The Lonesome Death of Compassionate Conservatism

It didn't last very long and, to be honest, it never was quite as robust as its supporters claimed it was. There was no official obituary, no eulogies rendered, no elegies written, no Requiem Mass held, and no panegyric was delivered on television or to a joint session of Congress. In the end, "compassionate conservative" passed with a whimper, not a bang.

....Even at the height of its usage, "compassionate conservatism" wasn't ever really about a heck of a lot of compassion. It was more about branding and the selling of a presidential candidate.

At the heart of Team Bush-Olasky's argument was an anti-government animus that maintained that the federal government and state governments should play less of a role in supporting social safety net programs, and instead, that role should shift to local charities and faith-based organizations.

While there has been no grand funeral, no flags at half-mast, no wake and no tear-filled remembrances, consider compassionate conservatism dead and buried. Practically non-existent since the election of Barack Obama and the rise of the Tea Party, some final nails in the compassionate conservatism coffin may have been delivered during two recent Republican Party presidential debates

COMPLETE STORY

© Scoop Media