What I Learned This Summer (or What I Already Knew): The Uncompassionate Conservative Movement

What I Learned This Summer (or What IAlready Knew): The Uncompassionate Conservative MovementbyDavid J. Leonard | NewBlackMan
Kidshave made their way back to school, with many writing and reporting about whatthey did last summer. I thought I would do something similar, writing aboutwhat I have learned about "conservatives" in the last few weeks. 
Lesson(1) At a recent Republican Debate, audience members made their support for state-sponsoredexecutions clear.  What I learnedis that they think it is a beautiful thing that Texas executes so many people; themere mention of execution resulted in cheers and ovations.  They must think that being part of agroup of nations (including China, Iran, North Korea and Yemen) that carriesout a great number of the world's execution is worthy of applause.  I guess some find pride in the factthat Texas executed more people in 2010 (17) than Bangladesh and Somalia and asmany as Syria (one less than Libya and about 10 behind Saudi Arabia).  While I am appalled by the barbaricpractice of state-sponsored murder, I am equally disgusted by the reaction thatI witnessed that day.  I would guessmany of them are unhappy with the U.S. Supreme Court, who issued a stay ofexecution for Duane Buck, who was convicted of double murder in 1985.  According to TimMurphy:
In orderto "secure a capital punishment conviction in Texas they needed to prove"future dangerousness"—that is, provide compelling evidence that Buckposed a serious threat to society if he were ever to walk free. They did so inpart with the testimony of a psychologist, Dr. Walter Quijano, who testifiedthat Buck's race (he's African American) made him more likely to commit crimesin the future. (Quijano answered in the affirmative to the question ofwhether "the race factor, [being] black, increasesthe future dangerousness for various complicated reasons.")
GovernorPerry's death penalty record (particularlyquestions raised about his execution of an innocent man) and the applausegiven for executions give me  pause.  It is yet another reminder of the hypocrisy in the term"compassionate conservative."  Lesson(2) The members of the Republican Party think a person without insurance inneed of health care should be left to die because "choices have consequences."  DanielleBelton, from The Black Snob, describes the situation in the following way:
The most startling moment was during a hypotheticalquestion posed by Wolf Blitzer abouta 30-something, once healthy uninsured guy who didn't buy insurance when hecould afford it, but got really sick and might die. Should we let him die?While Ron Paul was trying to givehis "go to a church for help if you're uninsured and dying of an illnessanswer" (more on that later), the crowd got a little restless and cheeredfor letting the dude die .
On top ofthe last debate where folks cheered Gov. Rick Perry's death penalty rate in Texas  -- even when some of those folkskilled were likely innocent -- has demonstrated a bloodlust among theconservative, "pro-lifer" crowd. Once again proving, the best thingyou can do as a human being with these folks is stay a fetus as long aspossible.
Iguess executions (of some people) are good and  allowing some people to die is also fine. These first two"lessons" were just from this month, followed-up on lessons learned throughoutthe summer
Lesson(3) Arizona began implementing a policy that required a $25 dollar fee to visitfamily members within prison.  In abill introduced by Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, the Arizona Departmentof Corrections  "impose[d] a $25fee on adults who wish to visit inmates at any of the 15 prison complexes thathouse state prisoners."  Arizonaofficials justified the law, which is the first of its kind in the nation, byciting the cost of background checks, even though the collected money will notbe used toward this cost.  Insteadthe money will be used to pay for building maintenance and repairs "needed" atits prisons. 
Beyondthe inhumanity of a law that seeks to potentially inhibit and restrict familycontact, it is a poor policy if  one is invested in shrinking prison population.  Numerous studies about recidivism andthe creation of "safe" and "secure" prisons cite family ties as paramount.   A recent study from a Massachusettscommission illustrates how such fees are bad policy, (I would add that theyare also immoral, disgusting and illustrative of the lack of compassion and thecommonplace hypocrisy in today's political culture):
Given that "more than half of male inmates were theprimary source of financial support for their children" pre-incarceration3?, fees will notonly impact inmates but also their family members. Inmates that are indigent orhave limited sources of income will often rely on funds transferred from theircanteen accounts for reentry upon their release, including for the purpose ofsecuring housing, access to substance abuse/mental health programming, andeducational opportunities. Funds may also be necessary to regain drivers'licenses for commuting to and from the workplace as well as to pay down thecosts associated with imprisonment. The commission believes that additionalfees would increase the number of inmates qualifying as indigent, increase thefinancial burdens on the inmate and their family, and jeopardize inmates'opportunities for successful reentry.
Lessonslearned: "Conservatives" (at least in Arizona) don't like taxes, but do like totax families who merely want to see their loved ones who happened to beincarcerated.  Executions and theuninsured=good; families wanting to see loved ones=bad or at least not worthyenough to avoid taxation.
