Compassionate racism
In Sorry, Not Buying, the ever-astute ZZ Packer (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere) perceives the forked tongue with which modern-day Republicans utter the “soothing code words of ‘compassionate conservatism’ that have replaced the now-unfashionable racist rhetoric of decades past.” Not long ago, William Bennett — former education secretary, self-styled moralist, and gambler — philosophized, “If you wanted to reduce crime, you could, . . .