Fighting Big Government: Not Why, But How

Bill Kristol, in his New York Times column, argues for Republican timidity in fighting big government. His reason? Conservative Republicans have achieved little in that regard, since “in the real world of Republican governance…there aren’t a whole lot of small-government Republicans,” and “talk of small government may be music to conservative ears, but it’s not to the public as a whole.”

So what? That just means that the fight will be much harder than advocates of small government have envisioned to date. That’s a reason to redouble efforts, not give up. Kristol concludes:

I can’t help but admire some of my fellow conservatives’ loyalty to the small-government cause. It reminds me of the nobility of Tennyson’s Light Brigade, as it charges into battle: “Theirs but to do and die.” Maybe it would be better, though, first to reason why.

Conservatives long ago reasoned why the fight for small government must be fought. Now the reasoning to be done is not why, but how.