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Limited Government Syllogism

Submitted by Jon Henke on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 23:52
in

A story that the Right needs to remember and explain:

  1. Big bureaucracies are inherently dumb.

  2. The Federal Government is the biggest bureaucracy in the world.

  3. The Federal Government is the dumbest organization in the world.

The TSA (see link above) is maliciously dumb.  And yet, it is no more inherently rigid and unresponsive that any other government entity.  It's just more visible. 

The Right desperately needs to start telling that story again.  

Many years ago, the Right actively told the story of just how harmful government really was to society.   But then Republicans took control of government and we basically stopped telling that story.  As a result - and even thought government is far larger - the public and the media pay far less attention to the costs and consequences government; instead, they are clamoring for even bigger government.

Until we begin telling that story consistently and clearly again, it will be hard to convince the public of the importance of limited government. 

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Comments

I agree with everything you have said.

Submitted by davidfarrar on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 01:44.

So what will happen if the public fails to heed our warning, is the story that actually needs to be articulated

Perhaps a satirical allegory along the lines of George Orwell's novella, "Animal Farm".  Only this time it is not about Soviet totalitarianism, but of a fascist takeover of a Constitutional Republic by the state and the taxing class.  

Every aspect of our lives will be placed under the cold, bureaucratic hand of the state in order to keep state employees paid, least they revolt and install a Soviet styled totalitarianism in order to insure they get their paychecks on time.

ex animo

davidfarrar

story versus fact

Submitted by jb281 on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 07:11.

Isn't actually enacting limited government more important than telling a story about limited government? The reason Republicans stopped telling the story is because they failed to make it a reality when they had the chance. Telling the story now will only remind people of that broken promise. It's a tough bind to explain away.

Yes, of course it is...

Submitted by davidfarrar on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 18:59.

...but we have not proven strong enough as a political force to stem government growth of the fascist state, empowered by corporatism and organized labor, all demanding growth and higher taxation. Story-telling may well be all we have left to tell the tale before that too is silenced by a typically Orwellian satirical allegory called The Fairness Doctrine.

 

ex animo

davidfarrar

There's only one thing missing...

Submitted by lagomorph on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 08:18.

which Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam point out in Grand New Party...what if the majority of Americans actually want Big Government? 

I'm beginning to open up to the possibility that everything may hinge on this key issue.  Just because we know that limited government is more effective, the rest of the country either may not know, or they don't care, or they simply disagree with us.  I'm not saying they're right,  what I am saying is that it is their right and there may be a lot more of them than there are of us... 

They do...

Submitted by Prester John on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 10:26.

....they just don't want to pay for it.

But they will pay...

Submitted by davidfarrar on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 19:00.

..we will all pay for it someday.

 

ex animo

davidfarrar

I am sure the majority of Americans want Big Government...

Submitted by davidfarrar on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 18:25.

...but that doesn't make it right, nor lessen its eventual effect upon our liberty. Our place as stewards of liberty is to insure the light of conservatism survives in the coming dark-times.

ex animo

davidfarrar

Re: Telling a story

Submitted by Lynn on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 09:40.

First you have to have a leader who can tell the story and make it come alive. Without such a person ,or better yet persons, in place in key positions no one hears the story.

Leadership is what we are missing. We can talk on a blog about what's wrong endlessly, and we do, but until we choose leaders who are capable of making the vision of conservatism come alive for voters we will be stuck in our quagmire.

We saw flashes of leadership in some of our candidates, especially Romney, but none were able to sustain it to the point that they could get the voters to say, "There he is. That's our leader."

...what if the majority of Americans actually want Big Government?

Lagomorph, I think this is a distinct possibility. Our society conditions people to expect the government to take care of them and to be irate if it fails them in the smallest way.

The GOP has failed to provide the necessary counterbalance to this expectation.

No crediblity on the Subject

Submitted by superdestroyer on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 10:10.

The problem with Republicans is that after eight years of the incompetence of the Bush Admnistration, they have no credibility on talking about small government or even efficient government.  Until everyone every involved in the Bush Administration is out of politics permanently, the Republicans will have no credibility.

Also, every conservative should view every Republican candidate through the prism of smaller government.  Instead of jumping on unknow quantities, why not support Republicans who have a long, documented history of cutting government, balancing budgets, and being efficient. 

this problem predates Bush

Submitted by Ironman on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 22:00.

