Monday, November 19, 2007

Government is Not the Solution; Government is the Problem

Kos has an opinion piece in Newsweek that takes a look at the Republicans failed governing philosophy.

In his first Inaugural Address, Ronald Reagan remarked that "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." While the quip has provided Republicans with a cheap slogan for two decades, the philosophy behind it is beginning to box them in. If they govern effectively, they invalidate their own antigovernment ideology. And when you elect people who believe that government won't work, you shouldn't be surprised when government stops working [...]

Democrats should and will use Bush and his destructive policies on the campaign trail as the primary example of what happens when people who hate government are elected to run it. The message will be that Bush isn't a historical anomaly: he's the embodiment of modern conservatism.

If Americans want willfully ineffective government, they'll have a Republican Party desperate for their votes. But with 70 percent of the American people thinking the nation is on the wrong track, it's clear they expect the opposite. As long as Democrats make that contrast clear—and Bush's record will be integral to that argument—they should be headed for victory in 2008.

1 comment:

Heath Countryman said...

You clearly have missed the point of Reagan's comment, which is not surprising if you think Obama will actually be good for the American people.

And the reason that republican's will lose this election is not because Republicans have embodied Regan's sentiment, but because they have abandoned it competely. It is time for a reconning of sorts. Conservatism is not dead... It just needs a new champion.