Why Republicans want small government. [View all]

[Kablooie]

I heard Gail Collins talking about her book "As Texas Goes…" on KPCC, a local public radio station. She said something about the difference between Republicans and Democrats that made sense to me. The division politically is between the people from the empty places and the people from the crowded places.

If you live in a crowded place you can see every single day how useful government is. Picking up garbage, cleaning streets, it protects you from burglars it keeps dogs from pooping on the sidewalks. It does all these things that you want done so you appreciate government.

If you live in an empty place it's not so clear. It's true that government subsidizes postal service in your area but it doesn't seem to be notable on a day to day basis. If a burglar breaks in you're going to shoot him yourself. A dog can poop anywhere he wants, there's plenty of room. There's not that sense of government being anything except a pain in the neck.

It used to be a division based on reality. It's people having legitimate reactions to their own life experiences. This would explain how rural Republican could want small government but were still generous and helpful to their neighbors. They don't feel a close connection with urban dwellers like they do with local neighbors.

To this I would also add the category of people whose lives are founded on greed. They are the money managers that live in crowded urban areas but want small government so they will have freedom to grab more wealth for themselves. These people have no qualms about hurting others to satisfy their greed. They are the parasites that have the money and power to infect everyone else on the right with their self centered agenda.

Collins explained that the divisions have become more of a mental thing in recent years and the physical distinctions have broken down. Some people in California live out in the wilds and still feel connected to the rest of the world. People packed in Florida condos insist they live by their own means and want government out of their lives.

I wouldn't consider the rural right as inherently evil. Their priorities are different from urban dwellers as a result of their own life experiences. The money worshippers are different. Their life philosophy is a mean, dishonorable thing and they have infused this immorality all through the right wing to the point where life experiences are immaterial. It has become a brainwashed philosophy that does not support rural Americans anymore but only packs the pockets of the obscenely wealthy.