This strikes me as being totally upside down.
On the one hand, we have the Democrats in Louisiana (in the form of Nagin and Blanco) pressing for local control over the rebuilding contracts and visions of the future. Nagin, in particular, has been interesting me by calling for a return of business and free enterprise (tax breaks and business economic zones) as key to the recovery of the Big Easy’s economic base.
To me, these concepts would normally fall under the headings of Federalism (local authority, lowest level of government in control), and Republican economics.
On the other hand, we have George Bush – ostensibly a Republican, who is furiously expanding the role of the federal government to fund not only the relief and rebuilding, but also to simultaneously attack the root causes of chronic poverty.
I would normally have classed these concepts as Democrat (more government involvement and spending) and Socialist (equalizing opportunities and approaching the class/poverty issues as a government responsibility).
Fascinating. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but that clear red/blue separation appears a bit blurry…
When Up is Down (or Red is Blue…)
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I am afraid that George W. Bush, while a Republican, is not a conservative, at least not in the traditional sense.
I generally consider myself a small government, semi-libertarian
conservative federalist. Those leanings were reinforced by the recent furor over the FEMA response to Katrina. (Isn’t it interesting tha much of the immediate relief work was done by church and community groups, DESPITE the government’s efforts?).
I would, for instance, reduce FEMA to a planning and support arm, and reintroduce the old Civil Defense system which placed most of the responsibility in local organizations to respond to disasters. The Civil Defense system was much more accountable than the mess we have now, and most of the workers were local volunteers who knew the lay of the land and could get help to the needy FAST.
Unfortunately, my beliefs mean that I don’t have much choice when federal election day comes around. Both the Dems and Repubs seem to have decided that big government is the answer. The only questions is who gets the pork?
God bless,
Lee