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Why Republicans Believe Government Doesn't Work

by: vmars

Mon Dec 06, 2010 at 10:18:00 AM EST

Republicans are famous for saying that government can't work, that it is the problem, not the solution.

And there is a very good reason why -- every time the GOP gets into power it sabotages every part of the government that is functioning well. Think of the Veterans administration which was a paragon of great care under Clinton, and a colossal mess under Bush when we were at war. Think of FEMA which was awesome responding to disasters under Clinton, but was a mess after Bush appointed "Heckova Job" Brownie, a horse jumping judge, to run it.

And now we have Chris Christie, who is doing everything he can to dismantle public education. First he appointed Bret Schundler in a massive signal to all of us that public education was under attack, but that wasn't enough. After losing millions of dollars due to Christie's own incompetence, the governor fired Shundler and made the Department of Education even more of a fucking disaster.

The exodus of senior staffers at the state Department of Education has turned into stampede, frustrating local school leaders who say it is undercutting chances of reform.
"It's a threadbare department and it's been rendered useless by the governor," one superintendent told The Auditor. "The department has basically been shut down, that's the bottom line." ...
This week deputy commissioner Willa Spicer will retire. Several division directors have left in recent weeks and months, including Janis Jensen (academic standards), Roberta Wohle (special education) and Sandra Alberti (math and science). Five of the six assistant commissioners have left, leaving only Barbara Gantwerk at that level.
Hendricks wouldn't discuss this, but The Auditor is told she doesn't feel she has the authority to fill these posts. And what reckless soul would take a job when it's not clear who will be the real boss?

It's a strategy, combined with starving the beast. The Republicans are out to destroy government by creating massive deficits so we can't afford quality and functioning programs, and then putting incompetent people in charge of those programs we can afford.

And yet they still get voted for and Democrats get called traitors. Amazing.

h/t roundup

vmars :: Why Republicans Believe Government Doesn't Work

Tags: Chris Christie, DOE, Department of Education, (All Tags)

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Why Republicans Believe Government Doesn't Work | 7 comments

The donkey and the elephant (4.00 / 2)

Yeah. Americans often prefer to pin the blame on the donkey although the elephant is a larger, easier, more appropriate target. It's been happening throughout the US where the Democrats' more nuanced arguments fall prey to simplistic Republican sound bites. It is easy to just say that education is failing, but more difficult to explain intelligent reforms. In the meantime our Education Department, students, and teachers suffer.

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." - Sen. Ted Kennedy

by: Bill Orr @ Mon Dec 06, 2010 at 15:47:00 PM UTC

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Why Do Toxic Republicans Sabotage Government Then Complain That It's Innefective? (0.00 / 0)

In a nutshell ;-)

Too many of today's "Toxic Republicans" are ideologically/radically opposed to the concept of "the commons". They are obsessed with a "dog eat dog" view of humanity in which co-operation is seen as weakness and each man is indeed "an island". This mentality/disposition stems from deep seated fear and generalized insecurity which numbs the part of their being which might be capable of feeling genuine compassion.

Further, Republicans are pretty much 100% funded by business interests that never want to pay any taxes and never want any kind of "regulation" that might force them to obey common sense laws that might make it harder for them to lie, cheat, steal, pollute and to buy political power......this is inherently corrupt, albeit "perfectly legal".

Are there "Toxic Democrats"? Of course! Joe Ferriero comes to mind.....

by: Nick Lento @ Mon Dec 06, 2010 at 19:21:31 PM UTC

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Republicans redefine the meaning of (0.00 / 0)

CHUTZPAH!

They do everything to break and dismantle everything that does work in government for society in general and then blame Democrats and claim that government does not work.

"Discrimination caused by ignorance and fear is a tax on human progress" - Barbra Casbar Siperstein

by: Babs NJSD @ Mon Dec 06, 2010 at 20:15:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Lessons of Bush and Katrina (4.00 / 1)

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.

by: Rosi Efthim @ Mon Dec 06, 2010 at 21:05:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Exactly (0.00 / 0)

Cut the revenues by putting the all the burden on what's left of the middle class and force the shut down of services for the middle class and below!

Remember Tennessee Ernie Ford's song, "Sixteen Tons"? Grover's folks own that store!

"Discrimination caused by ignorance and fear is a tax on human progress" - Barbra Casbar Siperstein

by: Babs NJSD @ Mon Dec 06, 2010 at 22:22:15 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Grover's Store (0.00 / 0)

"You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store."

"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." - Sen. Ted Kennedy

by: Bill Orr @ Tue Dec 07, 2010 at 01:01:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

NJN as public institution (0.00 / 0)

Same philosophy took root at NJN after C Whitman installed a non-broadcaster pal (fundraiser for Arts Council) to take over as Exec Dir of the TV station and privatize the public-owned institution in 1994. This effort starts as a "public/private partnership" but then the intent is to steadily zero out the public funding, and private funding has its requirements to funders. Witness: Whitman calls NJN Pravda in first speech, wants it privatized or gone. A year later, NJN Foundation (private funding) funds a doc called "Christie Whitman: Born to Politics", later aptly called a "gush-u-mentary" by someone in the press. I'm at NJN, and I can say I saw this dismantling of a publicly-paid for institution coming a long time. As far as the private side of NJN could be used, it was worth keeping around, but every few years a formal privatization would rear its head -- and each time the state funding levels were more weak, and the resources of the TV/Radio operations increasingly diminished, professionalism compromised, and attrition encouraged. Starving the beast. Tom Kean's NJN of the 80's had over 250 employees, and no radio station, and b'cast maybe 16 hrs. Today's NJN has 120 state employs, 20-30 NJN Foundation, and does 24hr bcast, radio, web, education, outreach,et al. yet instead of being applauded for getting thin, we're being squashed because we're so insignificant in size and weak at delivery (see Starving).

If NJN had been created by a private entity -- of PBS minded broadcasters -- then today's conversion/sell-off would be more palatable. But for better or worse, it was a gov solution to a continuing problem. Defunding weakened it and strained it; now the economy and conservative hubris will kill it.
Take heed, NPR and PBS!

by: robosz @ Tue Dec 07, 2010 at 18:10:48 PM UTC

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Why Republicans Believe Government Doesn't Work | 7 comments