Big Government Spending Leads to BigGovernment Spending

At the end of last week, the Political Conservative Action Conference met in Washington, DC. Ordinarily this gathering acts as an occasion for conservatives to get together and bat around fresh ideas . This year, however, according to Susan Milligan, author of a Sunday Globe article, the event "had the air of a group therapy session . . . as thousands of conference-goers assessed their diminished power in Washington." (p.A9) Rather than looking forward, the feeling from the write-up was that people seemed to be thinking back over the last eight years and laying blame for big government growth and spending at the heels of George W. Bush. President Obama's actions were viewed as mere extensions, bringing what was initiated by the Bush administration to its natural conclusion. Comments by Newt Gingrich were highlighted in the article, as he compared the current administration to the previous."We didn't get real change. We got big spending under Bush, now we have big spending under Obama."

Trevor Ford, age 24, an attendee, summed up the state of the GOP this way. "[Republicans 'have turned it into a big-government Republican party. Clearly, that's not what the American people want. . . If you're not doing your job well for that many years, it's bound to happen.'"

A s part of the conference, a straw poll is taken of potential presidential candidates. The results typically help push the winner forward onto the national scene. As he did two years ago, Mitt Romney finished first with 20%. Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana received 14%. Ron Paul tied with Sarah Palin at 13%. My take on the straw poll and the candidates is the Republican Party has not found their shining star and needs to keep searching.

Boston Sunday Globe, March 1, 2009, p.A9, "Reeling conservatives assess damage" by Susan Milligan
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/03/01/reeling_conservatives_assess_damage/