I think that, in order to win, conservatives must not allow liberals to paint them as heartless. I thought Bush was on to something when he referred to “the soft bigotry of low expectations”, showing how government hand-holding of the poor is patronizing them and limiting their futures. I thought “compassionate conservatism” was an effective pushback.
Conservatives have to quit being made out to be like social darwinists. Americans don’t want to be that. Americans want to see themselves as givers and (voluntary) sharers. To capture that spirit, conservatives have to demonstrate that private charity, when freely and wisely used, can benefit the giver, the recipient, the community, and can leave government entirely out of it. I have to say, as a newly minted conservative, one of my sticking points was that I really didn’t believe that people would give willingly often enough to really be of significant help. It took statistics about the generosity of conservatives relative to liberals, and participation in community activites run by volunteers to help me see how often conservatives give what is needed, where needed.
I think that, in order to win, conservatives must not allow liberals to paint them as heartless. I thought Bush was on to something when he referred to “the soft bigotry of low expectations”, showing how government hand-holding of the poor is patronizing them and limiting their futures. I thought “compassionate conservatism” was an effective pushback.
Your first two sentences are right on. But defining his own brand of “conservatism” as a compassionate kind effectively labels real conservatism mean.