Conservatives also buy big government

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | August 19, 2003 | Jim Wooten

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Somewhere between Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, conservatives may have lost the battle against big government.

Oddly enough, as the partisan differences grow sharper, the practical differences between the two major parties grows fuzzier, at least on domestic issues. Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, describes Bush as a "big-government conservative."

The president has shown no discomfort with big government or increasing federal spending. In his first two years in office, Bush increased spending on schools by 40 percent. He's proposed a prescription drug benefit for Medicare that will cost $400 billion over 10 years. On both education and prescription drugs, Bush's top Democratic ally has been the icon of congressional liberalism, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).

While they acknowledge the reality of big government, Bush and Kennedy veer sharply from a common start. The No Child Left Behind Act is a good example. Some background:

Public schools are a responsibility of state and local government. The federal government contributes only about 7 cents on the dollar. It has concentrated its efforts on the heavy-burden exceptions: special education, the poor, and aid to local systems disproportionately affected by military bases. The point is that the federal government has rightly deferred to states and to local school boards to drive education.

Since 1965, the federal government has spent more than $120 billion on schools serving the poor with little to show for it. Bush, in seeking reauthorization two years ago, agreed to increase spending by 11.5 percent, including $9.1 billion for poor schools, a sum that is up to $12.3 billion in the 2004 budget, the most federal dollars ever.

Kennedy, who welcomed the spending, sees No Child Left Behind as a massive new infusion of federal money. He wants more. "Reform without resources is just hollow talk," he said. "The president's proposal may provide the money to test our children, but not enough to teach them."

Kennedy, starting with big government, finishes with bigger government. Bush, starting with big government, finishes with a distinctly different government -- not smaller, but decentralized.

Bush's education secretary, Rod Paige, argued that accountability requirements would provide essential information to parents, leading them to demand alternatives. Conservatives saw it as more unwarranted federal spending and without reforms, such as vouchers, dropped at Kennedy's behest.

Two years later, it's obvious that Paige was right. The federal government, taking a page from the liberals' book, has become the driving force in pushing states to embrace choice and to give parents more freedom in where they send their children. The direction is set, and No Child Left Behind has done it.

Americans have grown comfortable with big government, a legacy of the 1960s. As a culture, we have bought into the notion that adults can be as irresponsible as they choose in lifestyle decisions and government will construct a safety net to catch their consequences. In some cases, it's not irresponsibility; it is that adults have changed behaviors to conform to government incentives. In Georgia, for example, 73 percent of undergraduate students receive state grants, giving parents incentives to spend the money their parents saved for the children's college. Government has built a dependency and, since 25 percent of the nation's taxpayers pay 84 percent of the cost of government, there's no incentive to go back.

Bush grows government, but activates it for conservative ends, just as the Great Society programs of the 1960s did for liberals. Roles now are reversed. Conservatives push for change; liberals defend the status quo.

Liberals scoff at programs such as those promoting marriage or encouraging teen abstinence as foolish conservative activism by government. Maybe. But when was the last time you saw somebody smoking on television? No one thing works. But if liberal activism used government as a vehicle to drive society in one direction, conservative activism can use it to take society in another.

Jim Wooten is associate editorial page editor. His column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

[jjm2111]

"Again, give Bush real majorities..."

I call that GOP creep. "If we only had Congress, we could get things done. If we only had the Presidency we could get things done. If we only had both Congress AND the Presidency we could get things done. If we only had two thirds majority in both Congress AND the Presidency we could get things done."

The GOP only does the politically expedient thing to do. The rate cut was good, but why not push for true tax reform? Why did he give up on school vouchers? Why did he sign CFR when "I know some stuff may be unconstitutional".

I realize that FR doesn't represent much other than the extreme right in this country, but the RNC could push for some true governmental reform at the federal level instead of having a big happy charlie foxtrot with Democrats.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I guess the glass will aways be half empty for you. What did you expect after 8 years of democrats worming their way deep into every corner they could find? If you want to act like a bull in a china shop, when things are so fragile, you'll usher in a era that will bury any reform.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Home Starts Hit 17-Year High***Yet economists and Federal Reserve officials have said with spending making up a little more than two-thirds of the economy, what matters is whether consumers are opening their wallets when their confidence is shaky.

And so far consumers keep shopping, even through the most widespread power outage in U.S. history. Weekly sales at chain and department stores stayed brisk and suggested retail sales are in for another strong month.

