DIE, among its other more poisonous precepts, teaches that America is a structurally racist country that must be fundamentally changed.  The reason that I, as a solid conservative, have never been much troubled by this element of DIE is because I agree with it wholeheartedly.  What bothers me is that other conservatives just don't seem to get it…yet.

The thinking goes as follows.

America has on the order of one hundred Means-Tested Social Welfare programs.  These include free or subsidized food, housing, education, welfare, child care, transportation, health care, tax credits, etc.  And, since these are means-tested, they incentivize couples to split apart in order to minimize family income so as to maximize benefits.  It is these very programs that create single-parent families, which as we all know is the best ticket to a life of misery and poverty for any children unfortunate enough to belong to these split-up families.  And, since minorities are overwhelmingly represented percentage-wise in these welfare programs, as a whole, the programs can be considered "structurally racist."

In other words, America's Means-Tested Social Welfare Programs are structurally racist.  The solution is welfare reform, top to bottom: fundamental change.  Conservative change!

To me, it's a godsend that proponents of DIE are calling attention to the fact that we need welfare reform to achieve fundamental change in our country.  This has been a solid conservative talking point for decades.  And, by hijacking DIE's main talking point and using it as our own, conservatives can cause DIE itself to collapse into minor leftist puffery.  A twofer.

I would love to see conservatives repurpose a leftist principle to our advantage to put us squarely on the side of minorities.  Let's start with DIE.

Image: JoslynLM via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.