Support for Big Government a Bad Bet for the GOP
by Rich MunyFollowing a positive reception at the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the Poker Players Alliance, a million-member strong poker advocacy group, has announced plans to return to CPAC this year. This announcement mirrors and complements the ongoing ascendancy of limited government conservatism within the conservative movement, and it bodes well for the future of conservatism.
From the late 1990s until 2006, the conservative movement was increasingly influenced by some who wished to expand the power of the then-GOP-controlled federal government. These big government “conservatives” wanted to use the power of the federal government to address various social issues, including even stopping Americans from playing online poker. Fortunately, rank-and-file conservatives have been working overtime since the 2006 and 2008 election losses to restore conservatism’s true soul — liberty, free markets, and less regulation — and this is leading to a resurgence in the movement.
The online poker issue is important to conservatives. For one, those who oppose online poker rights keep Republicans off-message. After all, it is hard to make an argument that we need the government to protect us from ourselves, then subsequently argue that Americans ought to be trusted with credit cards, mortgages, guns, cigarettes, snack food, soft drinks, and other freedoms that are under attack from the left. In fact, many leading Republicans now publicly oppose efforts to prohibit online poker, including former Senator and current Poker Players Alliance Chairman Alphonse D’Amato (R-NY), former House Majority Leader and current FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey (article), Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) (video), George Will (article #1, article #2), Walter Williams (article), Grover Norquist (letter to Congress), and Jacob Sullum (article #1, article #2, article #3). Additionally, many Republican lawmakers have cosponsored legislation to license online poker in the U.S. and have written to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to ask him to delay enactment of regulations implementing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 while Congress considers the licensing bills (a request Geithner granted last month).
Additionally, the 2006 anti-gaming law — the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act — championed by big government “conservatives” has been a complete failure. As the legal status of online poker and gaming is unclear (the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court’s landmark 2002 ruling re In MasterCard affirmed that the Wire Act pertains only to sports betting, but the Justice Department has not yet accepted this ruling), this law has had unintended consequences — as so many federal laws do. Rather than limiting online poker, this law only serves to keep U.S.-owned sites out of a still-growing American market where online poker is freely and readily available in all fifty states. In effect, it is reverse protectionism. It also keeps Congress from taxing online poker sites, mandating safeguards against underage participation, mandating protections for those with excessive gaming habits, and providing consumer protections for the millions of Americans who play Internet poker every day.
Another reason this is important to conservatives is that there are millions of poker rights supporters in the U.S. They are upset and they are voting. In fact, the Poker Players Alliance, formed shortly before the 2006 legislation was passed, quickly swelled to over one million members.
Unfortunately, there are still some Republican lawmakers who believe Congress ought to enact a prohibition against online poker. House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus (R-AL) typifies the problems associated with having a big government mindset regarding social issues. Bachus spends much of his time focused on efforts to ban online poker. Unfortunately, Bachus’ lack of leadership has left important issues before his committee with insufficient conservative input, including bank bailouts, banking regulation, mortgage reform, and credit card regulation. In fact, in late 2008 he was almost removed as Ranking Member. It is so bad that Rep. Roy Blunt, then Minority Whip, had to replace Bachus at the bank bailout negotiating table in 2008. However, even if Bachus were more focused on the non-gaming issues before his committee, he would be hard-pressed to argue against more government regulations when he is keeping himself busy using the exact same arguments in favor of a federal online poker prohibition.
Adding insult to injury, he has not even been particularly effective in his quest to ban online poker. For example, at the December 3rd House Financial Services Committee online poker hearing, Bachus’ key witness was the leader of the California Morongo Indian tribe who, when asked by the committee chair, admitted that the tribe hopes to offer online poker throughout the state of California!
Bachus also frequently exaggerates and outright misrepresents studies on online gaming, including an infamous and egregious instance where he falsely claimed that a McGill University study found that one-third of college students who had participated in online gaming attempted suicide. Upon learning of this misrepresentation, Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky, head of the McGill research team, sent letters to Congress blasting the statement as unfounded and without any merit whatsoever. Derevensky further stated that he believes online gaming ought to be licensed and regulated, not prohibited.