When the 1995 government shutdown made Clinton look better than Gingrich, the sense among GOP professionals was we should never again appear to be the "anti-government" party. This was particularly true in the Northeast, where Dole's poor showing was linked to the reaction over the shutdown. Of course, the local Republicans then ran into the problem that you can only rent allies with taxpayer money, and when it runs out, your credibility goes with it. (ex. Pataki & Whitman). 

I think the problem we face is that there is a strong constituency for what I would call "basic government"---i.e. schools, roads, hospitals. But the Democrats and also some RINO's are highly vulnerable that they favor "luxury government"----corporate welfare, social services to illegal immigrants, Rube Goldberg responses to global warming,bailouts to the foolish. There is not a constiutency for this stuff outside the Gucci loafer crowd.

An example therein is the Tommy Republicans http://rightblog.zubrcom.net/ironman/the-tommy-republicansoffering veto proof support for a painfully unpopular mortgage bailout bill    http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/general_business/only_21_support_federal_help_for_those_facing_foreclosure

The chance to stand again "luxury government" existed but what we see in DC is a rather extreme case of deficient political testostorone. 

limited govt

Submitted by Bridget on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 10:39.

In addition to getting the story back out there and having a real leader to lead the charge, we as citizens need to engage in the process and remain engaged for the long haul.  I am a Precinct Director of a GOP Campaign HQ and am amazed at how 'locked into their comfort zone' many like-minded Americans remain.  People roll their eyes at the thought of sitting at a Voter Reg. table or walking a precinct.  They take their freedom for granted or believe that people like me are out there so, at least somebody is doing something.

Problem is, I can't do it alone.  I can't walk every precinct.  Unlike the dems I can't bus in union labor, pay 'em and feed 'em with taxpayer money as they man the phones or walk the neighborhoods.  Not only that, but we get the gung ho GOPers about a month before an election but, immediately afterwards they tune out and fall back into the easy chair. 

The liberal media out here in CA totally skews all things leftward and blocks out all good GOP news.  It's not an excuse for people.  I read between the lines and showed up - what's their excuse?  How do we get people to take up the cause of their liberty?  Is it like addiction?  Will they have to hit bottom first before they see that  fighting for limited govt./  traditional values and culture as their personal responsibility?  We're way past whistling in the dark...the radicalized left has left it's filthy trail everywhere you look.  The war has been underway for some time now and I'm outmanned by the enemy.  Maybe it's just California, but it seems to me that people like to talk and talk and talk but, nobody shows up when there's work that needs to be done.

We need to reach young people especially before they're exposed to the intimidating 'group think' commies in college - heck they're exposed to it in H.S. anymore....  There's alot of work that maintaining a free republic requires and people are  just talking about it not taking action.

I'm glad you mentioned California, Bridget

Submitted by lagomorph on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 19:06.

because the issue I have in our state is that I'm just not seeing us cultivate that "farm team" of upcoming young conservative politicians for whom I would walk a precinct.  The events I've participated in show that the only conservatives who are "dedicated" are social conservatives who have absolutely no use for people like me who were punks in the 80's and are now Republicans in the 2000's.  We frighten them.  We agree with a lot more of the policies that John McCain stands for than the "true California conservatives" do, and we're a lot more libertarian about immigration and social issues than they are.  Drew Carey probably got it 50% right when he said that Libertarians are just Republicans who smoke pot.  We were the ones who helped John McCain carry the state of California during the primary instead of Mitt Romney.  We're the ones who sent him small donations as soon as the surge started working because a lot of us are ex-military and we're all about the theme song from Team America, "America F*** Yeah!" when it comes to our soldiers and the politicians who we know are working for them.

We're the ones that all the true conservatives would love to smack upside the head for our apostasy.  We're the ones who thought Ron Paul was just plain creepy, but kinda smart and creepy at the same time.  And we're the ones who understand that Barack Obama is creepy times a hundred, so it would be nice if we could work together, but whereas we think born again Christians are really nice people, I believe the overriding sentiment is that we represent Satan Himself.  I dunno if that helps you out at all, but I'm not interested in my father's Republican Party any more than they're interested in turning over the reins to a motley crew of Republican Revolutionaries.  But full disclosure:  I'm here as an insurgent. I don't expect major change will or even ought to arrive overnight, but you've gotta give me someone and something I can believe in before you ask me to spend the weekend passing out yard signs for ya.  In my district, where I've met several of my candidates, the only one I'd do that for today is John McCain.

~ Liberte, Egalite, Nobamate

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