No Government is Good Government Ideology Fractures the Republican Party

[babylonsister]

http://www.politicususa.com/government-good-government-ideology-fractures-republican-party.html

No Government is Good Government Ideology Fractures the Republican Party

By: Rmuse
Jun. 2nd, 2013



There are many Americans who lack a basic understanding of what government is except to complain it is an organization exerting control over the population, but obviously it is much more than a source of power over the people. Government is necessary to enforce policy and provide services that positively affect nearly every human activity in important ways despite conservative’s belief it is inherently evil and worthy of elimination. Over the past four-and-a-half years, Republicans have actively campaigned on, and promoted, an anti-government agenda regardless the myriad benefits to the entire population, and their goal in eliminating government is to eliminate as many of the benefits and services to the majority of people as they can. However, some Republicans who decry the federal government as too big, too expensive, and too overreaching are the first in line for federal funding if it is politically expedient, and besides hypocrisy, it shows the necessity of the government they are wont to eliminate.

Last week President Obama told graduates at Ohio State University that “You’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. You should reject these voices” and went on to say, “a government that works properly can be best-equipped to help and protect the public,” but unfortunately for many Americans, Republicans steeped in conservative ideology disagree. Republicans claim President Obama epitomizes overreaching, out of control, and over-funded government citing the Affordable Care Act, stimulus spending, automobile industry bailout, and attempts to expand education and healthcare as prime examples of bloated government, and yet government spending is at its lowest in 60 years. Some Republicans even decried giving natural disaster relief to storm-ravaged states as another example of wasteful spending only to embrace the President when their states were struck by natural weather-related disasters. Those governors who reject federal funding as wasteful for programs like expanded Medicaid and the stimulus adhere to a selfish sentiment that when their states are affected, federal funding is good if it is “only in my backyard, not anyone else’s.”

There are some things that only the federal government can accomplish and disaster relief is just one example. Republicans have latched on to the libertarian philosophy that the only good government is no government and that the individual is responsible to take care of themselves. However, they fail to recognize that the Interstate highway system, military, intelligence community, law enforcement, fire protection, border security, and air traffic control are best administered and funded by the federal government because the scope of such programs exceed what an individual or state can ever achieve. Still, a Republican strategist claimed that conservatives in the Republican party “are not arguing for a government of zero, it’s arguing for a government that acts responsibly and makes decisions about priorities” that are typically aid to the rich, and made a ridiculously erroneous contrast to Democrats he claims “want to just increase everything” in spite of the lowest spending in decades and a leaner government than any Republican over the past 50 years. Some Republicans, though, are having second thoughts on their entire “no government is good government” sentiment and rifts are forming between Republicans within the same states.

snip//

Republicans are going to have to concede their philosophy that no government is good government is detrimental to this nation and its people, and recognize President Obama is right that “government that works properly can be best-equipped to help and protect the public.” The public, and individual states, are ill-equipped to face the challenges of millions of uninsured Americans, repairing decrepit roads and bridges, or provide massive relief operations when natural disasters strike. Doubtless libertarians and small-government Republicans will be first in line for disaster relief after the devastation in Oklahoma over the past week as much as Chris Christie was after his state was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy last October. Republicans can hardly have it both ways and still legitimately claim their minimalist government policy is good for America or its people when they openly depend on so-called “big government” to step in and provide relief regardless it is for natural disasters or healthcare for the needy.

[kentuck]

1. Yes.

Big government is too big to succeed and big banks are too big to fail. ???

[Ed Suspicious]

2. Yes! Makes my head want to explode.

[CanonRay]

3. The Republicans are paralyzed by the conflicts in their views

and their paralysis is infecting the entire nation.

[L0oniX]

4. Obviously not anti-government enough to walk away from their big government jobs.

[malaise]

5. ReTHUGs are morons

Rec

[starroute]

6. Republicans want government that only helps the rich

Their idea of proper government functions includes:

- Protecting property "rights" through the police and the court
- Promoting American power and business interests overseas through the military and diplomacy
- Subsidizing corporations, particularly in certain powerful industries
- Enforcing contracts and compulsory arbitration of contracts that favors the powerful
- Suppressing the ability of ordinary workers to organize and have a political voice

Their idea of what government should not be doing includes:

- Helping the long-term poor
- Helping the temporarily disadvantaged (sick, unemployed, disaster-stricken)
- Defending the rights of workers, consumers, or the environment
- Maintaining minimal standards for the treatment of those in prison
- Enforcing standards of equality and equal access to resources

See the pattern?

[Archae]

7. Don't forget the GOP attitude towards women.

"Keep 'em barefoot and pregnant!"

The Virginia GOP candidate for attorney general pushed a bill (that fortunately failed,) that would have had a "womb police," putting women in jail for a year if they didn't report a miscarriage to the cops within a day.

[colsohlibgal]

8. I Wonder How Or If This Impasse Ends

We'll need more citizens more informed and thinking things through thoroughly. If we had that far right zealots like Cruz and other Tea Party types couldn't get elected as dog catcher.

Small or no government, right. Good luck keeping the roads fixed or the bridges standing. Good luck keeping water flowing and sewers working. Keep water around for fires. Buy your own books for your library. It goes on and on. If we could only beam these true individualist believers back to 1760 we'd all be happy - at least those of us still in 2013.

Right here right now most all the money is moving fast from the non wealthy to the very wealthy. Our income inequality is off the charts and if you're helping speed that along you need to come to your senses, you're only carrying water for fat cats.

For the first time in my life I'm fairly jealous of citizens in a place like Denmark. No worries about health care or education. You can still get wealthy, just not obscenely so, and you have to work hard or want to be homeless.

Here, CEOs used to make 20-30 times what an average worker made, now it's ridiculous, 400 to 1 or something like that. In 2013 we get the Papa John's guy wanting to pinch the masses to help cover required health care, not slightly dinging his massive fortune.

This can be a great nation again but it's hard to see the way back right now.

[kentuck]

12. Here is an unfortunate truth:

We will never get the roads and bridges fixed unless we get a progressive President, someone who believes in jobs programs created by the government.

[freshwest]

9. It's not *just* Republicans who think 'No Government is Good Government.'

[SHRED]

10. Same with Unions

It's not just Republicans who bash them.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. Some of the anti-federal government sentiment goes back to when federal troops forced the South,...

...to let blacks in school.

Then there's the hatred of the ACLU which the Onion covered so well...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/aclu-defends-nazis-right-to-burn-down-aclu-headqua,1648/

[Jamaal510]

13. Not when it comes to

"Republicans have latched on to the libertarian philosophy that the only good government is no government and that the individual is responsible to take care of themselves."

voting rights, women's rights, or gay rights. As far as the GOP is concerned, to Hell with personal liberty on those 3 issues.

[Rain Mcloud]

14. They liked big government when Bush was expanding the size of it.

Deficits did not matter.
It is just a matter of opinion.
When -R's do it,then it is fine or not up for discussion.
Opinions are like dogs and assholes,every has one.
Obama won two elections,it is time for both Obama and the Republican's to acknowledge this.
Lead or follow but get the fuck out the way!