Political Pistachio

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The Republican Party has largely lost its way during my lifetime.  The Democrats have become straight out communists, as realized over the last couple decades.  As one moves left, so does the other.

The left-right paradigm is not even accurate, as portrayed by the media and the political class.  In order to be “on the right,” one must believe in a smaller and more limited government than the Constitution offers.  By my last calculations, just about every political ideology and political movement or party operates to the left of the Constitution, aside from Anarchy.

Ronald Reagan famously explained during his A Time for Choosing speech in 1964, “I’d like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right.  There’s only an up and down – [up] man’s old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism.  And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.”

The Political Spectrum originated from the French Legislature around the time approaching the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century.  During that time, in the French legislature those who agreed with the monarchy, supported the State Church, and disagreed with making any change sat on the right of the auditorium; those who sought a secular and more collective system of government and pushed for radical change sat on the left.  The moderates parked their indecisive rears in the middle. 

America, however, was established without an aristocracy, and the Constitution was specifically written not to give any special benefits to any one group, especially a group of aristocratic nobles.  There was never an established Church on a countrywide level, and the First Amendment specifically forbids that Congress ever makes any law establishing any church as the country’s official religion.  We have never entertained having a monarchy, a theocracy, nor any other kind of collective authoritarian system.  As for the secular part, while the marriage of government and religion was forbade by the First Amendment, the early Americans embraced Christianity – the politicians largely prayed, and the pastors largely preached politics in their sermons from the pulpit.  The United States, through the Constitution and its cultural influences, found a balance between theocracy and secularism, disallowing the church and government from controlling each other, yet making sure that Christianity was influential upon the government culturally.

From that foundation developed a system of limited government that practiced a hands-off style of governance.  During the Constitutional Convention of 1787 when the line in Article I, Section 4, was written that reads, “The Congress shall assemble at least once per year,” there were those who argued that was too often.  The federal Congress had so few authorities, argued dissenters, that unless the country was at war there would be nothing to do as federal legislators.  Government’s job was originally designed to pass necessary laws for external issues, and to mediate interstate squabbling; otherwise, the federal government’s job was to leave Americans alone, allow individualism and innovation to percolate to the surface, and to let the free market self-regulate.  Thomas Jefferson referred to that kind of leave-things-to-their-own-devices style of governance as being laissez faire – the French phrase that literally translates to “let them do it,” or “allow to do.”

The American ideal of operating as a citizen without strict regulatory policies or procedures from the government became the driving force behind our growth and prosperity over the next couple centuries.  Innovation, creativity and collaboration ran rampant, and as long as governmental intervention was minimal or absent, the free market soared and the United States took its place on the world stage as an economic powerhouse and ultimately a super power.

Recognizing the history of our American System, and the reality that the Democratic Party endeavored to insert governmental influence whenever possible in order to scratch their socialist itches, Ronald Reagan quipped in 1986 that “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’”

From our founding, beyond our 1776 Bicentennial, and into the presidency of Ronald Reagan, we understood that the role of government was not to help us, but to make sure only necessary laws are in place so that we may maintain an orderly society.  Government is a necessary evil, explained James Madison.  “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” 

The Founding Fathers established a system where the federal government handled the issues associated with the Union, primarily external issues such as war, trade, and foreign relations.  The States, however, being closer to the citizens than the federal government, were tasked with local governance; the things that directly influenced the lives and prosperity of the States and their citizens.  Even then, however, the local governments were not established to “help” the people, either; their task was only to ensure that we maintained an orderly society.

It is not government’s job or responsibility to ensure we drive through an intersection.  It is their job to make sure we have laws and traffic equipment in place that enables us to do so in an orderly fashion without running into each other.  In the end, it is still our job to obtain a vehicle, learn to drive, navigate our journey, and get ourselves wherever we are going.

Last week I was listening to one of the local radio stations as I was driving into town and the young lady in my speaker mentioned how Nikki Haley was throwing her support behind Donald J. Trump despite their opposition to each other while she was running for President.  Her decision was not based on any affection for Trump, however.  As the radio host explained, Nikki Haley has said a number of times she does not like Trump’s style and rough persona.  But, when comparing Trump’s policies to Kamala’s, it comes down to who can help Americans the most.  I found the quote, later (or at least the quote I believe the radio gal was referring to), at CBS News.  “Americans are smart. They don’t need all of this other noise to distract them. They just want to know how you’re going to help them.

Nikki Haley, an alleged Republican, was voicing an opinion I hear from members of the GOP all of the time, and one that goes completely against the attitude of Reagan Republicans, and the Founding Fathers.  “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

The governmental assistance attitude is at the heart of the problem.  Innovation and opportunity do not thrive in an environment where governmental tendrils are wiggling around through the crevices of our lives and endeavors.  More government help equals less individual incentive.  The free market is all about the government getting out of our hair, which in turn provides equal opportunity by keeping a hands-off policy in place, and then let the free market do what it does.  Some will become millionaires, some will do really well, some will land somewhere inside the brackets we call “Middle Class,” and some will fall behind.  If there must be any safety net, then from a constitutional point of view the States can offer temporary help until someone gets on their feet, but the federal government is constitutionally forbidden from “helping” the citizenry with governmental programs.  When government provides “help,” that help becomes institutionalized.  Rather than appreciating the help and working to return the favor as one might do if we receive help from a fellow individual who voluntarily as an individual offered that kind of charity, when it comes from government it becomes and expectation and an attitude that somehow it’s “free money” or something that the person is entitled to have.  What follows, historically, is a reduction of production through a less productive workforce, and ultimately a demand that government ensures everyone is getting their “fair share.”  Then, once government dependence becomes a norm and entitlement, people begin to demand that everyone is being treated in an equitable manner by government – an eventuality achieved not by encouraging those in poverty to enter the free market and “pull themselves up by the boot straps,” but instead through a call for taxing the rich and dragging the successful down to the level of misery at the bottom like the rest of us.  A “redistribution of wealth” to many sounds fine on the surface, but destroys innovation, production, and prosperity in the long run because it incentivizes government dependency rather than individual innovative thinking.

Government helping us is the last thing we want.  Government drawing back towards laissez faire is what Donald J. Trump believes.  Nikki Haley, with her “how [government] is going to help them” comment tells me that she is nothing more than a RINO (Republican In Name Only) who claims she’s conservative in her political thinking, but is actually just a milder form of what the Democrats have to offer.

Government is not there to help, it’s there only to provide necessary governance and due process so that we may continue to operate in an orderly society – nothing more.

Don’t help me, thank you, I will either help myself, or if absolutely necessary work with my community to get going again.  Government is not welcome in my life other than when necessary so that I can navigate my intersections in an orderly fashion.  I’ll still do the driving, thank you.

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