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"What Went Wrong With The Republican Revolution"

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By Andy from The Charlotte Capitalist,cross-posted by MetaBlog

Dear Friends of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism,

On Wednesday, March 14th, the Institute will present a public lecture on:

"What Went Wrong with the Republican Revolution?"

Stephen Moore, the Wall Street Journal

364 Sirrine Hall, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

***Free PIZZA lunch at 12:30 p.m. ***

What is the state of American Political Right in 2007? What happened to the idea of limited-government conservatism?

Have conservatives been corrupted by power, or is there something in their basic philosophy that has led them to embrace big government?

Is there any meaningful difference today between liberals and conservatives?

In answering theses questions, Mr. Moore will discuss how, when, and why Republicans became the party of Big Government and lost their revolutionary fervor to downsize government.

Stephen Moore is Senior Economics Writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial page and a member of the Journal's editorial board.

Moore is also a commentator for CNBC TV, CNN and FOX networks and National Public Radio's marketplace.

It will be tough, but I may be able to swing this. No, not for the free pizza. You just think you know me that well.

I think at the root of the "Big Government" problem that Mr. Moore will discuss is the same issue with respect to environmentalism -- cowardice. (Deeper than that is conservative acceptance of mysticism and altruism.)

http://ObjectivismOnline.com/blog/archives/002322.html

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By Andy from The Charlotte Capitalist,cross-posted by MetaBlog

Dear Friends of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism,

On Wednesday, March 14th, the Institute will present a public lecture on:

"What Went Wrong with the Republican Revolution?"

Stephen Moore, the Wall Street Journal

364 Sirrine Hall, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

***Free PIZZA lunch at 12:30 p.m. ***

What is the state of American Political Right in 2007? What happened to the idea of limited-government conservatism?

Have conservatives been corrupted by power, or is there something in their basic philosophy that has led them to embrace big government?

Is there any meaningful difference today between liberals and conservatives?

In answering theses questions, Mr. Moore will discuss how, when, and why Republicans became the party of Big Government and lost their revolutionary fervor to downsize government.

Stephen Moore is Senior Economics Writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial page and a member of the Journal's editorial board.

Moore is also a commentator for CNBC TV, CNN and FOX networks and National Public Radio's marketplace.

It will be tough, but I may be able to swing this. No, not for the free pizza. You just think you know me that well.

I think at the root of the "Big Government" problem that Mr. Moore will discuss is the same issue with respect to environmentalism -- cowardice. (Deeper than that is conservative acceptance of mysticism and altruism.)

http://ObjectivismOnline.com/blog/archives/002322.html

I'd say the simple answer is: power corrupts.

For those who remember, one of the ideas in 1994 was term limits, and quite a few Republican candidates had promised that even if they failed to make term limits law, they would step down voluntarily after the appropriate time.

While some who made this promise did in fact step down, I think most did not.

Its that taste of power, that gets all but the most committed people. It is sort of the political "fruit" offered by the serpent.

Once you are enamored of power for power's sake your motivation is to keep power, and not to act on principle.

I'd say most of our big government problems stem from politicians doing what they see as preserving or expanding their own power at the cost of principle. It is less a Republican versus Democrat ideological thing, and more that the party holding all the power ends up sinking into corruption.

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