Playing the Worlds Smallest Violin
One and the Same
In October of 2008 the majority of Republicans in the House and Senate were convinced that the credit crisis and the resulting recession would be halted with the passing of the first TARP bailout. Now less than six months later every right wing pundit across the nation is ranting and raving about socialism this and communism that. What they are actually saying is pretty much spot on. The Obama administration is quite blatantly practicing corporate socialism (also known as fascism) much in the same manner as the Bush administration before it. But nowhere in the last 8 years have I heard even a peep out of a majority of so called “conservatives†about any of the socialist practices of the Bush regime.
Republicans really know how to talk a good game when it comes to small government rhetoric. They have been really good at it for a long time. The most notable recent example of this would easily have to be Ronald Regan. He sure spoke some truths about the evils of government, and some of his quotes are absolutely fantastic and freedom oriented. However, even under this man’s administration the federal government grew by 60%, starting military conflicts around the world, and normalizing the use of SWAT teams domestically across the nation.
In the Year 2000, then governor George W. Bush spoke of smaller government, no nation building, lower taxes, less regulation, and a balanced budget. This turned out to be nothing but bold faced lies as this man led the federal government into two wars, doubled the national debt, and increased the liabilities of the federal government by several trillion dollars with the passing of the socialist Medicare prescription drug plan. Small government indeed.
Nowhere during this whole time did we hear even a snicker about the virtues of small government. The US was too busy in the 80′s fighting the drug cartels and destroying the fourth amendment to worry about shrinking the national government. During the Bush years it was the war on terror, the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan that prevented the feds from tightening it’s belt. These were deemed worthy government programs that required ever growing amounts of money. All the while never shrinking the programs they had claimed to be “unworthy†during the previous election cycle.
So if you are paying attention, the main difference between the two major political parties is the Democrats will tell the truth and say they are for big government social programs and higher taxes, but will lie and say they are not for war. While the Republicans will lie and say they are for small government social programs and lower taxes, but will tell the truth when they cheerlead for more war and conquest. But in either case the Americans are stuck with more war, higher taxes, bigger social programs, more bailouts and bigger government.
So if you find yourself surfing across the AM dial and happen to hear a Republican pundit pining for smaller government and less socialism, just remember that he/she is not for less socialism, but rather less of their political opponents specific type of socialism, and more of theirs. Do not be fooled by the smart sounding rhetoric flowing forth from the mouths of the Republican talking heads. While it is a breath of fresh air to hear good ideas about the free market and smaller government being spoken in the mainstream, the people speaking to them are not deriving these ideas from core principles, but instead using them as a way to attack their political opponents.
There is an old phrase which states that people get the government that they deserve. Because of Republicans across this country not being able to stick to their principles and virtues, they are now suffering with a government of their own creation that will steal from them as ruthlessly as they wanted it to steal for them in the previous 8 years. So while it is true that Obama’s current policies will lead the nation down the road of nationalization and socialism, just remember it was the power the Republicans centralized in the presidency that is allowing it to happen.
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Author: renniks (15 Articles)
18 Mar 2009, 6:42 pm
> Why are people still listening to **politicians**? There I fixed it for you…
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 7:07 pm
Great article, and it really puts into words how I feel about the GOP’s latest small-government feint. We can not let another GWB pay lip-service to free markets while implementing socialist policies.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 7:22 pm
There are two sides, but a coin is a coin.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 7:35 pm
Because right-wing cro magnons own almost all of America’s mass media.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 7:40 pm
Can’t read the story, pretty tragic background image/text problem.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 7:56 pm
50% of the population is of below average intelligence, by definition. Think about it.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 8:06 pm
second.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 8:14 pm
Because while Republicans suck, many people see them as less annoying than all the dems who point out every bad thing a republican does and bury anything Obama does wrong. To them it’s the lesser of 2 evils.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 8:15 pm
> Why are people still listening to *those in power*? v3.0
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
19 Mar 2009, 2:16 am
Two sides of the same coin. It's why I hate that we have the two party system that we have. We need it to be more like Canada where there are three or more viable parties that have actual distinctions between them. I think there are many things we need to do to fix our government though.
18 Mar 2009, 8:23 pm
Force of habit.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 9:16 pm
End user head space.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 9:52 pm
What’s the problem you’re seeing? Shoot an email to admin@iconocritic.com please.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
18 Mar 2009, 10:18 pm
In other news, don’t get suckered by the left’s rhetoric either. (can you believe it? Both teams of politicians exaggerating things for their own betterment? What a crazy world we live in!)
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
19 Mar 2009, 7:59 am
beat me to it. damn you.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
19 Mar 2009, 12:15 pm
Thin black text over superbusy dark red patterned wallpaper? You think that’s pretty readable?
This comment was originally posted on Reddit