Republicans once called government the problem – now they want to run your life

[Valin]

The Guardian

Ronald Reagan would not recognise a party that wants to intrude the power of the state everywhere, making a mockery of values it once espoused

Robert Reich

Sept. 12 2021

I’m old enough to remember when the Republican party stood for limited government and Ronald Reagan thundered “Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

Today’s Republican party, while still claiming to stand for limited government, is practicing just the opposite: government intrusion everywhere.

(Snip)

Years ago, the Republican party had a coherent idea about limiting the role of government and protecting the rights of the individual. I disagreed with it, as did much of the rest of America. But at least it was honest, reasoned, and consistent. As such, Republicans played an important part in a debate over what we wanted for ourselves and for America.

Today, Republican politicians have no coherent view. They want only to be re-elected, even if that means misusing government to advance a narrow and increasingly anachronistic set of values – intruding on the most intimate aspects of life, interfering in what can be taught and learned, risking the public’s health, banning what’s necessary for people to exercise their most basic freedoms.

This is not mere hypocrisy. The Republican party now poses a clear and present threat even to the values it once espoused.

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Absolutely Amazing! 

 

Now A Golden Oldie!

At the time of the March 15, 1993 episode of Rush Limbaugh the Television Show, we were just getting to know the hilarious cast of characters in the Clinton administration. We fell in love with Labor Secretary Robert B. Reichhhh right away. He had a sense of humor about everything - including his stature - and pushed honestly the whacky, extreme liberal ideas that most Democrats try to slip into law in the dead of night.

Our Man in Washington shot footage at a Children's Defense Fund event, and asked Secretary Reich what he thought of President Clinton accepting money from grade school bake sales to pay off the national debt. Reich stood by like a loyal soldier - and that simply drove Rush crazy! But he responded with good humor, illustrating the absurdity of this policy by doing a now-legendary impression of the diminutive Reich. You have to see this one.