In a 2000 speech he told the conservative Manhattan Institute that vouchers should be used to redefine public education, even if it meant using money from taxes.

McWhorter additionally notes that the conservative Manhattan Institute, for which he has worked, "has always been hospitable to Democrats".

"He went bananas, like a friend who goes off and starts drinking again," says Richard Gilder, former chairman of the conservative Manhattan Institute.

Proponents of the idea include liberal environmental groups, business groups and even the conservative Manhattan Institute.

Sol Stern, a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, called the idea a "insult to every hard-working parent."

In 2006, he joined the conservative Manhattan Institute of Policy Research as a senior fellow.

This was apparently the case with an analysis of Florida's voucher program, published in February by the conservative Manhattan Institute.

With Rudolph W. Giuliani about to become Mayor, the conservative Manhattan Institute should be riding high.

Edmund J. McMahon, a budget analyst at the conservative Manhattan Institute, agreed.

He is a major backer of the conservative Manhattan Institute and The New York Sun daily newspaper.