An Illustrated Primer on Divided & Balanced Government
PrefaceThis blog is in the service of
promoting one topic and one objective, the benefit of voting for and securing divided government in Washington D.C. We have
researched and cited
articles,
white papers, and
books from
journalists,
scholars and
leaders that explicate in detail
the benefits of divided government. We have
debated the merits of divided government with blog readers and authors. We have offered
example after
example from the news of the day, demonstrating how
single party control of the federal government leads to bad governance, while
government divided between the major political parties leads to better governance. Still, it is not enough.
The ProblemThe idea of divided government as a positive, actionable political objective remains mired in the collective subconscious of the voting electorate. While we occasionally hear and read about divided government in the newspaper, on the web, and on TV, it always seems to be in the context of an off-hand comment, or a brief observation of an interesting but seemingly unimportant political element, worth noting, but quickly forgotten. The idea has yet to successfully fertilize and germinate, let alone give birth to a real political movement. Net net - we need to impregnate the body politic with this potent political idea. In an effort to inseminate this idea into the broad populace, I have assembled this educational illustrated primer, which I hope will serve as an invitation to explore and appreciate the seductive beauty of these ideas.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I found these photographs on the internet, and cannot speak with 100% certainty as to their veracity, provenance, or accuracy. However, since they were secured from Reuters, a highly respected photo-journalism and news service, you should have all the confidence in the accuracy of these photos that is merited from a source with Reuter's reputation.Nipping the Problem in the Bud - A Divided Government PrimerFirst, it is important to understand that there is no absolutely right or wrong answer to the question of exactly how big government should be. Government can be appreciated in a variety of sizes. In this primer we will illustrate that, regardless of size, it is more important to ensure that our government be divided and in balance.
Big Government
For some, the bigger the government the better. The seductive charms of big government are easy to see. Advocates of big government believe the milk of human kindness can only be effectively distributed and enjoyed with a bountiful, abundantly large government. Others believe that an overly large government is not natural, creates inflated expectations, and requires excessive support. They fear the single-minded pursuit of the benefits of large government will lead to an artificial enhancement of government size. While this may provide short-term gratification for government patrons, the long-term effects are often unexpected, and can lead to sagging government fortunes and other expensive unintended consequences. Now, both the right and the left have their favored constituencies, who can be expected to grab and grope for all the government largess they can get their hands on. This is the important point: If the government of the right and left are not in balance, the perception of these abundant government assets will be distorted, creating confusion and dissatisfaction among all government patrons, users, and abusers alike.
Limited Government
Limited government advocates believe that as far as government is concerned:
more than a modicum is wasted. Limited government advocates believe that government has a proper purpose, that government should be limited to a size that is appropriate to that purpose, and anything beyond that purpose is a perversion of the proper use of government assets. For limited government advocates, a large government detracts from the sleek and supple performance of the socio-economic body. They see big government as a distraction at best, and at worst, a dangerous, resource sucking, freedom restricting, gold-digging promiscuous harlot (Limited government advocates are generally not considered to be as much fun as the proponents of big government).
Moderate Government
Others choose a middle course. They point out that people will always want what big government has to offer. At the same time, they recognizing that there is only so much to go around, and there must be some limitations on how government should be used and contained. Correct sizing of the government containment cup is important, and properly cleaving a decision between the A, B, C or D choice requires careful consideration and handling.
Balanced Government
The seductive appeal of suckling from government resources, whether large or limited, cannot and should not be denied. It is this very appeal that makes government so attractive and so dangerous. It is only through maintaining a balance between right and left, that we can be assured that government resources are used to nurture, to protect, and not to corrupt.
I hope this simple primer will stimulate your interest in exploring the benefits of divided and balanced government in detail. By stripping back the facade of partisanship, we expose the truth about limiting our focus on the right or left, and can appreciate the glory and symmetric perfection of a government divided and balanced.
UPDATE: Friday, August 26, 2006
I was questioned whether my message was being trivialized by my illustrations in this post. Then, reading wapo this morning, I decided that
if MSM pundit
Eugene Robinson can take Washington Post Op-Ed space to write: TomKat vs. the Tom-Toms -"The real news today ... is too depressing for a summer morning when we all ought to be on a beach somewhere... Let's wallow instead in the tabloid news" ...
Then I can wallow in a few gratuitous humorous metaphors to make my point.
UPDATE: Friday, July 25, 2007Added tags. Added Labels. Edited offer. Fixed typos.
Technorati tags: divided government, libertarian,blogging, breasts, blogging, sexist.
So what do we know about our 25,00oth visitor? He/she has a Firefox browser on a Windows XP computer with a high resolution screen, subscribes to Comcast cable, is interested in politics, enjoys satire, is attracted to women's breasts, and according to the sitemeter latitude/longitude, is standing in this field next to a pond near Round Lake, Illinois.
Maybe he was fishing for catfish while browsing for breasts. I don't know what he was doing. I do know that 25,000 visitors in 16 months is a very small fish in a big blogospheric lake, but nevertheless noteworthy. We last took note of a milestone with our 10,000th visitor in January after nine months of operation. Seven months later we are up to 25,000. Maybe we can get to 50,000 by the end of the year. Maybe not. Stay tuned.
Technorati tags: divided government, libertarian, Hillary Clinton, Round Lake, blogging, breasts, sexist.
