It is extremely annoying to have Governor Schwarzenegger (among others) attacking his fellow Republicans for being ‘partisan’.

I don’t want to speak for all of those elected Republicans in the State Capitol — but I will speak for myself.  I am not a conservative because I am a Republican, I am a Republican because I am conservative.

The reason why conservatives in the legislature seem to

I think what Schwarzenegger is trying to say is that he doesn’t believe that there should be ideologues in Sacramento — individuals who are committed to a certain set of principles and ideas.  Never mind the fact that it was a group of committed ideologues who founded the very republic in which we all enjoy our freedom.

Conservatives believe that practical solutions to solving problems facing our state should be looked to, first, beyond government.  To individuals, to families, and communities.  Ultimately, where government involvement is required or desired, it must be done mindful of the fact that the first most important calling of government officials should and must be to ensure that they do not set into motion actions by government that interfere with the life, liberty and freedom of the people.  When it does, it is a "taking" of rights that must be closely scrutinized, and weighed heavily.

Last February’s state budget deal, which included the largest tax increase in the history of any state, wasn’t opposed by Capitol Republicans (except the Quisling Six) because the "Republican Party blindly opposes all tax increases" — it was opposed because conservatives in the legislature understand that tax increase, putting aside the practical reasons for why they don’t work, represent a direct "taking" of freedom and liberty from the people governed.  Conservatives, by and large, feel that state government is already too large and tries to do too much.

So, with all due respect to Governor Schwarzenegger, I think that his vision of a state legislature that is dominated by politics who are not ideologues, who will make decisions about how to deal with the state’s problems "unburdened" with the need to gut-check ideas against the very idea that government should be limited in its size and scope, is scary. 

Yes, state government has an important role to play in our society.  But we must strive to increase the role of individuals, families and communities, and reduce the role of state government to the greatest extent possible.

Dismissing well meaning conservatives in the legislature as "partisan" and "too rigid" is insulting, because it shows a profound disrespect for those to whom the Governor is referring, and worse, asserts that the Governor’s value system is somehow superior to theirs.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.