Efficiency has no place in that argument from that perspective…an efficient government can be very efficient at being bad and doing the wrong thing and to my mind has nothing to do with being a conservative.

The Key Stone Cops could do more than these guys if we elected them!

thanks bro

But this issue is huge. I have written of this fiscal con problem often, and I am one myself, but the fact is that too many that emphasize same have not done the homework to figure out how to SELL smaller govt because they haven’t thought thru the TRANSITION to same nor what same looks like in a post-industrial rev world.

The key is Reagan’s safety net and federalism and some necessary compromises on interstate commerce.

more later

I am always down to do a little divide and conquer. Heck that is half the battle right there. Stark contrast baby…it make ‘em think just long enough for us to win!!

And now, in a crisis, is not the time to reveal the laziness results. No, now is the time to counter punch and show that we are for HUGE actions, but mostly supply side. But we can use this time to divide the dems because Obama, unlike the dems in Congress, is in the accountability job and will want to succeed.

more later

We are in a crisis. A real one. But we have been given an opportunity to make progress on limiting government as we build stuff. We can use this to discredit the greenies and trial lawyers while the people’s attention is focused.

In fact first we must start by clarifying that we want limited gov’t. I know to some that this may be trivial but really it is a huge difference…this is where the “well kinda” comes in. I read you suggestion and you are correct. Infrastructure is a valid responsibility of a constitutionally limited style of government. This is an opportunity to educate the electorate on limited government and how a conservative can effect positive change while staying within the limits.

Your idea of a public works along with focused cuts in taxes for the corporations and the individual can turn around this economy rather quickly. When the valid public works are over those who moved from private sector to public sector could then move back again as the private sector construction jobs related to housing and commercial building.

Anyhow that’s how I see it.

The only thing that Kristol can hang his hat on now is being a defense conservative. The masks are coming off by the dozen, and Kristol’s is only the latest to fall.

They both typify the inside the beltway elitist Republicans that are great on foreign policy and national defense but are useless as tits on a boar hog when it comes to the rest of the conservative agenda.

“But do you really want to argue that your average Joe Schmoe will oppose higher standards for schools if those standards emanate from the federal government?”

That is, do you and your friends oppose NCLB because it’s a federal intrusion into a state matter, or because the federal intrusion hasn’t been to their satisfaction? Would you/they favor more federal intrusion if it actually did improve education? That is the dilemma we conservatives face IMO. Liberals will always promise the moon, that the next government program will solve our problems. And we have a society now that expects government to make an effort to solve our problems. What should be our response? I absolutely agree that the long term goal should be to wean people off the public dole. But the people won’t vote for us if we don’t promise them government help in some form or another. I’m starting to think that the real solution lies outside of government and politics altogether, and with a grassroots effort to live the lives of rugged individualism that we would want. But that is just cynical me I suppose. I don’t have a real answer.

If a refusal to even pretend to follow the Constitution becomes the official stance of the Republican party, then I’ll be seriously looking at the Constitution or Libertarian parties. I know that you don’t disagree in a sense, but to call that a “19th century interpretation of the 9th and 10th amendments” is part of the problem. There is no interpretation there. That is the plain statement of the amendments and we should refuse to shy away from that.

The only thing that Kristol can hang his hat on now is being a defense conservative. The masks are coming off by the dozen, and Kristol’s is only the latest to fall.

As for the government shut down and Republicans getting the blame…Clinton demagogued that issue and Republicans did nothing to defend themselves except get into a semantical argument about what the definition of a “Cut” in spending was.