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Is Our Government Really Broken?
Townhall.com ^ | February 24, 2010 | Tony Blankley

Posted on 02/24/2010 4:35:08 AM PST by Kaslin

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1 posted on 02/24/2010 4:35:08 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Good article. I think we sometimes lose perspective on the long term view when we deal with day to day “crises”.


2 posted on 02/24/2010 4:40:33 AM PST by johniegrad
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To: Kaslin
If, as many expect, the Democrats lose effective or actual control of Congress in the November elections, it is likely to be because the public has risen up and rejected the party that has brought us these intolerable multitrillion-dollar deficits with a budget proposal that fails even to propose a path out of the morass.

Which would mean that they expect the Republicans to come up with a path to get us out of the multitrillion-dollar deficits. I hope we have a plan.

3 posted on 02/24/2010 4:41:21 AM PST by Non-Sequitur
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To: Kaslin

btt


4 posted on 02/24/2010 4:42:20 AM PST by OldCorps
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To: Kaslin
I want less spending by the government.

Tax cuts would be nice, but they are not my focus.
I'm not talking about a reduced rate of increase in the growth of government programs.
I'm looking for 10% annual reduction in government spending each year, every year, until we don't have a deficit.

5 posted on 02/24/2010 4:43:50 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (We're all heading toward red revolution - we just disagree on which type of Red we want.)
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To: Non-Sequitur

There is no talk of reducing entitlement programs coming from Republicans. I don’t think there is any consensus even among R’s for reductions of benefits.


6 posted on 02/24/2010 4:44:06 AM PST by saganite (What happens to taglines? Is there a termination date?)
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To: Non-Sequitur

I haven’t heard a peep from our side. I think our plan is to not have a plan.


7 posted on 02/24/2010 4:44:39 AM PST by ComputerGuy (Genuine Combat Corpsman)
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To: Kaslin
“..during the George W. Bush presidency of 2001-09, most Democratic voters came — for the first time — to loudly, emphatically and constantly attack deficits.”

And clearly they had such huge concerns about deficits that they immediately launched massive programs to reduce them?

Anyone with a functioning brain cell knows that the only thing DemonRATs care about is being in power, and they will destroy anything and everything to achieve that.

8 posted on 02/24/2010 4:45:54 AM PST by bitterohiogunclinger (America held hostage - day 393)
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To: Kaslin
private armies were formed

It is my understanding that "private armies" were instrumental to the expansion of the Republic's empire. A wealthy man would raise an army to go conquer and plunder a foreign land. The troops shared in the booty and Rome then sent governors. The permanent professional army did not come until later.

9 posted on 02/24/2010 4:46:22 AM PST by arthurus ("If you don't believe in shooting abortionists, don't shoot an abortionist." -Ann C.)
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To: Kaslin

**Then in 1994, Newt Gingrich and the new Republican majority championed trying to get to a balanced budget (and succeeded, with Bill Clinton in 1997).**

Long past time for the GOP/RNC to prepare, present and publish a PLATFORM. Use the best think tanks, macro-economists etc., & spell out policies that candidates will embrace & TEA partiers can support.

Keep it simple and pro-Constitutional Republic in its entirety.


10 posted on 02/24/2010 4:50:05 AM PST by sodpoodle (Despair - Man's surrender. Laughter - God's redemption.)
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To: Kaslin

Not broken. Just power and control hungry. There would be an easy fix if a few statesmen were to emerge and call obama out on his socialist/Marxist policies. I have not given up hope that some heroes will step up and save us from the wanna be dictator in our White House.


11 posted on 02/24/2010 4:51:52 AM PST by jersey117
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To: saganite
There is no talk of reducing entitlement programs coming from Republicans. I don’t think there is any consensus even among R’s for reductions of benefits.

Not among the leadership, no. And if the GOP takes control of Congress in November then come January it will be Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader McConnell. And the hard questions will still be ignored.

12 posted on 02/24/2010 5:31:23 AM PST by Non-Sequitur
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To: ComputerGuy
I haven’t heard a peep from our side. I think our plan is to not have a plan.

Then we're like the dog that chases the car and one day actually catches one. We won't have a clue as to what to do next. And if that's what happens then that'll practically guarantee an Obama win two years later.

