Saturday, November 10, 2012

Small government Republican style

So many conservatives are trying to figure out where the election went wrong. The theory is that people prefer big government to the Republicans' message of small government.

Which raises a question. Where the heck was I when the Republicans, other than Ron Paul, were for small government? The Republicans have been for all kinds of big government nonsense. For example:


They voted for War on Drugs and civil asset forfeiture
They voted for no knock raids that have been getting innocent people killed
They voted for using our military as the world's babysitters
They voted for using our resources to build the infrastructure of Third World ratholes even though said infrastructure gets burned to the ground during the next anti female education riot
They voted for giving food to Third World countries even though said food aid drives the local farmers out of business and causes famines (see: Haiti). Not that it ever gets to who needs it anyway.
They voted for TSA gropers and NSA warrant-less wiretapping of American citizens.
They voted for top secret no fly lists.
They voted for invasive vaginal ultrasounds.

Face it, when the GOP says "small government" they mean only for the rich. Under the GOP version of "small government" us plebeians have to accept:

Our money being given to Third World ingrates, while we're told we have to cut everything to the bone here in the name of "small government" no less.
Our fighting men and women having their lives thrown away in another country's "my religion is better than yours" fight.
Our conversations being spied on without our knowledge, or even a warrant as required by the Constitution (funny how these "small government" types ONLY drop the C-bomb when talking about programs they don't like ain't it?)
Our elderly and our toddlers getting groped by TSA agents.
The off chance that one of said people will end up on a top secret list that prevents them from boarding a plane and no way of getting off said list. Bonus points if it leaves them stranded on an island or another country.
The chance that incompetent police officers will get the wrong address and break down our doors at 3 A.M. and possibly maim or kill a frightened pet or family member. Or even us.
The possibility that your car or assets will be seized by police officers on "suspicion" that you're involved with drugs and leave it up to you to prove that you're not. Oddly no C-bombs are being dropped there either.

Face it when the GOP says "we're for small government" what they really mean is just for them. Someone says the government should protect consumers or stop people from pouring dangerous chemicals into our water or something, the "small government" crowd screams "BLARGH! SOCIALISM! GOVERNMENT INTERFERANCE! EVIL!" But when someone says maybe it isn't the government's business if a guy smokes some pot in his living room, they yowl about the rule of law.

And here lies the problem Republicans have. It's hard to market yourself to the people as small government when you're not pro small government. It's harder still to promote this small government when you only want that for yourselves and rule of an ultra strong and overpowered arm of the law for everyone else.