> Philosophically, Bush Gets Inspiration From an Unlikely Guru
> Marvin Olasky, a former Marxist, is the source of the governor's
> compassionate conservatism.
>
> By T. CHRISTIAN MILLER, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
>
> AUSTIN--A little more than a year ago, on a muggy July day
> packed with political symbolism, Texas Gov. George W. Bush delivered
> his first major policy address as a presidential candidate at an
> Indiana church.
> As the national press hung on every word, Bush sketched his
> vision of a kinder, gentler brand of conservatism, one in which the
> government would turn to religious groups for help serving the poor.
> The word "compassion" popped up 15 times in 20 minutes.
> Watching from afar, proud as a parent at a high school
> graduation, was Marvin Olasky, the inspiration for Bush's philosophy
> of compassionate conservatism and one of the most unlikely gurus ever
> to attract the attention of a potential world leader.
> Olasky--ex-Communist, ex-atheist, born-again Christian--has
> become a savior of sorts among Republicans, who see in his theories a
> way to create small government with a big heart.
> Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich first raised his national
> profile in 1995, suggesting that Olasky's vision was a model for the
> future of the GOP.
> Now, Olasky's idea that religion can play a role in providing
> government social services has found special resonance with Bush, a
> fellow Texan and fervent Christian who wrote the foreword to Olasky's
> most recent book, a paean to faith-based charities published last
> month.
> Olasky believes the current wall between church and state must
> be broken down to let religions use tax money to help the poor. An
> alcoholic needing treatment could take a government voucher to an
> evangelical abstinence program, for instance. Or a taxpayer could
> donate money to help fund a Buddhist self-help center.
> As Olasky's influence has grown, the University of Texas
> journalism professor has become the political equivalent of a double-
> wide trailer in tornado country, attracting roaring controversy.
> In recent months, civil rights groups have attacked his views on
> religion as a menace to the church-state wall. Feminists are outraged
> by comments they say show that Olasky believes women are secondary as
> leaders. And some Jewish groups were angered by a recent article in
> which Olasky attacked a group of conservative newspaper columnists,
> all of whom turned out to be Jewish.
> Even some other conservatives have joined the chorus, saying
> Olasky's work lacks intellectual rigor and stokes negative
> stereotypes of Christian conservatives.
> "We are concerned that someone of this stripe has the ear of a
> presidential candidate who self-admittedly is not an intellectual,"
> said Ira Foreman, head of the National Jewish Democratic Council.
>
> Anti-Semitism Issue Is Raised
> Some of the attacks, especially those that hint at possible anti-
> Semitism, have angered Olasky, 50, who was raised Jewish and has
> praised the work of Hebrew charities in his books. Others he brushes
> off as misreadings that ignore his life's work, which include more
> than 13 scholarly books and hundreds of articles.
> But he's not backing down from his philosophy, which he said in
> a recent interview would even let groups like Scientologists and
> Wiccans use taxpayer funds to deliver services to the poor, so long
> as the programs were voluntary and proven effective.
> "My tendency is to be inclusive. That can include Wiccans and
> Scientologists. If people are going to get mad at me, then so be it,"
> Olasky said.
> Olasky is almost amused by the fierceness of the attacks against
> him. After years of portrayals in the media as an obscure academic
> with an oddball story, he now appears as a powerful Svengali bending
> Bush to a radical agenda.
> Olasky scoffs at the notion, downplaying his role as "a very
> occasional, very informal, very unofficial" advisor who hasn't had
> contact with Bush this year.
> Bush officials echo that assessment, continuing a recent pattern
> of distancing Bush from the controversies that have dogged Olasky.
> "He's an outside, informal advisor," said Dan Bartlett, a Bush
> spokesman. Bartlett noted that Bush had contact with Olasky only
> twice, though both times proved significant.
> One came in 1996, when Olasky helped lead a task force to figure
> out how Bush could implement faith-based programs in Texas. The
> second was in 1999, when he worked on another Bush task force to do
> the same thing, but on a national level as part of his run for the
> presidency.
> Olasky's journey to prominence has been a long, strange
> circumnavigation between ideological poles, from Marxist to church
> elder.
> Born in Massachusetts, Olasky grew up in a Jewish home,
> attending Hebrew school and celebrating his bar mitzvah at 13.
> But a year later, the intellectually precocious youth told his
> parents he was actually an atheist. By the time he entered Yale,
> Olasky was running toward the left at full tilt. He protested the
> Vietnam War. He staged a five-day hunger strike. By 1972, he signed
> up to become a card carrying member of the Communist Party USA.
> Then one night, while reading a passage from Lenin, Olasky asked
> himself the sort of question that keeps college students up at night:
> What if Lenin is wrong? What if there is a God?
> Olasky decided God deserved a second look and began a slow
> process that culminated with his conversion to Christianity in 1976.
> He and his wife began attending a conservative Christian church they
> picked out of the phone book and never looked back.
>
> Gingrich Helps Put Olasky in Spotlight
> In 1983, Olasky arrived at the University of Texas, where he
> taught journalism.
> In 1992, he published "The Tragedy of American Compassion," the
> product of research into turn-of-the-century nongovernmental
> charities and their effectiveness. After a few thousand sold, the
> book seemed destined for the dollar bin at Books-a-Million.
> But then, a rising Republican powerhouse from Georgia--Gingrich--
> discovered Olasky's work. In his first speech in 1995 as speaker of
> the House, Gingrich hailed Olasky in the same breath as Alexis de
> Tocqueville as models for the future of the GOP.
> Olasky, suddenly, was a GOP darling: in demand on the morning
> talk shows, running a think tank with Arianna Huffington, and
> advising the 1994 Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate--Bush.
> But the spotlight didn't really begin to burn until the pitched
> primary season between Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain.
> In February, Olasky wrote an article accusing a group of
> conservative writers of being uncomfortable with Bush's open embrace
> of religion. He implied they were "proselytes in the religion of
> Zeus"--a reference to a Tom Wolfe book.
> As it turned out, all three writers were Jewish--which Olasky
> said he didn't know at the time. Some Jewish organizations jumped on
> the seeming slight as an attack by a Christian conservative on Jews;
> others said they found no offense.
> Olasky, himself a journalist who edits the Christian newsweekly
> World, smelled politics: "At least some of the people who are very
> partisanly motivated were trying to find ways of hurting Gov. Bush,"
> Olasky said.
> Recently, Olasky's writing has drawn scrutiny from women's
> groups, in particular a passage from a 1998 religious newsletter
> interview in which he talked about the biblical tale of Deborah and
> Barak.
> In the story, Barak says he will not go into war unless
> accompanied by Deborah, who was serving as a leader of Israel at the
> time.
> "God does not forbid women to be leaders in society, generally
> speaking, but when that occurs it's usually because of the abdication
> of men," Olasky said. "As in the situation of Deborah and Barak,
> there's a certain shame attached to it. I would vote for a woman for
> the presidency, in some situations, but again, there's a certain
> shame attached. Why don't you have a man who's able to step forward?"
>
> Women's Groups Abhor Remarks
> Olasky said the quote has been taken out of context and that he
> has no problem with a woman as president of the country or a
> corporation, though his own church forbids women to serve as elders.
> That's still not good enough for many women's groups, who find
> Olasky's statements offensive, no matter what the context.
> "I hope he keeps talking and talking," said Loretta Kane, a NOW
> vice president. "I hope he gets lot of media coverage saying he's one
> of George W. Bush's advisors."