Leftists and their allies in the media are often very effective at portraying conservatives and libertarians as being heartless for their stances against massive government transfer programs. The reality is that government is the nastiest organization around because accountability is so elusive. Democracy, yes, but throwing the bums out is not the same as throwing them in jail and taking their ill-gotten gains.
George Will has a great column detailing how one person, Lois Lerner (most recently of the IRS) personifies in so many ways all that is wrong with government, especially the monopolistic and seemingly omnipotent federal government. Conservatives and libertarians have a golden opportunity to have an impact in terms of limiting government power if they approach the various scandals — NSA, IRS, and ObamaCare — from a principled position in support of limited government.
If leftists really wanted to help people they would favor capitalism and limited government. Ironic, isn’t it?