They speak with forked tongues
To the editor:
While the Republican U.S. Senate candidates run over each other trying to get further to the right than the others to win the primary, I observe the following: They all adhere to the Republican mantra of lower taxes and smaller government, but what they say not what they do or want once you penetrate past the slogan. Republicans want Big Government when it's used to advance their ideology:
1. They say they want smaller government, but they all want to repeal Roe v. Wade. What does that mean? Roe v. Wade was about finding unconstitutional a Texas law which made it a crime to "procure an abortion," resulting in a two to five year sentence. Thus, they want the government to put doctors in jail, which equals Big Government.
2. They say they want smaller government, but historically and typically they all want to increase funding to the military so they can fuel the military-industrial complex and fight far-flung wars of conquest, which equals Big Government. Republicans typically belittle anyone who suggests cutting military spending as being soft on national security.
3. They say they want smaller government, but they holler for "border security," increased immigration vigilance, and now the "Your Papers, Please" Arizona law (which, I'll admit, many rational Republicans have come out against. Building government walls, having more border security officers, having more immigration police, having national ID cards, fining employers who employ illegal immigrants, having a national data base of who is legal and who isn't, empowering state police to stop anyone on "reasonable suspicion that they are not in this country legally" like the Gestapo. All that equals Big Government. And not only Big Government, Big Brother Government.
4. They say they want smaller government, but they passed the disingenuously named "Patriot Act," which permits all kinds of Big Brother Government intrusion into what most Americans would think is private, which equals Big Government.
5. They say they want smaller government, but historically and typically they are big supporters of law enforcement, which equals Big Government. Republicans typically belittle anyone who suggests cutting law enforcement spending as being soft on crime.
6. They say they want smaller government, but they typically (as did the "culture of life" Bush administration) use the power of the federal government to fight against laws such as the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (allowing terminally ill people to die on their own terms).
7. They say they want smaller government, but they are typically against all marijuana and other drug decriminalization or legalization laws, meaning they want such persons put in prison, which equals Big Government.
8. They say they want smaller government, but they want laws against all forms of gay rights, which equals Big Government interference with free people in private matters.
9. They say they want smaller government, but they want the federal government in your hospital bed, as in the Terri Schaivo fiasco.
10. They say they want smaller government, but they pass laws authorizing and then employ warrantless wiretapping in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
I could go on and on, but I trust any rational voter understands the lie.
They don't want smaller government at all. In fact, they want to use the full power of the government in profound ways which impact individual freedom, and in very oppressive ways, in my view.
At the same time, they want less regulation of corporations. Gee, that's just what we need, after the under-regulated free market almost self-destructed and wrecked the economy.
Lastly, once they cut taxes, they never articulate what government they're going to cut to balance the budget. Budget deficits have skyrocketed under Reagan and both Bushes (and now also with Obama, but no one can deny he inherited a catastrophe of epic proportions). Defense (23 percent), Social Security (20 percent), Medicare/Medicaid (19 percent), other mandatory spending (17 percent) and interest (5 percent) comprise 84 percent of the fiscal year 2009 federal budget. Only 12 percent is discretionary.
Any rational voter should ask any candidate: If you're going to cut taxes, what part of the budget are you going to cut to avoid a deficit and balance the budget?
Dan Wulz
Henderson