13 posted on 02/24/2010 5:33:26 AM PST by Non-Sequitur
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To: Kaslin
In fact, as many have observed recently, our government is working just fine -- blocking the enactment of unpopular laws by a government that is out of step with the people. There is nothing new in that. I served in the Reagan White House and with Newt Gingrich in the 1990s. I recall feeling both times that government was broken -- the filibuster was blocking our majority rule -- because we couldn't get "vital" legislation enacted. (In fact, both times I was involved, inter alia, in the failed effort to close down the Department of Education, saving only its essential student loan functions.) We overreached. We got a lot done, but only that with which the public was comfortable.

Yep, our government is not broken. It is working exactly as intended. We The People are a huge part of the checks and balances under our Constitution and we are working as hard as we can to STOP a Marxist transformation of our form of government.

Other administrations, including Jimmy Carter's, complained that government was broken because they generally were incompetent to lead.

Can't say this doesn't apply here as well. Obambi is incompetent. I even fear he may be less than psychologically intact. But whatever, he is a horrible, horrible, horrible politician. In the end, he has/had some charisma, but he has no political skills whatsoever. He is just incompetent on every scale.

However, a form of government and the public are functioning adequately not only when they block bad or unacceptable law (as currently is the case) but when they are able to solve great dangers to the nation. We may soon get a test on that second matter.

Sigh. We The People are exerting a positive influence on our national security by opposing Obambi's dangerous bumbling on terrorism and so on. But this is not a realm where there is a large margin for error.

14 posted on 02/24/2010 5:34:00 AM PST by fightinJAG (Behold the Republican Super-Minority !! (h/t ArchAngel1983) TEA = Taxed Enough Already)
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To: sodpoodle

I think the platform should have two words and that is all:

LIMIT GOVERNMENT.

Just follow that principle across-the-board, in every situation, and every single goal of the conservative movement, even “social” goals, will be advanced or freed up for advancement.


15 posted on 02/24/2010 5:35:58 AM PST by fightinJAG (Behold the Republican Super-Minority !! (h/t ArchAngel1983) TEA = Taxed Enough Already)
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To: Non-Sequitur
And if the GOP takes control of Congress in November then come January it will be Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader McConnell. And the hard questions will still be ignored.

Nope. The hard questions will not be ignored.

If they are, it will only be because We The People backed off and went back to leaving our nation's fate to the "professionals."

16 posted on 02/24/2010 5:37:22 AM PST by fightinJAG (Behold the Republican Super-Minority !! (h/t ArchAngel1983) TEA = Taxed Enough Already)
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To: Non-Sequitur
re: I hope we have a plan

Amen. But I fear any plan that would work would be so draconian as to scare most of America away. I'm not sure we have the leadership to put such a plan into practice. The first job would be to convince people it's the only plan that has any hope of success. After that, it would be a full time job to keep on track with it.

As painful as the plan, and actually carrying it out would be it's far better than what awaits us if we don't git-’er-done.

17 posted on 02/24/2010 5:42:08 AM PST by jwparkerjr
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To: fightinJAG
Nope. The hard questions will not be ignored.

I suggest we book mark this and see what happens. I have zero faith in Boehner or McConnell, both creatures of D.C. who are so far out of touch with what real people deal with that it isn't funny any more.

Should the Republicans take control of Congress in the fall then I truly believe that the Speaker and the Majority Leaders and the whips and the committee chairmen should all be Congressmen and Senators with four years or less in D.C. They are about the only ones with new ideas and an understanding of what life outside the Beltway is like. Never happen though.

18 posted on 02/24/2010 5:42:10 AM PST by Non-Sequitur
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To: Kaslin

Some of the things that I have read that helped bring down the ancient Roman Empire were:

1) Undermining of the currency system,
2) A very large standing army to quell any possible rebellions in the lands Rome controlled,
3) A very large bureaucracy.

The army and the bureaucracy required huge amounts of money to keep employed.

America’s military and law enforcement is in 143 countries and our bureaucracy is beyond outlandish. Since we took the Dollar off of the gold and silver standards it has become practically worthless.

We are definitely following in the footsteps of the ancient Roman Empire. We are only doing it bigger, better and faster.


19 posted on 02/24/2010 5:45:06 AM PST by Jack Hydrazine
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To: ClearCase_guy

My only certain income is from social security, about $1300 a month, before taxes. And from that I have to pay for my Medicare and drugs. I am a full time freelance photographer and that’s a tough way to make a living these days. I have some good months, but for the most part I barely manage to cover expenses. Even so, I would give up 10% or more of my SS if I thought it would be used for nothing more than getting the deficit under control.


20 posted on 02/24/2010 5:46:17 AM PST by jwparkerjr
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