small government news stories on Newser

Taxing Rich Won't Help Middle Class

Mark Russell — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:16:19 CDT

You can raise taxes on the rich to fight inequality, but that will only "trim the tallest poppies" and won't do anything to help the middle class, says Ross Douthat in the New York Times . "True social mobility and broadly shared prosperity are not so easily achieved," he writes. Those...

Righties to GOP: Stick to Shrinking Gov't

Matt Cantor — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:55:24 CST

Gay Republicans and Tea Party leaders are calling on Congressional Republicans to steer clear of social issues, Politico reports. In a letter, advocates ask John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to focus on “the principles of the Tea Party movement”—which they say have nothing to do with social issues. “This...

'Epic Failure' of Democrats: Paralyzed Governments

John Johnson — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:32:44 CDT

Chris Christie's decision to scrap (for now) the Jersey-Manhattan tunnel raises a larger problem for David Brooks. Governments need big projects like these to prosper, but they can't afford them anymore—because the governments themselves are too big and bloated. Cities and states are hamstrung by the salaries and pensions...

Hey GOP, Government Isn't Always Bad

Nick McMaster — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:23:24 CDT

Tea Partiers and other critics of government largesse have made the Republican party ascendant just two years after its cause seemed hopeless. A clear purpose helps, and Republicans have it: stop the expansion of government. Return the country to its free-market roots. But this is a dangerous oversimplification of American...

Thanks to Dems, Centrist America Suffers Again

John Johnson — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:30:00 CDT

David Brooks sees himself as an advocate of "progressive conservatism," which he says puts him at the center ("or a step to the right") of American politics. And he's not happy with the plight of the "broad middle" these days. He had hopes that Barack Obama could move the nation...

Colorado Springs Becomes Tea Party Paradise

Kevin Spak — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:38:00 CDT

Just how conservative is Colorado Springs? So conservative that even the Wall Street Journal says it’s “Taking Small Government to the Extreme.” The town is strapped for cash, but voters have rejected a tax increase, urging the government to slash services instead. Letters to the town council and local newspapers...

Tea Party Honcho Needs to Bone Up on US History

Harry Kimball — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:31:05 CDT

“The small-government conservative movement,” asserts Dick Armey, “is about the principles of liberty as embodied in the Constitution, the understanding of which is fleshed out if you read things like the Federalist Papers .” The tea party honcho and former House majority leader was, of course, trying to ground the populist...

Let's Smash Big Government Elin Woods-Style: Pawlenty

Harry Kimball — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:03:00 CST

Most of Tim Pawlenty’s speech to CPAC today was standard small government conservatism, but he decided to illustrate his point with a Tiger Woods joke of questionable taste: “We can learn a lot from that situation, not from Tiger, but from his wife,” the normally staid Minnesota governor said. “We...

Beck Will Host Conventions to Educate America

John Johnson — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:06:53 CST

Glenn Beck is fashioning himself into a political organizer. Beck unveiled his promised "big plan" today at a Florida rally , in a letter to supporters, and in an interview with the New York Times . He plans a series of educational "conventions" across the country to teach people "how to be...