Is the GOP really for "limited government"?

[Ronnie]

Hi Atlas, it's been a while...

Anyway, this topic has been bugging me for a while.  Why is it that GOP politicians constantly claim that they are for "limited government" when their record reflects the exact opposite?  Reagan and Dubya were a couple of the most spendthrift presidents we've ever had, and for quite some time now, GOP legislators at the state and national level have been fighting tooth and nail to curtail individual liberty and the First Amendment, as well as finance unbelievably expensive activities (like TARP and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan).

[IceSpear]

The media in this country is pathetic for letting the GOP get away with transitioning from "deficits don't matter" to "the deficit is literally the most important thing in the history of ever" overnight. That night being January 20, 2009.

[PiMp DaDdy FitzGerald]

They're for government big enough to invade your country and small enough to fit in your cervix.

[Goldwater]

Ah, another anti-Republican circle jerk thread. We clearly need more of those...

[ElectionsGuy]

Obviously not, I don't know why this is a question really.

[Ronnie]

Ah, another anti-Republican circle jerk thread. We clearly need more of those...

With that said, I will attempt to generate a discussion by posing this question to you and other blue avatar holders -- do you proudly affiliate yourself with the party, or do you view it as a "lesser of two evils"?

I would ask the same of Democrats, but that's probably best for a different thread.

[Goldwater]

Ah, another anti-Republican circle jerk thread. We clearly need more of those...

With that said, I will attempt to generate a discussion by posing this question to you and other blue avatar holders -- do you proudly affiliate yourself with the party, or do you view it as a "lesser of two evils"?

I would ask the same of Democrats, but that's probably best for a different thread.

I guess it's closer to a "lesser of two evils" type of thing, although my ideal political party wouldn't be that dramatically different from the Republican Party.

[Dereich]

They're certainly more the party of limited government than the Democrats are.

[Deus Naturae]

The media in this country is pathetic for letting the GOP get away with transitioning from "deficits don't matter" to "the deficit is literally the most important thing in the history of ever" overnight. That night being January 20, 2009.

I completely agree, but the opposite is also true of the Democrats to a certain extent. I guess debt is now patriotic?

Anyway, for the most part, no. Most GOP politicians (like all politicians) are both liars and hypocrites. They claim to be for less government interference in the economy, yet support more government interference everywhere else, and then just end up expanding government in ALL areas. The Bush Jr. administration was probably somewhere in the top 10 worst in history, because of the massive government interventions in all areas.

[dead0man]

Of course not.

[AggregateDemand]

The media in this country is pathetic for letting the GOP get away with transitioning from "deficits don't matter" to "the deficit is literally the most important thing in the history of ever" overnight. That night being January 20, 2009.

The media lets Republicans get away with it because Republicans were right. Prior to Obama, deficit spending had reached equilibrium. Though we ran deficits every year, the deficit as a percentage of GDP was holding constant.

Obviously, the deficit is no longer constant as a percentage GDP, and Obama's cavalier attitude is causing deficit-hawks a great deal of frustration.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

No politician is.

[AggregateDemand]

Republican bureaucracy is mostly neoliberals. Republican politicians are pork-lovers like all politicians.

No one in the Republican Party is interested in shrinking government besides the conservative constituency.

[Randy Bobandy]

Most assuredly not.

[Joshgreen]

Of course not. The GOP sees government as a tool to service their corporate owners.

[Marnetmar]

They're certainly more the party of limited government than the Democrats are.

Unless your name is Ron Paul or Barry Goldwater this can't possibly be correct.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

They're certainly more the party of limited government than the Democrats are.

Really.  They want to dictate what everyone does in their personal lives and you call that limited?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No as "limited government" is just a meaningless buzz phrase as is "big government".

[The Dowager Mod]

Not when it involves my uterus....

[Mordecai]

No (obviously). Republicans are guilty of the social engineering and overreach that they bald-facedly accuse Democrats of, when they legislate morality or try to institute religion into government. They'll scream about government poking around in their wallet but have no problem with government in the bedroom or in a woman's vagina.

And no, the Tea Party is not for small government either. They don't understand how the government works, or where Medicare and Social Security come from (and who created them), or how much PBS and Foreign Aid are as a part of the federal budget, or who was originally responsible for the War in Afghanistan and the debt and deficits. They're just a bunch of angry ignorant xenophobic entitled people who don't know why they're angry.

[Vosem]

No, but that doesn't mean Dereich and Goldwater aren't absolutely right.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

No politician is.

[AkSaber]

No way!

They love war, deficits, spending, incarceration, and foreign interventionism, just as much as Democrats do.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

To be fair, the neoconservative wing of the GOP is shrinking by the second, especially in the house.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

The Republican party is a pro-business party, not an anti-government party.