Libertarians Call for Divided Government as Election Nears
http://www.cato.org/dailys/05-07-03.html
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It's no secret that the Libertarian Cato Institute has been fairly unhappy with Bush. Cato reports have strongly criticized Bush's handling of civil liberties -- especially as reflected in the Patriot Act -- and Bush's expansion of the Federal deficit -- caused by Bush's insistence on cutting taxes and increasing spending.
Still, after a 1990s in which the Cato Institute was generally supportive of Republicans, it says something when the Chairman of the Institute -- ex-Reagan official William Niskanen -- argues for divided government right before a presidential election. Here's some of what he has to say:
Still, after a 1990s in which the Cato Institute was generally supportive of Republicans, it says something when the Chairman of the Institute -- ex-Reagan official William Niskanen -- argues for divided government right before a presidential election. Here's some of what he has to say:
The annual increase in real federal spending during the current Bush administration ... has been 4.4 percent -- not a happy state of affairs, given the war and a renewed majority of the president's party in both chambers of Congress.For those who subscibe to Ronald Reagan's belief that "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem", Bush is now part of the problem.
[snip]
My judgment ... is that the prospect for a major reform of the federal tax code, Medicare, or Social Security will be dependent on more bipartisan support than now seems likely in a united Republican government.
[snip]
American voters, in their unarticulated collective wisdom, have voted for a divided federal government for most of the past 50 years. Divided government is not the stuff of which legends are made. But the separation of powers is probably a better protection of our liberties when the presidency and the Congress are controlled by different parties.