Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Reassessing Ronald Reagan's "Government Is The Problem" Declaration


Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address, famously declared that "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Twenty-eight years later, in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Reagan's conservative anti-government philosophy of governance and his call for deregulation on all fronts must be critically reassessed. (Video - Speaker Nancy Pelosi 9/29 on the conservative anti-government approach to governance. This is the speech that so offended Republican House members that they felt compelled to voted against Pres. Bush's financial bailout.)
McCain has often quoted Reagan saying, "government is not the solution, it is the problem" and "I'm fundamentally a deregulator." Does McCain Still Agree with Reagan that Government is the Problem? The 2008 candidates' view of the role of government should be one of the central questions during the last few weeks of the campaign. This and other questions on their philosophy of governance should be put to the presidential and vice presidential candidates during their next debate:

"Senator McCain, given the part deregulation has played in the current economic crisis and your support of a massive government bailout of the financial industry, are you now ready to reassess your support of legislation that deregulated the banking system and financial industry?"

"Senator Obama, given the part deregulation played in the current economic crisis would you support eliminating the Enron-Loophole legislation and support restoring the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, the 1956 Bank Holding Company Act, the 1968 Truth In Lending Act and other financial system regulatory legislation that John McCain has actively sought to eliminate during his time in Congress?"

Similarly, other candidates who will appear on Collin County ballots should be question whether they firmly accept or now question Pres. Reagan's anti-government and anti-regulation philosophy of governance. Conservatives like Republican incumbent for the U.S. 3rd Texas Congressional District, Sam Johnson, age 78, Republican incumbent for the U.S. 4th Texas Congressional District, Ralph Hall, age 85, and Republican incumbent Senator John Cornyn have all joined Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain, in an avid push to fully deregulate the American financial system and return it to a 1920s-era environment. Johnson, Hall and Cornyn should be asked if they are ready to reassess their votes to deregulate the banking system and financial industry or do they continue to favor yet more deregulation.

Rick Noriega, the Democratic Candidate running for the U.S. Senate seat to replace incumbent John Cornyn, Tom Daley, the Democratic Candidate running for the U.S. House of Representatives 3rd Congressional District seat to replace incumbent Sam Johnson, and Glenn Melançon the Democratic Candidate running for the U.S. House of Representatives 4th Congressional District seat to replace incumbent Ralph Moody Hall each state in their campaign literature that they believe Republican deregulation has gone too far and some regulatory oversight should be restored.

Related postings:
McCain Advocates Deregulating Health Care
Republicans Spending Borrowed Money Worse Than Drunken Sailors
Obama's Economic Blueprint for Change
Joe Biden On The Economy
Republican Deregulation To Cost Taxpayers $1.5 Trillion
A New "New Deal" For America
A Republican Legacy To America

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