Who Purveys the Myth of a Small Government GOP and Why

The other day I posted a link to a chart that shows what any regular LRC reader already knew—that government grows regardless of which party is in power. However, there remains the widespread belief among the public that the GOP is different from the Democrats and that it is of momentous importance which party wins in November. How could this be so? How could so many be so wrong about something vitally important? It’s not an accident.

Here’s the short version of the story. There is a media/Republican complex that propagates and perpetuates the big lie that the GOP is different. They do it for money, power, and ego. Their main tool, a brilliant one, is to whip up a personal hatred of major Democratic figures to distract attention away from the simple fact that government grows about the same when the GOP is in power.

The main media players are Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Fox News and their frequent guest Karl Rove. Their favored tactic is to expose the personal foibles of major Democrats as a red herring to distract the attention of the rank and file away from the failure of the GOP to live up to its promises and rhetoric for the last 70 years or so. Thus, we see in the rank and file an intense personal loathing of Obama and an obsession with the details of his personal life. They can’t very well dwell on policy differences since other than Romney now (partially) opposing the same federal medical program he pioneered on the state level in Massachusetts, there is little difference between the candidates on the major issues such as spending, war, inflation, and global empire.

Cui bono? Obviously, the right-wing media makes many millions of dollars by attracting an audience that will find the big lies and personal attacks on Democrats entertaining. Who else benefits? The entire Republican political class and a long list it is: elected officials, party officials, patronage employees, think tanks, consultants, lobbyists, and a long list of special interests including defense contractors, banks, and insurance companies. They make billions off the scam. It is, indeed, a “vast right-wing conspiracy.”

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