As the Conservative Political Action Conference chugs on in Washington, Wes Benedict, executive director of the Libertarian Party, issued this statement reminding the world that the GOP has no moral claim to small government or fiscal responsibility.
“It’s interesting that conservatives only notice “big government” when it’s something their political enemies want. When conservatives want it, apparently it doesn’t count.”
If a conservative wants a trillion-dollar foreign war, that doesn’t count.
If a conservative wants a $700 billion bank bailout, that doesn’t count.
If a conservative wants to spend billions fighting a needless and destructive War on Drugs, that doesn’t count.
If a conservative wants to spend billions building border fences, that doesn’t count.
If a conservative wants to “protect” the huge, unjust, and terribly inefficient Social Security and Medicare programs, that doesn’t count.
If a conservative wants billions in farm subsidies, that doesn’t count.
It’s truly amazing how many things “don’t count.”
Conservatives like Rush Limbaugh can’t ever be satisfied with enough military spending and foreign wars.
Conservatives like Mitt Romney want to force everyone to buy health insurance.
Conservatives like George W. Bush — well, his list of supporting big-government programs is almost endless.
Ronald Reagan, often praised as an icon of conservatism, signed massive spending bills that made his the biggest-spending administration (as a percentage of GDP) since World War II.
As GOP leaders are busy screaming about the recent levels of deficit spending, it’s worth checking out again the historic rise of the national debt — and which party controlled the White House when the biggest jumps occurred. You know the answer.