Too bad Bachus did not read the British Gambling Prevalence Survey of 2007. Had he checked that out, he would have seen on page ten that the UK, a nation with ample licensed online and “bricks and mortar” gaming, has a problem gaming rate of just 0.6%. That rate was unchanged from 1999. Perhaps then he would realize that the focus ought to be on that small group, rather than on taking rights from the 99.4% of Americans who either responsibly enjoy poker or who choose not to participate. That is, of course, unless his real aim is to use big government to regulate behavior.
We conservatives need all the votes we can get. It makes no sense to turn away millions of poker supporters. Conservatives who do not necessarily care one way or another about online poker may wish to ask themselves how losing these voters impacts issues dear to them. For example, as an NRA Life Member I know I felt that my Second Amendment rights were safer in conservative hands than they are now.
Let’s continue to welcome poker advocates, Internet freedom supporters, and everyone else who wants less government and more individual liberty, and let’s leave prohibitions back in the Progressive Era where they belong. If we do this, we conservatives may find ourselves with a winning hand on Election Day 2010.
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162 Comments
Truth
Register unaffiliated and the parties will submit. This is not rocket science this pure capitalism. Take the consumers(voter registration) away and business(party) will change it’s practice or die.
I haven’t forgotten they rigged the electoral process this is just step one. A step they can’t defeat.
Both parties are big government, after all they are government parties and thus need it to maintain their power.
I have said it before, & I will say it again, anyone who would advise us to compromise our conservative principals, is our covert advesary. No compromise, anywhere, ever, again! Conservatism put the superpower in America!
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting a different result. Therefore, Americans have been insane by reelecting the same individuals or party. Its time to leave the loony bin.
I welcome anyone into the process that believes in the smallest, least intrusive federal government we can get.
The rebirth of nation is in our hands. This new American revolution armed with the internet and formats like this can pull our country back from the brink of being a Banana republic and transform it into a nation built on real representation. The people in military uniform did not put their life and bodies on the line to come home to have their voice stolen by government party members to fill their pockets. The party system must cease to exist for our country to become once again the beacon of freedom and success. The promise of America is on the line and it is your choice to let die or give it new life by destroying the party system. Demand real representation, now is the time before district are drawn up to look like road kill again to kill the promise of America. Demand country before party before there is no country left.
There are few things more sacred to a republic than representation. The one man one vote and all it’s citizens are represented equally promise. Why isn’t voter fraud hounded out of existence? Voter fraud is a direct assault on our republic, it can kill a nation. There is nothing more fraudulent than gerrymandering and it’s creation of an artificial majority based on party affiliation not representation to silence the dissention of we the people. It is one of the reason our congress does not listen to we the people. Gerrymandering is a creation of the government parties to protect their power and to turn representation into re-election.. The parties can not speak of freedom until districts are based on representation not party affiliation.
My hero is George..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington%27...
http://www.forbes.com/global/2006/0508/014.html
Once a nation followed George to freedom.. It is time to follow him to freedom again.. Walk away from your party.. For it is a thief, a king that weakens your heart and blocks your way to freedom..
That lost feeling in your heart is George Washington calling you to action. Read his farewell address and his warning about political parties.
Put country before party and register unaffiliated
A third party would become corrupt and plays into the hands of the two government parties.. What scares them most and will get our country back is register unaffiliated and demand the change the election process that ensures their re-election.
My hero is George..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington%27...
http://www.forbes.com/global/2006/0508/014.html
Once a nation followed George to freedom.. It is time to follow him to freedom again.. Walk away from your party.. For it is a thief, a king that weakens your heart and blocks your way to freedom..
That lost feeling in your heart is George Washington calling you to action. Read his farewell address and his warning about political parties.
Put country before party and register unaffiliated
A third party would become corrupt and plays into the hands of the two government parties.. What scares them most and will get our country back is register unaffiliated and demand the change the election process that ensures their re-election.
yup. I trust me.
Not some $1500 suited politician telling me how "he's gonna help me out".
Working people – reject these wealthy lying politicians NOW!
Take back your country.
If the two party system works, why do we stand in a pile of lies?
They play the blame game , we pay for it all, and their friends get collect the gold.
For proof I point to DC
the parties say they bring home the bacon. I say why did you take from me in the first place?
yup…the tax code=oppression and redistribution…. as Okenyan said it does …
I am still trying figure why they need to study pig stink. DC is full of it.
