Posted by
Moonkeeper on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 4:05:45 PM
If listening to political rhetoric, one can be convinced that there are
two very polarized major parties constantly fighting over policy. Yet
on major issues, the side favoring government control and more
regulations always seems to eventually win. Viewing legislation on a
small government vs. big government perspective instead of a republican
vs. democrat perspective shows the same side always winning.
In 1993, NAFTA was passed by democrats, even though they are now
supposedly against it. The republicans originally rejected the Patriot
Act in the late 90s. Campaign Finance Reform was democrat-supported
legislation in the late 90s, yet it was passed by a republican congress
and signed by a republican president. The prescription drug entitlement
program was also given to the country by a republican president and a
republican house and senate. No true tax cuts have been passed since
JFK (the effective rate under Reagan and Bush Jr. actually increased).
Government spending adjusted for the CPI and population growth, has not
decreased year-over-year under any of the recent administrations. This
holds true even when separating military, domestic and discretionary
spending. Obama’s plan for getting out of Iraq is now effectively the
same as the republican plan. He has also increased troops in
Afghanistan. Each side has passed and signed a bank bailout. Despite
each party at different times having appointed a majority of Supreme
Court justices, major decisions go in the same direction (see: Kelo vs.
New London). Republicans complain of democrat socialism, yet on two
separate occasions, have sent out “stimulus checks.”
Yet,
despite the evidence, people continue to argue that their side is made
up of the good guys while the other side is made up of the bad guys.
People cheer for their political party the same way a sports fan cheers
for the home team, blindly calling fans of the other team losers. Does
no one realize that both sides are moving in the same direction?