Free Republic

As weeks without a budget turned into months, Republicans decided to push through a stopgap plan to get money to schools, government agencies and programs while talks on a complete budget deal continued. Again it was on party lines, again Wolf vetoed it. "I understand we have divided government," Wolf said. "What I don't understand is people who don't want to govern at all." A few days later the Republican leaders announced they would give the governor a chance to demonstrate he has the votes for tax increases through a floor vote next week, and Democrats have been scrambling to...

Gridlock is better; at least that’s what history shows for the budget. In contrast to all the handwringing that a divided government is bad for getting things done, it has a far better record for balancing the federal budget than does one-party control in Washington. This, in turn, points to an inescapable fact: Washington’s budget problem is spending, and spending does not happen on its own. Over the last 81 years, there have been just 13 federal budget surpluses. Of those 13, only three have come with single-party control of the White House and Congress. And one of those three,...

Abstract: "The Irony of Populism: The Republican Shift and the Inevitability of American Aristocracy" analyzes the shift in the role of the Supreme Court following the movement towards a democratic Senate which culminated in the Seventeenth Amendment. The Supreme Court's shift is presented as the inevitable result of the system of mixed government that underlies the constitutional order, which orders American Government into democratic, aristocratic, and monarchical parts. While in the original conception of the constitution the Senate was the aristocratic part, the Senate would become part of the democratic part with the Seventeenth Amendment and prior procedural changes. Into...

With their record over the past few years, the Big Government Republicans in Washington do not merit the support of conservatives. They have busted the federal budget for generations to come with the prescription-drug benefit and the creation and expansion of other programs. They have brought forth a limitless flow of pork for the sole, immoral purpose of holding onto office. They have expanded government regulation into every aspect of our lives and refused to deal seriously with mounting domestic problems such as illegal immigration. They have spent more time seeking the favors of K Street lobbyists than listening to...

Question: We all have time to pursuade and influence others in our movement and those outside or uninformed about conservatism. Then our performance is graded during the republican primaries. Generally our candidates were close in ideology with some differences. What happens next is puzzling, rather than vote for the candidate that was not exactly what I was looking for, we decide to either not vote or vote for an independent, thus ultimately putting a liberal in office. Bottom line is do you want a 90, 80, or 70% Republican or a 100% liberal. Mind you I am a 100% guy...