research fellow Ron Utt’s papers on housing policy.

Ivory describes Hip Hop Republicans as those who see that “for far too long, urban areas have been controlled by a Democrat monopoly and ignored by head-in-the-sand Republican leaders.” Ivory’s favorite issues: economic empowerment, educational choice, access to information and empowering the potential of the individual. Ivory’s vision for education:

It means that the parents of urban children must have the opportunity to take the tax dollars assigned to them via the current public school system and redistribute the funds to schools that will truly prepare their children for 21st century jobs. The prime motivator in a free market — competition — will either force bad schools to improve their teaching performances or lose students (and subsequently their jobs) in the process.