Compassionate Conservatism: Its Brief History, Demise, and Future Prospects
Many allege—or, arguably, observe—that conservatives are without message. “Conservatives are not for anything—only against things,” they suggest. It is a good question to ponder: what are conservatives for? What is our agenda or platform? About a decade ago American conservatives developed and rolled out an agenda they called “compassionate conservatism,” spearheaded by several brilliant minds deeply schooled in the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville and Edmund Burke. The agenda was rooted in civil society, public/private partnerships, and an empiricism that examined what social policies actually delivered results. Despite the policy’s roots in
sound political theory and sociology and its exemplary advocates, the effort failed so miserably that even the phrase “compassionate conservatism” is unusable. In this reflection I detail what Bush’s compassionate conservatism was, why it failed, and how we might revive its sound foundations for future use. Especially given our nation’s current state—with the federal government growing in unprecedented ways (e.g. bailouts, healthcare, and energy), conservatives still having no credibility in fighting for limited government, and conservatives/Republicans struggling to find their message—the time is ripe for thoughtful conservatives to recall the best of Tocqueville to develop a uniquely American picture of human flourishing where families, neighborhoods, and communities thrive.
The Early Days
Marvin Olasky, John DiIulio, and Don Eberly were at the center of the brain trust of the “compassionate conservative” agenda introduced by President George W. Bush in the 2000 campaign. It provided conservatives with a way to respond to accusations that they had a cold heart and were indifferent to suffering. The concept—part political theory rooted in Tocqueville and Burke, part public branding effort—was promising. After all, conservatives had been a party of “no” since the ’94 Gingrich revolution (cf. their intense and successful effort in the ‘96 welfare reform act). Compassionate conservatism attempted to (rightly) make the case that conservatism is compassionate in that the domestic public policies it advocates result in Americans faring better—be better cared for, educated, and even paid.