The Real Compassionate Conservative: Mayor Bloomberg

During the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush famously cast himself as the "Compassionate Conservative." As it turned out, Bush wasn't so compassionate. He introduced a tax cut that overwhelmingly favored the richest Americans, supported former Attorney General Ashcroft's suit to overturn Oregon's voter-approved Death With Dignity Act, and, most recently, vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have increased funding for stem cell research.

The promise for "compassionate conservatism" remains alive, however...in New York. Last week, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the city's newest plans to eradicate homelessness. The NY Times described it as follows:

Beginning an aggressive push to reduce the number of people living on New York City's streets, the city will start pressuring homeless men and women to leave makeshift dwellings under highways and near train trestles and will raise barriers to make those encampments inaccessible, Mayor said on Monday.

The city has found 73 of those sites inhabited by groups of chronically homeless people, the mayor said. "Humanely, respectfully and firmly, we'll work to get these men and women to enter supportive housing, enroll in treatment programs or go into shelters," Mr. Bloomberg said to a gathering of government officials and social service providers from around the country.

"The objective is not in any way to force people from one area to another," Mr. Hess said. "It is to take a social service intervention strategy approach to help people make a decision to move from these very unhealthy encampments."

(Diane Cardwell, "City to Clear Homeless Encampments," July 18, 2006)

This new effort--clearly "conservative" in its aggressive, no-nonsense, results-driven modus operandi--represents an attempt to marry conservative formulas with liberal ideals. It should be taken seriously, as it comes on the heels of a significant investment in "supportive housing," a program that not only provides homeless shelters, but also critical services likes substance abuse treatment and psychological counseling.

While it remains unclear whether the mayor will ultimately succeed, he should be commended for his willingness to take on one of society's greatest ills and his open-mindedness in fashioning prospective solutions. The president could learn a thing or two.

Mayor, Bloomberg, Conservative, Homeless