The problem with this argument is that almost everyone, including libertarians, thinks that there are some things that have to be done by the government. Defense, for example, or police. People who want no government at all are anarchists. So when a conservative says that government is the problem and it is always better to reduce the size and role of government, they are simply lying (or are stupid). What they are really saying is that they don’t want government to do some things (like preventing them from polluting the environment), but they do want government to do other things (even things government doesn’t currently do, like outlaw abortion).
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The last frame is priceless.
And the fact the over meant does have to do some things is the foundation of why nothing is happening. The bipolar disorder we call Congress argues about cutting benefits or raising taxes, but no one is talking about what we actually think the over meant sold do, because once we have some consensus that will tell us how much we have to pay for those things.
Like most Americans I think the balance is wrong – buts that’s because in a republic it will NEVER be perfect, and the constant tweaking is a DESIREABLE feature, not a problem.
They drew Herman Cain wrong…
Their idea of “limited government” is: just enough government to limit what we can do in our bedrooms or how we can modify our moods. But God forbid that the government should lay a hand on the banks that turned Wall Street into their private casinos or any big business that coincidentally trashes the only planet we can live on.
Ask these libermaniacs this: “If the government is made small enough to be drowned in a bath tub, the first thug who could do it, would do it. Then what, Mr Individual Liberty?. Who is going stop the tyranny of that thug? Your gun owners with their little berettas and smith and wessons? What if the tyrant hires AK-47s and RPGs and battle tanks? Isn’t that how the current crop of tyrants in banana republics came into power?”