Majority of Americans Say “Please, Big Government, Don’t Help Anymore!”
One of the biggest complaints from conservatives over the past twenty years is that the American people have grown entirely too comfortable with their government riding to their rescue. Government, say conservatives, usually shows up like an enraged bull elephant instead of a dashing knight in shining armor, and does far more harm than good.
It’s hard to get that message through, though, when the most evident harm from government “help” isn’t immediately apparent. Sometimes — most times — the real damage done by government meddling doesn’t show up in highly visible ways for months or years. By then, the voters’ minds have moved on to another subject entirely.
These days, though, that case is a lot easier to make for conservatives since the still-smoking wreckage left by our happy helping government is strewn all over the place. The American people are ready to listen, too. A recent Rasmussen poll shows that half of all Americans are afraid the government “will do too much”, which is a seven percent increase in one month. Among “independents”, that number is an “oh crap” 55%. Public opinion is sliding quickly away from the Mommy Government solutions of the progressives.
Conservatives need to jump on this opinion shift now, not only to help push opinion farther away from the Democrats but also to more aggressively show off the plans they already have. Several conservatives have put together some pretty ambitious recovery plans and they deserve real public exposure. Now’s the time for them to get those plans out to the public.
Other Posts of Interest:
- How the Nanny State Can Be the Conservatives’ Best Friend
- Where Are Our Little Piggies?
- “Wheeeeeee!”, Said the Stock Market
Category: Conservatism, The Economy and Your Money, The Rise of the Nanny State
