Shrink the Government or Manage it?

The question that has been posed by Mike Church on a number of occasions is whether Republicans want to dismantle the federal leviathan or simply manage it? Today (2-25) I was listening to Sean Hannity. A caller made a comment that was made at the health care summit by Sen. Coburn dealing with creating an agency of "patients" that check up on doctors. The caller then said that all this will do is make doctors look over their shoulders. Sean asked if the doctors are doing what they're supposed to be doing, why should they be worried? This is the type of mind set that we have to change. Sean and others like him, both famous and not so famous, miss the point of shrinking the government not expanding it.

Forgetting the point that the government's involvement in health insurance is unconstitutional, creating another government bureaucracy expands the role that the federal government plays in our lives.

I oppose the Patriot Act whether it is overseen by a Republican or Democrat. Sean and others like him ask why I oppose it if I have nothing to hide? That isn't the point. Do you trust the government to always follow the rules? The Germans thought that they could trust the Nazis when they started keeping tabs on them. A government will start out passing laws by saying that they are for your safety. When people oppose the new "safety measures" the question of, "What do you have to hide?" is always raised. A couple years after the Patriot Act was passed and signed into law, there was a caller to a local Portland radio show that compared the new powers given to the government under the Patriot Act and Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The host of the program asked the caller to give examples of when the Patriot Act was abused. Of course the caller couldn't provide any examples and was promptly dismissed as a naysayer. As it usually happens, the next few callers railed against the caller and anyone else who didn't agree that the Patriot Act would make us safer. How can you compare Bush to Hitler after all?

Why do I oppose increased government involvement in my life? Although Bush was no conservative and I didn't think he would abuse any of the provisions contained in the Patriot Act, you can never count on subsequent political leaders to be so restrained. If you think I'm wrong, look at the current leadership in the Senate and House as well as the current president. Think that it can't happen to us in the United States? Look at what happened in the first year of the Obama administration. Nationalize the banks-Done. Take steps in nationalizing private companies-GM and Chrysler-Done. Nationalize credit-Working on it. Nationalizing health care-Working on it. Class warfare-Already started.

Now I ask again, do you want to shrink the size of the government or just manage it? If it is the latter, choosing between you and a Democrat is like deciding whether you want your leg amputated above or below the knee. What's the difference. If you want to shrink the size of government you are a true conservative. If you just want to manage the government you are a Decepti-Con.