Bush and his GOP cabal view limited government and fiscal conservatives with disdain--"an ideology of universal selfishness." No wonder there is such a chasm developing in the party.
Limited government and fiscal conservatives obviously do not need to support the GOP anymore now that the party has clearly stated their disdain for us.
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Abandon the Republican Party. It is dead and deserves to be.
THAT is enough to label him as an enemy of America! Those who belong to CFR are hellbent on destroying America!
I'm wondering if we should think in terms of having an efficient and working government. It was really clear that this Congress wasn't working for our interests w/their crazed spending.
I'm not trying to suggest that it will "work" under the Dems, but I'm thinking that instead of talking about how to limit government's influence, how can we work to provide services for people in a cost-effective way - to provide for the defense and security and all the things that are absolutely necessary, while eliminating wasteful programs/spending.
It isn't selfish to want government to be small and non-intrusive; however, I know that I want our government to work in the 21st century.
These are just some thoughts/ideas...I consider myself to be a Republican, but I also want government to work for me - not against me.
Any Republican who is having an Identity Crisis has obviously been watching too much left wing liberal spin.
All Lemmings who read an article posted on Newsweek, MSNBC please feel free to exit to the nearest Republican exit door, and join all the other sheeple headed for the Democrat Cliff and please Jump.
"Unfettered individualism can loosen those bonds, while government can act to strengthen them."
This is pure BS, expanding the role of government weakens these bonds by usurping the role of the institutions of Civil Society.
Newsweek propaganda. Why do they care about the intra-party fights in the GOP.
I was beginning to nod my head in approval while reading this until I came to : "But the golden age of austerity under Reagan is a myth. During the Reagan years, big government got bigger, with federal spending reaching 23.5 percent of GDP (compared with just over 20 percent under the current president)."
I don't have time to research whether these figures are even accurate. What's remarkable with Reagan is that he DRAMATICALLY cut taxes, the economy suddenly grew (compared to the stagflation of the 70s), and tax revenues actually increased. When people make more money, keep more of that money, and get more government services in return....thats the best possible scenario. How to people get paid to write these columns and overlook these simple evaluations.
While his logic is bogus, his conclusions are worth pondering. I too have become frustrated at the ideological nature of free-market/less-government absolutism. In MOST cases, this is the best approach. In other approaches, a blend of the two serves the people best. Just as liberals hold an almost laughable paranoia at corporate America, we sometimes tend to hold that view about government.
The old conservatives had some concerns about that creed, which Russell Kirk called "an ideology of universal selfishness." Conservatives have generally taught that the health of society is determined by the health of institutions: families, neighborhoods, schools, congregations. Unfettered individualism can loosen those bonds, while government can act to strengthen them. By this standard, good public policies—from incentives to charitable giving, to imposing minimal standards on inner-city schools—are not apostasy; they are a thoroughly orthodox, conservative commitment to the common good.
I thought it was called sanity.
The author of this Newsweek piece is using a secular liberal worldview to judge the GOP and does not appear to recognize the effect of Christian morality on the expectations of Republican voters. I would recommend that readers should dismiss this article.
Yay, another article by another Bush Administration socialist. I guess Newsweek never tires of its formula.
Let's restate that for a little more clarity and strip away a little editorial bias. Not much, just a little.
"The combination of disdain for government, a preference for markets and an emphasis on individual choice is usually called libertarianism." 
