Britain and America

'Wilberforce Conservatism'

William Hague reminded the House of Commons of his considerable skills this afternoon when he gave a powerful speech to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.  The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I listened to this section:

"It was the British government which was the first of a major European country to legislate against the slave trade and after 1807, lobbied, bullied, and bribed other nations to follow forthwith.  And, as the world’s foremost maritime power, it was the Royal Navy who bravely enforced the abolition: an assignment which was to become one of the most protracted and gruelling in its history. The suppression of the slave trade was described as ‘perhaps the most disagreeable, arduous, and unhealthy service that falls to the lot of British officers and seamen’ and between 1810 and 1850 the Royal Navy freed nearly 120,000 slaves.  And so the moral case, once made and enshrined in the law, was upheld over the coming decades through a commitment to international diplomacy and the application of British force."

If that passage made me proud to be British another section reminded me of the global leadership of George W Bush's America in opposing modern-day slavery:

"Speaking as Shadow Foreign Secretary, I would like to see an improved and strengthened international effort to tackle human trafficking. The United States, through the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons has elevated this issue, and amongst other endeavours, now produces an influential Trafficking in Persons Report on an annual basis.  Other countries, including our own, must follow suit and act with the same levels of commitment."

It is, of course, an American-made film - Amazing Grace - which pays tribute to the life of William Wilberforce.  If you do nothing else please go to the movie's website and watch the Madagascar clip.  It's strong stuff.  It's already in US cinemas - it's in UK cinemas from Friday.

Download a full pdf of William Hague's speech here.

The worst likely result today...

The result American conservatives are going to find most difficult tonight is the very likely defeat of two-term Senator for Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum.  The conservative National Review magazine recently asked if Pennsylvania would do the right thing?  Almost certainly not.  NR's John J Miller wrote:

"Santorum has served as a leader on welfare reform, Social Security, and foreign policy. His dedication to the pro-life movement and traditional marriage is unmatched. Democrats and liberal pundits are eager to interpret his looming downfall as a repudiation of conservatism itself and some Republicans might even believe it. There would be a chilling effect, warns a GOP aide. A lot of Republicans who arent as gutsy as Santorum would conclude that social conservatism is for losers. Because of this, there may not be a more important election for conservatives in the entire country this year."

Liberal Democrats and libertarian Republicans both have trouble with Rick Santorum.  He's a leading opponent of gay marriage, stem cell research and abortion.  His beliefs stem from his deep Catholicism.  Miller again:

"He was an architect of the effort to ban partial-birth abortion, a strategy that energized the pro-life movement and allowed it to go on the political offensive. By visiting the brain-damaged Terri Schiavo in Florida last year, Santorum may have hurt himself with voters, but he also demonstrated that he's willing to take political risks to promote a culture of life. Ten years ago, his own pro-life convictions were put to the test when his wife, Karen, became pregnant with a child who was diagnosed in the womb with a fatal condition. The couple refused to consider abortion. Their son, Gabriel, died two hours after delivery. Today, the senator wears a lapel pin of an angel to honor the boy's memory. (The Santorums have six other children.) "

Although U2's Bono has described him as a "defender of the most vulnerable", Rick Santorum gets much less credit for the role he has played in championing a more compassionate form of conservatism.  David Brooks did, however, give him some credit in a recent New York Times column.  Brooks lists some of his achievements:

"In the mid-1990s, he was a floor manager for welfare reform, the most successful piece of domestic legislation of the past 10 years. He then helped found the Renewal Alliance to help charitable groups with funding and parents with flextime legislation.  More recently, he has pushed through a stream of legislation to help the underprivileged, often with Democratic partners. With Dick Durbin and Joe Biden, Santorum has sponsored a series of laws to fight global AIDS and offer third world debt relief. With Chuck Schumer and Harold Ford, he’s pushed to offer savings accounts to children from low-income families. With John Kerry, he’s proposed homeownership tax credits. With Chris Dodd, he backed legislation authorizing $860 million for autism research. With Joe Lieberman he pushed legislation to reward savings by low-income families.  In addition, he’s issued a torrent of proposals, many of which have become law: efforts to fight tuberculosis; to provide assistance to orphans and vulnerable children in developing countries; to provide housing for people with AIDS; to increase funding for Social Services Block Grants and organizations like Healthy Start and the Children’s Aid Society; to finance community health centers; to combat genocide in Sudan."

Brooks concludes by noting that Rick Santorum's recent book - It Takes A Family - contained the important observation that, for conservatives unlike libertarians, the family - not the individual - is the essential unit of society.

Related link: A Conservative Vision Of Social Justice by Iain Duncan Smith and Rick Santorum.