The Clinton campaign and its many enablers in the MSM went absolutely ballistic when they saw Donald Trump reaching out to minority communities.  What followed were predictable accusations of racism, including from Clinton herself.

Some of the reasons for this knee-jerk reaction are obvious; some are not.

The most obvious reason is turf protection.  Trump’s efforts were seen as encroaching on “territory” Democrats consider theirs and have for a while now.  Trump was seen as “muscling in,” so Democrats reacted like criminal gangs during Prohibition.

The less obvious reason was summarized by Trump himself with a marvelously pithy question, for which he has a true gift: “What have you got to lose?”

By asking this question, Trump was reassuring minority communities that the safety net designed to help those unable to help themselves will not disappear if he becomes president.  It was a subtle but evidently effective message.

I hope Trump continues this approach, which used to be called “compassionate conservatism.”  In fact, he should make it his key message until Election Day.  Everything Trump has said about Clinton so far, though true, should be set aside.  Really.

Sure, Clinton is a pathological liar and has been for decades.  However, minority communities needing help care only about her promise to keep public assistance in place as president, which they believe correctly is not a lie.

Sure, corruption at the State Department while Clinton ran it is revolting and should have been investigated by the FBI as thoroughly as her mishandling of sensitive information.  Hammering on that won’t help minority communities in dire straits.

Sure, Clinton’s open-borders policy on immigration will continue to place severe burdens on local resources across the country.  But no matter what Trump claims, it will take much longer to reverse policies started by Obama.  Minority communities need help now.

It’s also true that the economy is in trouble because of eight years of mismanagement by the Obama administration.  However, Obama is not running for re-election, and leaning on him too hard would be counterproductive in many minority precincts.

“Compassionate conservatism” does indeed have a price tag.  Trump will need to continue deficit spending for a while.  It may well take him his entire first term to right the ship of state.  But unless he says the safety net will stay put, he has no chance.

Let’s keep in mind that benefits help more than minorities.  Millions of Americans rely on them.  Okay, maybe they shouldn’t because public assistance is a drug with predictable consequences.  In the short term, however, nothing can be done about it.

If Trump’s “compassionate conservatism” becomes the main theme of his campaign, maybe NeverTrumpers will quit sniping at him, realize what’s at stake, and fall into line.  We need all the help we can get to keep the Clintons out of the White House.