"Don't watch what people say, see what they do. And what they do is really impressive," said Alan Ruskin, research director at 4Cast Ltd. in New York.

With the upbeat economic news pouring in during the past two months, economists have busily hiked their expectations for economic growth this quarter to 4 percent or more, a big step up from last quarter's 2.4 percent pace.***

[jjm2111]

Just keep waiting, oh and give us more money. - GOP theme.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Just give us more time and money and we'll sell out the country from within - Democrat theme.

[jjm2111]

Dems sell out the country, that's for sure, but the GOP often not much better.

I'll give them one thing, they're much better on National Security.

[RJCogburn]

It would seem we've read different articles. I see Bush doing what you're suggesting. you don't.

Hard to believe you are the same issue driven person who eloquently advocated Steve Forbes.

Hard to believe.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bush is the head of the Republican Party. We have to get behind the GOP machine if we want to keep moving LIBERALS out. Steve Forbes speaks his mind but he supports the Republican Party. You fight the good fight and then you pull together.

[Fledermaus]

The problem is "baseline budgeting". This stupid concept just takes last years budget and increases it while the legislature argues over the increase. So if a department wants a 10% increase and only gets a 5% increase, they go to the willing idiots in the press and complain about their budget being "cut".

Once the government puts in a level of baseline, it always goes up faster than they can justify. But there are still way too many TOTAL IDIOTS voting because they receive direct benefits and are told to vote or lose them. The huge Democrat machine of vote buying is alive and well and hasn't changed much in decades. This is why they are so angry about 2000...they got caught cheating and couldn't steal an election and they want blood.

But as they dwindle and are forced back into obscurity because they can't even enforce the law (Democrats consistently block laws that require an ID to be presented when voting using "minority intimidation" as an excuse while they bus the same people from precint to precint), they will be eventually be defeated.

I myself take a digital video camera to poll places and film. More of us are doing it and we WILL catch them voting twice. We WILL catch them busing people to more than one place and we WILL confront them. Most of these Democrats are old farts from the 60's and you can kick their ass with no problem. Knock out a few teeth and give the video to local TV and you can stop this BS of voter fraud.

Want to get rid of bureaucracies? Audit the hell out of those agencies. FORCE zero base budgeting on them. FORCE accountability.

If they refuse? Blow a few knee caps off. They are too cowardly to fight back. Over the top? Maybe. But as we in Tennessee protested in Nashville to STOP an ILLEGAL income tax being imposed, the RINO governor (look out Calif) called out the state troopers once to stand there and hold their guns. Of course most of them were with us and if the feces hit the blades they would have turned and shot the politicians. But why does the government have the right to call them out? Don't we have the right then to also threaten force?

This is the same argument going on in California. Listen to the libs, the left, the Dems..they can't stand a LEGAL provision isn't under their total control.

Yes, I'm ranting. But come on folks...they don't have the power they think they do. Take it. Use it. Make changes. FORCE THEM for a change to adhere to OUR wishes and not their selfish wants.

If only 20% of those that don't vote registered and voted, you could elect Flipper the President of the United States.

WAKE UP AMERICA!

[Iris7]

I used to get all upset about the situation, as you are, and tried to talk sense into people nearly all the time. Did this for over thirty years. You might as well be talking to a post. People are very rarely rational, most of them, most of the time. If there is one thing that can be learned from history, this is it.

As (as I recall) Burke said, "You can't reason a person out of a belief he wasn't reasoned into."

The reality is that Democracy in the sense of "one man, one vote" has the result you are so upset with. You will never, never get people to give up what they want, whether irresponsible or self destructive, by talk, but only by coercion.

[from occupied ga]

whether irresponsible or self destructive, by talk, but only by coercion.

All too true.

[Iris7]

They aren't going to wake up, no way, no how. Maybe if there was a serious (over 200 landed warheads) nuclear attack.

[headsonpikes]

Socialism - it's not just for Reds and furriners any more!

[RJCogburn]

We have to get behind the GOP machine if we want to keep moving LIBERALS out. Steve Forbes speaks his mind but he supports the Republican Party. You fight the good fight and then you pull together.

Okay, but why not criticize specifics that merit criticism at the same time? You don't tell me how you can possibly expect better if you accept, without comment, things that are really pretty bad...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Politics is messy. I see plenty of Bush criticism. I think a little balance is called for.