The Case For Limited Government Proved Better Through Actions Than Words

We can talk all we want about the virtues of limited government, but actions speak louder than words. We can debate until the cows come home that cuts in spending and taxes help the economy better than waste, but the public must see ideas in action usually to believe them. We who believe in free markets and small government may someday get on our knees regularly and thank the Almighty for Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.

Actions speak louder than words. President Bush, regrettably, all too often resorted to the easy panacaea of government action rather than the difficult choice of cutting government binds on the economy, allowing it to float to equilibrium. President Bush knew security and he believed in tax cuts, but he did not eliminate Clinton era intrusions into the free market. Politically this is hard to blame and too much criticism becomes Monday morning quarterbacking. George W. Bush was a good president, but not a visionary.

Our times require a visionary who believes in pushing back hard against the creeping socialism of the left. It is not enough to halt Obama and Pelosi's plans in their tracks. We must roll them back. However the more zealous out there must sometimes accept a 3/4 victory here and there rather than what we want in its entirety. Reagan was the most principled president of the last several decades, but his favorite phrase on compromise was that he'd rather get some of what he wanted than "fly off the cliff with all banners fluttering."

That being said, Republicans must stand for something in 2010, or the voters will fall for anything the Democrats ultimately say. We must stand for real restictions on taxation. We must stand for real restrictions on executive branch power and the return of state sovereignty. We must stand for real cuts in spending, not just limiting the yearly growth of spending. We must present a plan that cuts our debt while also cutting taxes. That means massive reductions in government spending across the board. It means that highways will have to go uncompleted for awhile, that military bases overseas may have to be phased out, that certain programs that make people feel good will have to go by the wayside. It definitely means that every bit of our budget needs to go through analysis of whether or not we actually need it. Our system has grown sick, the symptoms include debt, unemployment, and lack of prestige. The cure will be painful, but will bring us back to full health and vitality in a few years.