"The struggle to place meaningful limits on government — on its reach into economic life, its influence over how we manage our private affairs, and especially its staggering expense — has been among the most important animating principles of the Republican Party for the past half-century.
Still, even when Republicans have been dominant in Washington, the size, scope, and reach of the federal government have expanded.
All of this was true even before the most liberal president in four decades, Barack Obama, took office.
It was always expected that the 2010 congressional election would provide something of a speed bump for President Obama’s agenda. That is the norm for mid-term elections, particularly in a president’s first term, and especially when his party is also dominant in Congress. But the 2010 election was no ordinary mid-course correction. Republicans gained more than 60 seats in the House of Representatives and now hold their largest working majority in that chamber since just after World War II. They also picked up six seats in the Senate, 675 seats in state legislatures, and now hold 29 governorships. This was a Republican rout of historic proportions...
...what should Republicans do when the 112th Congress begins? How should they use the resources at their disposal to best address the looming economic and fiscal challenges the country now faces, while also restoring government to its proper place?
...The policies that this moment requires — not only scaling back bureaucracy and waste, but also transforming entitlements — will not be easy to enact. But the payoffs — a sustainable and meaningful safety net, affordable levels of taxation, more economic growth and job creation, and greater personal freedom — will be well worth the effort."
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/page/priorities-for-a-new-congress-preview
Still, even when Republicans have been dominant in Washington, the size, scope, and reach of the federal government have expanded.
All of this was true even before the most liberal president in four decades, Barack Obama, took office.
It was always expected that the 2010 congressional election would provide something of a speed bump for President Obama’s agenda. That is the norm for mid-term elections, particularly in a president’s first term, and especially when his party is also dominant in Congress. But the 2010 election was no ordinary mid-course correction. Republicans gained more than 60 seats in the House of Representatives and now hold their largest working majority in that chamber since just after World War II. They also picked up six seats in the Senate, 675 seats in state legislatures, and now hold 29 governorships. This was a Republican rout of historic proportions...
...what should Republicans do when the 112th Congress begins? How should they use the resources at their disposal to best address the looming economic and fiscal challenges the country now faces, while also restoring government to its proper place?
...The policies that this moment requires — not only scaling back bureaucracy and waste, but also transforming entitlements — will not be easy to enact. But the payoffs — a sustainable and meaningful safety net, affordable levels of taxation, more economic growth and job creation, and greater personal freedom — will be well worth the effort."
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/page/priorities-for-a-new-congress-preview
