Left, Right, Up, Down

In times of political chaos and confusion I have always relied on my Uncle PG. When Bush was elected I asked what he, being 92 or so, thought about it. I asked him because he'd lived through everything, was a world traveler, and a master of history and geneology, and he could provide some wisdom in the face of chaos. When I asked him about Bush he said "Meg, I just got over FDR."

At the time I intrepreted his remark to mean that a single election was minor in the face of history. If I were to ask him now, after the recent semi- nationalization of the banks, I wonder if he would bring up FDR again. Sadly, I can't ask him as he died a few years ago, weeks after finishing his last book at the age of 100.

The reason I bring up FDR is that his policies changed the relationship of the American government to the people. His new deal solidified the government as inherently Democratic with entrenched ideals of social safety nets and expanded the reach of the government well beyond helping people at crisis points. For PG, this infusion of his tax dollars going to give someone else a job ran against his view of a small federal government and listed us heavily towards socialism.

When Bush was elected, his presidency was sold as a return to small government. What we've experienced is an expansion of the federal government unrivaled in recent history that hits at many different levels of life. The federal bailout of companies and an injection of capital into banks is not unprecended in American history but it runs directly counter to Republican, small government principals. The explosion of the federal department of education and the regulation of individual schools through No Child Left Behind is another example of direct contradiction with Conservatives who call for dismantling of the USDOE. Even the expansion of government powers over women's rights seems to fly in the face of small government.

It feels like the compasionate conservatives are currently socialists and its very confusing. It was a bipartisan effort to get us into the current mess and I think we're all going to come out as leftists in the end.

I wish Uncle PG was here but I have a pretty good sense of what he would say. When the Republicans allied themselves with the Religious conservatives they created the biggest mission creep imaginable. Religious conservatives and Republican conservatives are only really linked by the word conservative and I've never understood why small government proponents link with religious people. We're now at a point of giving federal money to religious groups when religous groups were filling the private niche that old school republicans relied on to provide social services.

So while Republicans may have the rhetoric of small government they have constantly expanded the federal government.

So what distingishes an R from a D? Aside from these social issues it's really hard to tell. I think what I want is a new political party based upon effeciency. What ever is the most cost effective solution to the problem should be chosen. In my mind this would be privitazion of many services, a nationalized health care system (because those are consistantly cheaper with better levels of care), a reduction in federal intrusion into uteruses and marriage ceremonies, increased levels of investment in education especially at the early childhood level, and perhaps a shift to worship the gods of end justifies the means. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't lower the tax burdon but it may shift it to consumption taxes but it would provide more services.