Damn George Bush.   No, not the man, but the idea he suggested of “compassionate conservatism”.   It did nothing but to play the liberal idea that conservatives have no heart or empathy for the downtrodden, forgetting of course that many of the down trodden are conservatives, as indeed are a majority of Americans.

David Frum, everybody’s favorite Rockefeller Republican comments thusly on the Mount Vernon Manifesto released today.

“* Are you an American who was earning less in 2007 than in 2000? The document has nothing to say to you.

* Did you lose your home or job or savings in the crisis of 2008-2009? Blank to you.

* Are you worried about the loss of your health insurance – or how you will pay for nursing care for your aged parents – or what 20% youth unemployment will mean for your newly graduated child’s life chances? Not our department.

* Do you wonder whether we are winning or losing the war on terror? Do you want an explanation for why it took so long for a conservative administration to react to military disaster? No answers here.

* Do you generally agree with conservatives – but wonder whether there is room in the conservative world for nonwhites, or the disabled, or the secular-minded, or the gay? The statement does not say “no,” but it does not say “yes” either.

* What about the environment? Economic competition from China? The moral implications of the biotech revolution? Illegal immigration? Educational standards? Well – what about them?

The document answers one question and one question only. If you agree that Barack Obama is engaged in a deliberate and relentless attack on the American constitutional order, well be assured: the conservative establishment is on your side. But if you think those worries are a hysterical distraction from the country’s actual problems? To you, the conservative world says: go away. We have nothing to offer you.”

Frum is about ignorant about true conservatism as many other such – well, RINO’s that have infested the party over the years. He, as they, completely forget the fact that conservatism doesn’t fix the problems that people have, it enables people to rise up in their own ingenuity and effort to solve their own problems.

It’s not to say there is no compassion, but this country wasn’t found on handouts and helpouts and bailouts. It was founded on rugged individualism, hard work, sweat, blood and sacrifice. As Frum and others like him been in charge during the founding of this country, the founders would have still been at Plymouth Rock, complaining about the shortage of corn, the fierceness of the indians, the cold winters, and longing for the leeks and onions of England.

Conservatism has much to offer Americans, especially those who have been ravished by the failures of liberalism and yes compassionate conservatism. It doesn’t have more promises to help do for those thing that they can do – if left alone by an overbearing and inefficient government – can do for themselves.

All the points Frum raises come directly via failed government, not conservatism or pure conservative ideology, and guess what Frum, America’s get that even if you and your ilk don’t.