My wife's insight

[rambler68]

Republicans claim to be the party in favor of small government; yet, want government to control the books you read in the classroom; what decisions you make about your reproduction; what clients your law firm can represent; what students your university can accept; what entertainment you can have at the Kennedy Center; what history the Smithsonian can exhibit; how to police your local neighborhood. When will people realize that their view of small government is to keep the “ little people “ under the thumb of the powerful.

[malaise]

1. Excellent although

they do want the smallest opposition possible - none.
They also want no women or non-whites anywhere near power.

Welcome to DU

[Diamond_Dog]

2. Your wife is 100% correct.

[nature-lover]

3. Welcome to DU. Thank you for sharing.

[popsdenver]

4. No longer a democracy

by any stretch of the imagination...........Call it Oligarchy, Authoritarianism, or whatever

It is the merger of the Corporations, who put the Republicans and Trump in power. Fascism is the purely the merger of Government and Corporations.

Just look at "Citizens United" and the leg up it gave the corporations to taking the final step to owning ALL politics in the U.S.

[BurnDoubt]

14. AND RELIGION!!!!!!!!

Way outside their lane!!!!!

[popsdenver]

18. Correct

Most of the Evangelical and RW Religious MAGAots are actually the "quasi" or "phony" religious.........Many I have known un-believably use Religion to justify their continual hypocrisy, and un-godly behavior and bigotry.....

Hell just look at Trump who is truly satan, and how they all worship not only him, but every sadistic thing he does, esp towards any and all minorities, as well as the handicapped and any less fortunate........

It is un-fathomable to me, how ANY minority of any kind could vote for him, as well as any one in the Military...........

[Hey Joe]

5. Excellent post

Your wife is, of course, making an excellent observation. This fascist administration is not about small government at all.
It is about big oligarchy. Totalitarianism writ large.
Yeah, sure. The law and order president who released over 1500 thugs after invading and trashing our nation’s capitol, but is sending in the national guard over an early morning mugging.

[Cosmocat]

6. Im pushing 60 and this has ALWAYS been the case

I long ago knew we would get to a point like this because the country indulged their bullshit time after time time after time, while also indulging their negging of dem/liberal/progressives.

[berksdem]

7. Spot on!

[Nigrum Cattus]

8. Say one thing do another

It's all project 2025
https://www.project2025.observer/en

[Ol Janx Spirit]

9. Republicans have always had a tortured relationship to their "small government" claims.

But that's only because they have found that it's impossible to entice people to follow their unpopular agenda through free will.

As of late they have also realized that merely passing laws or writing Executive Orders is not enough. As long as people have the free will to read books, make decisions about their own body, choose their news sources, choose their clients, choose what exhibits are in their museum, choose what speech is allowed on their campus, etc., then they will put up resistance to any unpopular agenda and raise their children to not follow it.

No, installing an unpopular agenda depends on taking every choice away from people other than the one you want them to make. And that takes very very big government.

[gfarber]

10. small government

They preach "small gov" with great pride,
But want rules on your books far and wide.
From womb to the stage,
They control, cage by cage—
It’s not small, just control redefined.

They cry "small gov!" with a roar,
While dictating your rights door to door.
From your books to your womb,
They enforce with a boom—
Guess "small" means you, not the rich they adore.

[KentuckyWoman]

11. The GOP

Everything for the GOP is "for me but not for thee". They believe the role of government is to protect and enrich the wealthy. Everything else comes from that starting point.

[paleotn]

12. Whenever they say something, think the opposite

That’s what they really mean.

[kiri]

13. .......what decisions you make about your reproduction.....

.......what decisions you make about your reproduction.....

DUers are often too coy and prudish by half. Its about sex. Doing/having sex. As an honest forum, why can't we be honest?

[mnhtnbb]

15. The meaning of small government

to Republicans is not about telling people how to live their lives, it's about having services that were provided by government privatized.

[malaise]

17. To themselves and their

cronies

[MadameButterfly]

23. Small government always meant

deregulation, no checks on big business, no consumer protection, no worker protection, and no services to the poor and working class.
Basically back to the days of the robber barrons where people worked 12 hour days 6-7 days a week and deaths in the steel mills were common.

Small government so the rich can have their way.
Having their way means big government for the rest of us: controlling information so we aren't informed enough to object.

[leftstreet]

24. +1

[mdbl]

16. Well said.

[madamesilverspurs]

19. They are re-creating the US as a feudal state.

The lords are getting all the wealth and all the power. The rest of us get the "privilege" of subsisting on what they don't want or need.

Serfin' USA.


.

[Xipe Totec]

20. Your wife is a sage.

Just like mine.

[WVGal1963]

21. True dat!

Absolutely been saying it forever and a day, now. THANK YOU for this post!!

[summer_in_TX]

22. May I plagiarize this, rambler?

I've thought this, but this is well said and concise.

And welcome to DU!