I was going to call this post “the best argument for conservatism I can think of” but the thing is that conservatism really isn’t about small government, it’s about small government for interests conservatives don’t support. Hence the change…

But anyway, the problems with Iraq, with Foley, with Afghanistan, all point to gross negligence, incompetence, and (in the Foley case) a crass desire for power that knows no end.

(An aside on the Foley issue. The Nation has an excellent piece on Foley arguing that if he would have been able to come out of the closet and be who he was then perhaps this would not have happened. For what it is worth I believe them to be right.)

Anyway. Let’s say that the entire political landscape was different, and the political interests that you as a voter prefer run the entire government…and that government does exactly what you want it to. If you knew that this government would not only be replaced by that of your political opponents, but they would be TOTALLY INCOMPETENT…how big would you want your government to be? The Republican Administration is the worst administration I have ever seen from top to bottom. They are incompetent, corrupt, and millenial. Not to mention classist, racist, sexist, etc. etc.

I believe in a government large enough to counter private corporate interests. But times like this? I want government to be small enough that these people (and those that voted for them) can’t do any more damage.