Political Class Dismissed

by Sheldon Richman

Government power is growing, and unless President Barack Obama and the majority in Congress have a libertarian epiphany, it will continue to grow for years. If the expansion of intrusive government (a redundancy) gives you the willies — it should; the cost is freedom and prosperity — you may be tempted to direct your anger at Obama and the rest of the Democratic leadership. That would be myopic, however.

Blame the Republicans, beginning with former President George. W. Bush. (We could go back further, but time and space are limited.)

The reason can be illustrated by an extraordinary moment that took place just after Obama unveiled his $3.55 trillion 2010 budget. Contemplating the budget, Republican House leader John Boehner went before the media microphones and declared, “The era of big government is back.”

For Boehner to make such a statement suggests two possibilities, although both could be true: he thinks Americans are morons, or he’s been in a coma since January 20, 2001, when Bush took office.

Note that he didn’t say, “Uh oh, government is going to get even bigger than it is now.” No, he said, “The era of big government is back.” Back — as in: returned after having gone away.

When did it go away? And does Boehner really believe that the American people don’t realize how much government grew under Bush? Click here for more…

Not that the conservative movement was in any great shape before Dubya became its fiigurehead, but it’s a total joke right now. Jack Hunter, who goes by the name “The Southern Avenger,” explains:

Under Bush, the conservative movement became what it is - a mere tool of the Republican Party. In the past, there were many on the Right who wrote books, promoted philosophies and endorsed policies they hoped might eventually become political and cultural realities, and they often considered the GOP the better party to help implement a more conservative politics.

Today, we have the exact opposite, as the pundits and pontificators who represent popular conservatism have abandoned any ideas or principles for pure party partisanship.

What conservatism has the Bush era produced? Exploding government, enhanced state power, reckless spending, increased federal programs, open borders, starting a needless and costly war – the list is endless – and yet most self-described mainstream conservatives have little criticism for this catastrophe of a president. Click here to view the video

I propose a change in strategy: Declare war on bipartisanship! Both Barry and Johnny encouraged us to “unite” and “work together.” Forget that! Rolling back the size of government is out of reach for now. Our new goal is gridlock. This will be tough considering the clean sweep by the Dems but we need to play both sides of the fence. Get Obama to have his Justice Department investigate the crimes of the Bush Administration. Work with the Republican grassroots to uncover every little detail about Barack’s past. Encourage partisan bickering and divisiveness. Throw gasoline on the fire in every possible way! Promote intraparty fighting at every turn. Turn Dems against Dems over Barry’s neoimperialism. The possibilities are endless. Let’s be dividers not uniters! Libertarian populism like you’ve never seen before. It’s time to start turning some heads.