i will say our South Carolina (Republican) Governor is pretty committed to less governnment and less spending in our state. its why all the other Republicans hate him so much. the Republican primaries were pretty harsh here this week.

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hes almost libertarian, in some ways.

but yeah, conservative politicians nowadays dont even follow their own party code. its got to be frustrating for knowledgable voters. at least a liberal wont lie before an election about wasting money down the road (well, lie as much, anyways)...

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Mez, 'cos this is something I've been thinking about lately, would you mind expanding a bit on this idea? How far would you go with "small government" - do you consider yourself a libertarian? D'ya think that the world would be much better if it were governed by the unfettered free market?

This of course is all from the American perpsective of course so bear with me:

If I were a 100% true Libertarian I'd be totally against the war in Iraq. But on just about everything else I agree...individual freedom over government tyranny being my central ideology.

I believe I know where you're leading with the 'unfettered free market' question. If all government is allowed to do is clean up the highway and regulate the armies...who the hell is gonna save the seagulls from extinction from the evil corporations who of course will take over all our lives leaving the poor little guy out of the loop???????????????? HUH WHO WHO???? [Answer: concerned peoples]
Oh and not just the seagulls would be at risk...but let's see..who next, ahhhh yes...the mentally ill(remember Reagan's main target?) would be kicked out into the streets and left to die..[again evil corporations at work]. Who the hell is gonna save them??? [Charities take over the problem here].

This is again with the presumption that GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS ARE SUCCESSFUL(the initial reason for my diatribe)?? I can only speak for over here..no, they are not. Is the black man in any better shape thanks to welfare than when the program was first begun??? (Yes, he is better off but not because of welfare...uh, that's because of taking advantage of oppurtunities and moving the fuck ahead and out of the past)

Historically, yes, changes had to be made. Child labor yeah, thats wrong...okay, slavery, yes thats wrong...etc...something greater than the common people had to step in and do something..(STOP RIGHT THERE LEE ARE YOU NOT CONTRADICTING YOURSELF-well, no those were completely different eras, I think we're smarter now).

But its the constant barrage of fear-mongering from the Left that really is what keeps society as a whole fettered..........

quote:

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So what is an American liberal to you? I'm guessing 'socialist-lite'?

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Small government to me means that they take less of my money to burn on pointless pet projects such as the 'integrated transport policy' which has merely lined the pockets of the rail and bus franchise bigwigs and given us huge fare increases and a worse service.

Small govenrnment means that they aren't nannying to us about what we should and should not do with our personal lives - just give us the information and let us decide for ourselves.

Most importantly, small government meaans the minimum bureaucracy and focus on providing services instead of employing know it all's on ridiculous salaries who contribute nothing except increases in our taxes.

I strongly believe that the state has a duty to provide essential services, such as energy, water, health, education and pensions for it's people, not the private sector because profits will always come before anything else. We are now seeing the fruits of the wholesale privatisation of our essential services - higher than inflation price increases year on year and a worsening service. This is why I have voted Labour all my life. However that will change come the next election simply because this isn't a Labour government at work - it's pretty much conservative in all but name.

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