Limited Government No More - Conservative Politics Web Site

Limited Government No More by Jeff Jackson (11/25/03)
The Land of the Free - A Conservative Politics Web Site

This is part 2 of the topic "More Machinery Than Necessary" and follows the paper The Bureaucratic Threat

"Most bad government has grown out of too much government." - Thomas Jefferson

We are sitting upon times where the concept of limited government controlled by the people is threatened. It is a time where the true colors of many a politician in both major political parties have been shown and have been made entirely clear. For years there has been a balancing act between the tax, spend, and redistribute wealth policies of the majority of liberal socialists versus the fiscal conservatives who found a begrudging home among the Republican Party.

That, however, is changing. With a new prescription drug entitlement proposed by, backed by, and soon to be passed by the Republican party we now see that adding an estimated $400 Billion over 10 years and expanding the role of the federal government when politically expedient is no longer the realm of but one political party. When coupled that with the increase in federal farm subsidies and other budget increases since 2000 and we see a dire picture indeed.

Some would argue that an average of $40 Billion a year is small potatoes compared to a $2.2+ Trillion dollar government. I say that rarely has a government program ever cost what it has been claimed to cost initially upon it's institution. Often times such programs balloon well beyond their initial estimates as more people are brought under the umbrella they provide and more services added. I would say that it is not about how much is spent but rather that it is about the concept of federal tax dollars being spent on programs for services where the government has no right in meddling.

Some would argue that it was, after all, a campaign promise. I would say that I don't care if it was indeed a promise or not. Making a promise that has no business being made and then shoving a new entitlement down the throats of the American populace is inexcusable.

To be honest, this new package brought forth by the Republican lead government does propose some long needed reforms to the Medicare system. It does address cost saving measures such as more preventative medicine and care as well as "medical savings accounts" and a partial move away from government run health care.

However when we look at these things we see that they are down the road initiatives to be later written off or legislated away once forgotten or simply to be implemented on a trial basis further stonewalling any real reforms of a system that makes up one of the largest entitlements in American history. In the long run, while such items appear to be what conservatives desire, in reality what we receive is nothing more than a further bloating of federal bureaucracy and a guaranteed fight to keep this piece of shallow legislation intact long enough to even attempt the reforms. What we receive is nothing short of more government and a slap in the face to our core beliefs.

We could have done these things without one dime of new entitlement spending. We could have fixed Medicare without further enslaving the people of this nation by creating yet another tie between them and the federal government. The Federal government has no authority to be a health care provider for the citizens of this nation plain and simple.

Expanding the roles of government dependents by adding prescription drug coverage while coupling it with promises of reform and possible cost reduction fall entirely way too short of what should be accomplished with any such measure. What should be accomplished is a complete overhaul of the current system that allows for more rapid relief from government control. What should be accomplished is a removal of forced confiscation of wealth from working Americans to others regardless of whether or not they paid into the same failed system in the past because the continued perpetration of a wrong will never make it right. What should be accomplished is getting the government out of our doctor's offices and operating rooms.

But after all this what we are left with is the all too real realization that the Republican Party will only pay lip service to conservative principles in order to woo votes of traditionally more liberal voters and the so-called "moderates" and will fall entirely short of actually doing anything to promote the principles of limited government. Now they are like the Democratic Party more than ever before; a party where mighty promises are made but no actual solutions provided. Instead they provide government handouts in an attempt to secure political power and political dollars. And under the cover of darkness and once forgotten about, the promised long term reforms will be quietly stripped away or legislated out of existence.

What is needed is real medicare reform, not this eye candy currently being put forth. And with the proposal of this power grab by the federal government the honest question we must ask is who is looking out for the Republic? It is certainly not the Democrats as a party. Not the Republicans as a whole now either.

Who is looking out to ensure that we, the people of the United States of America, live and breathe beneath the graces of God and the unalienable rights he has granted to us? Have we forgotten the warnings of Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers or are we simply willfully deaf to them? Do we care so little about conservative principle that political expedience must rule our thoughts and our actions? Do we not ever learn that those that would be wooed by such legislation would turn upon us at the first sign of a better "deal" for them from other politicians and leave us high and dry with nothing but increased government to show for it?

The only acceptable reform to medicare that we the people of this nation should rightfully accept is one that reduced not only the cost burden of the system to the federal government but removes it from the hands of government all together. Immediately if at all possible but even I am not so naive to believe that such a thing could be done over night. But we must demand that it be done and that it be done in an expedited manner. To accept anything less is to continue to allow the seeds of government to continue to fall from the government tree and grow out of control and out of the constitutional constraints placed upon it. One violation of the Constitution and it's powers has always led to a second, third and fourth violation.

I do not often agree with the likes of Senator Ted Kennedy or Representative Nancy Pelosie. And I do not entirely agree with them here either. But I find myself more in league with them than any Republican that would sign onto this bill. Kennedy and Pelosie are right when they say that this is a bad piece of legislation. Of course they do so for political reasons whereas I do it because of its constitutional issues. They do it because the thought of allowing Republicans to gain a victory and pass expanded Medicare coverage would corrupt their own power plays over the past decades and this is something that they simply can not allow. Politically speaking that is. They cannot allow the Republicans to pass something that they themselves have so boldly promised (but never really intend to pass until absolutely politically expedient for them) many times before and continually fail to provide so that they might be able to continue to use it as campaign material every election year. They do it because they fear losing a large portion of their voting block who will no longer fear Republicans as being the great destroyers of Medicare as they are often portrayed.

Their motives are not quite so pure.

But with this new bill we must look at the reality that if it passes and if the Republicans prove to be the driving force behind it that there is no political party left in any positions of power that is progressing the standards of limited government and the traditions of Ronald Reagan. We are left with the stark reality that no major political party is left to guard against the unconstitutional expansions of government. For when legislation for the sake of political expedience becomes the norm over legislation for the common good we are not left with the Republic that was founded upon the words penned in 1776 and signed by Hancock, Adams, Jefferson, Rush, Franklin, Wolcott, Paine, Penn, Rutledge and the rest.

This new medicare package is a power grab at the expense of the conservative ideology that once separated the base of the Republicans who traditionally call for fiscal responsibility from the base of the Democrats who traditionally call for more wealth redistribution. And no matter how much I respect President George Bush for his leadership in the tumultuous times since 9/11/01 I can not stand with him shoulder to shoulder as he actively lobbies for the expansion of government while hoping and praying that far off plans to fix this broken system come to fruition. A study of politics shows us that the odds of such a fix actually happening are slim to none.

What this country needs with regards to Medicare is a real fix, not a stop gap to slow the bleeding. What this country needs is the government out of the health care business no matter what promises were made for the furthering of socialism and increased dependency upon government. What is needed is for the pig to be forcibly removed from the trough and to return to the principles of limited government espoused by the founders. And if the President will not be the one to lead government away from the table then he is as guilty as all others.

We have to start looking at reversing the trend that is destroying the Republic and we need to start looking out for this nation more vigilantly than we are. Because if we are not vigilant this Republic will disappear out from under us more quickly than anyone would possibly believe.

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