FutureLesson: House Republicans are currently pushing a bill that will eliminate alldiscretion and autonomy in deportation cases, which according to Mother Jones would result in thedeportation of women like Rebeca Gonzales (pseudonym given in the report).  In February, after years of abuse,Gonzalez phone 911 after her boyfriend threatened to prevent her from seeingher 1-year old child.  Once thepolice arrived, they (1) demanded that she speak English, (2) disputed heraccusations; and (3) they arrested her. Even though doctors told the police that there was evidence of physicalabuse, they proceeded with the arrest. Ultimately the charges were dropped against Gonzalez, yet the damage wasalready done with ICE notified about her immigration status.  AdamSerwer reports that:
Hercalling the authorities for help in finding a safe haven for herself and herchild, Gonzales found herself about to be deported. ICE eventually agreed toclose Gonzales' case after immigration activists turned her story into a symbolof what they see as the Obama administration's draconian immigration policies.Back in Washington, though, Republicans were accusing the administrationof not being draconian enough. In July, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), thechairman of the House Judiciary Committee, used an ICE memo urging agentsto prioritize the removal of undocumented immigrants with criminal recordsto charge that Obama was instituting "backdoor amnesty."
Unhappywith the Obama administration's partial reversal on its immigration policy, onethat had resulted in the deportation of over 1 million people during hispresidency, the Republicans are seeking to show their compassionate side again.  With over 400,000 people deportedyearly, and with roughly 4 million American children living with undocumentedparents (either 1 or both), the deportation process is one that splits upfamilies.  DAMorales best summed up this lesson as follows: "What I really respect aboutRepublicans is their devotion to God and Family. Because of God, they have thismoral code that insists Illegal is Illegal, even if slavery or segregation isthe law, the law is sacred and above humanity."  He continues to highlight a lesson in their hypocrisy:"Because of their love for Family, and Family Values, they have no problemsplitting up Latino families, deporting the undocumented parents and leavingthe children behind, because that is EXACTLY WWJD, or rather WJWD (what Jesuswould do)."
Sonext time you hear a politician foaming at the mouth regarding family values,remember my lessons from this summer. And these issues certainly transcend party (the Democratic Party hasbeen ineffective and complicit in this country's policies regarding the deathpenalty and deportations), the lessons are not so much about the policy choicesbut the callousness, the lack of respect for humanity, and the visiblecelebration of these injustices. This is what gives me pause. The failure of leaders within the conservative movement to say, "No, wedon't celebrate death, we don't celebrate splitting families apart, we don'tapplaud pain and suffering" has given me pause.  I think Danielle Belton best summarized how I am feelingfrom the lessons of the summer in the following way:
Nope,this "let them eat death, poor peoplearen't good enough for cake"attitude is more about: "I have money and I don't want to use it tohelp other people I don't know even if by helping those other people it makesour society a better, healthier and more fair place. I embrace the jungle oflife where, in most cases, I'm already a winner, or, I hold on to the dream thatsomeday I will be the winner and I too can use a small poor child as a footrest after a long day of money counting."  This kind of attitude -- a weird perversion of the perfectlyfine Protestant work ethic -- has always been around in American society. Heck,it was pretty much the poor white person's justification for slavery, as maybe,one day, they'd get some darkies to love-and-or-horribly-abuse. What was thepoint in "fairness" if those meant to be beneath you became yourequals?
Andwhile these are not new lessons, evidence in the legislative push to severparental rights for those incarcerated for drug abuse, legislative agendas thathave sought to restrict and limit access to basic welfare, and legislativeefforts to privatize prisons thereby sending incarcerated people to serve theirtime elsewhere, there is something new here.  The celebration of and the callous praise for denying life,liberty, and the pursuit of happiness amongst the less-fortunate, amongst thepoor, amongst communities of color, amongst those most vulnerable, feels "new"(renewed).  And while I don't longfor a return to a "compassionate conservative movement," I think we would allbe better off if we put a moratorium on clapping for execution, death, anddeportation at least while I wait for end to the death penalty, an end topeople dying because of a lack of affordable and available health care, and endto deportations.  Can I get a fewapplause for that???
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DavidJ. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Genderand Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. He has written onsport, video games, film, and social movements, appearing in both popular andacademic mediums. His work explores the political economy of popular culture, examiningthe interplay between racism, state violence, and popular representationsthrough contextual, textual, and subtextual analysis. He is the author of Screens Fade to Black: Contemporary AfricanAmerican Cinema and the forthcoming AfterArtest: Race and the War on Hoop (SUNY Press). Leonard is a regularcontributor to NewBlackMan andblogs @ No Tsuris.