Since when did legalizing every vice known to man equal conservatism? The LAST thing we need is to become Amsterdam America, with a brothel and a crack house on every street corner!
I fear istockphoto is going to be calling you shortly.
A law against online gambling has nothing to do with the size of government. Seriously. Absolutely nothing. A bureaucracy created with the goal of "taxing online poker sites, mandating safeguards against underage participation, mandating protections for those with excessive gaming habits, and providing consumer protections for the millions of Americans who play Internet poker every day", now THAT increases the size of the government. But simple laws ("Don't murder a dude," "Don't come into our country without a visa," "Don't gamble online you moron") are the right and proper role of government.
I get it. You love online gaming (and/or you work for someone who does). But I can't tell you how tired I am of seeing these pointless anti-GOP, pro-gaming posts alongside the actual substantive stuff that goes on here. You clearly don't care much about the size of government (see above), and pretending that you do is just lame.
My problem with the above is that the Poker players alliance are going to lobby – that's about it. And i don't think the republicans should listen to them – the republican party should be conservative and stick to conservative principles i.e. using big government to determine the morality of gambling etc. At least then they'd be true to their principles!
Yep, don't look over there at insolvencies of medicare and social security or the rapidly declining value of your dollars… We're making a big difference for children and families by shutting down Bahamian poker sites with your ISP. Boy, am I relieved somebody is on watch tonight!
Since when did criminalizing every vice under the sun equal conservatism? Prohibition is a failed policy, each and every single time it's implemented, pure fail of epic proportions.
Once again, Vice laws and prohibition are not the proper purview of the federal government, period. Neither bureaucratic regulation nor draconian prohibition belong in the realm of the federal gov.
This is the whole problem – right here! Think I'm wrong? The Left moralizes on its pet positions about how they just want to help people, make things more fair and equal, "protect" the "little guy" from evil corporations or his own stupidity – because they know better than I (or you) do! Here we have an example of the Right doing much the same thing. This, and embracing religion beyond simple respect for free exercise, is what turns a lot of people off. I am not devout or an evangelical and I do believe in God, just don't want to be preached to. If it makes you feel happy and fulfilled, fine, God Bless You! You are free to believe whatever you want. Get out of my life, leave me alone! If I F#@% up that bad, it's my problem! National government is about national security and the protection of INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, including the right to screw your life up. When we attempt to micro-manage the lives of our fellow citizens we should not be surprised to find we do not like their attempts to micro-manage ours. Bigger government = Less liberty.
Same argument can be made for legalizing marijuana. I think it is kinda hard to maintain any legitimacy as a Party when you are opposed to growing a plant. At least with that activity it is honest and wholesome. It is more akin to agriculture. All gambling is based on deceit. Some of the worst form of gambling is the stock exchange and the Republicans can't seem to say a bad thing about that. Just like they embraced state-sponsored gambling with the lottery.
…simple laws ("Don't murder a dude," "Don't come into our country without a visa," "Don't gamble online you moron") are the right and proper role of government.
#1 correct, #2 again, correct, #3 None of YOUR damned business if I do or don't!
For the record – I have never done any of the above.
Sounds like another LOBBIEST group to me
This NRA member does not find your NRA comment funny.
"Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities."
(and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).
Ayn Rand
I'm generally for having the government STFO of our lives, but sometimes prohibitions are necessary. Legalize heroin, meth and oxycontin? Might as well invest in plows to plow the dead out of the streets and into graves after you wall off your house to keep out the nightly robbers and burglars. Teenagers will be lucky to make it to 17.
Gambling, alcohol and marijuana are not as addictive, so that is a grey area. I'll say this though – a gambling addiction is the fiercest, wickedest thing that I have ever seen. Luckily it's not as common as other addictions.
So as I said, I'm generally for government leaving me alone, but you have to use common sense and look at the pros and cons. Of course, COMMON SENSE is the problem these days.
Yes. Small government to protect the 50 states of our Republic. Small government to stay out of my house, bedroom, and personal affairs. Small government to install power to the states and the people–where it belongs.
No, the NRA is no joke. As a formal California liberal (now Libertarian??? and can't believe what I used to believe), about the only "Republican" trait I had was my love for the sport of shooting and I thank the NRA for fighting for OUR rights. The NRA is important to the legal battles that uphold the entire Constitution. The Federal Government has no right to be meddling in gambling. (For that matter TheFonz, they have no right meddling in marijuana, a substance that is so much more tame than legalized alcohol.)
