Let’s do a simple thought experiment. Let’s imagine you are the CEO of a company and you need to hire a manager to supervise some segment of your business. To keep things simple, let’s assume only two people apply for the job and that you interview both of them.
The first candidate believes you have a fantastic company with great resources, and is eager to do outstanding work that will improve the reputation of your company as well as the overall standard of living of everyone it serves.
The second candidate believes your company is a plague upon society, and is eager to dismantle and destroy as much of your company as possible.
Which candidate would you hire?
If you think this is a stupid question, because the correct answer is so clearly obvious, then let me point out that many Republican political candidates seek political office based on the beliefs of the second of the above two candidates. Many Republican candidates believe government is a plague upon society, and they are eager to dismantle and destroy as much of it as possible.
Is it any supririse, then, that when Republicans are elected to political office, failed government programs almost certainly follow? If you hire a candidate who is determined to prove your company is a failure, it should be no surprise that your company becomes one — not because your company inherently is a failure, but because you’ve hired the wrong person to manage it. Likewise, if you hire someone who believes your government can be a force for good, you will greatly increase the odds that your goverment will be a force for good; hire someone who believes your government is an evil plague, and you greatly increase the odds that your government will be an evil plague.
Bottom line: if you want your government to be a force for good, then you should not vote for people who believe your government is a plague upon society. If you do, they will surely make it one.
The second type of candidate is of the "Starve the Beast" mentality. See here and also here.
"There's a reason for why most vegetarians don't make good steakhouse chefs." Keith Ellison, of the U.S. House of Representatives, speaking to the National Conference for Media Reform, June 6, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Ellison_%28pol…
Of course, the 'starve the beast' strategy is entirely circular and self-fulfilling: it begins with the premise that government can do no good, then hamstrings the government to ensure it can do no good. Then, when the deliberately crippled government fails to do good, those in favor of the starvation strategy declare themselves to be correct.