The very core of his entire agenda has been to expand the scope, size, and power of the government in all directions. I'm glad this particular issue finally got your attention.
I'm not giving Bush a pass here, either. He tarnished the name of the Republican Party -- the party of Abolition, Civil Rights, Reagan, freedom, etc. -- and grew government with the best of them.
Maybe the behavior of these last two administrations will wake the people from their stupor and cause them to realize that the God-given liberties described by our Constitution have been under assault for quite some time.
the party of Abolition, Civil Rights, Reagan, freedom, etc.
Reagan? You mean the President that secretly sold weapons to a "terrorist" state to buy weapons for another U.S.-sponsored terrorist group, knowing full well it was an impeachable offense? The one that raised payroll taxes on the middle class to pay for tax cuts for the rich and tanked wages? The guy that deregulated banks and cause the savings and loan crisis? The President that generated huge budget deficits (3x Carter's) to fund Reaganomics? The one that claimed credit for destroying the "Evil Empire" when most analysts were saying the USSR had been in decline since the 1970's.
That Reagan? He's definitely a credit to the Republican Party.
He tarnished the name of the Republican Party -- the party of Abolition, Civil Rights, Reagan, freedom, etc.
I never cease to be amazed at the uncritical association of Ronald Reagan with freedom. Take a good look at the graph below, especially the labels on the axes.
I don't want to get into a political derail because a) I see the larger point you're attempting to make and b) Reagan was extremely effective in advancing US itnerests and thus pretty successful in that aspect of his job, but in my view he treated freedom very much as a transferable commodity rather than a universal grant.
Almost none of that growth comes from changes to federal law. It's almost entirely state and local laws. During the 1980s it was the War on Drugs, but during the 90s it was three-strikes and zero tolerance laws.
The best work on "the carceral state" being done right now is by a UPenn professor, Marie Gottschalk. Check out her books.
I'm not giving Bush a pass here, either. He tarnished the name of the Republican Party -- the party of Abolition, Civil Rights, Reagan, freedom, etc. -- and grew government with the best of them.
Maybe the behavior of these last two administrations will wake the people from their stupor and cause them to realize that the God-given liberties described by our Constitution have been under assault for quite some time.