Calvin News

As a term "conservative compassion" seems innocent enough.

But the two words - especially when linked as "compassionate conservatism" - already have been fodder for several skirmishes in the fight for the 2000 Republican party Presidential nomination.

And on Monday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m., a man who once fought such political wars will be at Calvin College to explain why the phrase inspires such heat and debate.

Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats will speak on "Conservative Compassion: Oxymoron or Opportunity" for Calvin College's third annual Henry Lecture, sponsored by the school's Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics.

"Compassionate Conservatism" has been called "weasel words" by Lamar Alexander. Dan Quayle has been reported as ordering his staff to "never, ever" use such language. And of course the man whom many consider a front-runner for the 2000 GOP bid - Texas governor George W. Bush - has made "Compassionate Conservatism" his hallmark, which is perhaps why others who seek the nomination have sought to distance themselves from the phrase.

In fact, the debate over this philosophy is taken so seriously by Republicans that many believe the outcome could determine the party's nominee.

In Coats, the Henry Lecture showcases someone who promises to shed interesting insights on the philosophy of compassionate conservatism.

Interestingly, Coats was Dan Quayle's chief of staff when Quayle was Congressman. Coats then ran for Quayle's House seat when Quayle became a Senator and ran for Senator when Quayle became Vice President. And, despite Quayle's dismissal of the phrase, many believe that Coats was one of the originators of the compassionate conservatism philosophy - believing in it long before it was adopted by Bush and others.

Another interesting Coats connection is to possible 2000 GOP candidate Gary Bauer, who recently picked Tim Goeglein to be communications director of his presidential exploratory committee. Goeglein worked for Coats for 10 years, first as deputy press secretary and then as press secretary. Bauer, who worked for the Reagan White House in the late 1980s, is on a leave of absence from the Family Research Council, a conservative think tank, while he explores a presidential bid. When he weighed in on the compassionate conservatism debate he said simply that the phrase was "redundant."

Coats is a Wheaton (Ill.) graduate and from a Christian Reformed Church background - the denomination with which Calvin is affiliated.

He is the author of a book published by Baker Books entitled: "Mending Fences: Renewing Justice between Government and Civil Society."

He likes the "charitable choice" provision of the new welfare reform and is well versed on welfare reform efforts in the state of Michigan. And he is National Board President of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA), the nation's largest youth mentoring organization. A former Big Brother mentor, Coats has stayed close friends with his former Little Brother for almost 30 years.