Republican Party/large government

The Republican Party frequently claims to favor small government. While this support would be of dubious value even if it were genuine, it is not; the GOP frequently and reliably take actions which increase the size and overall oppressiveness of government.

Actions

• created the incompetent and oppressive TSA
  • replaced private contractors with government employees
• created the "Department of Homeland Security"
  • a completely unnecessary agency
  • further trolling us by giving it an Orwellonym
• consistently resist efforts to reduce US torture or close US torture facilities [1]
• support laws restricting women's control of their own bodies
  • support laws giving a woman fewer rights than her fetus
• support laws restricting what individuals are allowed to purchase, drink/eat, or inhale
  • are the driving force between the war on drugs, which is responsible for
    • unprecedented mass incarceration
    • expansion of the police state and police powers
• support laws imposing specific religious beliefs on others
  • support government-sponsored religious propaganda
    • mandatory prayer in schools
    • "Ten Commandments" monuments on government property
    • "Ten Commandments" and other religious posters in courtrooms and classrooms
    • religious displays on government property
• support laws requiring children to repeat government propaganda (the Pledge of Allegiance)
• greatly expanded Presidential powers when there was a Republican president, increasing governmental power over overall (except in certain areas)
  • didn't do anything substantial to reduce those powers after a Democrat became president
• started two unnecessary wars, increasing military funding to disastrous proportions
  • pursued those wars with extraordinary incompetence, especially fiscal
• support state laws preventing municipalities from creating their own internet service providers
• 2012: opposed legislation to give small businesses tax breaks for hiring more workers [2]

Links

• 2012-07-11 Senate Republicans To Block Bill Giving Tax Breaks To Small Businesses For Hiring
• 2015-01-03 Oklahoma Legislator To Introduce Bill Making Wearing Hoodies Illegal "Republican Senator Don Barrington will introduce the bill, which would make it a misdemeanor to “wear a mask, hood, or covering” either while committing a crime or in order to intentionally conceal one’s identity. If the bill is passed, offenders would be subject to a fine of $50 to $500, and up to one year in jail. The ban would not affect mask-wearers on Halloween or at masquerade parties, nor would it apply to people who wear head coverings for religious purposes." ...because penalizing people for doing something while committing a crime will certainly stop them from doing it.
• 2015-01-07 Congress Introduces A National Abortion Ban On Its Very First Day Back (h/t) "Reps. Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reintroduced the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the same legislation that successfully passed the House last year."
• 2015-01-11 New Utah Law Instructs Cops To Seize Uninsured Vehicles (h/t): backed by Republican Lyle W. Hillyard, the law changes what was once an option into a mandate.
• 2015-01-15 Obama pushes Guantanamo population even lower "Key Senate Republicans on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would effectively block President Barack Obama from fulfilling his pledge to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before he leaves office in two years."
• 2015-01-26 Republicans, Fiscally Responsible?
• 2015-03-27 Arizona lawmaker wants church attendance to be mandatory (h/t) "We are slowly eroding religion at every opportunity that we have. We should probably be debating a bill requiring every American to attend a church of their choice on Sunday to see if we can get back to having a moral rebirth" – Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, AZ
• 2015-05-14 Michigan Bill Would Gut Local Business Regulation: Apparently "large government" is more than welcome as long as it's preventing smaller government from operating.