"We have a law that allows us to establish charter schools here in this state. We ought to get going on it"
About this Quote
The line lands with the breezy impatience of a governor treating public policy like a stalled construction project: the permits are already in hand, so why are we still standing around? Craig Benson isn’t making a soaring argument for educational pluralism; he’s applying executive pressure. The rhetorical move is to frame charter schools as an obvious next step, not a contested redesign of what “public education” even means.
“We have a law” is doing quiet but heavy work. It invokes legitimacy and forecloses debate: the public already decided, the legislature already acted, the process is settled. What remains is implementation, which Benson casts as mere lag - bureaucracy, unions, local boards, the usual suspects. Then comes “We ought to get going on it,” a phrase that sounds commonsensical but functions as a wedge. It shifts the conversation from whether charters will improve schooling to why anyone would resist momentum itself.
The subtext is political alignment with a national early-2000s reform consensus: market mechanisms, choice, managerial speed. Benson’s background as a businessman-governor (and New Hampshire’s brand of fiscally minded pragmatism) makes the sentence feel like a mission statement for governance-as-execution. It’s also a way to signal to reform advocates and donors that the state won’t just tolerate charters on paper; it will actively build the runway for them.
In seven seconds of plain talk, Benson tries to turn a polarizing policy into a delayed errand - and makes hesitation sound like negligence.
“We have a law” is doing quiet but heavy work. It invokes legitimacy and forecloses debate: the public already decided, the legislature already acted, the process is settled. What remains is implementation, which Benson casts as mere lag - bureaucracy, unions, local boards, the usual suspects. Then comes “We ought to get going on it,” a phrase that sounds commonsensical but functions as a wedge. It shifts the conversation from whether charters will improve schooling to why anyone would resist momentum itself.
The subtext is political alignment with a national early-2000s reform consensus: market mechanisms, choice, managerial speed. Benson’s background as a businessman-governor (and New Hampshire’s brand of fiscally minded pragmatism) makes the sentence feel like a mission statement for governance-as-execution. It’s also a way to signal to reform advocates and donors that the state won’t just tolerate charters on paper; it will actively build the runway for them.
In seven seconds of plain talk, Benson tries to turn a polarizing policy into a delayed errand - and makes hesitation sound like negligence.
Quote Details
| Topic | Learning |
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