Britain's Conservatives actually rather nice

LONDON, United Kingdom — The next government of the United Kingdom has been auditioning for the electorate. This past week, the Conservative Party held its party conference in Manchester, and the unspoken theme was: "We have changed. We are no longer the 'nasty party' you may remember. We are actually rather nice."

No one is nicer than the Conservative's leader and the likely next prime minister of the country, David Cameron. He closed the conference Thursday with a speech aimed well beyond the packed hall of activists. Listening to the key phrases I could not believe I was listening to the heir of Margaret Thatcher.

The Iron Lady famously said there is no such thing as society. "There is such a thing as society," Cameron said Thursday. "Only it is a different thing than the state."

With that single statement the young leader was able to position the Tories in a new era free from Thatcher's long, long shadow. But it was other words that had me shaking my head: "we not me," "we are all in this together" is his ethos. Rugged individualism was selfishness. He claimed the Conservatives were "progressives" and used the word "organic" to describe the changing definition of Britishness.

More than the connection to Baroness Thatcher was cut by this speech. The long-standing bond between the British Conservative Party and America's Conservatives going back to the Reagan Thatcher era was also snapped.

While Republicans use the worst political alley fighting tactics to scupper President Obama's attempt to reform health costs, Cameron told his conference: "Our National Health Service is the best system," and promised to defend it. As Republican legislators and their allies in the press try to stall any treaties on the environment, the Prime Minister-in-waiting said: "Climate change is real" and he swore to fight it.

Cameron is no great orator. He is a product of his upbringing. Born to considerable wealth, educated at Eton and Oxford, he comes from a social class that values sang froid and keeping one's emotions in check. Yet he is able to project himself as an all around good guy, mainly through his commitment to the National Health Service (NHS) and climate changes.

Why American conservatives haven't cottoned on to the winning formula of wrapping up a cut government agenda with green concerns and building a decent social safety net is a good question.

After spending a couple of weeks in Washington last summer at the height of the health care debate, I came up with two linked answers. First, the Republican Party doesn't have to win elections to exercise power. The whole framework of debate inside government as well as inside the Beltway's media and lobbying circles is shaped by Republican talking-points. Who needs to win elections when shouting and screaming can force a Democratic president and Congress to write their signature legislation with all eyes on what the minority thinks rather than what the majority was elected to do?

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