"Compassionate Conservatism," by Marvin Olasky
reviewed by Miss Poppy Dixon, 06.01
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Bush hammers the last nail into the coffin of the US Constitution.
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George Bush speaks often of "compassionate conservatism." It's a recently minted term that many journalists and commentators treat as a general description of Bush's personality. But compassionate conservatism is not a descriptive term, it's a policy.
The Godfather of Compassionate Conservatism
The New York Times has referred to Marvin Olasky as the "godfather of compassionate conservatism," the tag line he uses on his web site. Whether the term "godfather" refers to the literal interpretation, or Mario Puzo's classic of the same name; at best it harkens to an outmoded form of paternalism, and at worst to a sort of privatized justice based on one's own mercurial whims. Either use of the term "godfather" hints at the ideology behind compassionate conservatism.
The Book
Olasky's book Compassionate Conservatism: What it is, What it Does, and How it Can Transform America was released in 2000, just in time for Bush's campaign. The book chronicles a trip Olasky takes to see how real people are changing lives. In other words, the book, and the "research" on which it's based, are purely anecdotal. With his teenaged son Daniel in tow, he traverses Texas (his home state), the midwest, and the east, looking for examples of successful faith-based charities.
World Magazine
Before we go further, let's take a closer look at Olasky. He's currently the Editor of World Magazine, a Christian publication that started out as a children's magazine and morphed into a cross between US Today and Weekly World News. World Magazine claims that it "reports news you won't find anywhere else, is a sharp, full-color news weekly, and helps readers think biblically about the world around them." It's no understatement that World reports "news you won't find elsewhere." World broke the Chinese fetus eating story in 1995 just before the Fourth Annual Conference on Women in Beijing, shortly after the story appeared in a Hong Kong tabloid. The story has since been discredited, but World refuses to retract the story or apologize for its racist tone.
Bush Advisor and Apologist
Olasky is also an advisor to George W. Bush. In fact, G.W. Bush is the subtext of the book "Compassionate Conservatism," having based a large portion of his presidential campaign on Olasky's concept. A staunch Bush supporter, Olasky defends his failure to name four foreign leaders of then current global hotspots.
If a candidate did not know the name of a minor foreign leader, that was big news, but if he did know the names of some life-changing leaders in America's inner cities, that did not much matter."Compassionate Conservatism," p. 16.
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Bush demonstrates the public's position on faith-based alternatives.
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Olasky includes a vignette of Bush's conversion to Fundamentalist Christianity, on the heals of his growing drinking problem. Bush is quoted, "I've had some personal experience with [drugs and alcohol]. As has been reported, I quit drinking. The main reason I quit was because I accepted Jesus Christ into my life in 1986." [p. 192]. With three known arrests, it's no wonder that Bush believes in the transformative power of putting one's life in the hands of the Father.
Olasky recounts the Republicans' growing frustration with the public perception that Liberals and Democrats had cornered the market on compassion. Attempting to appear compassionate themselves a group of Republican congressmen joined together and "came up with some expressions that caught on: 'effective compassion... challenging, personal, and spiritual help... warm-hearted but tough-minded' concern." [p. 7] They finally settled on "compassionate conservatism." With a catchword coined, and a conclusion successfully drawn, Olasky was off to gather evidence to support the new Republican policy.
Looking for Love in All the Right Places
One of his first stops was the Fair Park Friendship Center - a "summer education and evangelism program" There is no mention that the clients of this center are impoverished, or troubled, just that there are 16 kids attending. Pulling no punches Reverend Stephan Broden states "...the reason we're here is that kids need to come to Christ."
Olasky interviews resident teacher, Tim Oostdyk, who is "so excited" that he delays "poking himself" with needed insulin. Olasky thinks Fair Park exemplifies a charity that deserves taxpayer support. It "would make sense for the public to be involved." [p. 26]
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Kathy Dudley, government scares her.
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A few pages later Olasky interviews Kathy Dudley, a self-styled liaison between Dallas neighborhoods and local businesses. She founded a store where poor parents can select Christmas presents for their children; arranges for street lighting; all good stuff.
But Olasky confides that "government scares her." Dudley has turned down government grants saying "If I take this money and hire a housing director, I will hire a Christian and expect a certain standard of behavior. If the director has sex outside of marriage, I will fire him immediately."
Fornication and adultery may be sins, but they are not generally considered crimes. Would Dudley also refuse to hire a homosexual, a Jew, an unmarried woman, an African-American? Does "compassionate conservatism" mean that tax dollars will finance the dismantling of civil rights advances that we have fought for together as a nation? In Olasky's scheme - yes.
When Dudley says, "Evangelism is central to everything we do," she reflects the sentiments of the other faith-based samples Olasky provides:
"Our philosophy is that for a man to die with a full stomach and enter hell is a great waste and a moral tragedy. For a child to have new clothes and keep an old heart is an example of misdirected energies." [p. 52]
"I'll take the money, but I'm going preach Christ..." [p. 79]
Olasky disingenuously adds that all faiths can benefit from compassionate conservatism.
[It will] make taxpayer funds available to a diversity of antipoverty groups, so that recipients can choose from a variety of religious or nonreligious traditions. (With the freedom to choose or reject services from a faith-based organization, religion never has to be forced on clients.)"Compassionate Conservatism," p. 182.
In reality a Jewish lesbian in a small Texas town might have only a single Christian program at her disposal. It's unrealistic to think that all faiths will be represented in every place, and Olasky's examples have made it clear that his representative charities plan to press Christ on everyone who shades their door.
Tax Scam
In addition Olasky calls for "charitable choice" where taxpayers will be allowed to fund the groups of their choosing, and "take those expenditures off their taxes," not as a deduction from their income, but directly off their taxes owed. [p. 187] This equates to direct funding of religious organizations with taxpayer money. The First Amendment of the US Constitution forbids such funding: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Olasky shrugs off concerns of possible corruption, "...some corruption will emerge in some compassionate conservative programs But our society will have to live with that..." [p. 193]
Conclusion
An unspoken premise in the notion of "compassionate conservatism" is that poverty is a punishment for sin, and that a "right" relationship with God will reverse bad fortunes. "Compassionate conservatism" denies any and all social and political causes of poverty.
It also sets up a two-tier system of morality. Many wealthy people indulge in the same behaviors that Olasky claims cause poor people to become and stay poor, with no adverse effect on their wealth or social standing. Instead of addressing moral issues equitably "compassionate conservatism" blackmails the poor by withholding social services unless "Christian" behavior is exhibited, or at least mimicked.
Compassionate conservatism is the latest scheme to launder taxpayer money through the church and into the pockets of the wealthy. If Bush manages to institute the program, it will corrupt both our government, and our churches. Heaven help us.