I did not heed the warnings I heard over 10 years ago regarding the NRA. What we've seen of them lately proves it. They SUPPORT gun control legislation. And when they claim to support gun "rights" they do not. They support it only as a priviledge.
Listen to this board member, all done up in some hoaky gear from a gift shop, it looks like – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSGySNLyACE
Within seconds he goes from saying the line he is supposed to say to saying civilians should be subserviant to the government and police. Clearly this guy doesn't get what America is about – the people are sovereign and government are servants.
LOL!
BTW, how exactly is the Fed regulating marijuana if it doesn't cross state lines? Where is the authority?
Thank you for taking the time to read my article and to post a response.
Poker isn't a vice. Poker is an honorable game that has been played throughout America for most of our history.
The last thing we need to do is censor the Internet because a handful of people who have a problem with OTHER PEOPLE playing a harmless card game in their own homes.
If, and I say, if, the Republican Party doesn't get to weird and just sticks with the basic "conservative" movement and smaller government, kick socialism out of America………….you got my vote and many others! For sure!
Thank you for taking the time to read my article and to post a response.
How can you say a federal law censoring the Internet and forcing banks to enforce said censorship are not big government? This is HUGE government in that it invaded my home. What is bigger than that? That's like saying Prohibition was not big government. I guess you think the Brady Bill of the '90s wasn't big government either.
I prefer the US government simply leave poker alone (or tax sites at a similar rate to other businesses in America). My comments regarding possible regulations are in response to ridiculous arguments that online poker must be banned to keep Americans safe from themselves.
I am not anti-GOP, or is this article. Rather, I am pro-GOP and am making an inter-movement argument for limited government. Again, many within the party have joined me, as you can see referenced in the article. Do you prefer we just stay quiet while statists within the party push for big government. That may be okay for you, but it's not for me. Also, do you prefer we just stay quiet and stay home on Election Day? IMO it's better to bring this into the light of day now.
You can read my bio to find my full affiliations. I am not employed by or paid by the poker industry. I am simply an American who is tired of having my rights taken by the federal government. Rather than just take it, I decided to do something about it. Also, I didn't write about online gaming or gambling, an activity defined by most states as wagering on games of chance. Rather, I wrote about poker, an honorable game of skill.
Not really. As there are over one million PPA members, they'll vote as well.
Also, who says Republicans are opposed to poker, and who decided that opposing OTHER PEOPLE playing games of skill like poker was a conservative value? I didn't get the memo that we voted on that issue.
I don't know this guy. And if he is a board member, that doesn't mean the entire NRA board believes the same (as was pointed out in the link).
I read First Freedom every month and yet to have seen an article that sounds like what this fellow is saying. A gun with a magazine over five rounds equals and assault weapon? That's too funny for words.
By the way, I'm restricted to 10 rounds in my FNP-9 (Kalifornia). Do the gun haters know how long it takes to drop an empty magazine, pop in a loaded one, and be ready to fire again?
That's true, but one with a million members. The irony is that poker players wanted to be left alone. They were FORCED to form a lobby to protect their rights, and now there is one more group lobbying in DC. Here's a great article on that: http://www.redstate.com/macaoidh/2009/11/10/one-r...
Common sense dictates helping the few who are susceptible to excessive gaming habit, not to stopping the rest of us from playing a simple card game. Unfortunately, some who think poker is a sin either exaggerate or outright lie about these problems in their bid to get them banned.
But…. gambling isn't even a drug….
Apart that I actually agree. Though personally I could care if some fool wants to lose money gambling online. The real issue for me would be where the money is going and where it is coming from. Things like that get a little cloudy online and it might serve as a lovely haven for shady things. Though…. restricting it will be similarly difficult. You can't really stop it entirely, what you can do is make it slightly harder for the average computer user to get in on the action.
He snapped in to the mindset that:
- The Second Amendment is about hunting. It isn't. Nowhere is it mentioned. It was about keeping the power with the people.
- The citizens are somehow lesser than the police and the military. They aren't.
Some of us win at poker.
*laughs* OK then. Those who win are hereby NOT labeled "fool".
Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet, and Poker Stars, say goodbye to your american monopoly. And let's hope the government doesn't rig it so Harrah's has a huge edge and becomes a monopoly player.
