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Compassionate Conservatism: Dead Or Alive?
Capital Research Center ^ | December 2006 | Martin Olasky

Posted on 12/11/2006 2:51:23 PM PST by vadum

“Look on the bright side,” conservative John Derbyshire declared the morning after the GOP’s November nightmare: “The good ship U.S.S. Compassionate Conservatism just took a torpedo in the magazine.” Derbyshire, irritated by the Bush administration’s spending spree, and equating that with compassionate conservatism, just doesn’t get it. Compassionate conservatism, properly understood, is not a cause of the GOP’s downfall. Instead, it’s the ticket to helping the poor, decentralizing social services, and saving Republicans from their traditional identification as green-eyeshade, mean-spirited, royal-purpled people eaters. Let me explain. One of the effective Democratic ads before November 7 quoted North Carolina basketball coaching legend Dean Smith saying, “I’m a lifelong Baptist and vote for Democrats. One reason? Democrats are serious about alleviating poverty.” Coach Smith was only partly right. Yes, many Democrats have been serious, but they’ve also been ineffective—and how serious are those who repeatedly choose what sounds good over what is good? But Republican failures made Smith’s statement look right to many voters. Republicans paid for their inability, despite Congressional majorities, to move ahead a compassionate conservative agenda. They paid for not advancing alternatives to the failed faith that we measure our concern for the poor by the size of our governmental appropriations, not the content of our character. Not to say that poverty-fighting was a major issue in the late lamentable campaign. Certainly the war in Iraq was #1, although the election was by no means a mandate to give up. (A New York Times/CBS News Poll just before the election showed 55 percent of Americans wanting to send more troops to Iraq, and 62 percent thinking the U.S. will have to stay in Iraq beyond two years.)... FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE AT http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/CC1206.pdf

(Excerpt) Read more at capitalresearch.org ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Front Page News; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: compassion; compassionate; conservatism
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If it's dead, it's no thanks to the Demontraitornationalsocialist cabal and its MinTruth brainwashing division.

CC is socially conservative (anti-abortion, drugs, pro-guns, property rights), politically moderate strong on defense, high amount of government involvement in public affairs), and fiscally moderate/conservative (low taxes but high funding to programs). CC is an attempt to revitalize our image; less as the party of the arrogant rich and more as the party of average people doing what's best for AMerica and to guide America back to it's roots through incrementalism.

It's true conservatism is compassionate. But tell that to the average American and they'll laugh in your face. That's the 60 years of BS kicking in.

While fraud, third party protest votes, and stay at homes played a role on election day, the biggest determinant is the independent and moderates, subjected to years of propaganda and bs, voted as their MinTruth and DTNSC want them to. All the issues that played a role amongst these voters, Iraq, Foley, corruption, and stem cells are of course lies spread by you know who, which even got some conservatives believing in it.

It's definitely not Jeffersonian conservatism,, but rather Hamiltonian. Our forgotten Founding Father was very much a big government guy. So is Pres. Bush. The President believes that government can serve the public interest. Of course that's wrong. But at least his methods and policies lean more towards freedom and individual rights and less towards statism. Saying it's socialism or communism is flat out wrong. You don't get a choice if it truly is.

CC is one of the best chance at bringing America back to its conservative roots by encouraging individual responsibility. Then someone else can take over and say "CC's fine, but let's go with a little more freedom." Then we work from there and the traitors can eat it as America's restored to it's rightful position.

Not everything to the left of you is socialism/communism. The adage Rome wasn't built in a day fits our situation well. To get to our zenith in the 50s and early 60s took centuries. To get to the deneneracy we are suffering today took 60 years. You'd think you'd get it in less than two decades especially with the setback of the Usurper non president? You're kidding.

Nomex on. For some people unless it's 1000% what they want right here right now they'd rather eat nothing and starve.


21 posted on 12/11/2006 4:54:10 PM PST by Killborn (Age of servitude. A government of the traitors, by the liars, for the sheep.)
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To: samm1148

We need more people like you !


22 posted on 12/11/2006 4:56:38 PM PST by dforest (Liberals love crisis, create crisis and then dwell on them.)
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To: vadum
Warning bells went off loud and clear in the 2000 GOP primaries with "Compassionate Conservatism" and "On the backs of the poor"

Knew Bush and Rove were going to be disappointments to say the least

But the alternative was Gore and the democrats

What's a body to do besides cry
23 posted on 12/11/2006 4:58:01 PM PST by uncbob (m first)
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To: Killborn
the biggest determinant is the independent and moderates, subjected to years of propaganda and bs, voted as their MinTruth and DTNSC want them to.

