[Peach]

Let's hope the party listens to Pence, because I'm hearing the same rumblings everywhere now. It's almost an open revolt.

[TBP]

Pence is right, The GOP has become every bit the Big Government party that the Democrats are. More later, but an annual growth rate in domestic discretionary spending of 8.2 percent, as oppposed to 2.3 percent under Klintoon, tells a lot of the story.

[ImpBill]

Mike Pence for President.

Heck let's just clone him and replace 90% of the rest of the GOP federally elected representatives.

[CrazyIvan]

I wish I could express myself this eloquently. He's dead on with his observation. We are dealing here with the kind of vote buying that was pioneered with FDR and the left. As P.J. O'Rourke puts it, "It's the ultimate scam; you bribe people with their own money." I'd like to add to that that the bribery is being done with our descendent's money now.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

The ultimate problem is that the American Public wants to have its cake and eat it too. Everyone in government knows that we could balance the budget with Social Security and Medicare reform; cutting subsidies like agriculture, energy, hwy funds and much social program spending.
The last time a major effort was made to do this was when Gingrich and the GOP were castigated by Clinton and the MSM as starving school children and throwing the poor and homeless out in the street. Clinton played the government shutdown to perfection and Gingrich had to back down. The message was set-reducing spending was not politically beneficial. Of course small cuts were still possible, but even when the congress recently cut $40Billion+ (minuscule compared to what was needed) the hue and cry from the left went up: blaming the deficit on tax cuts.

Perhaps I am an idealist, but the other defining moment was when the Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution failed the Senate by one vote. Had that vote passed it would likely be in the constitution by now.

The American Public can be educated about balancing the budget, but unless our leadership has the will to do that over a long period of time, it won't happen.

[midwyf]

AMEN!!!!!!! Just great, I feel abandoned by my own party.

[B Knotts]

OK...I'm on board with this guy.

[B Knotts]

Small government PING

[layman]

An $8 trillion national debt

Actually it's 8.259 trillion as of this morning ... a lot of money. If it was laid out end to end in dollar bills it would stretch for 781 million miles. A jet plane traveling at the speed of sound (741 MPH) would require 120 years to fly from one end to the other. Traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) it would take one hour and ten minutes. And they keep on spending like drunken sailors ... Republicans and Democrats alike.

[jpsb]

"We are in danger of becoming the party of Big Government"

LOL, "in danger"? It's a done deal, the GOP is the party of big government and big business. I wish there was a conservative party in the usa.

[ChiefBoatswain]

There are two types of politician. The "party" politician, and the "power" politician. The party politician is a politician who believes in and follows the principals of the party, Republican or democrat. The power politician believes in, and seeks, power.

Currently, the GOP has the power, and naturally the power politicians want to be "Republicans". That's why you're seeing the corruption, spending, etc. that you're seeing. The power politicians have simply switched to the GOP, and have brought their corrupt ways with them. Call them "rinos" if you will, but they do not represent the values of the GOP, but they do have the protection of the party.

It's too bad, and it shouldn't be.

Unfortunately, the GOP will be tarnished with doings of these politicians as long as the GOP is in power. And, then when the democrats regain power(which they will because of the power politicians), the power politicians will gravitate toward them.

[Reily]

In regard to 'Big Government Republicans'. I really don't believe there is a workable majority of 'small government believers' out there among the constituents that rel,ably vote GOP. I think there was a moment back in the 80s to 90s time frame when the balance could have been tipped but for now that moment has been passed. There will have to be a massive education and persuasion effort undertaken to bring it back. I am not hopeful it can come back without a serious economic crisis. Even then the crisis could be demagogued into full bore socialism!
Its so much easier and ego fulfilling for politicians to be Santa Claus and so psychologically comforting for voters to be the 'kids at Christmas'.

[Stellar Dendrite]

mike pence in 08!@

[Wolfie]

Conservatives know that the only way to get their social agenda in place is to make sure they get elected by spending as much or more than their Liberal counterparts. "Smaller government" isn't on the menu anymore.

[traviskicks]

pence ping!