Unbelievable seeing block head conservatives understand the idea of liberty instead of ramming values down peoples throats. Or is it just that they want the tax revenue?
Quite frankly, there is something wrong when a country, or a government sets out to criminalize coal, and legalize marijuana.
Show me the sense in that logic?
Gambling addictions are strange things. I used to believe gambling addictions were mostly a defect of personality and lack of willpower, but after seeing some things I'm not so sure.
I knew two people since childhood who were cousins to each other. Both had a wonderful upbringing and were smart. Later in life both of those decent hard-working people developed a gambling addiction. They both blew through hundreds of thousands of dollars by lying, cheating and stealing from family and friends. One still has a family and they are ruined. I feel for the kids. One is now a stockboy, both are probably still gambling. Fierce!
Probably more than you wanted to know and off topic! I don't think gambling needs to be illegal.
Just stay far away from gambling addicts………!
Also, be careful what you wish for Rich, you may end up with double the rake by the time the government gets done taxing the online poker sites. It would be nice if they wouldn't tax it, but we know better.
[...] more here: » Support for Big Government a Bad Bet for the GOP – Big Government By admin | category: federal government | tags: expand-the-power, federal government, [...]
I like your thinking. I am tired of the lies and socialist ways that we have endured for way too long, as I believe most thinking Americans are.
Show me the sense in the War on Drugs besides employing huge tax feeding parasitic bloated police departments.
nothing wrong with lobbying for your interests. That's common sense. We all do it.
There is something wrong when industrial hemp is criminalized. It is a food source and a fiber source for paper and clothes (not to mention rope.) Industrial hemp is criminalized though it has no significant amounts of THC. So, why? Clearly something very shady went on.
And as for recreational marijuana, ask a cop who causes more problems – drunks or those who have smoked marijuana. How many people are killed by alcohol vs marijuana.
Hmmmm, growing marijuana would be easy which means people could grow it themselves. Suddenly, a HUGE tax revenue is lost from alcohol. Those who want smaller government should be happy with that.
Didn't you know? It is NO_Bama sense, do not try to understand it as you will get a headache and start seeing double. Isnt seeing one NO_Bama enough?
Big Government:
Clinton Foundation proves American liberal sell-out to foreign interests.
….the William Clinton Foundation’s donor list. ….for 2009 was released to the public by the foundation on December 31, 2009 – New Years Eve, most likely because it was hoped that the published list would go without much notice
http://www.examiner.com/x-21184-Homeland-Security...
LOL! Using the "Gaming" propaganda term kinda pegs you as some industry stooge. It is GAMBLING.
I can understand the mindset – if you just place one more bet you wil "hit the jackpot" or whatever. Scary.
You won't get any argument from me regarding the war on drugs. It is a joke, a sham.
No different than all the other stupid wars we have fought, including the war on poverty, and the current war on terrorism.
You are 100% correct, bloated parasitic police forces, with draconian seizure and forfetiure laws are the modus operandi in the war on drugs. Compare that to the Department of Housing and Urban Development as it relates to the war on poverty, and the Department of Homeland Security as it pertains to the war on terror, and any thinking person quickly sees that is is nothing but one giant fucking Ponzi Scheme. A transfer of wealth. Another burecratic boondoggle, that only benefits those that it employs. Government leeches.
I still think you missed my original point. Coal creates jobs, and further produces about 60% of the electrical power currently generated. The current imbeciles want to legislate it into extinction, and criminalize an industry. Why? Because they are ignorant assholes.
You are right there.
Joaquin Jackson was once a tough man, and a very respected Texas Ranger. He lived long enough to become senile……….
Would it not be easier just to make elections public? Get corporate and special interest money out of the process, and make the system truly public, why should a politician need to raise 20,000 every day they are in office?
Yep. And with drug addicts, the body gets physically worn down, unable to steal and whatever else effectively. Eventually they die if they keep it up. Gamblers just keep going and going and going. I'd rather have cancer than a gambling addiction.
Right, but was anyone here talking about criminalizing coal?
I'll type slow, as evidently you read slow………
You were talking about legalizing marijuana.
My point was simple. It is currently an illegal drug.
