One of the major differences between Democrats and Republicans and liberals and conservatives is the size of government. Americans on the left see government as a strong force that should be there to take care of its citizens, giving everyone an equal chance at perusing the American Dream. Conservatives want government to be limited, sometimes completely eliminated with the exception, at times, of the military. Whether you are a strong government liberal or a small government conservative, everyone seems to have their reasoning behind how and why they believe what they do.
While Democrats want government to give everyone an equal playing field, they do know when to back off. An Americans private life is off-limits, whether it's their sexual orientation, religion, choices about their body, Democrats like to keep the government out from where it doesn't belong, in the private lifes of their citizens. Conservatives on the other hand have an issue staying true to their love of "small government." Republicans and conservatives demonize government at all costs, blaming the "big government" for any and all problems that happen in the United States. When it comes to business, conservatives want government out of the picture because the more the government is around, the more business leaders have to play by the rules. When government deregulates business only bad things can happen in the future. The leading cause of the stock market crash of 1929 and the financial meltdown of 2008 was because, along with massive tax cuts on the wealthy, less regulation that let big businesses and wall street leaders run wild. Gambling at every turn, it eventually caught up with these people and working Americans had to deal with the damage left over.
While conservatives like to keep government out of their playground when it comes to making a profit at the expense of American jobs, they do know when they can use the government to fit their ideology. President George W. Bush used his power of big government to go to two wars and stripped away many of the citizens basics rights when he enacted the controversial "Patriot Act." Republicans continue to criticize President Obama for his military actions in Libya, which overthrew a dictator without costing a single American life, but they all backed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Current Republican governor of Texas and former Republican presidential candidate, Rick Perry, stated he would re-invade Iraq because of the potential threat of Iran taking over the region. Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and others, with the exception of Ron Paul, have all made it clear they would have a quick trigger when he comes to getting the United States into another war, this time with Iran.
Moving away from the military, Republicans still know how to grow government. President W. Bush enacted the Medicare Part D program which cost taxpayers over $700 billion dollars and was not paid for. President W. Bush decided to take the surplus that was handed to him by President Clinton and give it away in the form of tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthiest American. Adding nearly 2 trillion dollars in debt, the Bush tax cuts have helped destroy the American economy.
The biggest hypocrisy dealing with conservatives, Republicans and the idea of "small government" is when it comes to American's private life and personal choices. Once again, conservatives pick and choose where they want to use the "small government" card. When dealing with their religious beliefs or love of guns, conservatives often talk about government staying out-of-the-way and following the constitution, but when it comes to American's personal choices dealing with who they want to be in a relationship with, what other religion they might want to follow or choices about a women's own body, small government is pushed aside and big government is back with a vengeance. Conservatives have talked about trying to prevent access to birth control for women and Republican leaders have fought back against any attempt of having health insurance companies cover it under their plans. The intolerance towards the LGBT community, women's rights and freedom of a religion outside Christianity is often abused. Americans who choose not to follow any religious beliefs, whether they're atheists, agnostic or just non-religious are discriminated against especially in parts of the country where religion dominates.
Republicans claim to be the party of "small government," but the reality is that they're the party of using government when they see fit. The upcoming election will prove to be a referendum on the values of America. Whether it's dealing with economic or social issues, Americans have a clear choice to make and we will all find out what direction the country will be going in just a matter of time.
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