Another Failed Republican RevolutionBy Laurence M. Vance
May 16, 2017
Another Republican revolution has now failed.
A Republican revolution can be defined as
a time when Republicans gained control of both Houses of Congress and therefore were in a position to severely limit the federal government.
There have been five Republican revolutions in modern times, and
they have all ended in failure.
The first Republican revolution occurred in 1946 when Republicans regained control of both Houses of Congress after four elections of FDR to the presidency and years of Democratic rule.
The second Republican revolution occurred in 1952 when Republicans regained control of both Houses of Congress and a Republican was elected president. The Republicans only controlled both Houses of Congress during the first two years of Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency (1953-1955).
The third Republican revolution occurred in 1994 when Republicans—for the first time in fifty years—regained control of both Houses of Congress. (Republicans did control the Senate for the first six years of Ronald Reagan’s presidency [1981-1987], but
that was a Reagan revolution, not a Republican revolution.)
The fourth Republican revolution occurred in 2000 when Republicans held on to their majorities in the House and Senate and a Republican, George W. Bush, was elected president. Republicans had absolute control of the government for over four years during Bush’s presidency.
The fifth Republican revolution occurred in 2016 when Republicans held on to their majorities in the House and Senate and a Republican, Donald Trump, was elected president. This was the third time a Republican revolution included a Republican president in the White House. Although Trump only recently completed his first 100 days, it is apparent already that
the latest Republican revolution is also a failure, and for three reasons.
First, the failure to repeal Obamacare.
Second, the failure to cut back the warfare state. Despite the few promising things that Trump said on the campaign trail concerning U.S. foreign policy, his authorization of drone strikes in Yemen right after he took office
showed that there was to be no change in U.S. foreign policy. Drone strikes have gone up 432 percent since Trump took office. The Republicans could have cut back the warfare state but instead are salivating over Trump’s call for a higher defense budget.
The Republicans failed.
And third, the failure defund welfare state. On May 4 Republicans passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R.244) to fund the monstrosity known as the federal government until the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30, 2017). Trump signed it into law the next day. This $1.1 trillion spending bill
fully funds the welfare state, including funding for Planned Parenthood and an increase in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. The Republicans could have cut back the welfare state but instead have continued it as is.
The Republicans failed.Are there still conservatives and libertarians left in America who are
gullible enough to believe that Republicans are any better than Democrats? The Republicans are welfare/warfare statists. The only difference between them and the Democrats is that the Republicans talk about the Constitution, the free market, and limited government while they ignore the Constitution, the free market, and limited government. At least the Democrats are honest statists.
https://lewrockwell.com/2017/05/laurence-m-vance/another-phony-republican-revolution/