There is something wrong in a society, when they want to make one industry illegal, and legalize another. The process, and the system is what is broken.To legislate anything, is not an answer. it only relates to further distribution of wealth.
they shouldn't… We can hold town halls on intense debate sites..
they should be allowed to take money from groups or out of district people it kills the voice of the real voter.
but the government parties won't allow that .. because the system now is designed for re-election.
One more thing – the NRA snubbed the MOST pro-gun candidate running for President in 2008 – Ron Paul.
What will it take to get politicians out of our lives? Easy answer. Keep them from getting rich from the money they pocket for pushing special interests agendas like poker, trans-fat, family choices, mpg, smoking, etc, etc. Create an emergency and then 'fix' it. It is all a game.
you are right.. but soon the parties will die and then we will have are freedom.
I consider myself a Liberal, I post comments on this site not to show my differences, but rather to show what we have in common, and I think your response indicates that on the real important issues we really are not that far apart!!
No you are correct, but like i've said before, trying to get a blockhead conservative to butt out of poker or droppin bombs all over the world (because it doesn't solve anything), is like telling a liberal welfare doesn't solve poverty.
I not a power hungry republican or a conservative. I am their foe. I am a frugal independent who seeks real representation and the destruction of gerrymandering. i believe in a no party system and real represenation.
America Rising Up
Didn't John McCain's Campaign Finance Reform Act fix all of this, LOLOL.
Their goal was never to fix this problem lobbyist wrote his bill. it was design to give the parties more power.
Maybe everyone needs to view this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiyqvuTxaEs&fe...
Link doesn't work – malformed URL
Bravo, people need to realize that the government exists for one reason, to protect our Liberty! The fact that the Fed is an enumerated power entity as are the states defines some of the LIBERTY which individuals are to expect the governments to protect BUT THEY ARE NOT ALL OF THEM. The founders also debated and agreed that there were far to many individual LIBERTIES to enumerate in the Constitution, but they did say that any not listed to the FED were granted to the States or the Individual! Considering the 14th Amendment binds the states to protect the individuals Liberties as defined in the Bill Of Rights just like the Federal government must. Every law that takes away my ability to do as I please as long as I do not violate your right to do as you please is an Attack on and a diminishment of my LIBERTY! It represents a bigger government… that which our founders did not want!
Thanks, Rich Muny, interesting and thoughtful article. As far as I'm concerned, "individual liberty" includes the right to make a personal decision about whether one wants to participate in gambling (or whatever); it does not include the "right" to make that decision for anyone else (with the exception of one's minor children or mentally deficient dependent).
At first, I thought the title was a setup line. But then it came to me that yep, there are a bunch of RINOS in the crowd. I hope that by the time the elections come around, they will be identified and eliminated. If we conservatives don't get control soon, the picture doesn't look pretty. Get out and vote, folks! November will be here soon.
No, laws that you or I don't like aren't the same as big government. I'm mainly frustrated with your sloppiness in terms. When we talk about the size of government, we ought to actually be talking about the literal size of government–in terms of dollars, employees, percent of GDP and so on. "Big" and "intrusive" are related, but they are not synonyms. Just because the Constitution was amended in a certain way to outlaw a certain substance, that, by itself, did not increase the size of the government, which was still tiny by modern standards. Certainly, it was intrusive.
Thanks for this correct link….if video does not play please hit the "HQ" button in control panel….happy viewing….thanks for posting Cowboy Logic!
Sorry about that….Please see below….Cowboy Logic posted the same video in "HQ" mode….Enjoy!
If I go to Hell, at least I can look forward to kicking Bill Frist"s Axx.
[...] post: » Support for Big Government a Bad Bet for the GOP – Big Government By admin | category: bad credit mortgage texas | tags: eligible, government, [...]
I would have hit +1,000,000,000,000…… if I could have. Bless Ayn Saint Rand. A human Goddess if there ever was one! Keep posting the nuggets, I am with you.
JohnnyKnoxs
First, I am a Chicago Bears fan and love the work you (or your namesake) did during the recently (mercifully) concluded season. Second, I agree except that sometimes a well placed bomb can "CURE" the world of the effects of some VIOLENT a$$hole that doesn't get the whole peaceful debate concept. Welfare will solve poverty by spreading it to all of those who have not purchased political immunity. We will all be EQUALLY miserable! Hope and Chains!
Look, its really simple…
Leave it up to individual states. Period.
