Polifrog previously referenced this poll by Rasmussen here in which it was found that only 23% of Americans feel the federal government has the consent of the governed and tied it to Governance Through Broken Consent.
The same Rasmussen poll caught the attention of John Hinderaker:
I think the more significant cause, however, is the general one--a growing conviction that America is governed by a political class that has its own agenda, involving its own enrichment as well as the endless expansion of its own power, and that this political class is contemptuous of the opinions of ordinary Americans and is determined to impose its will regardless of how Americans vote. I think this perception is in fact true.
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There have been several occasions when the American people have voted for smaller government; most notably in 1972, 1980 and 1994. But it really doesn't matter. You can vote for limited government, but you can't get it; the political class won't let you. This is not to assert the silly proposition that there is no major difference between Democrats and Republicans. The fiscal disaster that we have witnessed since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007 proves the contrary. But still: experience shows that voting for Republicans hasn't been enough to offset the power of the political class.
There has been a slow slide toward increased statist governance for nearly a century, a thought explored here by Polifrog. It became clear to Polifrog during the period of the Bush Presidency in which Conservatives also held both houses that Conservatism had lost its way, Conservatism had lost its respect for liberty. There is a statist side to the current crop of conservatives that has hurt the party.
Founders, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Liberty, TeaParty. These words mesh for a reason and replacing the term TeaParty with Democrat or even Conservative causes discord. Sad.
It has proven to be difficult to vote liberty into office.
out
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