Small Government

Rachel Maddow

"Small government is a great political brand. It looks great on a bumper sticker. People who don’t want the government to help unemployed people, or the elderly, or people without health insurance, who don’t want the government to create jobs, they say it’s because government must be small. They also want the government to be monitoring every pregnancy in the country to make sure the governments chosen outcome is the result of the pregnancy under the penalty of jail.

So make your case that you don’t want the government to help the economy, but DON’T give me that small government stuff…" - Rachel Maddow

Social conservatives claim they want a small government that stays out of their business, but insist that government tell pregnant women what they can and cannot do to their bodies, blur or erase the line between church and state, and deny same-sex couples their full complement of civil rights. They want government that only intrudes in other people's lives.

What the less affluent social conservatives don't seem to realize is that wealthy conservatives are far less dedicated to social issues. They want small government, not because it will be less intrusive, but because they don't want to give up any of their riches in taxes. Wealthy conservatives buy members of Congress who pander to the rubes about social issues, but when it comes to actual legislation they have readily and repeatedly sacrificed those issues on the altar of lower taxes for the rich.

Panderbear thinks the small government meme is a red herring. The people must decide which services they require from their government and then pony up the necessary taxes. The issue isn't big or small government. Government should be just big enough to do what we ask of it.

Instead of displaying bumper stickers espousing small government, conservatives should tell us which services they don't want government to provide. How about, "Down with Social Security" or "Kill Medicare." Those would fit on bumper stickers and are a lot more honest than "Small Government."

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