Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The American Republican Party: For More Federalism or Less Government?

The stance of Sen. Jim DeMint (SC-R) in 2010 is emblematic of the ambiguity in the hierarchy of goals in the Republican party. DeMint can be taken as being primarily oriented to restoring the balance of federalism by having the federal government do less and the State governments more, at least in terms of domestic policy. This could bring the General Government back to its enumerated powers. Accordingly, Time magazine maintains that DeMint’s real target in 2010 was “a radical downsizing of the federal government.”[1] This downsizing includes “turning education policy over to the states and gradually dismantling safety-net programs like Social Security and Medicare.”[2]


The full essay is at "The American Republican Party."


1. Michael Crowley and Jay Newton-Small, “Leading the Rebel Brigade,” Time, November 29, 2010, pp. 34-37.
2. Ibid.