Republicans Love the Welfare State . . .

[redcliffsw]

This is a perfect example of the curse of conservatism. Unconstitutional federal agencies and programs—as if there were any other kind—should be reformed, reorganized, reconstituted, or run by Republicans, but never abolished.

For a specific example, here is Ponnuru on Medicare: "Reforming Medicare so that it no longer attempts to set prices throughout the medical sector is a way to make American health care less expensive and more efficient, but it is also a step toward the modest federal role envisioned by the constitutional design." The modest federal role? How about: Medicare should be abolished because the Constitution has no role whatsoever for the federal government to play when it comes to health care.

Ponnuru wants to have the impossible: a welfare state and a limited government:

Speaking of Room to Grow, Ponnuru remarked that "if there are conservative candidates looking for an agenda, this is going to be on the shelf." And that is the trouble with conservatives: they are always looking for an agenda that will get votes instead of actually being defenders of individual liberty and the minimal government that it requires.

Conservative plans like the Contract with America, Pledge to America, Path to American Prosperity, Path to Prosperity, Back to Basics, Saving the American Dream, and now the latest plan, Room to Grow, all have one thing in common: they all have room for the welfare state.

Read on:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/07/laurence-m-vance/republicans-love-the-welfare-state/