Replies

I said that I was thrilled that Martha lost. Did you not read that or did you not understand that? And yes, he like all other Republicans move toward more government just more slowly than Dems. Name me just one Republican to the right of FDR, i.e., one who advocates going back to pre-FDR gov.
Below is my piece on the subject published on WND last year.

The Republican Party spends most of its effort promoting the Democrats and their agenda. That’s crazy! Crazy but true. Republicans effectively, if unwittingly, advance the Democrats’ leftist agenda. No matter who is in power, the federal government, its power and expenditures, continue to grow with little chance of reversal.

The Democrats propose a “generous” increase in the minimum wage. The Republicans either oppose an increase and opt for staying at the current level or counter with a more modest increase. The Democrats say that we need to increase the school lunch program by x million dollars. The Republicans answer by offering an increase of one-third x. Democrats say that the government needs to spend a lot more subsidizing housing, and Republicans say that the current level is adequate. Democrats say that more people should be made eligible, and Republicans defend the status quo.

So the predictable dynamic is that the Democrats fight for an increase in spending for some government program, and the Republicans either oppose any increase or counter with a proposal for more modest growth. What impression of the Republican Party does this give? What is the one principle that people are able to discern from Republicans’ policies as stated above? That the Republicans are cheap and uncaring. Some may manage to construe it as fiscal responsibility, but what it comes down to is withholding funds from “worthwhile” programs – thus ultimately withholding help from those who are “entitled” to it.

If the Republicans agree to spend $2 billion on a program, they are inherently saying that it is good and just and worthwhile. Why else would they agree to spend such a massive amount of money on it? If people who position themselves as fiscally responsible spend that kind of money, it has to be for something good. Something right. Something necessary. And here they cede the moral high ground to Democrats, liberals and leftists by validating their policies, programs and agenda. It’s Democrats who are fighting for all of these good and righteous schemes and the Republicans who are dragging their feet.

Every time Republicans say yes, but not so much, they are saying that the Democrats are right and they, the Republicans, are cheap. The Democrats are looking out for the needy and the Republicans are looking out for the cheap and stingy. We are cheap! Hardly an inspiring philosophy. Hardly a winning strategy.

We all know that the best defense is a good offense. The GOP has turned that truism on its head. Their only offense is a pathetic defense. And no matter how good your defense, if you have no offense you will eventually lose. It’s inevitable. After the 1994 elections swept the Republicans into control of Congress, many anticipated the extinction of a few federal agencies. Many even a department or two. Dare to dream. Then we were told that Rome was not built in a day, so don’t expect it to be dismantled in a day. Well, we are still waiting for those first few bricks to be knocked loose.

Sure, the left has moved us to a gargantuan and ever-growing welfare state one step at a time, or make that 1 billion at a time. That is the only way it could have happened. Anyone who 100 years ago had tried to propose what we have now would have been run out of town. Any American town. As per the above, it may be impossible to move in the opposite direction by increments. When you propose to spend less than the left wants, the only principle you are standing on and promoting is cheapness. Not a very compelling platform; rather, it’s a recipe for long-term defeat.