Big government conservatism, expanding and reframing food stamps: George W. Bush, welfare reform and the 2002 Farm Bill

George W. Bush was elected to the presidency in 2000 with a vision of compassionate conservatism. Attention has been devoted to his supply side fiscal policy and his expansionist foreign policy. However, less attention has been devoted to his social policy, particularly his expansion of the food stamp program. The 2002 Farm Bill, espoused and advocated by George W. Bush, expanded access to food stamps and restored eligibility to immigrants. In this chapter, I argue the food stamp expansion allowed George W. Bush to express his compassionate conservatism by examining the way he framed support of the program around traditional conservative themes such as the deserving poor and the need to reduce government waste and regulation.