That's the way it was meant to be…
I disagree. "Big government" refers not only to the number of Americans it employs or its budget, but also to its power over our lives and its infringement of our freedoms. In other words, "big" refers to size, but it also refers to scope.
I recognize this is not an authoritative source, but it is of interest. From Wikipedia, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_government :
"Big government (sometimes capitalized as Big Government) is a term generally used by political conservatives, laissez-faire advocates or libertarians to describe a government which they consider to be excessively large, corrupt and inefficient, or inappropriately involved in certain areas of public policy. In this latter sense the term may also be used by political liberals in relation to government policies which attempt to regulate matters considered to be private or personal, such as private sexual behavior."
True. That's why the right to petition for redress is in the First Amendment.
No. The term "gambling" is loaded, as it turns some of my otherwise sane conservative brethren into big government wackos who insist that government needs to protect people from themselves. IMO, the urge to tell others they ought not be permitted to play a game of cards is the final holdover from groups that wanted to ban alcohol, stores from opening on Sundays, dancing, rock & roll, jazz, and a multitude of other social issues. I hope people will think about this with an open mind and realize that it's not their business if their neighbor plays cards in their own homes.
Thanks! As an engineer who did plenty of statistical analysis, I am anything but statistically challenged.
Also, some who do lose gain utility from the recreational aspects of the game. After all, 100% of movie goers lose money by buying tickets and popcorn, but no one calls them fools (actually, I do, but I digress on that point).
True. It will be up to players to ensure we get a fair deal out of this.
I support the NRA and am proud to be a Life Member, as I mentioned in my article. That being said, they did miss the boat there. Not only did they not support friend of liberty Ron Paul, but they then snubbed the most pro-gun presidential nominee — Bob Barr — who sat on the NRA board for a number of years.
Rich, how can you trust Wikipedia to give the truth on their site?? They have been known to give out information one day, and if the 'government' does not like what they say…they change it! Aside from that, I don't need that web site to tell me what big government is…I think we all know..ti's the making of ridiculous laws,most of which they don't bother to enforce, it's infringing on the freedoms of the citizens of this country…of course we need laws, but to try to stop people from smoking, drinking, eating the wrong foods, using the wrong products, you get me point? It's also allowing criminal groups like ACORN (BOTH parties!) and the people whose tax money is going to support this group, have NO SAY SO in the distribution of our hard earned money…THAT'S BIG government…
I don't. This is just a definition of "big government."
I think most of us accept that it's about the size AND SCOPE of government. I was surprised to hear the thread OP state that he thinks only about the number of employees, not about restrictions on liberty.
Well… the movie analogy only works if you assume one is getting a service from losing money gambling. When you pay to see a film (well ok, it's not like there's TONS of films worth paying to see but that's another story) you receive something in return. Usually 2 hours of cliched plots and mediocre acting. Erm…. OK, maybe the movie analogy does work.
OK, but do you think labeling it an addiction lessons the fact that is a choice? If you're hooked on alcohol or worse drugs and stop you go through real withdrawals. So these individuals you're talking about would have physical withdrawal symptoms if kept from gambling?
Many do get a service. They gain entertainment value. Losing money isn't fun for me (fortunately I've had winning years each year since I started playing in 2005), but others think of it as the cost of an enjoyable evening. Who are we to tell them how to spend their own money? Besides, there's already a political party that seeks to do that. Do we need both major parties to do that?
No, they wouldn't go through physical symptoms. An addiction does not have to be physical. Everything has a choice, physical or not.
Hypocrites.
UIGEA was tacked on at the last moment to a "must pass" HOMELAND SECURITY BILL by Bill Frist. Good grief.
Stop that kind of thing from happening and you will get eventually to a position where you legislate minimally.
as long as Steele, Gingrich et. al. are recognized as the leaders in the next election cycle for opposing the Obama/Dem camp, we are doomed! For example, they cannot go around pretending that AGW is not a fraud, proven to be such by the Mann-CRU emails, and not recognizing the tie-in between the AGW fraud and the Obama-Soros-Gore-UN global carbon taxing scheme– we need leaders such as Palin, Paul et.al, who have the guts to stand up and yell this from the rooftops and beat those drums– use the very tactics that the Dems use, every election cycle. We have a crisis alright– a GOVERNMENT FRAUD AND CORRUPTION crisis!
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