Republicans: Just plain bad at government
If 6 years of a Republican controlled federal government has taught us anything, it's that Republicans have absolutely no ability to effectively lead and run the country. And why would they? Grover Norquist, a guiding light in the Republican ranks and head of Americans for Tax Reform, once infamously said "My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." He's a people person, who apparently enjoys drowning. And like so many Republicans, hates government. So why do they want to run it, then?
In any event, here are some choice examples, recently documented, of how bad Republicans actually are at government:
- China in space: An NYT article about how the Bush administration knew China would be testing an antisatellite missile, but didn't try to stop them because they didn't want to negatively impact the missle defense fantasy the neocons have.
- OSHA neglects worker safety: Another NYT article, this one about how OSHA and other agencies are now run by industry reps, and how OSHA in particular has dropped its responsibilty to protect workers.
- Katrina contract awards: Hurricane Katrina is now synonomous with Bush administration incompetency. This particular article is about how FEMA botched contract awards, gave contracts to Republican-connected companies, and wasted billions in tax payer dollars (LA Times).
There's oh so many more examples, and I'll document more later. It's just too exhausting, though, so I've got to take a break...
Comments
It has often been said that the Republicans perform better as a check on Democrats than as actual leaders. The only real reasons that I can see for them to enter government are 1) rewrite law to favor business owners and, thus, government "service" becomes an investment of sorts, and 2) impose christian fundamentalist morality on everyone because the rest of us need to be saved, or so I'm told.
Posted by: JML | April 26, 2007 11:30 AM
I've long held that the Republicans make a better opposition party than a governing body. I do think it's good to have traditional Republican issues (defense, tax reform, etc) debated, but this current GOP is neither traditionally conservative nor are they good at governing.
Posted by: Derek Phillips | April 26, 2007 11:42 AM
In the immortal words of Calvin Trillin--
A SMALL GOVERNMENT SEA CHANTY FOR THE REPUBLICANS
’Cause government’s the problem, lads,
Americans would all do well to shun it.
Yes, government’s the problem, lads.
At least it is when we’re the ones who run it.
Posted by: Philip Hoffhines | April 26, 2007 2:58 PM
Is that from The Nation? Here's another Trillin treat:
As more troops are sent--yes, sent in as fodder--
Who's proven he might be a powerful prodder
For bringing them home, through methods much odder
Than those of the doves? Muqtada al-Sadr.
Posted by: Mike Visser | April 27, 2007 9:59 AM
Fuck, is it 2008 yet??!!
Posted by: barabajagal | April 27, 2007 10:12 AM