What makes one political party better than the other?


Nothing. Neither can be trusted to be in charge.
David S. Broder takes on both major American parties in his latest column .

In November 1994, with thousands of disillusioned Democrats boycotting the polling places, the Republicans won nearly everything, retaking the Senate, capturing the House for the first time in 40 years and boosting their strength in the state capitols.

The lingering effects of that failure in one-party Democratic government are still felt. While Clinton was able to win a second term and to avoid conviction on the Lewinsky scandal impeachment charges, he was never again able -- while campaigning for himself or others -- to persuade voters to entrust his party with the reins of government.

At some level, the message that many voters took away from the experience was that Democrats may talk a good game, but they don't deliver. It has not helped that the subsequent Democratic nominees, Al Gore and John Kerry, were people who had built their careers in the Senate, a place where the public knows that talk is cheap and action rare.

Fast-forward now to 2005, five years after the voters (with a nudge from the Supreme Court) entrusted Republicans with complete control of the elected branches of the federal government. What do they have to show for it?

Well, as promised, taxes have been cut, more for the wealthy than for others, but that promise has been kept. The overall economy has grown, but -- in part because of tax policy -- the gap between the rich and the rest has increased. The nation, caught unawares, has suffered a grievous homeland attack, and the chief instigator of that Sept. 11 savagery remains at large. We have invaded two countries seeking out terrorists -- and years later, violence continues to cost the lives of Americans trying to pacify both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The problems aren't with the Republicans or with George W. Bush anymore than they are with Democrats.

These aren't problems caused by the political parties, these are problems caused by government.

The problems aren't with who gets to call the shots, it's with the structure itself.

So one side wants social government, and the other wants business opportunity. Both "solutions" take away freedom "for the greater good."

Neither political party trusts you to make decisions in your own best interest.

Yes, our ever expanding government is a legacy of both Roosevelts, Johnson, Kennedy, and Clinton. But it also goes back to Lincoln. Nixon and Reagan did their level best to expand government authority. Hoover almost certainly helped cause the Great Depression.

The common factor isn't Republican or Democrat. Or even Green or Libertarian or Know-Nothing.

The common factor is government.

Government is not your friend. Government can not be trusted. Government has failed you and will fail you again. At best, government should be kept as small as possible so it can not threaten you.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - December 1, 2005 at 05:03 AM  Tag


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