Big Government Republicans Rule?
By Gary Aldrich (11/21/03)
Politics is a new investigative subject for me, but it didn’t take long to uncover evidence that the traditional Conservative political movement is stalled. Important agenda items are moving very slowly, or not at all. And on some key issues, the Movement suffers a total loss of momentum, and even policy reversals.
The vast grassroots, which the Conservative movement depends on for much of its funding and other support, may be perplexed that anybody would claim that a Republican President and GOP control of the House and the Senate equals a negative.
But consider the recent signing of the partial-birth abortion ban, heralded as a major Conservative victory. We are talking about murdering full-term babies, and yet there is overwhelming evidence that thousands of viable babies are killed each year based simply on the mental state or “mood” of the woman carrying the child.
That a human being would seek to kill a baby just days before birth due to a “bad” mood is depressing to the rest of us, but that she could easily find doctors willing to perform this barbaric act speaks volumes about how low we have sunk as a society.
The majority of Americans polled agreed with the ban. Yet it took nearly the entire Bush first term to end the madness. That’s clear evidence that the Conservative Movement has lost its punch, and maybe its passion as well.
Hard-Left Democrats, who believe that anybody Center or right of Center is Hard-Right, point to the ascendancy of talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh as proof that “Conservatives” are firmly in control. This, of course, is false. The truth is, Big Government Republicans have taken control of the GOP, while traditional Conservatives are left out of the loop.
The growth and direction of the U.S. Government is a perfect example. The Washington Post recently reported that federal government discretionary spending grew by 12.5% in fiscal year 2003. The Post went on to report that President Bush had pledged to rein in government growth, and that he’s confounded by these statistics. This expansion should not have happened with the GOP controlling two branches of government.
But it’s no wonder, with the Big Government Republicans firmly in control of the agenda. These Republicans actually like Big Government – and have said so publicly. Long ago they threw in the towel on the issue of Big Government, deciding to join rather than fight it, and turn Big Government to their own uses.
Historically, there are a few basic Conservative principles, and one is the notion of limited government. True Conservatives want lower taxes of course, but the simple truth is that if the size and scope of the federal government is reduced, then tax relief must follow.
Conservatives have always understood that limited government is the key to preserving liberty. But today not only do we have runaway government growth, but the government we have inherited from eight years of Bill Clinton is slothful, wasteful, full of incompetent deadwood, and dangerous to our national security, because agencies no longer have the ethic of excellence which in the past could protect us from foreign and domestic terrorists.
Merit has been replaced with touchy-feely Political Correctness, and Affirmative Action in the Executive Branch runs amok, yet two GOP controlled branches of government are silent on government downsizing or needed reforms. Maybe the issue needs to be jump-started, but where are the Conservatives who used to perform this valuable function?
The cost of maintaining this huge government presence in our lives saps our national strength and causes citizens to lower expectations for fulfilling the American Dream. Moreover, the Declaration of Independence says we have the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. Surely citizens have the right to keep enough of their wages to support a family. But in today’s households, it often takes two parents working full time to maintain the American dream. While Moms are forced to work, minimum wage earners raise their children.
Citizens are not sheep to be shorn, or fields of corn to be harvested. The American Citizen is not a resource for the federal government! Citizens of this country must teach political leaders that they serve us – not the other way around.
The Conservative Movement is in a good position to take on a re-education of our political leaders, because it’s the only organized group that understands the ramifications for our nation if we don’t stop, then reverse, government growth.
And the simple truth is, every new agency and every new federal employee brings us closer and closer to Socialism. But we’re so paralyzed in our current thinking that we can’t even return to concepts of merit and excellence from our “public servants” in a time of war.
To add to the complexity of the problem, local, state and federal governments have become their own political entity. Unions organized around government employees are strong special interest groups that provide fierce opposition to any suggestion that government employee ranks be thinned.
True Movement Conservatives still have time to press this administration for a campaign pledge to reduce and reform the federal government. The heartland is with them, if my visits to these areas are any evidence. Folks I talk to shake their heads and ask, “Whatever happened to the Conservative Agenda?” They certainly support George Bush, but they are still waiting for the kinds of positive changes that a majority party should be able to deliver.
The question seems to be, will traditional Conservatives lead and move an agenda forward, or will they cede leadership to the Big Government Republicans, who apparently have not yet found a huge government program that bothers them?
Another question might be, what’s the difference between a Big Government Republican and a Big Government Liberal Democrat?
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