Moderates--Middle of the Road--another name for voters who haven't the faintest idea of what is really going on

Ain't nothing in the middle of the road but a yellow line and dead skunks
24 posted on 12/11/2006 5:01:37 PM PST by uncbob (m first)
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To: JHBowden
"Compassionate conservatism is a joke. No reasonable person should have compassion for revolutionary Islamists, for example. Make them an offer they can't refuse instead."

Funny, but I seem to recall The Compassionate Conservative referring to Islam as the "religion of peace" several dozen times.
25 posted on 12/11/2006 5:06:17 PM PST by BW2221
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To: DustyMoment
IMO, "compassionate conservatism" is one of those political shadow terms used to provide cover for a closet liberal. No real conservative could have sat for so long on his "veto" pen while so many lousy bills and excessive budgets crossed his desk.

Agreed.

Nor would they have sought the resignations of: John Ashcroft (DOJ); Porter Goss (CIA); Donald Rumsfeld (DOD) and John Bolton (U.N. Ambassador).

I suspect he has practically declared himself to be out of the closet as the liberal RINO he is. And no truly American President, let alone a conservative...calls the Minutemen..."Vigilantes".

26 posted on 12/11/2006 5:12:27 PM PST by Paul Ross (Ronald Reagan-1987:"We are always willing to be trade partners but never trade patsies.")
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To: vadum
Compassionate Conservatism is word trick to trick American women into VOTING intelligently.. because most women are democrats.. Actually most liberals are women..

Socialist ideology rises and falls on feminine feelings..
Socialist men are their pimps.. panderers and gigolo's..

27 posted on 12/11/2006 5:26:46 PM PST by hosepipe (CAUTION: This propaganda is laced with hyperbole)
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To: vadum

This is so, so sad, Freeper after Freeper on this thread , just like Olasky who at least has the excuse of being a self-absorbed narcissist, doesn't know that Arthur Brooks, econ prof at Syracuse, has answered dean Smith and every other brain-washed liberal, with an empirical argument demonstrating that conservatives are far more compassionate than liberals who want to rely on redistribution by government to demonstrate their compassion (like Dean Smith). The clincher: if all Americans gave blood at the rate liberals do, the blood supply would shrink by 30%; if all Americans donated blood at the rate conservatives do, the blood supply would grow by 25%. But there is much, much more in this book. Please get it and read it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0465008216/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-8805534-7344859#reader-link


28 posted on 12/11/2006 5:35:08 PM PST by gusopol3
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To: Paul Ross
And no truly American President, let alone a conservative...calls the Minutemen..."Vigilantes".

You make a good point. And, sadly, I agree.
29 posted on 12/11/2006 5:59:16 PM PST by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: samm1148
This election was lost by the center moving away from the GOP. Wihout the votes of the undecided/independent voter, the GOP can't win elections.
30 posted on 12/11/2006 8:59:34 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (Some people see the world as they would want it to be, effective people see the world as it is.)
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To: Luis Gonzalez
The "center" saw a party pretty much committed to spending money, handing out bennies to every Tom, Dick and Harry from Mexico and a hapless president who couldn't articulate a request for a Hershey bar much less explain the peril of Arab terrorism. No I say again: For those who don't believe in conservative ideas then what are you doing in the republican party? When conservatives recapture the party and campaign on conservative ideas, the center will follow.
31 posted on 12/11/2006 10:57:57 PM PST by samm1148 (Pennsylvania-They haven't taxed air--yet)
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To: samm1148
"When conservatives recapture the party and campaign on conservative ideas, the center will follow."

The Ccenter just rejected the idea of social conservatism.

32 posted on 12/11/2006 10:59:55 PM PST by Luis Gonzalez (Some people see the world as they would want it to be, effective people see the world as it is.)
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To: vadum

Dead or alive? The question is real or not real. It's not real. There's no such thing, at least that I've seen.


33 posted on 12/12/2006 5:03:09 AM PST by jammer
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To: dhuffman@awod.com

It looks to me as if it has been the opposite: the right's version of social conservatism/fiscal liberalism-irresponsibility.


34 posted on 12/12/2006 5:05:14 AM PST by jammer
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To: uncbob

I always said that mods believe half the lies of the libs.

I should know. I used to be one.


35 posted on 12/14/2006 12:01:05 PM PST by Killborn (Age of servitude. A government of the traitors, by the liars, for the sheep.)
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