The Biggest Myth in Politics Part 1

   
  I want a new Television Show this spring. I'll be the host, and I will call it Political Myth Busters. Because there are a lot of political myths that become accepted as common knowledge regardless of those pesky things called facts. It is a vicious cycle. A random blogger/pundit/plumber starts a myth, Faux News reports the myth as gospel, Politicians cite the reports, Faux News covers the politician saying the myth, and BOOM it's a fact. It's why people still believe Obama is a Muslim, and 9-11 was carried out by Saddam Hussein.  


     So, to do my part to clean up the political myths out there I will tackle one myth from time to time, and drag it out into the light. Today I will tackle the myth: "Conservatives want small government." I hear this all the time, from the news, from pundits, from liberals, from conservatives, but it's just not true. Their actions do not connect to this purported belief system. Large Enormous Military, large privatized jails, building walls and manning the southern border, invade Iraq, Afghanistan, rattling sabers at Iran, nationwide Supreme Court ban against abortion, No Child Left Behind (which federalize K-12 education NATIONWIDE), the huge growth of the TSA, and the creation of Homeland Security,  the list goes on and on. 


     Republican only want a small government when democrats are in power. They want large government when they are in power, or it's an issue they agree with. What can be more bigger than ensuring that every pregnant woman carries their child to term, the logistics of the enforcement alone would be enormous. The proof is in the pudding the government got to it's largest point under George W. Bush. Conservatives didn't start talking about deficits, and securing a future for our youth, and limiting the scope and size of government until Obama got into office. Need more proof?? Two Words: PATRIOT ACT. It expanded the size of government, the scope of it's powers, and it's ability to intrude into the live of United States Citizens in an unprecedented manner. Due to the courts limiting our ability to sue cell phone carriers, we may never know how many were effected, or the scope of the damage done.


     But this one thing is sure, when the Republicans had control of both the branches of congress, as well as the Presidency, they did not shrink government, or make it more unobtrusive, nor did they "get government out of our way".  Nor were they running around saying "government isn't the solution to the problem, government IS THE PROBLEM", nor were there Tea Parties spouting everywhere, fed up with government waste and spending. They  hid it behind "the war on terrorism" and wrapped it in the Flag. Make no mistake Republicans do not want smaller government, they want smaller "Democratic run" government, they want a smaller "liberal" government, they want a smaller "progressive" government. They want a government that cannot function when a Democrat is in office, hence the filibusters, and the delaying tactics utilized at unprecedented levels, hell they even tried to make the United States Census seem like some shadowy liberal plot.


     A famous quote that many Conservatives pull out when they are discussing "smaller government" is a quip by noted conservative Economist, Grover Norquist. 
"I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub."


Just seems to be whenever the Republicans are in office that bathtub is the size of the Pacific. Don't believe the hype. Do Republicans Really Want a smaller government? This myth.... is BUSTED.