Weekly Standard: Surrender to Big Government

Weekly Standard Online ^ | 11/8/05 | Ross Douthat & Reihan Salam

[Sam the Sham]

Do you think insurance coverage will be available for you when you are 50+ ?

[Sam the Sham]

After Enron, Tyco, Global Crossing, the tech stock crash, etc., the public did not want to hand Social Security over to Wall Street.

I don't blame them for that one bit.

[ThinkDifferent]

Do you think insurance coverage will be available for you when you are 50+ ?

Sure. It will just cost me more, as it should. There's no reason why I should be subsidized by 20 year old burger flippers.

After Enron, Tyco, Global Crossing, the tech stock crash, etc., the public did not want to hand Social Security over to Wall Street.

Right. Much better to keep it in a fraudulent "trust fund".

[razorback-bert]

They have identified the problems, but I don't think they have the best solutions.

[Young Scholar]

You throw around the word "totalitarian" like confetti. And yes, you do sound elitist. Libertarianism has made no electoral progress of any sort because it is the ideology of people who have it easy. People to whom national health care is "totalitarian".

National health care is anathema to any conservative. It may be true that it (like many other programs) would make life easier for lower-income people, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't fight it just as hard--we just need to do our best to earn their votes by advertising other conservative policies more popular with them.

[Seizure]

"The third possibility - and the best, both for the party and country as a whole - would be to take the "big-government conservatism" vision that George W. Bush and Karl Rove have hinted at but failed to develop, and give it coherence and sustainability."

First, I have known a number of people who have been employed at Wal-Mart as well as some who shop there. A majority of those people received social services, either because of "need" or simply access to the system due to race. I do not object to the Republican Party embracing the lower middle class, of which I am a member. I was under the impression, though, that working people (regardless of how little income) who are concerned about having the government squeeze their wallet and intrude upon their lives were already members of the party.

This strategy would end any "conservative" principles within the Republican party and it's platform. This is another measure that, if taken, would be a ploy to buy votes. Could it be that the party is trying to stem the flow of blood as disappointed and disaffected conservatives head for third parties? The Republican party could no longer distinguish itself from Democrat-lite.

With Hillary Clinton having religious experiences and talking about family values and Republicans talking about embracing the Great Society, we will at last be united...

under one party.

[Wolfie]

You can either work for a living or watch your kids 24-7, so what's your point ? Rich people can have tutors and governesses and nannys. Most people can't.

Shame on them for not being rich.

[TAdams8591]

marking

[Sam the Sham]

With Hillary Clinton having religious experiences and talking about family values and Republicans talking about embracing the Great Society, we will at last be united...

There is such a thing as an American mainstream with the God hating, pro-sodomite, cultural elite Europe worshipping secularist outside it at one end and the Social Darwininist, free trade at all costs, "I've got mine so screw you" libertarian outside it at the other.

But then again, they are both pagans at heart so I wonder how opposite they really are ?

[Seizure]

"There is such a thing as an American mainstrean with the God-hating, pro-sodomite, cultural elite Europe worshipping secularist outside it at one end and the Social Darwinist, free trade at all costs, "Ive go mine so screw you" libertarian outside it at the other...they are both pagans so I wonder how opposite they really are?"

Okay, I will attempt to accurately translate this.

On one end Sodom and Gomorrah...on the other end...Laodicia?

I thought the spectrum was more like:

Sodom and Gomorrah on one end...and on the other...a Christ abiding Representative Republic.

What we have, according to the argument in this article, is a situation where Republicans are beginning to embrace a more expansive, intrusive government. This is based on a social gospel, if you will. For true fiscal conservatives, this is unacceptable.

As to your apparent dislike of Libertarians, their party platform is actually closer to the intent of the Founding Fathers. I do have my issues with the platform, however.

[RightWhale]

The solution is private property, nationwide recording. The rest of this is secondary.

[Sam the Sham]

A social gospel, in effect, is a logical consequence of the global economy.

And in the spectrum, I was citing the politically embarassing extremes of both Right and Left.

[fallujah-nuker]

"That is the point. The days of easy Reagan era landslides is over because the red button issues of the 80's (crime, taxes, commies) are worked to death. Bush damn near lost. He would have lost if the Democratic candidate hadn't been Thurston Howell III. The vital GOP state of Ohio was iffy because Bush has no economic message for the socioeconomic insecurity of non-college educated American workers in the era of globalization. Indeed, he plans to make their lives more miserable with a cheap labor agenda of illegals and job exporting free trade agreements."

Very good analysis. Can you just picture what Reagan would have done with Kerry.

[fallujah-nuker]

"This goes back to the pre-WW2 days when the Democrats enacted a New Deal that was really a massive redistribution of wealth from the Northeast to the South in this country."

The South was the "solid South" long before the New Deal, the fruit of Reconstruction. The GOP first made inroads there in the 1928 election when Hoover carried five Confederate states. Much of that was due to Al Smith being a Catholic.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h893.html

It was not until the fifties when Eisenhower again made inroads, including taking Louisiana in 1956.
http://www.multied.com/elections/1952state.html
http://www.multied.com/elections/1956state.html

[fallujah-nuker]

This may be of interest.

[Sam Cree]

I got tired of reading the article after a while, but it looked like it was calling for somethig along the lines of "Republican socialism."

Only better organized than W's version of it.

W does seem unfocused these days.

[Larry Lucido]

I never heard of semi-corruption. Either something or someone is corrupt or not.

I had a 1971 Gremlin that was semi-rusted out. Half the sheet metal was still intact.

[A. Pole]

Unsurprisingly, the core of the GOP's support turns out to be drawn from "Enterprisers," affluent, optimistic, and staunchly conservative on economic and social issues alike. But the so-called Enterprisers represent just 11 percent of registered voters--and apart from them, the most reliable GOP voters are Social Conservatives (13 percent of registered voters) and Pro-Government Conservatives (10 percent of voters). Both groups are predominantly female(Enterprisers are overwhelmingly male); both are critical of big business; and both advocate more government involvement to alleviate the economic risks faced by a growing number of families. They tend to be hostile to expanding free trade, Social Security reform, and guest-worker proposals --which is to say the Bush second term agenda

Women are putting the interest of their families before the interest of big business owners? How unwise of them.

[ARCADIA]

A second option is to attempt a return to a purer, more fiscally austere faith, even if it means ceding political power, and wait for the looming entitlement crisis to convince Americans of the wisdom of repealing the New Deal.

I believe that that would certainly pursuade the majority of Americans to tax the snot out of the 11% "Enterpriser" class; in order to work through the "entitlement crisis". Irresponsible policy leads to irresponsible results; turn your back on the electorate and the electorate will bite you in the butt.

[Seizure]

I see. I was thinking along the lines of the full spectrum. Well, the United Nations established it's website for the global religion some years ago...it doesn't include evangelicals.