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But rest assured, The Free Radical was not dormant! I've been watching with detached interest as the economy continues to stumble despite enormous government efforts to correct it, as Obama continues to fill in the blanks for his White House staff, and the world waits with bated breath to see what wondrous things the Chosen One is going to bring about after beginning his term in office.
It's not often I reference a Jodi Foster movie, but watching Congress try to control and improve the economy right now is a bit like a scene in Contact. Foster is traveling in the machine through space/time, and the seat she was strapped into (which was not included in the original design for the machine) is shaking violently and giving the impression that the machine is coming apart. Finally, she releases herself from the harness, and suddenly the ride is smooth, as it was intended to be.
Over the last several weeks, the Federal government has created all sorts of new "stimulus" programs meant to aid and stabilize the struggling economy, and yet the economy has paid them no mind. Word is that over half of the $700 billion stimulus package is already gone (or will be shortly), and yet there has not been a noticeable shift in the momentum of the economy. In fact, if one is to use the stock market as an indicator of the overall economic picture, it would seem that the more Congress tries to do, the worse the economy continues to get. They can cinch the straps down all they want, but the ride just keeps getting bumpier.
None of this is particularly surprising to conservatives. We have long contended that the answers to the nation's problems are almost never more government. We have pointed to the abject failures of public education, social security, welfare and drug policy enforcement as concrete examples of this truth. But big government likes nothing more than bigger government, and so they have lulled the people into a state of apathy. And now they have apparently decided that they know better than the people, passing bailout legislation despite overwhelming public sentiment opposing it.
The initial bailout bill is not working as advertised. True to form, the liberals' answer is more bailouts. And all of this coming from the already-slim wallets of the American taxpayer. It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.* If that is so, how long will this particular strain of governmental insanity continue? As conservatives, we can hope that the negative public sentiment towards these bailout measures will carry through to the midterm elections, facilitating the removal of some of the long-established liberals from their thrones in D.C.
Those of us on the right who saw this coming are likely going to have every chance and reason to shout "I told you so!" when all this is over. And yet, that is a truly unsatisfying vindication, coming as it is, at the expense of our nation.
*Actually a quote from feminist author Rita Mae Brown, not Einstein or Benjamin Franklin.
Much more on all fronts soon!
~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL
