"I know one thing: That poverty is not even being discussed in this campaign, by either party," Bob Woodson said.
But it was being discussed last week on Capitol Hill by Woodson, the founder and president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, a throng of fellow anti-poverty activists and two conservative Congressmen representing the Republican Study Committee.
Helping the poor is a crucial tenant of Christianity, the faith explicitly proclaimed at the press conference and that principally informs the moral stands of the social conservative movement.
But it is mostly absent in the conversation about politics on the right, in part because many conservatives believe charity, not government, is the proper venue for assisting the needy, and they feel that many of government's efforts have inadvertently hurt the poor.
So the press conference Thursday had a bit of awkwardness to it, as Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.) faced questions from reporters about what the group was calling on Congress to do as it stood in the shadow of the Capitol Dome. He was also hesitant to specify which government programs that help the poor are wasteful.
Somewhat ironically, the dismal economy has pushed poverty from the larger political discussion, as both parties focus on the economic concerns of the middle class. "I'm not concerned about the very poor - we have a safety net there," GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said in February, to criticism.
Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/Republican-Study-Committee-Anti-Poverty-Group-Reach-Out-217628-1.html?pos=hftxt
But it was being discussed last week on Capitol Hill by Woodson, the founder and president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, a throng of fellow anti-poverty activists and two conservative Congressmen representing the Republican Study Committee.
Helping the poor is a crucial tenant of Christianity, the faith explicitly proclaimed at the press conference and that principally informs the moral stands of the social conservative movement.
But it is mostly absent in the conversation about politics on the right, in part because many conservatives believe charity, not government, is the proper venue for assisting the needy, and they feel that many of government's efforts have inadvertently hurt the poor.
So the press conference Thursday had a bit of awkwardness to it, as Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.) faced questions from reporters about what the group was calling on Congress to do as it stood in the shadow of the Capitol Dome. He was also hesitant to specify which government programs that help the poor are wasteful.
Somewhat ironically, the dismal economy has pushed poverty from the larger political discussion, as both parties focus on the economic concerns of the middle class. "I'm not concerned about the very poor - we have a safety net there," GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said in February, to criticism.
Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/Republican-Study-Committee-Anti-Poverty-Group-Reach-Out-217628-1.html?pos=hftxt
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