I think there is one word which describes today’s Republicans far better than the word “conservative”. That word is “anachronistic”. The minimal government which they advocate harkens back to the early 19th Century in the United States when there were boundless natural resources and little restraints, minimal access to transportation, little possibility of control of people who could just keep moving Westward across the continent and take what they wanted according to their might and whim. Also, there was little concern for, or understanding of, the consequences.

“The intentional use of older, often obsolete cultural artifacts may be regarded as anachronistic. For example, it could be considered anachronistic for a modern-day person to wear a top hat, write with a quill, or carry on a conversation in Latin. Such choices may reflect an eccentricity, or an aesthetic preference” –Quoted from Wikipedia–I might add, also, and/or might reflect a philosophical preference.

The “terrifying national debt” was run up to “terrifying” levels during the Bush administration, largely due to two unfunded wars, tax cuts for the rich, and the Prescription Drug Benefit. Prior to the Bush years, Mr. Clinton presided over the rise of a surplus which Mr. Bush quickly squandered. Other Republican administrations have been also fiscally irresponsible; if you doubt me, look at history, going all the way back to one of my heroes, President Ulysses Grant, who, whatever moral virtues he may have had, definitely was no financial whiz kid.

The idea that Republicans know what they are doing fiscally is a MYTH. In fact, it is one of the greatest myths that has ever been visited upon the American people.