• Doomsider@lemmy.world
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      23 hours ago

      Of course they are for a smaller government, just not in the way you think.

      Smaller role in regulations and taxing. Reduced federal government size. Elimination of welfare.

      Bigger role in defense and social control. These are excluded in the mind of Republicans so they don’t count.

    • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      Yup.

      Every time in my life I’ve seen conservatives gain power, they’ve attempted to assert more control over others.

  • 0xDREADBEEF@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 day ago

    It was always ‘small government for thee, big government for me’. There was never a moment when the republican party was unified in being small government for everyone. It was always ‘small government’ when regulation was bad for them, or they were in favor of government intervention when they needed a bail-out or some regulations passed to help them capture upstart market

    • innermachine@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      When Republicans didn’t have the majority they believed in “small govt state rights” so they could do whatever they want in their red bubbles. Now that they hold all the cards, their pro government so they can force their ways in blue bubbles. Not the best way of articulating my point but that’s my thoughts on when they switched. Next time we have a blue majority, they will be pro small govt and anti fed again. Always been this way pretty much on both sides of the aisle.

  • Sanctus@anarchist.nexus
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    2 days ago

    They never were. They’re the party of corporate interests. When corporations wanted no regulation they championed small government. Now that they own all branches of government the corporations have their people at the helm so they want as much government control as possible because their guy will put it in good for them.

    • Arancello@aussie.zone
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      2 days ago

      They want to eliminate competition. The core principle of capitalism is competition. Without competition usa is no longer a capitalist country. it is now a monarchy like 17th century england, where a business had to buy a royal charter to be able to operate. Royal Charters granted a monopoly. Welcome to the usa. A country of monopolies.

      • Sanctus@anarchist.nexus
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        2 days ago

        No, just like it did in Nazi Germany, capitalism has produced fascism when threatened. The threat isn’t even all that different than it was then, instead of just unions you have the addition of a new industry trying to disrupt ancient oil bloodlines. Capitalism will always produce fascism once power is concentrated enough in the hands of the owning class. It served its purpose and now it has become a burden on humanity.

  • Jaysyn@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    They never were, you just fell for their propaganda.

    Republicans have done nothing but cyclically crash the economy for my entire life.

    • Almacca@aussie.zone
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      2 days ago

      Same thing goes for conservatives claiming they’re ‘good economic managers’, when they most assuredly are not.

  • IWW4@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    Because it was all bullshit.

    Republicans only want small government when the government is stopping white collar crime.

    Republicans are only fiscally conservative when they are not in the white-house.

  • SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org
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    2 days ago

    It was ALWAYS just virtue-signalling. All of it. They were never the party of small government, they just like to say they are and they even had you fooled.

  • Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    It was a tagline. It never meant anything, as evidenced by the rejection of every possible explanation or implementation.

  • Angryhumanoid@fedinsfw.app
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    2 days ago

    Money. “Small government” was code for “tax corporations less”. Everything the current RNC does is code for “Transfer as much money as possible from the government and poor people to rich people”.

  • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    The Republican Party used to be very big on smaller government

    Really? When? Because all I ever heard was empty rhetoric when they weren’t in power.

  • kablez@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    They also claimed to be for small business. But their concept of small business was inheritance class, angel investors, tech start ups and using family money as a launch vehicle. They don’t consider entrepreneurs, career professionals or family run brick and mortar operations within their equations when they say “we need to help small business”. Right wingers concerns stop at ensuring tax cuts for ownership, inheritance and wealth, not for incentivising business risk taking, producitivity and market excellence.

  • echo@lemmy.today
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    2 days ago

    That was always a lie, just like the rest of their platform. You’re just becoming aware of the reality, now.