I'll tip my hat to the new Constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
If libertarians were libertarians, they'd know what the Taft-Hartley Act is... and maybe, who Taft and... Hartley are to begin with, but only if we're being really optimistic.
There are people who, disturbed by "big government" today and its tendency to curb the advantages they might gain if their competitiveness were allowed free flow, demand "less govern- ment." Alas, there is no such thing as less government, merely changes in government. If the libertarians had their way, the distant bureaucracy would vanish and the local bully would be in charge. Personally, I prefer the distant bureaucracy, which may not find me, over the local bully, who certainly will. And all historical precedent shows a change to localism to be for the worse.
—Isaac Asimov, Nice Guys Finish First, collected in The Sun Shines Bright, 1981
Except the "Small government" is even bigger. The only difference is that all the money gets handed to oligarchs. The Republicans have never reduced spending while in power.
This kind of shit is why the right keeps winning. Even the people that oppose them buy into their framing and repeat their lies and propaganda.
It's because the right gets what they want by tearing things down and destroying, and instilling fear. It's inherently much easier to destroy and scare people than to build and inspire people
No the comic is showing the government is litterally small, implying welfare cuts. Reality is, any "cuts" are just going to be moved somewhere else. Not given back to the tax payers.
Fucking TSA, 2 decade long wars.... Republicans have NEVER reduced spending or increased liberties. It's all bullshit, but their propaganda machine is simply miles ahead because they have almost zero infighting.
Democrats are constantly bickering, and not about just important stuff. I fully believe there are bad actors purposefully starting arguments about BS they know Democrats will latch on and distract us. And as a bonus make us look like lunatics to anyone not already fully aligned with our ideas.
Building giant walls, deporting people en masse, surveillance society, making sure women's rights are held at bay, placing and enforcing restrictions on clean energy - all things that sound "small government"? As dumb as they are, I don't think I've even heard the Republicans using this phrase lately - it's so ridiculous.
They increase spending on really stupid shit that have no legs but will absolutely gut useful services. People aren’t wrong to be mad when they see their stuff get defunded and that’s the important stuff many are going to focus on. So you’re right but it’s not as simple as that.
They compartmentalize accountability. It's easy to say it's some other guy. Then he gets fired, replaced and fights for the chance to have it happen again.
Oh and their idea of small government is letting the rich stomp on you while police tanks roll though the streets mowing down anyone who doesn't bow to them.
If government is actually the top power on the land with oversight over and the power to rule over everything, then the power of voters which choses the people who lead said government controls the top power on the land, which is what's known as Democracy (even when imperfect).
However if government ties its own hands so that it doesn't really oversee or rule over the domains were Money has the most power, then it's not the top power on the land anymore - Money is - and the votes of people do not control the highest power on the land anymore, they only control a secondary power, so what you have in not Democracy anymore, it's Oligarchy - Money is not democratic since doesn't have any "one person one vote" rule and instead some have billions of times more power than others.
"Small government" is really just a slogan for a government which has had its hands tied by reducing its funding so that it's unable to oversee, much less rule over, the areas where Money dominates, especially when it comes to facing the wealthiest people and companies. Mind you this only works if the other elements of Democracy are kept, so Money still wants a Judiciary and Law Enforcement independent of Government to uphold their ownership of things and stop the plebes from taking their shit, just a government weakenned in all other areas and unable to fight Money in the Courts.
and by continuing to give the people the right to vote adds a veil of legitimacy to the power of the government so there is less of a chance of a uprising.
Just because it's "known" as "democracy" because politicians and their crony media capitalists have been throwing the word around for a few centuries doesn't actually make it democracy.