Though often accused of backwards thinking, the U.S. Senate this evening actually took a step backwards, voting 58 - 39 against the Ensign amendment attaching a continuation of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program to the hotly debated Omnibus spending bill. This vote flies in the face of the intent of hundreds of programs in ARRA and the budget, and comes on the very same day that President Obama promised the American people that his Administration “will use only one test when deciding what ideas to support with your precious tax dollars. It’s not whether an idea is liberal or conservative, but whether it works.”

By all accounts, D.C. OSP was working on many levels for the lucky 1,700 kids - among the District’s poorest - benefiting from the educational opportunities offered by their scholarships.

Perhaps more of his colleagues should have been in attendance for Sen. Joe Lieberman’s passionate defense of D.C. OSP (of which he has been a long-suffering champion), though I guess it’s hard to raise campaign funds if you’re working in the Chamber…

(click on the image above to see what they must have missed)