The weirdness that is anti-government government

Over at the Decembrist is an essay on why Jack Kemp-style "anti-government government" doesn't work and why the answer is effective government, not small or large government. I myself subscribe to the Goldilocks theory of government: not too big, not too small, just right. But Republicans don't want to hear about it. It's all "government is the problem, let's shrink it." It's never "we can do this better without red tape." It's never "we should use our resources wisely." Republicans are stuck in the knee-jerk "small government, small government" mindset. Commenter Kilroy Was Here sums it up best:

Placing conservatives in charge of the government is like putting Lenin in charge of General Electric.

When I interview for a job, no one is going to hire me if I say, "I hate this job. I hate this company. In fact, I hate what the company stands for." But we seem to be proud to vote for people who feel the same way about government.

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